Oldies but goodies are getting harder to find on local radio.
But DJ Al Brady is bringing moldie oldies back to life for The Villages. Brady is hosting “Sunday Nite Sock Hop” on AM-640 WVLG, from 6 to 9 p.m.
“It’s a live show,” said Brady, a longtime radio jock with an encyclopedic knowledge of the rock and roll.
The audience will play a big part in the show.
“We want callers to request memorable songs, including rarities that are just no longer on the radio,” saidBrady, who lives in The Villages.
He is best known here for his work with Rocky and the Rollers. Brady is also a popular DJ at local clubs and parties. Previously, Brady worked with the late Wolfman Jack at the famed Little Darlins’ club in Orlando. He also appeared on Public Television’s “My Music” oldies series for various PBS stations.
Keeping the oldies alive is Brady’s true passion. And the new Sunday night program is a way for him to meet that goal.
“This is the music that gave us the birth of rock and roll,” Brady said. “We play everything we can: Elvis, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Pat Boone, early Beatles and he British Invasion.
“We’ll also play The Platters, The Coasters, The Drifters, Dion & the Belmonts, Freddy Cannon and all the artists of that by-gone era. Whatever the listeners ask for, we’ll find it and play it.”
In addition to the music, Brady adds his personal memories.
“I like to tell stories about the history behind the songs and artists,” he said. Those stories come “from all the years that I worked with the artists, or played their music.
“For the holidays I play many rarely heard Christmas songs that have never been played before,” he added.
Most of all, the program is a rocking, nostalgic good time for Brady and his audience.
“It’s just a fun, exciting, way to enjoy all the music of the ‘American Bandstand’ years of rock and roll,” he said.
