Theme Time Radio Hour
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| Genre | Music show |
|---|---|
| Running time | 1 hour per episode, weekly |
| Country |  United States |
| Home station | Deep Tracks XM 40 SIRIUS 16 DirecTV 840 |
| Syndicates | BBC Radio 2 BBC 6 Music Phantom FM |
| Starring | Bob Dylan Ellen Barkin (announcer) Pierre Mancini (announcer) |
| Creators | Bob Dylan Eddie Gorodetsky |
| Writers | Eddie Gorodetsky |
| Executive producers | Eddie Gorodetsky |
| Air dates | May 3, 2006 to April 15, 2009 |
| No. of episodes | 100 |
| Website | http://www.xmradio.com/bobdylan/ |
Theme Time Radio Hour (TTRH) was a one-hour long radio show hosted by Bob Dylan. Each episode was an eclectic, freeform brew of blues, folk, rockabilly, R&B, soul, bebop, rock-and-roll, country and pop music, centered around a "theme," with songs from artists as diverse as Patti Page and LL Cool J.
Interspersed between the music segments were email readings; phone calls; vintage radio air checks, promos, and jingles; "def poet" poetry recitations; taped commentary from a variety of celebrities, musicians and comedians; and commentary from Bob Dylan on the music and musicians, as well as other miscellanea related to the themes.
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[edit] Broadcast history
The first episode of TTRH was broadcast on May 3, 2006 on the Deep Tracks channel of XM Satellite Radio, a subscription-based satellite radio service, now called Sirius XM Radio after its purchase and merger with competitor Sirius Satellite Radio. TTRH was originally broadcast every Wednesday at 10:00 am ET on Deep Tracks, with several "encore" repeats throughout the week on various channels, including an all-day airing on what was XMX Channel 2.
On November 12, 2008, Sirius XM revised its channel lineup, providing Sirius and XM listeners with access to programming on both networks. As of that date, TTRH began airing every Wednesday at 11 am ET on Deep Tracks - Channel 40 on XM and Channel 16 on SIRIUS.
Several channels on both stations were discontinued, including XMX Channel 2, which had aired TTRH all day on Wednesdays. According to the SIRIUS and XM Radio sites, encore presentations of TTRH air on Mondays 8 pm ET, Thursdays 12 am ET, and Sundays 8 am ET on Deep Tracks Channel 16 of SIRIUS and Channel 40 of XM Radio. Additional weekly encore shows air Wednesdays at 12 noon ET and Mondays at 12 midnight on XM Channel 15, The Village.[1].
Beginning February 8, 2009, The Spectrum (Sirius Channel 18 and XM Channel 45) began airing repeats of the program in a four-hour block each Sunday from 4-8 pm ET. Each block begins and ends with an encore of the most recent TTRH episode from the previous Wednesday, with two older episodes aired in between.[2]
DirecTV subscribers can also hear the show on the Deep Tracks simulcast on channel 840.[3]
From 2006 through 2008 AOL Radio offered the show on "AOL Radio featuring XM," a selection of 200 XM radio stations that was available to those with an AOL login and a broadband internet connection. In March 2008, XM Radio and America Online announced that they were ending that relationship "by mutual agreement" After April 30, 2008 the XM Radio channels were no longer available on AOL Radio.[4]
In 2007 the program also began airing in the United Kingdom on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, and in Ireland on Dublin-based alternative rock station Phantom FM.
Season 3 of TTRH concluded with the show's 100th original episode on April 15, 2009. The theme of that show was "Goodbye."[5] During an April 2009 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Dylan implied that his contract with Sirius XM had ended, and he was uncertain that he wanted to do additional episodes of TTRH. Sirius XM has to date made no official announcement about the show's future.
[edit] Seasons and episode lists
Season 1 of TTRH consisted of fifty episodes, airing from May 3, 2006 to April 18, 2007. For the show's first anniversary, XM aired every episode back-to-back on Memorial Day weekend, 2007.[6]
Season 2 of TTRH ran from September 19, 2007 to April 2, 2008 for a total 25 new shows. Three Season 2 shows, "Halloween," "Leftovers" (Thanksgiving) and the "Christmas/New Year's Special" were repeats from Season 1. [7]
Season 3 of TTRH ran from Wednesday, October 8, 2008, to Wednesday, April 15, 2009 for a total 25 new shows. Three Season 3 episodes, "President's Day," "Christmas/New Year's Special," and "Number One" were repeats from earlier seasons. [8]
[edit] Intro and Closing credits
Although uncredited in the closing credits, actress Ellen Barkin read the opening "Night/Night time in the Big City" introduction for each episode during the first two seasons of the show, with the exception of the Season One Halloween episode. The "Big City" intro was used intermittently during Season Three.
