MP3:
Tour Guide "Reggie" Presents A Tour Of Chicago (45:41)
A decade ago I received this recording in the mail from Bob Nelson, who recorded Reggie on a trolley tour of the Windy City. For a large majority of the 1990s we had a great tape exchange going. The internet arrived and slowly the pastime of waiting for a package in the mailbox and the art of the mixtape transformed into instant gratification and audio files. Not saying either/or is good or bad. There was just a time and a place for fond memories of tape trades (and speaking of the mailbox... anticipating the next issue of Factsheet 5 to be delivered).
And now, let's take that tour of Chicago!
- Contributed by: Otis Fodder (by way of Bob Nelson)
Media: Cassette
Date: 1998
Your date is off on this fine tape. Reggie notes that Harry Caray is recently dead, and he died in February 1998. And since later he points out a shop selling souvenirs of the Bulls' 6th championship, this can't have been recorded before mid-June of 1998. June or July 1998 would be my guess.
Posted by: Mark | June 11, 2007 at 09:55 AM
When I spoke with Bob the other evening he mentioned it must have been 1997 or 1998, I went with 97 and had not listened to this all the way through for years - thanks mark for the date.
Posted by: 365 | June 11, 2007 at 01:12 PM
I had this same job in Philadelphia, our tours were 80-90 minutes long depending on traffic. It was hell sometimes, especially on those 95 degree days "open air." Let's face it, these aren't trolleys but buses...
I had quite the routine going by the time I was fired after 7 written (and many more phoned) complaints. The highlight of the 8 months or so was getting Ben Franklin impersonator Ralph Archibald to give us all the finger. Good times... in retrospect.
Posted by: Chris R. | June 11, 2007 at 08:21 PM
hi--Bob Nelson here! Thanks to Otis for posting my tape. I have
the original tape right here. The trolley tour was on side B
and is labeled "A tour of Chicago 6/17/98". What was on the
A-side? "Red Sox at White Sox WMVP AM 1000, 6/16/98". I went to the game and taped it while there...so it is indeed 1998. When I
talked to Otis I couldn't recall the exact year (my only trips
to Chi were in '97 and '98) but now I've retrieved the tape
so we know for sure!
Posted by: raccoonradio | June 13, 2007 at 07:22 PM
oh I almost forgot: a few years after this, I did a "salute to
Chicago" on the Juke Joint, my long running blues show on
WMWM/Salem MA. I played excerpts from this tour as well as
relevant Chicago artists and songs. To the bluesmobile...
"It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it."
Posted by: raccoonradio | June 13, 2007 at 07:29 PM