Darrell Brogdon, here emceeing a Cinema Con Queso movie night, has been hosting the Retro Cocktail Hour since 1995.

Retro Cocktail Hour goes national

Every Saturday night, Darrell Brogdon serves up the Retro Cocktail Hour, groovy music for your hi-fi set that’s shaken, not stirred. The show has a loyal following on KPR and an international following online. We asked Darrell a few questions about the secret of his success.

Q: How did you initially become interested in “exotica” music and record collecting?
A: It’s always been a passion. When I was a kid I never listened to the music that kids usually listen to at that age. I was always interested in jazz, movie music, weird stuff. If only I’d held on to all those crazy records!

Q: What gave you the idea to start Retro Cocktail Hour?
A: At the time all the major record companies had latched on to the “space age bachelor pad” phenomenon and were cranking out reissues of material from their vaults. There were write-ups in several national magazines about how the music appealed to younger listeners, who admired the vibe, the lifestyle, the look of the pre-Beatles 1960s. The bachelor pad craze was fairly short-lived, but we thought it would be an interesting programming opportunity – to try and create a sound that was attractive to the public radio audience, many of whom knew these recordings from their youth, and to people in their 20s, for whom it was brand new. The first time I had a kid with orange hair tell me he really dug the Retro Cocktail Hour, I knew we were on to something.

Q: How do you go about marketing the show for syndication?
A: In the beginning we just offered out a couple of the holiday specials, the Christmas show and the annual Halloween special. Eventually, stations started to contact us, asking about airing the show on a regular basis. It was then we began making it available as a weekly show. The RCH is distributed now through the Public Radio Exchange and also directly by Kansas Public Radio.

Q: Who else carries the show, and what feedback have you received the other stations?
A: As of January 2012, the show airs every week on WAMU in Washington D.C. (using repeats, they air it as a four-hour show!); WKMS in Murray, Ky.; and Northwest Public Radio, a 10-station network serving Washington state, as well as parts of Idaho and British Columbia. In addition the Christmas and Halloween shows have been broadcast in Austin, Texas; Asheville, N.C.; Jackson, Miss.; Marfa, Texas; Durango, Colo.; and the entire state of Wyoming.

Q: You hear from a lot of RCH fans who listen online, from all over the globe. Any interesting stories to share about the show’s fans?
A: It never fails to amaze me where people are listening to the show. I’ve heard from RCH listeners in Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom (there’s a bar there that plays the RCH in the background), South America, from soldiers in Bosnia and the Middle East. I’ve heard from relatives of some of the legendary musicians we feature on the show – Les Baxter’s daughter and grandson, the daughters of Geri Galian and Chuy Reyes, popular Latin bandleaders of the 1950s. I had a great voicemail from Stu Phillips, a legendary composer-conductor who wrote music for Battlestar Galactica, The Six Million Dollar Man, Knight Rider and movies like Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. I’d played something from his ‘50s album Music from Out of Space. Bob Newhart’s son once won our weekly CD giveaway. People send me pictures from their parties where they play the RCH in the background. I’ve had a couple of burlesque dancers send me their pin-ups. Plus, I’ve gotten to interview guys like Vic Mizzy, who wrote the Addams Family theme and lots more.

Q: What can Retro Cocktail fans expect in 2012?
A: Hope to keep doing an occasional movie night at Liberty Hall, possibly even more live concerts, if we can find a suitable (and affordable) venue. Sometime next year, I hope to produce an all-exotica edition of RCH right on the shores of Waikiki. I’d love to put on a Midwest luau, with suitable tiki music in the background, of course!

You can enter the Retro Cocktail Hour CD giveaway, listen to past episodes, view the LP cover art gallery and generally get your fill of incredibly strange music at kpr.ku.edu/retro.

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e-Newsletter	JANUARY 2012