etaoin! re: Bloopers

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T_Bone0806
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etaoin! re: Bloopers

#1 Post by T_Bone0806 » Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:13 am

I didn't see your question last night asking if I had any memorable bloopers during my radio days. Believe me, I had my share of mistakes, but the one that always sticks out in my mind was from before I went "pro"..when I was doing my "countdown" show on my college radio station. A weekly feature of the show was when I would take a pause in the countdown of our station's Top 20 requested songs to see what was #1 in other countries according to that week's issue of Billboard Magazine. One of the challenges of that was in finding different ways to identify each #1..it gets pretty boring to say "#1 in England is ----, #1 in France is --, #1 in Germany is----", and so on..you wanna mix it up by saying stuff like "the most popular song in Germany is ---, --- is at the top spot in Japan with ----", etc. My best bud, roommate, and drummer in our band, was my co-host. Anyway, I'm running down the different #1's from other countries, feeling oh so clever about the many variations of "#1" I was coming up with, when I got to Italy. Frankie Valli had a huge hit at that time in many countries with the title track from a very popular movie. I swear to you I was not cognizant of the implications of what I was saying when I uttered---

"..and Frankie Valli is holding down the big one in Italy with 'Grease'".

It was just the perfect yet unfortunate blending of ethnic stereotyping (Italy-grease..even being Italian it STILL never crossed my mind) and sexual entendre. And y'know, it didn't even hit me what I'd said until I saw my co-host doubled over in laughter..THEN it dawned on me..and I started laughing. Helpless laughter. Steve was no help at all, as he was not breathing. I somehow got us into the next song while we recovered, but not after a good minute (in radio, that's a lifetime of dead air) of nothing but two guys trying desperately to draw a breath.

I can't recall anything else to match that one..certainly I made my share of boo-boos in 10 years on the air as a pro, and a few ill-advised wisecracks that I regretted as soon as they left my mouth, but nothing that stands out as much as that innocent remark made by a guy that was just trying not to be redundant.
"#$%&@*&"-Donald F. Duck

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