WPKN Airing “The World’s Greatest Doo-Wop Radio Show”

WPKN Airing “The World’s Greatest Doo-Wop Radio Show”

WPKN, Bridgeport’s free-form, listener-supported radio station (89.5 FM and streaming at wpkn.org), is airing Miriam Linna and Mark Miller’s radio show “Crashing the Party,” dedicated to the doo-wop music of the 1950s. Doo-wop is group harmony music, originated on street corners in African-American communities, with strong melodic lines and limited instrumentation. 

The program, launched September 18, has been described as “the greatest doo-wop show in the world,” which makes it appropriate for what The New Yorker called “the greatest radio station in the world.” Episodes of “Crashing the Party” will air every first and third Wednesday of the month from 9 to 11 a.m.

“Crashing the Party” blows a hole into any preconceived notions about the music known as doo-wop,” the hosts opine. Marc and Miriam say they will be “airing rarities and obscurities from our respective collections of shellac in unscripted wild rides that are sure to surprise, amuse and excite the heck out of listeners.”

The hosts add, “The show pulls music from the soaring sounds of the 1940s to the wilder sounds of the early 1960s. It’s no nostalgia trip, and although uncommon and unknown records are the focus, there is also a celebration of the key records which impacted the rhythm and blues charts and forged a path into radio and the general population. The idea is to show off a largely misrepresented and misunderstood double-decade era that produced countless records on labels large and small, and which was a pivot point to many new sounds for many generations of vocal group fans.”

Living a life dedicated to the unsung heroes of rock ‘n’ roll, Miriam Linna is a founding member of the Cramps, co-founder with the late Billy Miller of Norton Records, publisher of Kicks Books and Kicks magazine. Marc Miller was inspired by Bill Nolan, host of WPKN’s former “Antique Blues” program. He became one of the world’s youngest doo-wop collectors, forging a creative path that included stints as DJ and music director of WBCN in Boston (at age 19), and DJ, assistant program director, and morning show producer at WXRK (K-Rock, New York), for which he is still doing penance.

“Crashing the Party” carries on the tradition of Carl J. Frano, who occupied the Wednesday slot for decades as a beloved WPKN DJ and programmer, sharing his passion for music and artists from the 1950s and 1960s. “Frano’s dedicated audience tuned in for his vast knowledge, warm spirit, and carefully curated selections,” says WPKN general manager, Valerie Richardson, who has been with the station in various roles since 1989.

Miriam Linna donning legendary 50s DJ Murray the K’s hat. (Marc Miller photo)

Mark Miller, publisher of Kicks Books and Kicks magazine, was inspired by WPKN’s Bill Nolan. (Miriam Linna photo)