The production credits were customarily read at the end of each show. The customary theme music played under the closing credits is "Top Cat (Underscore)" which can be found on the CD compilation Tunes from the Toons: The Best of Hanna-Barbera, issued in 1996 and reissued in 2002. The music is an acoustic version of the theme song from the cartoon Top Cat.
- Host: Bob Dylan
- Producer: Eddie Gorodetsky
- Associate Producer: Season 1 - Sonny Webster. Season 2 - Ben Rollins. Season 3 - Nina Fitzgerald
- Continuity: "Eats" (spelling unknown) Martin
- Editor: Damian Rodriguez
- Supervising Editor: Rob Macomber
- Research Team: Diane Lapson, Bernie Bernstein
- Additional Research: Season 1 - Lynne Sheridan, Kimberly Williams, Robert Bower. Seasons 2 and 3 - April Hayes, Callie Gladman, Terrence Michaels, Sean Patrick, and Lynne Sheridan
- Librarian: Seasons 2 and 3 - Robert Bower
- Production Coordinator: Seasons 2 and 3 - Debbie Sweeney
- Production Assistance: Jim McBean
- Special Thanks to: Randy Ezratty, Coco Shinomiya, Samson's Diner and Lee Abrams (Season 3)
- Studio Engineer: Tex Carbone (changed to Director of Studio Operations midway through Season 2 and continuing through Season 3)
- For XM Radio: Lee Abrams (Seasons 1 and 2)
- Location: Announced as "Recorded in Studio B, the Abernathy Building" — a fictitious location.[9] (Season 2 modified this to "Recorded in Studio B, in the historic Abernathy Building." Season 3 had several variations including "take the tour," "crown jewel of the city skyline," and "on the 8th floor")
- A Greywater Park Production in Association with Big Red Tree
- Announcer: "Pierre Mancini" (suspected to be the voice of Producer Eddie Gorodetsky)
[edit] Reception and reviews
"To listen to 'Theme Time Radio Hour' is to rediscover the sense of musical adventure that old-fashioned disc jockeys with strongly individual personalities offered in the days before big-money stations pinned their fiscal hopes to the rigid Top 40-style playlists that took the fun out of radio."- Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal [10]
"He's voluble, generous, articulate. He's liable to quote a poem, give tips on hanging drywall, pass along a recipe. In his show on baseball, he broke into Take Me Out to the Ball Game -- a cappella." - Linton Weeks, The Washington Post [11]
[edit] References
- ^ XM Satellite Radio
- ^ SIRIUS XM Expands Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour
- ^ DIRECTV - XM Satellite Radio
- ^ http://www.xmradio.com/aolradio/faqs.xmc
- ^ David Hinckley (2009-04-19). "Bob Dylan's 'Theme Time Radio Hour': His time might be up". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/04/20/2009-04-20_bob_dylans_theme_time_radio_hour_his_time_might_be_up.html.
- ^ http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070418/clw047.html?.v=89
- ^ XM Program Guide
- ^ XM Program Guide
- ^ "He typically records from home or on tour, XM says, even though an announcer says the show is recorded in 'Studio B of the Abernathy Building,' to lend it a vintage aura." "It's All Right, Ma: Bob Dylan Turns D.J.," New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/arts/music/30play.html?_r=1&oref=slogin .
- ^ "Bob Dylan's Day Job: A '60s troubadour turns postmodern disc jockey" in Sightings by Terry Teachout, W14, June 21-22, 2008, The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "On XM Radio's 'Theme Time,' Freewheelin' Dylan Calls the Tune" by Linton Weeks, Sunday, October 7, 2007; Page M03 The Washington Post.
[edit] External links
- Theme Time Radio Hour XM Radio's official Theme Time Radio Hour web site
- History of Theme Time Radio Hour Blog by Lee Abrams (XM Radio VP) who had the original idea for a Bob Dylan radio show.
- BBC6 Music: Theme Time site
- The Dreamtime Podcast Commentary on Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour
- * T H E M E * T I M E * The playlists (including release dates) of the tracks Bob Dylan chose to present, as well as the lyrics to some of the songs
- Annotated Theme Time Radio Hour Annotated Theme Time Radio Hour page from the Bob Dylan Fan Club website
- DylanRadio.com Internet webcast that airs old episodes of Theme Time Radio Hour twice daily among other content related to Bob Dylan.
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