Ozzy, Son Volt, Wilco, White Zombie, AC/DC and more Albums That Remind Me of My First Year In Radio

[@brunohebert1351]

Cool, it's part one.... Can't wait for the other parts... Really nice to hear from your radio experience. Thank you for sharing.

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks!

[@DjMaidenV]

My favorite content on this channel is when Robert talks about his time working in rock radio so I loved this. The tangent about music logs at the end was really interesting, love industry insider stuff like that.

[@scottmoenster]

I am impressed with your mileage of different artist and songs and how you can pull them up out of the blue

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks!

[@andyshacks7812]

Great video. Love hearing your experiences of working in radio. Looking forward to part two. 👍

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks!!

[@KeithSearock]

You lucky dog - straight to rock radio! My first gig was CHR ... right when Debbie Gibson and Tiffany were all the rage! Thankfully, that was just a PT weekend gig and I quickly landed a full-time gig at a "Lite Rock" station -where I got to play all the former rockers like Clapton and Collins and Winwood and Rod Stewart and all their glorious late 80s drivel! Then back for a quickie at CHR and finally to an Active Rocker before the wheels fell off. I took a request call one night and we wound up together for 3-4 years!!! Those fucking remotes became the bane of my existence ... like I really wanna hang at Joe Blow Chevrolet for three hours every Saturday and go goo-goo over these "gorgeous new Cavaliers"! Ughh.

[@RobertFithen]

Yes, car dealer remotes. I never understood how sales and clients thought they would work. Radio remotes usually only benefit spur of the moment-type promotions. Who is going to be listening to the radio and instantly decide to buy a car?

[@thatoldgoatsvinyl]

What an awesome video and loved the AC DC story. Ozzy probably didn't know what he said either. All interesting story's. Keep up the grand work Rocky.

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks!

[@scottmoenster]

I am impressed with your mileage of different artist and songs and how you can pull them up out of the blue not mileage knowledge😂

[@SuperWarren83]

I,m an AUSSIE , Love AC/DC........Ball, did not chart at all, glad u love the cd.

[@SuperWarren83]

Hard as rock, made 40

[@SONIC-BOOM-TV]

In the 80s and 90's WRNO in New Orleans played full albums 3 nights a week.

[@5150-for-music]

LOVE this video. As someone who has been on the radio myself, you are speaking my language! Keep up the great work.

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks I appreciate it.

[@7BobbyGaylor7]

Hey Robert! Great video! Love the stories! And some great albums. Thanks for sharing. Cheers

[@CoreysChannel]

What's up "Rocky"! Really enjoyed hearing about your experiences when radio ruled the world. You did have the dream job! I did work for Music Land in Westland Mall, Columbus, OH in the early 90s. Mad Season! I was all about Ozzmosis when it released. Still enjoy revisiting it once in a blue moon. Thanks for sharing ~~

[@RobertFithen]

My roommate at the time worked at Musicland/ Sam Goody at the White Oaks Mall in Springfield, IL

[@madvinylnyc7821]

Salute Rocky. You must have enormous closets. You don’t seem to throw out much 😎

[@RobertFithen]

A shed.

[@madvinylnyc7821]

@ makes sense

[@mordantfilms]

'95 was an incredible year for artists that I like. I went to so many great shows that year as well. Guided By Voices - Alien Lanes Flaming Lips - Clouds Taste Metallic The Amps - Pacer The Boo Radleys - Wake Up! Scott Walker - Tilt Chavez - Gone Glimmering Mike Watt - Ball-Hog or Tugboat? Daevid Allen and Kramer - Hit Men Hugh Hopper Band - Carousel The Ex - Instant Spiritualized - Pure Phase I think of 1995 every time I hear these records. There are likely more, but these stood out.

[@johnfronczek2658]

These are great stories about your first year on commercial radio. In my teens and early 20’s, I interned and worked for a Country radio station and a Top 40 radio station.

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks!! I worked for a country station later on.

[@Pauldjreadman]

I just watched part two. You should do far more….part one lol, now watching. I remember that Tool, vinyl you got. Now that would be my peak :) I never knew that about the first Foo Fighters, album. I bought the vinyl album when it was released and i never noticed. It reminds me of my time on online radio with less rules but I had my general rules anyway which was just obvious ones. My shows are still on mixcloud. I always wanted to be on an alternative radio station as in a national one as a wanted to continue what John Peel started. I still get a lot of music sent mainly on mp3. I’m planning to do something on my channel, although some of sent music have got vinyl releases. Finding a radio name a found a bit challenging because I slowly transitioned from actual DJing to radio broadcasting.

