May Day Full Moon Edition 2026
In the last TQT, we wrote about Six Degrees of Separation, a dependable equation that manifests one’s personal connection to our collective humanity, especially when you’re engaged in a project of any scale. Somebody you know knows somebody who knows somebody who within six such progressions links all of us together.
We mentioned radio station WDIA in Memphis, which in 1947 became the first full-time rhythm & blues broadcaster in the country staffed by black deejays playing for the predominantly African-American audience. Among those personalities at the board were Rufus Thomas, Bobby “Blue” Bland, and a very young B.B. King, who credited his time there working the mic as critical to his eventual success as one of our preeminent blues musicians.
The first record produced by a young sound engineer at RCA in New York City, who lobbied hard for the chance to record Mr. King, was The Thrill Is Gone, which became his theme song. The producer was Bill Szymczyk, who went on to produce an entire alphabet of musicians and bands, including two of the Top Five selling albums of all time. With his colleague, Glyn Johns, he co-produced Eagles Their Greatest Hits and single-handedly produced their seminal album Hotel California.
To say the man has an ear is a major understatement and the accomplishments he achieved with that keen sense of sound are well-known. Less noted is his time first filing records and soon enough doing weekend shows at KFML radio in Denver, where he settled for a time mid-career and where I also did the occasional gig. That’s the thread that ties us together. He’s become a big fan and significant supporter of our Freeform Radio Project (HERE) and (HERE).
Another supporter is Bruce Allen, who penned our story on the radicalradio website (HERE) about George “Hound Dog” Lorenz, probably the first white deejay to play rhythm & blues records on “regular” stations in late Forties Buffalo and Cleveland, where the better known Alan Freed emulated, not to say stole, the Hound Dog’s style. Bruce and I were introduced by excellent New Orleans deejay Jamie Dell’Apa (HERE), who ran across my book What It Was, bought a fistful of them, and sent one to Bruce.
Jamie is tight with the great singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones, whose tune Chuck E’s In Love is about my childhood friend, the late Chuck E. Weiss, whom I mentioned in the book (HERE). Bruce and Jamie will connect at the famed Hog Farmer Wavy Gravy’s upcoming 90th birthday party. Rickie Lee will be performing. Jamie is one of the Founding Members of our Freeform Radio Project. He’s very knowledgeable about media and recently sent two great stories about Border Radio (HERE) and (HERE). He also once sent me a not-for-publication photo of Rickie wearing one of our Just Play It t-shirts. Bill Szymczyk sent me one in his Free Form t-shirt somewhere in the South Seas. He tells me the shirt needs its own passport it’s so well traveled. We still have a few of these shirts available BTW
The point of all this is, Freeform Radio has a lot of fans. When you make an effort to celebrate the people who made that era of brilliant broadcasting happen, a whole bunch of interesting folks come to the table. If you need help contacting one you don’t know, just keep asking and before you reach six, somebody will connect you.
One of the brightest of bright lights in the radio world is Bonnie Simmons. I really wanted to interview her for our archive and needed an introduction. One of the High Priests of Six Degree Practice is another Founding Member, David Shepardson, who has worked tirelessly to bring people to our project. One guy he got to know is Hale Milgrim, who rose from working the counter at a Discount Records store to become President and CEO of Columbia Records.
Hale knows Bonnie well and graciously made the introduction. And Bonnie was willing to talk. But she’s also very busy, being Audio Director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Transport Director of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival each Fall in San Francisco, Executive Director of the Bill Graham Memorial Foundation, and still does a Thursday night radio show at KPFA in Berkeley. It took nearly two years for us to connect, but it was worth the wait. See and hear for yourself (HERE).