Rock-tober 23, 2018

In the summer of '81, lacking access to an Xbox, smartphone, and the Internet, one form of  evening entertainment for us kids was calling the local radio station during their request hour to try and have them play a song of our choice. This was no easy task since every other kid on the Coast trying to make the exact same call. More often than not you got a busy signal, so you'd quickly redial the number and try again. Heaven help you if your family squawk box still had a rotary dial.

One evening, a group of us were huddled around the kitchen phone - the old school one still attached to the wall with a 3-foot cord radius - and we managed to get through to 94QID. "Hey, it's ringing! What do you guys want to hear?"

I piped in with "Ask for 'Celebration'!" My buddy, Noel, who was holding the receiver, looked at me like I'd just asked for milk and sugar for my grits. He just shook his head. "C'mon, Wayne! That song is waaay old!"

It probably was. I grew up in a home with Eddy Arnold albums and Marty Robbins and Roger Whittaker 8-tracks. While most of my friends split their time between rock and country, my radio was usually pegged on a country station around 580 - on the AM band. A disadvantage of growing up in a country music household was that your pop music frames of reference were way out of whack compared to your peers.

I don't remember what we wound up requesting that night, but it wasn't "Celebration". By that summer, the song probably was dated as far as singles go. "Celebration" was released in 1980 and finally hit the #1 spot on the Hot 100 in February of 1981. That means it would have seen significant airplay on its climb up the chart over Christmas and New Years holiday celebrations. It would have been one of those songs that was everywhere, all the time. It reigned at the top spot for 2 weeks before it was dethroned, ironically, by a country song - Dolly Parton's "9 to 5". Even though the song remained on the air for nearly a year, I was spared the profuse airplay and the ensuing burnout - it was still fresh to me.

"Celebration" was Kool & the Gang's only number 1 hit, but it's still culturally relevant today. From weddings to sporting events to retro parties, this song can still pop anywhere there's a celebration - like a little old rock and roll music blog.