[@Judy_P]

Great stories! Looking forward to more! I would have been one of those calling to chat in the middle of the night except that you are in the wrong geographic area and by the time you started on-air I had pretty much stopped listening to radio. I was lucky enough to listen to one of the first free-form radio stations. Still listen to a lot of the variety of music I got intorduced to.

[@RobertFithen]

I came along too late for the free-form days. It must have been a blast.

[@Grassrecords]

Great video, I would like to hear another. Here where I live back in the 90s the Radio Station would too go to the listeners house and party with them, then broadcast some of on the radio. One of the RJ would do Bong rip Tuesday, how long is your bong rip.

[@RobertFithen]

The morning show I was on later would do that. We hosted pool parties at people's houses and would invite listeners and broadcast the entire show from someone's house (as long as they signed up and had a pool).

[@Love_Street]

interesting video today. looking forward to pt 2 i was hoping you had some recordings if your d j days you could play

[@RobertFithen]

I didn't think about doing that. I probably should have.

[@carjo512]

-great stories about your days in radio

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks!

[@MarkLloyd-zr3oz]

I no my friend maybe twice LoL but I have told U I collect hardcore punk punk but I also love kiss and as we have said talk about one end of the spectrum to outher LoL but like U at same time with same help our beutiful folks was our first love of RR and something as magic as people and music U never forget about any first love take care my friend peace and love lloydy

[@albundy666]

Geez, I kind of like 4 Non Blondes cover of Misty Mountain Hop. The video is great, although I would definitely sleep with one eye open around Linda Perry.

[@FotogInkArt]

Young Robert looked intense ! Great stories, great video as always RF !

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks!

[@laudanum669]

Great video! It reminded me of back in 1984 when I was 19 and got a job managing a Indie Record store/Headshop. It was an awesome job for me as I'm a music lover. Some of the albums I was playing at the store back then were Van Halen-1984, Price-Purple Rain, The Cars-Heartbeat City. I was/am into Metal so Judas Priest-Defenders of the Faith, Metallica-Ride the Lightning, Queensryche-The Warning were a few of my Metal favorites. And of course because Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was still a major force I played that a bit too. The Replacements were a local band so I played "Let it Be" a lot. Everytime I hear some of these songs it brings me back to my days at the record store. I got a lot of back stage passes for concerts as our shop was right next to the arena were the big bands played and often the musicians/roadies would come in the store. Plus I got to keep all the Promo records and I still have them.

[@RobertFithen]

Sounds a lot like the perks of working in radio at the time.

[@garyscarpulla100]

Those were great times for music & music videos. I color graded the music videos for Big Me & Thunder Kiss '65, Rob attended the session.

[@RobertFithen]

Awesome! Two of the most memorable videos of the 1990s

[@garywerner5672]

DJs at KSHE in St. Louis could mostly play what they wanted until 1983.

[@TheChadTI]

Thanks for the great story man, I MISS classic radio so much. Staying up late on Sundays to hear my local metal show and sleeping through till homeroom next day at school😅 4:58 That haunted overnight radio shift look.

[@RobertFithen]

Trying to look intense for 90's rock. lol

[@dimebagdave77]

Always so cool to hear about your excursions, awesome Cerwin Vegas in that van unless my eyes deceive me? Many thanks man!✌️🤘 edit: Offspring huh? 😂 i remember man😁

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks! I'm not sure, it was all installed before I got there.

[@aminahmed2220]

What a fantastic video to be honest Robert have a great day also I have a fungal infection in my head 😢❤

[@RobertFithen]

Damn sorry to hear about that.

[@kc0lif]

1990s were interesting time. ac/dc singer sounds like he's singing while taking dump. chuck berry was cool guy.

[@therealbushboy6440]

Theres so many videos to go through.. im never going to find your backstage story.. so any chance of a link to your alleged experience? Please… pretty please…

[@RobertFithen]

Here it is... kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaOUlZRshpxgp9k

[@jasonvoigt]

Like you, I graduated from LCCC's radio program and I was on the air there for a long time (Sunday nights) until Covid. But I never did work out in the real world. Even though most types of radio are dying (or not what they are used to be), I still envy those who had their shot (like you, Favazz, Lern, and many others). Anyway, the only good song off that AC/DC album is "Hail Caesar"! And Chuck Berry's legacy is hotly debated in St. Louis, because of incidents that happened at his restaurant....but some STL artists do get celebrated here. The Urge is a great example. I could talk music with you all day, but I'll stop for now :)

[@RobertFithen]

Yes sadly, the age of radio is a bygone era.

