The Request Line

Thanks so much to Tom Taylor for printing this in his newsletter this morning...

Urgent call on the request line – John Records Landecker wasn’t always in Chicago, you know – here’s a story from the new Hall of Fame edition of his book “Records Truly Is My Middle Name,” cherry-picked by Eckhartz Press publisher Rick Kaempfer in an email to this NOW Newsletter. Here’s Landecker (somewhat edited here) – “I was working nights at WIBG in Philadelphia, when I received a message from a 19-year-old kid working at WWDB, then a jazz station. He was interested in the top 40 format and wanted to know if he could come in and watch the show. I’ll pick up the story in his words from Facebook – ‘You were doing your show, making jokes and taking requests on a speakerphone. All of a sudden, a woman called. She said she loved you and your show. She wanted you to know she was very upset and was going to kill herself. You told her to hold on. You talked to an engineer or somebody and told them to get the police and trace the call. Meanwhile every time a record played you went back on the speaker phone and spoke very softly and kindly to her. You tried to find out her location. She wouldn't tell you anything. It was nerve-wracking for me, and I still don't know how you managed to do the show and keep her on the line...Finally she said, ‘That’s it. I’m done. I’m going to take the rest of these pills and kill myself.’ A loud crashing sound came over the speaker phone, and lots of chatter and mayhem. Moments later a man’s voice came through the phone. ‘Mr. Landecker, this is Sergeant (something or other). We have her. She is going to be okay.’ I never saw a happier face before or since as the look on your face. And then boom, you were back on the as though nothing had happened.” Landecker says “That’s pretty much how I remembered it too, but who would believe it? And what about that 19-year-old? His name is Bobby Backman, better known to his listeners as Cool Bobby B, the host of the Doo Wop Shop on Sirius/XM.” Ready to share your own favorite story about the request line, or meeting a listener at a remote? Email “You Can’t Make This Up” – Tom@RTK-Media.com.