Back in the days when commercial radio was something to cherish instead of something to avoid like the plague, DJs like Pittsburgh's Mad Mike Metrovich were the motor-mouthed heralds of a new teen culture, larger-than-life tastemakers and soothsayers whose quirks and sensibilities profoundly shaped the musical landscape as far as the station signal carried. Metrovich was a particularly compelling character by any metric: a longtime fixture on Steel City broadcaster WZUM, he proudly carried the torch for rockabilly and R&B throughout the British Invasion era, championing a raw, dynamic sound that presaged the emerging garage rock scene. Best of all, he never identified the records he spun either on the air or at live gigs, further adding to his reputation as a trailblazer and rulebreaker. The first volume in Norton Records' Mad Mike Monsters series assembles more than a dozen staples from Metrovich's 1964-1967 heyday, bolstered by WZUM radio spots and other vintage ephemera -- highlights include the Sonics' "Psycho," Patrice Holloway's "Do the Del Viking," Little Ike's "She Can Rock," and Metrovich's longtime theme song, King Rock & the Knights' "Send-Di."
Condition:NEW.
TRACK LISTINGS
Side One:
1. JOHNNY OTIS - SPOT #1
2. SONICS - Psycho
3. SILVERTONES - Get It
4. SCOTT WOOD - Chicken Rock
5. RONNIE COOK AND THE GAYLADS - The Goo Goo Muck
6. BELLTONES - Swingin' Little Chicky
7. LITTLE IKE - She Can Rock
8. AQUA-NITES - Carioca
9. KING ROCK AND THE KNIGHTS - Send-Di
Side Two:
10. SAUCERS - Cha Wailey Routa
11. EDDIE JONES - Certainly All
12. CALVIN COOL - El Tecolote
13. PATRICE HOLLOWAY - Do The Del Viking
14. INSTRUMENTALS - Chop Suey Rock
15. FOUR SOUNDS - Mama Ubangi Bangi
16. JIMMY HEAP - Gismo
17. VELS - Mysterious Teenage
18. WZUM RADIO SPOT
NORTON RECORDS
ED-338
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