[@jfbmf1242]

I've just discovered, videos of radio DJs talking about their experiences are super enjoyable and end way to fast. I can't wait to gluttonously binge like a crazed junkie on whatever content you tirelessly crank out as fast as you can in the weeks and months and possibly years to come. It's your fault, I wouldn't have this obsessive craving for broadcaster BS if you hadn't of made this video. I must have more. Please, more? Got any more?

[@RobertFithen]

Yes there will be more. lol I also have a video about concert experiences where I talk about things from a radio perspective.

[@CatDadChris]

When I hear Rocky I think of Rocky Dennis from MASK.

[@nocturnal-io9vq]

Love hearing these stories about radio - looking forward to part 2! The info about the "music log" is very interesting; it's a pity that true, free-form FM radio really didn't last that long.

[@RobertFithen]

Yeah, free form in major markets was pretty much over by the late 70s.

[@PrankZabba]

I don't have it anymore, but I remember buying that White Zombie album the week it came out. It was a single album on see through blue vinyl. Kinda like that Foghat's Stone Blue album. Hate to see what discogs prices are for it now. Probably cost me $20 at the time. Well, maybe $25 max. Just add a zero to the end now for todays prices for it.

[@MrRTobias]

did you ever played any Elvis Presley music as a radio DJ? like during his birthday or death anniversary?

[@RobertFithen]

I only played him a handful of times because I was never really on formats that would play his genres of music.

[@michaelvalentini4869]

Robert, when I first ''met'' you on You-Tube, it was on Rachel's live stream, maybe 3 years ago. I commented that, I thought you have a ''radio-voice''. I didn't know your life- experience, but my intuition always serves me well. Zappa wrote an instrumental piece, ''Times Beach'', he also wrote another ''disaster'' themed tune, '' Outrage At Valdez''. Oh yeah, you were baptized by fire, moral dilemmas are never fun. ''Play Misty For Me'' ?

[@RobertFithen]

Oh yes, I even had a brief "Play Misty For Me" scenario, but it didn't really go anywhere. At the radio station, we actually referred to her as Misty. She would show up to remotes and call all the time and be extra creepy, but that's as far as it went.

[@laudanum669]

My friend "Philo" was the drummer for White Zombie for a while.

[@RobertFithen]

I always liked White Zombie much, MUCH more than solo Rob Zombie, mostly because of the real drums as opposed to the industrial drum tracks the solo stuff had.

[@jobeonetwothree2126]

At the nine minute mark of this video a strange light passes above Robert's head. PLEASE call the "Ghost Adventures" team to get rid of all the demons that posess you Robert.

[@MarkLloyd-zr3oz]

Favourite episode Rob cause it was about your life witch is why I watch your channel as well U can only mention kiss and the dead Kennedys so often so most times I don't either no or like a lot of the stuff U show but I always enjoy your channel take as always peace and love lloydy

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks!! I think I only mentioned the Dead Kennedys once.

[@RobertFithen]

It's happened in other videos too. Lol

[@SOUPENE]

at 20 :19 mark i see what looks like a feather or something pop out of nowhere in front of him and than a few seconds later i see something too the left of him lower left hand side float by weird almost like smoke . Robert i think you have a ghost dude .

[@MrRTobias]

when you were a radio DJ, were you making good money, with good health insurance and retirements benefits? or was this just an adventure that was passing thru your life?

[@RobertFithen]

I was on the radio for nearly 30 years so i worked my way up to benefits, 401k, etc.

[@davidswenton1038]

I agree with you concerning Wilco. As soon as Jay Bennett was let go, the sound was not the same.

[@dustyoldtapes580]

Cool video, man. I was a big rock-radio listener all through the '90's (age 10-20), both as a music fan and as a kid who fantasized about being on the radio himself one day. I have many memories of '95 and '96 - not a good time in my own life, but also kind of a weird time for the music. Lots of "loud pop," as you say. Collective Soul and Live ruled the roost. Because I'm 44, I kinda miss that time, though I know I shouldn't. And rock stations still play "Possum Kingdom" by the Toadies - why? Dude! Do you remember the Bottle Rockets? The station I listened to at the time played "Radar Gun" quite a lot back then. "Drown" by Son Volt got a lot of airplay, but my rock station didn't play Wilco. They did play the Bottle Rockets, though - "Radar Gun" got lots of spins. Dude! On your station, did they save the heavy stuff for after dark, and then in daylight hours, they were like 80% classic rock? That's how mine was.

[@RobertFithen]

My station had dayparting, but it was fairly hard throughout the day. "Radar Gun" was definitely played but that was year 2. The Bottle Rockets were a regional band. A local favorite

[@dustyoldtapes580]

@@RobertFithen I thought of the Bottle Rockets as soon as you mentioned where you worked, remembering they were from that part of the country. But I'm from Delaware, and they got a lot of play on our rock station. It was "The Home of Rock 'n' Roll" up until mid-'96, and then switched to the new, oh-so-'90's-minimalist "The Rock Station" branding, and the music started to get heavier and less strictly dayparted. A tough time to be a teenage metalhead. I like to imagine an alternate-universe 1996, but as my handle suggests, there stands the evidence in my box of tapes.

