Ring Of Fire
From Shaun Whynacht [shaun[at]bluecowcreative.ca], Blue Cow Creative, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada
When I was in radio broadcasting school back in 2000, I was working overnight shifts at a local country station in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia (AVR). The shift began at midnight and went to 6 am. As first year radio students, we were still very green on the air and I mean very green.
This was before digital music, so we would have to grab all the CDs from the library and plan out your hour from the printed play list. Some of the songs were still on CARTS. When I first started I was told to always keep the Johnny Cash – RING OF FIRE cart handy as I would need it. With the request seeming odd, I took the advice of the evening guy and kept it out, not knowing when I would need it.
As the night progressed and I proceeded with my show, wondering if anyone was listening through these wee hours of the night, the phone rang around 3:45 am. It was an elderly lady, asking to hear Ring of Fire... hmmmmm I thought, but took the request and played it.
The next shift I had, 3:45 came and the phone rang. It was the same lady and sure enough she wanted RING OF FIRE. Again I played it. On my third night, I was waiting for my dedicated caller to call in. Without fail, 3:45 came and the phone lit up, Ring of Fire it was. Not being able to contain my curiosity, I asked her why she calls at that time of night? She proceeded to tell me that she really enjoys listening to the evening shows because it’s when she gets to hear stuff that makes her laugh, referring to inexperienced radio students on the air. Adding that 3:45 is usually the time “we” start to get tired and have fun on the air. To this day I still tell this story as it stuck with me over the years.
