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When:  Weekdays during the Noon Hour

Where: 92.1 WGHN and the Grand Haven Radio App

Why: Because

 

Veteran WGHN personality Jesse Bruce hosts LUNCHTIME AT THE LAGUNA weekdays for an all-out 80’s musical celebration, presented by Culver’s Grand Haven.  The 80’s was an eclectic era in pop music and this show takes you back to the time of big hair and neon everywhere.

Jesse’s Daily 80’s

(Lunchtime At The Laguna Bonus Content)

(PONTIAC)-They swung the "Hammer Of The Gods" before a mighty horde. April 30, 1977, saw Led Zeppelin, at this point at the absolute apex of their power, rumble and pillage their way to Metro-Detroit for a concert promoting their latest album, Presence. Attendance for the gig was 76,229 in the Pontiac Silverd...
Jesse Bruce Apr 30, 2024
(DETROIT)-The NFL Draft is coming to Detroit this week on the 35th anniversary of the selection of arguably the greatest player in Lions history. On April 23rd, 1989, Barry Sanders became the third overall pick by the Motor City Kitties. The Oklahoma State Cowboy would earn many awards, including Offensive Rookie of th...
Jesse Bruce Apr 23, 2024
Hello Listeners! This week, "Lunchtime @ The Laguna" proudly began a partnership with our new title sponsor, Culver's of Grand Haven. Angela Taylor and the good folks at Culver's have a long-standing relationship with the WGHN Family of stations. Whether sponsoring community events, participating in our auct...
Jesse Bruce Oct 05, 2023
Hello Radio Rangers, This picture was taken on New Year's Eve 2019. My wife had passed three months earlier and that night would have been our fifth wedding anniversary. We were broadcasting from the ball drop in downtown Grand Haven. I was not in the right headspace and should not have been there. I got through the e...
Jesse Bruce Sep 26, 2023
Longtime no talk, Laguna Lunchers! At the end of today's show, I played "In The Mood" from Robert Plant's 1983 album The Principle Of Moments. As I was "back selling" the song, I mentioned Plant, although a lifelong music fan with incredible talent, did not set out to be a singer. The man who would ...
Jesse Bruce Jul 11, 2023
Greetings, Laguna Lunchers! During the show, I will often reference MTV and its importance for the kids of the 1980s. So influential was this television network; I remember the day it arrived on Smith's Bayou. Early in the decade, my brother had mounted several unsuccessful campaigns to get my dad to spring for cable T...
Jesse Bruce Jun 22, 2023
Hello Laguna Patrons! I mentioned on the show that the album Synchronicity by The Police is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this week. The final record from this prominent trio of the 1980s would sell over 10 million copies, earn numerous awards (including two Grammys), and is enshrined in the National Recording Regis...
Jesse Bruce Jun 20, 2023
Hello Friends, At the outset, I thank you so much for your birthday greetings! During today's Lunchtime At The Laguna, I discussed how more of WGHN listener Jeff Reyer's handiwork is now appearing on World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) television. As posted on wghn.com last month, Jeff, aka "The Leatherman," ...
Jesse Bruce Jun 13, 2023
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Thursday, June 1st, 2023

Greetings, Teenage Thrillseekers,

At the close of today’s Lunchtime At The Laguna, I played the song that made Robert Palmer successful. Note I did not say popular; I said successful. The song is “Johnny & Mary” from the album Clues.

When most of us think of Robert Palmer, we think of the impeccably dressed rock/soul crooner with a cigarette and a bevy of supermodels miming instrumentation behind him. The “Addicted To Love / Simply Irresistible” era, but there was a Robert Palmer before that.

Starting in the 60s, Palmer played various music genres with slight to moderate success before scoring a hit in 1979 with “Bad Case Of Lovin’ You.”

The following year, he released the LP Clues, and its second single was a quirky, upbeat, self-penned, synth-driven tune called “Johnny & Mary.”  

While the song did not make much of a ding on the charts, it got the attention of an executive at Renault. He thought the tune would fit the car company well in their upcoming ad campaign.

The French Motorworks reached out to Palmer and pitched the idea. He liked it and signed a licensing deal. The money from the pact made the then-31-year-old singer extremely wealthy. The checks kept rolling in as the song was used in numerous car commercials worldwide into the early 90s.

In five years, Palmer would hit big with the album Riptide (the nest for “Addicted To Love”) and a stint in 80s supergroup The Power Station, best known for “Some Like It Hot” and a turned-up version of T Rex’s “Bang A Gong.”

His career would rise and plateau, with chart success and radio play eluding him, Palmer could still draw a crowd on the road.

He died in Paris in 2003 at 54, suffering a heart attack while working on a documentary about his life.

While “Addicted To Love” is his signature song, and it will be forever cool, “Johnny & Mary” gave Robert Palmer the foundation and stability to go forward and find those supermodels.

Wednesday, May 31st, 2023

Hello!

At “Lunchtime” today, I mentioned how this is a significant day in the history of 80’s cinema, the 38th anniversary of the release of Fletch!  Chevy Chase was huge in 1985, landing three films in the top 10 for box office returns.  Besides his portrayal of Irwin Fletcher, he would co-star with Saturday Night Live alum Dan Akroyd in Spies Like Us and make his second appearance as Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s European Vacation.

Fletch is Chevy in complete control of his comedic abilities.  Be it the well-orchestrated bumbling, bizarre impressions, or deadpan delivery of punchlines, Fletch is part of what made 80’s movies timeless.

Have some Fletch on “The Underhills.”

jb

Tuesday, May 30th, 2023

Hello folks,

If you were listening to “Lunchtime @ The Laguna” today, you heard me speak of the passing of our friend Paul Withun.  There is a further story in the newsroom section of the website.  The song I played in tribute to him was Night Ranger’s version of the Don Henley classic “The Boys Of Summer.”  This version appears on the album 24 Strings & A Drummer.  I did a little digging and found a version on Youtube.

As I said today, I like to think Paul & Leslie are tearing across infinity in that ’69 Chevelle and this is the soundtrack.

jb

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