This blog has looked at several issues of The Island Ear, Long Island's erstwhile bi-monthly music hand-out (Christmas 1981, March 1983), and this time we're thumbing through the late November/early December offering of thirty-eight years ago.
New Jersey's beloved Uncle Floyd is the cover boy, parked at the ivories in his familiar plaid jacket and pork-pie hat. He was the host of an evening kiddie show for adults (think post-Pinky but pre-Pee Wee), a UHF oddball of the NYC metro area which attracted a cult following in the 70's and 80's. I became a huge fan after initially mocking the show for its cheapness and corny jokes, which of course were what I grew to love about it. I have about four-and-a-half hours of the pre-cable incarnation of the show in my video collection, a rare trove which I acquired from one of the Uncle Floyd Show cast members (who has since passed).
[click pics to enlarge]
The masthead accompanies a list of the Island's top tunes.
The legendary My Father's Place in Roslyn Village takes a full-pager next.
Head over to Hempstead's L.I. Record Collector to check out their ever-increasing LP stock (and to get your skanky albums spiffed up). Futuri was your cuffed-pant zoot suit purveyor of Valley Stream, and Dublin Pub was home to the Boston Burglars, which makes perfect sense since one of the band members owned the joint.
Up next, a queeny quiz and the rest of the Ear-Rings album reviews.
Music Trends, Ltd., was in Levittown's Nassau Mall, as was Toni Basil-touting TSS (but not Record World), and J.C. (?) McNaughton's of Rockville Centre had plenty of room for everyone on its dance floor.
Here's an ad for February's of Elmont, and Pizan's typically subpar Puzzle.
Advertisers on this page: P.O.E.T.S. of Flushing, McHebe's Depot of Hempstead, and The Record Collection of Massapequa Park.
Frida, gone solo from ABBA, is briefly profiled.
Jimmy Byrnes was in Flushing, while Greg Robertson cursively presented Network in Island Park. Like someone gives a shit, Greg.
This Hometown Pride column introduces us to the zany funsters of The Trend.
Look how they're dressed! Fun!
Cheers in North Babylon, Starship in Farmingville.
A live show by Gary U.S. Bonds gets reviewed.
Subz in Middle Village, Slipped Disc Records in Valley Stream, Ken's Record Emporiums of Queens, and Jersey's Almost Backstage.
Island Sound of Merrick, Mods & Rockers in Hicksville, Speakerkits of Bellerose, What Not Shop in Baldwin, and Master Sound Production of Franklin Square. (I butchered the border of this scan a bit, but you get the idea. It still came out better than that guy's poodley 'do.)
Now the cover story--snap it, pal!
We interrupt this article for a word from our sponsors: Heckle and Jeckle's and The Wax Museum Record Empire of Massapequa Park, Richie Rich Records in Queens Village, and
Just Shirts of various
convenient locations.
Rumrunner of Oyster Bay, Sparks of Huntington.
Spize of Farmingdale, and the United States Air Force of... the sky.
Record World (promoting R.E.M.) and Levittown's Reds.
("Video/Dance Club of the Future." A little bit of it, anyway.)
The Floyd piece finishes alongside some Hot Flashes.
Solomon Grundys Pub in Rockville Centre, Pastime of Amityville.
Zig-Zag Records of Franklin Square shares a page with Larry Kleinman's humor column, "If They Can't Take a Joke..." (I'd have put the ellipsis at the front, but whatever.) I'm assuming Kleinman either lived very close to WNEW or he slept there on Saturday nights.
Sam Ash shills, the top imports are listed, IE looks for a personable car-owner, and Alison and Vince of Yaz dutifully tick off their various faves. (The guy from Erasure's favorite food is veal? Definitely did not see that one coming.)
Where It's At, or more accurately, Who's at the Clubs Who Advertise With Us.
The Bloodlines column takes a quick look at rockabilly icon Eddie Cochran.
Radio stations WLIR, WPLJ, WNEW-FM, and WAPP share their hottest stacks of wax for the week...
...as do lower wattage entries WRCN, WVHC, WBAU, WNYU, and WCWP, plus a rundown of what rock acts would be popping up on the small screen over the next few weeks.
Finally, the back cover features a "Midnight Madness" ad for local United Artists theaters, with an illustration by
Pat Starace.
I have the issue for the end of 1980, published in the wake of John Lennon's murder, so I hope to have that one scanned for you before Christmas.
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3 Comments:
Just found your blog, and went down the proverbial rabbit hole reading your entries over the past 15 years. What a trip down memory lane, I grew up in the NY-NJ-CT tri-state area, and am about the same age as you. I thought I was the only one who remembered the Uncle Floyd Show on UHF—and the only one who remembers Soupy’s 1970s show being unceremoniously dumped. Please keep posting!
Thanks PB! I don’t get a whole lot of feedback on this blog, so it’s always gratifying to hear that someone is digging it. I’ll have some free time in January, I hope to do some more personal writing, actual reminiscences and not just pics of old ephemera. Be sure to check out my other blogs and so forth, lots of stupid but fun stuff there too... Take care!
I'm not sure exactly how I stumbled upon your blog and your mini-trove of Island Ears, but I've been devouring every page that you've posted --- and enjoying the flood of memories that are coming back. Growing up on LI, the late 70s/early 80s were my formative musical years and I would devour each issue of the IE when it came out. I even remember sending in my answers to one of the quizzes and seeing my name as one of the winners (I got a t-shirt, I think). From 80-82, I was just one or two years shy of being able to go to clubs and listen to live music, but I got to meet quite a few artists coming through town via my internship at WLIR in beautiful downtown Hempstead. By the time I hit college in '83, I took all the music I read about and listened to in mags like the IE, and ended up spinning quite a few of them during my stint working for the college station. Great stuff!
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