“Sully Roddy’s Jumpin’ Jive” show airs Sats at 2-4pm (pdt) and reprises Weds same times. You can write her at: sully(at)jiveradio.org
I learned about love at the Tiki Inn Motel
And if THAT isn’t a song waiting to be written, I don’t know what is.
My first full-time job was as a desk clerk at the Tiki Inn Motel in Palo Alto. The Tiki Inn was exactly how you might imagine it: palm trees, tropical flowers, and an enormous Tiki looming over it all. The rooms were decorated with pictures of tropical beaches, and, of course, more tikis. Nowadays it would probably be vintage chic. But in the 1970s it was only outdated.
The office I worked in was a bit outdated, too. I operated a PBX switchboard–the kind you see in old black and white movies with all the wires and plugs? And our only source of entertainment was a portable AM radio.
I was way too cool to listen to Top 40, so instead I tuned in the local country radio stations, and fell in love! I fell in love with the stories the songs told, with the romance, and with the heartbreak. It seemed so grown up! You didn’t dump your boyfriend or girlfriend–you “let them go.” A woman cheating on her husband: was she a tramp? No, she was a “borrowed angel.” As Emmylou Harris sang, “If tonight you’ll be my tall, dark stranger, I’ll be your San Antonio Rose.” Passion! Tenderness! Sorrow. I wanted to be part of that world.
When I heard of a radio station in Gilroy, California that played a wide variety of music as well as country, I weaseled my way into a job. I was a KFAT country disc jockey.
KFAT programmers had an unimaginable amount of freedom to play what we wanted, and we wanted to play everything from blues to bluegrass, from rockabilly to gospel, from Hawaiian music to Tex Mex, and everything in between. Working at KFAT opened my eyes to a world of music I never knew existed, and I have never been the same.
I am excited and grateful to be welcomed into the jive radio universe of music lovers, and to be working with my old KFAT pal, Sister Tiny again. You’ll hear me Saturdays right after Sister Tiny’s song and dance show. My show is called The Jumpin’ Jive.
I hope you’ll be able to join me as the adventure continues!
In addition to KFAT, Sully Roddy worked at country powerhouse KSAN in San Francisco. She pioneered internet radio in the early 2000’s as Roots Music Director of AOL music and a programmer on Spinner.com. She has also written scripts for internationally syndicated music programs.
Ms. Roddy is a credentialed special education teacher, and loves working with children almost as much as she loves playing music.
Sully enjoys a somewhat unusual neurological condition called synesthesia, which causes her to perceive colors when she hears music, or thinks about letters or numbers.
“Sully Roddy’s Jumpin’ Jive” show airs Sats at 2-4pm (pdt) and reprises Weds same times. You can write her at: sully(at)jiveradio.org
This weeks show Hour 1:
Hour 2: