The Jukebox: Radio Archive Mike Saffran

“The All-Request Rock ’n’ Roll Jukebox,” hosted by Mike Saffran, on “99 BBF”/WBBF-FM (98.9), Rochester, N.Y. Originally aired 7 p.m.–Midnight June 5, 1999.

Callers aired and other show highlights:

00:19 Arby’s ‘fashionably late dinner’ reference

00:39 First of multiple references to show-sponsor Shepard Ford (Canandaigua)

00:46 Carolyn/Victor (“Unchained Melody”)

00:51 “I’m a ‘voice man,’ ’ya know — go for the voices all the time!” ;-)

01:57 Harold/Entering the State Thruway to Albany (“Long Cool Woman [In A Black Dress]”)

02:22 Broad Street at Clinton Avenue, B. Forman Office Building, sixth-floor studio reference

02:38 Patty/Pavilion (“Indiana Wants Me”)

03:49 Kevin/Webster (“Hot Rod Lincoln”)

03:59 First of multiple reference to the 1999 Greater Rochester Soap Box Derby (June 5-6)

04:27 Venice/Henrietta (“American Pie”)

04:38 “I hardly consider this work!” :-)

05:36 Dennis/Sodus (“409” and “Shut Down”) — with reference to caller’s friends’ classic ’67 Mustang and ’67 Corvette (“cruisin’ good oldies!”)

06:36 Kathy/Rochester (“The Horse”)

06:46 Reference to racehorse Charismatic, who won the first two legs of the 1999 Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes) before suffering a fractured foreleg in the 131st Belmont Stakes (finishing in third place) earlier that day. Although he never raced again, Charismatic lived until Feb. 19, 2017 [more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charismatic_(horse)]

07:42 Aurora (with friend)/Rochester (“These Boots Are Made For Walking”)

08:12 Good ‘rule of thumb’ in broadcasting: Whenever you accidentally misstate the name of the show’s sponsor … say it again (a second time … the correct way!) ;-) 

08:31 “Legends of Rock ’n’ Roll” Discovery Huther-Doyle Irving Crane Pool Tournament, June 8, Classic Billiards, West Ridge Road (Greece), plug

09:04 Sharing the news that Toronto City Council approved official “clothing optional” status for Hanlan’s Point Beach, Centre Island (Toronto Islands), Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2024 update: “Clothing optional” for the nude beach was made permanent, three years later, in 2002)

09:26 Peggy/Penfield (“Wild Weekend” — playing it loud for all the people who mow their lawns at 9 a.m.!)

10:03 Kathy/LeRoy (“It Don’t Come Easy”)

10:10 “There’s no such thing as a ‘minor request’!” ;-)

11:35 Gary/Canandaigua (“Keep On Dancing”) — with kudos to the caller for winning a whopping $18 from the New York Lotto!

12:15 Even though the Buffalo Sabres made it to the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals (facing off against the Dallas Stars in a series that would start, in Dallas, in three days), “I don’t sense an awful lot of excitement” (unlike when the Buffalo Bills played in the Super Bowl — which was truly a big deal each time); so, just a (tongue-in-cheek) thought: Maybe consideration should be given to changing the name of the Stanley Cup to the “Colossal Cup” (more in line with “Super Bowl” and “World Series” ;-) (Note: Dallas won the series 4-2; more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Stanley_Cup_Finals)

12:54 Jamie/Brighton (“Georgy Girl”)

13:35 Murray (“Topsy II” — dedication to wife, Judy)

14:11 “Kid Fest Summer Blast” reference

14:38 Laurie/Spencerport (“Kind Of A Drag”)

14:50 “Watch your language on this program … it’s a family show!” ;-)

15:10 Indirect reference to the 1977 Lynyrd Skynyrd song “What’s Your Name” via a paraphrase of a portion of its lyrics in introducing the next caller: “It’s 8 o’clock in Boise, Idaho … What’s your name, little girl?” (Note: All these years later, I’m not exactly sure why I set up the phone call in such a way … other than I was always a fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd — a band we didn’t play on 99 BBF — and the caller might’ve sounded to me like a “little queen” — which I interpret, fr

“The All-Request Rock ’n’ Roll Jukebox,” hosted by Mike Saffran, on “99 BBF”/WBBF-FM (98.9), Rochester, N.Y. Originally aired 7 p.m.–Midnight May 29, 1999.

Callers aired and other show highlights:

00:44 Doug (“[We’re Gonna] Rock Around The Clock”)

02:09 Unidentified female (“Unchained Melody”)

02:20 “Slow dance … your one and only!”

02:39 Bob/Gates (“Summertime”)

03:15 BONUS: After the listener phone call (and signature coin-into-slot SFX), a longer-than-normal (almost 30 seconds) beginning of the requested song is heard. As this segment was close to the end of a cassette-tape side, I surmise that knowing, at the time, the cassette was nearing the end, I simply left my microphone button (which also controlled the aircheck skimmer) turned on for a bit longer in order to capture the start of this great song, while also running out the tape.

04:03 “Matchmaker Oldies Party” (with 99 BBF’s Nick Evans) at Maxwell’s (Irondequoit bar) reference

04:31 Steve/West Irondequoit (“Give Me One More Chance”)

04:49 “Partying with the animals tonight!” (including Seneca Park Zoo reference :-)

05:16 Barbara (“Help!”)

05:26 Caller: “By the way, I like your new haircut!” :-)

05:54 “More great oldies than Abbott’s has custard!”

06:55 Carrie/Canandaigua (“Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves”)

07:39 Laura/Greece (“Sweet Pea”)

08:34 Susan/Medina (“Build Me Up Buttercup”)

08:38 Reference to fellow 99 BBF DJ/newscaster Dee Dee Sharp (“Medina girl that she is!” Caller: “Haven’t found her yet!” :-)

09:03 Kathy/Canandaigua (“Ode To Billie Joe” — dedication to Carrie)

10:15 Cliff/Driving on Genesee Street (Buffalo) (“[’Til] I Kissed You”)

10:59 Giving turn-by-turn driving directions from the State Thruway to Maxwell’s (Irondequoit)

11:34 Club Diamond Dust (Genesee Street, Buffalo, strip club) reference ;-)

11:50 “14 Rock” (old Buffalo Top-40 radio station, WYSL-AM, where the host worked in 1986) and Kodak Park references

12:43 Andrea (“Dance, Dance, Dance”)

13:37 Genesee Valley Penny Saver’s “Gotta Vent” feature reference

14:18 Harry/Buffalo Federal Detention Facility (Batavia) (“The Wanderer”) (Harry adds: “No more banks!”)

14:59 Slim/Buffalo Federal Detention Facility (Batavia) (“Respect” — dedication to female prison staff)

15:28 Subtle reference to Burger King “Whopper” commercial featuring the song, “Mr. Big Stuff” 

15:50 Mike/Oswego (“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”)

16:04 “First names only … for security reasons!” ;-)

17:21 Doug (“She Loves You”)

18:04 Venice (“Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”)

18:25 Bill/Rochester (“My Eyes Adored You”)

18:53 “You got your ‘leg men’ … and you got your [ahem] men … you got your ‘eye men,’ too!” ;-)

19:36 Norm/Gorham (“Born To Be Wild”)

20:10 Helen/Rochester (“Popsicles And Icicles”)

20:52 Fred/Rochester (“Rebel-’Rouser”)

21:45 “More great oldies and beach bums at Durand Eastman Park!”

21:56 Norm/Driving to the Southern Tier (“Last Kiss” — dedication to wife, Anne)

22:13 “We got 50,000 big ones!” (reference to radio station’s wattage)

23:00 Ellis B. Feaster weekday morning-show plug: “Barbecue Horror Stories”

23:07 Recalling my “barbecue horror story”: The time, back in the ’80s, when I backed over my hibachi, with my Pontiac Grand Prix, at Long Point Park (Geneseo)!

23:31 Larry/Camping in Dansville (“Brown Eyed Girl”)

23:53 Blake/Pittsford (“Chantilly Lace”)

24:39 Terry (“Walk Away Renee”)

25:23 Cindy/Marion (“Midnight At The Oasis”)

All content (radio aircheck, audio podcast – all components, and show notes): © Michael J. Saffran

“The All-Request Rock ’n’ Roll Jukebox,” hosted by Mike Saffran, on “99 BBF”/WBBF-FM (98.9), Rochester, N.Y. Originally aired 7 p.m.–Midnight May 22, 1999.

Callers aired and other show highlights:

00:21 Reference to fellow 99 BBF DJ Tom Noonan

00:46 Chuck (with Maria)/Dollar Tree (The Marketplace) (“My Maria”)

02:07 Kristin/Rushville (“Brandy [You’re A Fine Girl]”)

02:32 Stephanie/Irondequoit (“Mellow Yellow”)

03:07 “Matchmaker Oldies Party” (with 99 BBF’s Mike Vickers) at Maxwell’s (Irondequoit bar) reference

03:34 Gary/Canandaigua (“Keep On Dancing”)

04:11 Heather/Fairport (“The House Of The Rising Sun”)

05:18 Doug/Rochester (“Tallahassee Lassie”)

05:42 Laura/Fairport (“Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You”)

06:06 Mike/Batavia (“Last Train To Clarksville”)

06:53 “More great oldies than Uncle John’s Pancake House had pancakes!”

07:18 Robin/Henrietta (“Chevy Van”)

08:03 “Boy could I go for a Genny now!” :-)

08:16 First of multiple references to the Lilac Festival

08:38 Kevin/Chili (“Get A Job”)

09:08 Todd/Spencerport (“Come And Get Your Love”) — and reminiscing about Uncle John’s Pancake House (Pittsford)! :-)

11:04 Broadcasting from the corner of Broad Street and Clinton Avenue

11:42 Unidentified female/Ontario, Canada (“California Dreamin’”)

12:18 Clinton Avenue potholes, at long last, have been filled! (So I’ll no longer need to harp about it every week to Mayor Johnson!) Plus, special recognition to Barbara Snyder, of Irondequoit, for her recent letter to the editor, published in the Democrat and Chronicle, in which she described Clinton Avenue as having been subjected to an aerial bombing!

13:13 Ray/Conesus (“Runaround Sue”)

13:42 Doug (“Him Or Me — What’s It Gonna Be”)

13:53 Drove my MG to the Lilac Festival last weekend — where I overhead passersby talking about 99 BBF morning-show DJ “Alice B. Keister” ;-)

15:47 Dan/Leicester (“Foolish Little Girl”)

16:07 Empire Dragway and Letchworth State Park references

16:50 “Go ahead and bring your dogs to the Lilac Festival! ” — including references to fellow Rochester radio announcer Allan Harris and my dog, Dutch

18:01 Bob/Greece (“American Pie”)

18:05 Time for my cigar break! ;-)

19:02 Reference to fellow 99 BBF DJ Mike Vickers at AMF Olympic Lanes (Scottsville Road) tomorrow for Lowes Home Improvement Center’s first-annual safety show

19:26 Diane/Driving home to Palmyra (“Leader Of The Pack”)

20:18 Bob/Greece (“Celebrate”)

21:20 Unidentified male (doing time for bank robbery!)/Buffalo Federal Detention Facility (Batavia) (“Jailhouse Rock”)

22:13 Carrie Ann/Driving in Mendon (“Carrie-Anne”)

22:47 Gary/Working at U.S. Post Office (Henrietta) (“Sukiyaki” — dedication to wife, Anne Marie, at home, in Retsof, grading East Rochester school band papers)

23:17 Carl (“Someday We’ll Be Together” — dedication to wife, Kathy, working at The Beachcomber restaurant [Conesus])

23:50 Reference to fellow 99 BBF DJ Chuck McCoy

23:57 Jeff/Lakeville (“Ode To Billie Joe”)

24:23 Terry/Brockport (“Lady Willpower”) — “You gotta make your show longer — it’s too short!” :-)

All content (radio aircheck, audio podcast – all components, and show notes): © Michael J. Saffran

“The All-Request Rock ’n’ Roll Jukebox,” hosted by Mike Saffran, on “99 BBF”/WBBF-FM (98.9), Rochester, N.Y. Originally aired 7 p.m.–Midnight May 15, 1999.

Callers aired and other show highlights:

00:18 Reference to my headphones being too big due to a recent buzz cut! :-)

00:42 Tom/Canandaigua (“I Got You Babe” — dedication to Rita)

01:23 First of multiple references to the ongoing Lilac Festival (and “Kodak Town” mention)

02:01 Unidentified female (“Hawaii Five-O”)

02:22 Cliff/Driving on “The Youngmann” (I-290/Buffalo-Niagara Falls) (“Which Way You Goin’ Billy?”)

03:08 “Matchmaker Oldies Party” (with 99 BBF’s Mike Vickers) at Maxwell’s (Irondequoit bar) reference

03:48 First of multiple references to show-sponsor Shepard Ford (Canandaigua)

03:53 Christina/Geneseo (“In The Summertime”)

04:13 Burger King, Aunt Cookie’s Sub Shop and Inn Between bar (Geneseo) references

04:50 John/Gates (“For Your Love”)

05:24 Ellis B. Feaster weekday morning-show and Star Wars movie-tickets promotion plugs

05:56 Sarah (“La Bamba”)

06:20 Don (“Ruby Baby”)

06:39 Jill/Victor (“Happy Together”)

07:16 Senior Fair, May 18, at Irondequoit Mall reference

07:42 Rob/Krony’s Pizza (Churchville) (“In The Still Of The Nite”)

08:26 Avor (“This Diamond Ring”)

08:41 Good bartender (knows your drink before you ask for it)/Good DJ (recognizes your voice on the phone) analogy ;-)

09:52 Brian/Irondequoit (“Elusive Butterfly”)

10:21 Gary/Meigs Street (“Like A Rolling Stone”)

11:42 Laura/Fairport (“Crocodile Rock”)

12:11 Bobby/Irondequoit (“Twistin’ The Night Away”)

12:38 In search of the best Bloody Mary in Rochester: According to Bobby Rinck, he and friends found it, a couple years earlier, at Tut’s Villa (Buffalo Road, Gates; owned by Gary and Joey Nucci) (2024 update: Members of the Nucci family now run Nucci’s Italian Seafood & Steakhouse in Webster)

13:26 1999 Greater Rochester Soap Box Derby (June 5-6) plug

13:30 References to fellow 99 BBF DJs Bobby Hatfield and Nick Evans

14:24 Vera (“Sport”)/Williamson (“In My Life”)

15:41 ”Got the MG out today, so I was cruisin’ with the top down!” :-)

16:11 Tim/Spencerport (“Runaround Sue”) (Caller: “Not much is going on…” Host: “That sounds like Spencerport to me!” ;-)

16:47 Laura/Fairport (just calling in to talk about hair…)

16:59 Reference to fellow 99 BBF DJ Tom Noonan

17:17 Doug (“Me And You And A Dog Named Boo”)

18:28 Joe/Rochester (“Wildflower”)

18:57 Sue (with husband, Tom)/Brighton (“Under My Thumb”)

19:32 Denny/Sodus (“Shut Down”)

21:10 Jasmine/RIT (“Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie”)

21:50 Lou/Greece (around a campfire) (“You Are Everything”)

22:35 “We play more great oldies than Highland Park has lilacs … and than my yard has weeds!” :-)

22:47 Allison/RIT (“Brown Eyed Girl”)

23:23 Jeff/Fairport (“All I Have To Do Is Dream”)

24:20 Sherry/Holley (“The Lion Sleeps Tonight”) (“Terry?…Kerry?… Oh, Sherry!” It’s sometimes difficult to hear exact names on the studio speaker phone! ;-)

25:12 “Maybe see you tomorrow at the Lilac Festival…!”

25:33 Liz (“You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me”)

All content (radio aircheck, audio podcast – all components, and show notes): © Michael J. Saffran

“The All-Request Rock ’n’ Roll Jukebox,” hosted by Mike Saffran, on “99 BBF”/WBBF-FM (98.9), Rochester, N.Y. Originally aired 7 p.m.–Midnight May 8, 1999.

Callers aired and other show highlights:

00:44 Cheryl/Roberts Wesleyan College (“Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini”)

01:17 It was nice filling in on Friday, but “I really felt like a fish out of water last night!” ;-)

01:35 “Boy could I go for a Genny now!” :-)

02:07 Debbie (“Mrs. Robinson” — with apologies to Art Garfunkel!)

02:39 Peggy/Penfield (“Gimme Some Lovin’”)

03:33 Senior Fair, May 18, at Irondequoit Mall reference

04:00 Pam/Lyons (“American Pie”)

04:19 Tom/Canandaigua (“Hot Rod Lincoln”)

04:35 Note: It was highly unconventional to air two phone calls, for separate requests, back-to-back; thus, my guess, all these years later, is that I probably had intended to air the “Hot Rod Lincoln” request (and that likely was the song cued up). It’s possible I had just finished editing the “American Pie” request seconds earlier, but in the moment neglected to change the audio file (in VoxPro) back to the edited phone call from Tom in Canandaigua. I would’ve realized the mistake immediately, of course; but one thing I knew from experience was to just go with it (making it sound like I meant to do it that way — listeners would’ve been none the wiser). The worst thing to do would’ve been to highlight the error by saying something trite, such as “That wasn’t the caller I meant to put on the air!”

04:51 Tricia (“Ruby Tuesday”)

06:02 Chloe/Webster (“Do Wah Diddy Diddy” — dedication to granddaughter Caitlin)

06:48 Scott/Rochester (“Stormy”)

07:14 Jamie/Henrietta (“The Rain, The Park & Other Things” — dedication to mother for Mother’s Day tomorrow)

07:54 “Matchmaker Oldies Party” (with 99 BBF’s Nick Evans) at Maxwell’s (Irondequoit bar) reference

08:36 Michelle and Scott/Rochester (“My Cherie Amour”)

09:24 The City of Rochester is considering instituting evening and weekend parking fees for the city’s High Falls area; it should instead consider scaling back daytime parking charges in the neighborhood — plus, fix the Clinton Avenue potholes, Mayor Bill Johnson!

10:10 Doug (“Hawaii Five-O”)

11:37 Sarah (“Twistin’ The Night Away”)

12:08 Heather/Gates (“Red Rubber Ball” — dedication to mother, Shirley)

13:30 Joanna/Rochester (drinking gin and tonics on the porch!) (“Different Drum”)

14:04 Playing a “DJ’s Choice” (“Summertime”)

14:26 Bob/Henrietta (“Traces”)

15:36 Tracy (“Time Is Tight” and “Shotgun”)

15:45 “I’m going to rule out ‘Jingle Bells’ … I promise I’ll play that around Christmastime!” ;-)

16:33 Dan (“Crocodile Rock”)

17:11 Unidentified female (“It Don’t Come Easy”)

17:23 “I don’t know whether you were buttering me up when you first said about loving the station….” ;-)

18:50 Ralyssa/Rochester (“The Cheater”)

19:11 “I even saw the Big Daddy singing along with that one as he was coming towards the studio with his Windex bottle!” (Reference to “sister station” WBEE-FM DJ “Big Daddy” Dave Beck, who actually sometimes did clean the studio windows! ;-)

19:27 Gary/Meigs Street (“Hurdy Gurdy Man”)

20:17 Christina/Geneseo (“Peggy Sue”)

20:35 Inn Between (Geneseo bar) reference

20:46 Chicken wings “are pretty disgusting for the person watching you eating them!… When I started college, I didn’t go for the chicken wings, either. But, of course, after four years it was beer and chicken wings for dinner four nights a week! You know, when they cost five cents apiece, back then, not bad!” :-)

21:27 Robert (“Happy Together”)

21:52 Laura/Fairport (“Shout! Shout! Knock Yourself Out”)

22:54 Christina/Geneseo (“Cecilia”)

23:42 Unidentified female (“Rock And Roll Heaven” — dedication for husband on his birthday)

All con

“The Friday Night All-Request Party,” hosted by Mike Saffran, on “99 BBF”/WBBF-FM (98.9), Rochester, N.Y. Originally aired 7 p.m.–Midnight May 7, 1999. (Bonus podcast episode)

Special note: Filling in for Chuck McCoy on the “Friday Night All-Request Party” (thus, technically this isn’t a “Jukebox”; but the only differences were the use of an alternate background bed and no coin-into-slot sound effects before requests).

Callers aired and other show highlights:

00:23 Jerry/Clarkson (“The Rapper”)

01:36 Becky/Roberts Wesleyan College (“I Got You Babe” — dedication to college-roommate Cory)

01:57 “I didn’t know girls were named Cory — I just learned something!” ;-)

02:50 Frankie/Macedon (“My True Story”)

03:31 “Beatle Brunch” with Joe Johnson, Road Runner Online from Time Warner Communications and Hawley Motors (Batavia) (sponsors) references

04:10 Eileen/Ogden (“Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen”)

04:40 Bobby (with Peter) (“Twistin’ The Night Away”)

06:01 Mary/Rochester (“I Got You [I Feel Good]”)

06:36 Unidentified male/Buffalo (“Five O’Clock World”)

07:23 Monica/Penfield (“I Feel The Earth Move”)

07:32 “There’s only one person who can get away with saying ‘This is Monica’ … and we would assume which Monica it is, right?” ;-) (And that Monica — Monica Lewinsky — will be on SNL tomorrow night! ;-)

07:57 Doug (“Itchycoo Park”)

08:15 Working some extra hours for Bloody Mary money! :-)

09:08 Suggestion: Would Buffalo Bills training camp be better suited for RIT than St. John Fisher College? (Note: This was before training camp’s official move, about a year later, in 2000, from SUNY Fredonia to St. John Fisher; RIT had been another campus under consideration for training camp. My mea culpa, 25 years later: Training camp at Fisher turned out to be a huge success!)

10:03 Nancy/Gates (“Just One Look”)

10:38 Bill/Rochester (“Who Put The Bomp [In The Bomp-Sha-Bomp]”)

11:04 Churchville-Chili High School Spring Chorus Concert (featuring tribute to doo-wop) reference

11:35 Janet/Driving home to Bloomfield from Victor (“Mule Skinner Blues”)

12:06 Ray/Mendon (“Venus”)

12:32 Jamie/Henrietta (“Sugar, Sugar”)

13:26 Bob/Driving on I-390 (“Sea Cruise”)

14:01 “Enough about [President Bill] Clinton!” (after “Liar, Liar” ;-)

14:08 Kathy/Driving, with a friend, to The Brickyard Pub (Rochester) (“Different Drum”)

14:26 A real “full-service radio station”: Giving turn-by-turn driving directions to The Brickyard Pub (beware of all the potholes on Clinton Avenue that Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson won’t fix … then turn left at Geva Theatre and all the colorful signs! ;-)

16:00 Dave/LeRoy (“Needles And Pins”)

17:03 Kim (with Liz)/Driving home to Geneseo (“If You Wanna Be Happy”)

17:36 Tracy/Webster (“Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”)

18:55 Walt/Port Gibson (“Be-Bop-A-Lula”)

19:15 Laura/Fairport (“Long Cool Woman [In A Black Dress]”)

19:39 Diane/Greece (“Summer Rain”)

20:27 Bill/Marion (“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On”)

All content (radio aircheck, audio podcast – all components, and show notes): © Michael J. Saffran