The Pope--on Father's Day

No--not that one. That wouldn't make sense, would it?

No--this is a post about Shelley Pope, aka "The Black Pope," a fixture on New Orleans AM radio a few years back. He trolled around various stations, playing funk and blues and classic R&B. Apparently, he used to spit a lot when he talked. I knew a guy who was on WWL radio for a while, and he had worked with Pope over the years. He said they used to TOWEL OFF the microphones after he finished his shows. "I kid you not," he told me.

So, what's the Father's Day connection? Well, I actually found out about this phenomenon from my Dad, of all people. My Dad was often out in his car during the day as part of his job, and he was a real AM radio connoisseur. He knew all the nooks and crannies of the dial, and where the goodies were located. Like "The Pope." I was totally blown away.

I'm pretty sure there's a gene he passed on to his boys that makes us listen to talk radio. To this day, whenever I am on the road, I am scanning the AM dial, looking for the goodies. The pickings are kind of slim, for the most part.

So, I was sitting here earlier, and I thought I would Google Shelley Pope, and--oh my gosh, there he was . . .

(He's near the bottom of the page--"Human Radio Station.")
WFMU's On The Download

Happy Father's Day, Dad.