[@christopherstumbers5906]

Chic-ken-heart! chic-ken-heart!

[@RobertFithen]

So you know exactly what I'm talking about.

[@EdKazO-Vision]

Your posts are always interesting, even when you talk about stuff I don’t give a shidt about. That’s your gift Robert. BTW are there any air checks floating around?

[@RobertFithen]

Thanks! Yeah, I should have put an aircheck on the video, but didn't even think about it.

[@jc-mt8ot]

heheh.....I believe is Long Gone Day.......and that Mad Season album is really really good. One of my favorites. That first Zombie album is also a very good one. Great memories on on these. I also enjoyed Perry Mason but yeah it was weird. It seemed very ackward as if it was written like they write B Movies....ala Roger Corman.

[@MickSupper]

White Zombie was out before that. I remember hearing their name in the late 80s/early 90s on the radio. Chuck Roast was the DJ on 90.1 KPFT and collected and played obscure experimental and punk albums, and to this day he's also the owner of Vinal Records in Houston, TX.

[@davidellis5141]

When I managed an independent record store in Southern California in the 90's we would often go to Circuit City or Best Buy to purchase new releases for the store as their price was better than the distributors price ! They were using cds as loss leaders. Limit of 5 copies per person & I had to promise I wasn't a dealer. Oh well , just a little lie 😆 🤣

[@RobertFithen]

Both were within walking distance of my apartment at the time. I rarely bought CDs anywhere else. Of course most of my Cds were free radio promos.

[@GeeAitch-r1r]

Interesting video so far... I wasn't aware of 'radio logs' and how they are followed. As for Neil Young "Mirror Ball", I THINK it may have been my first digi-pak cd... the case is long gone as it was made when Neil was in his peak Save The Earth period... so it was made of a biodegradable material. Perhaps this is why your case looks worn even tho it was well taken care of? As for mine... it bio-degraded. Look forward to part two...

[@MickSupper]

Like those new garbage bags that fall apart as you take them to the garbage or disintegrate after a few months. LOL

[@SuperWarren83]

The ladies are not safe...............lol

[@Strimbles]

Offspring: Chicken heart!!!!! 🐔🫀

[@dimebagdave77]

A.I.C. too cheery! ha!

[@jeffthevideoguy23]

What about Jake's Leg?

[@RobertFithen]

We didn't start playing local bands until I started playing them on my Sunday night show later on when I had some clout. The only exception was a band called NIL8. Not sure what the story was with that.

[@TheChadTI]

Ball breaker was mid. Black ICE was a step up. 3:40 Big time!

[@wowster-so8sx]

Damn dude when you were youngs you looked like you were going to rob a liquor store

[@RobertFithen]

It was my "intense" 90s rock look

[@cobra5088]

I never understood the whole neil young as the godfather of grunge thing. Never thought neil young even remotely sounded "grunge". I always thought that was the record company's way of trying to market neil young to a younger audience.

[@RobertFithen]

It was. He was kind of grunge esthetically.

[@MickSupper]

I totally got it back in the day. He wasn't grunge per se, but was what every grunge band aspired to be.

[@membersonlydave]

radio types do NOT play about the log

[@BillyHell01]

the cardboard revolution that came to CDs is from the devil. the excitement of getting a new CD is ruined when you're left holding an unimpressive piece of soulless mass marketing slop - if you have seen the packaging for high-end retail items like perfume and alcohol you would be amazed that they are meant to be trown away, some bottles come in specially designed cases that have no other purpose. all my cardboard sleeved releases are in plastic sleeves, they will not win by giving me flimsy wrapping.

[@MickSupper]

Look up for how much used Hermes boxes go for. They're just as important as what's inside.

[@RobertFithen]

It was made to look as if doing away with jewel cases was an eco friendly thing, but people generally didn't throw away jewel cases.

[@richardsteele3272]

Merkinball

[@RobertFithen]

Didn't care for it. But it's got to be the only time a two-song single was given a title like an EP.

[@EDDIETRUJILLO-q8p]

After Ozzmosis, I lost interest.

[@RobertFithen]

Me too pretty much.

[@ADHDIYuk]

The whole Dave Grohl cheating thing makes me wonder what people have been doing for the last 60/70 years. Rock stars have always cheated on their partners, get over it.

[@RobertFithen]

I don't understand the controversy either.