***A note to air check traders. Please do not record these air checks and try and trade. I have the original tapes many of which I recorded myself and thus the authenticity can not be in doubt and can be easily traced.

This is an amazing encapsulation of the entire counter culture vibe which permeated the best free form radio stations in the US. You will hear a announcement for an anti war demonstration. A newscast covering the anti war movement by “news dissector” Danny Schechter. A song lampooning Spiro Agnew.

A wonderfully diverse set of music is played including a few  hits and some obscurities. Blues, Folk, Jugband and psychedelic rock are all in the mix. WBCN was known to play alternate and early versions of songs ( remember the never released Get Back album by the Beatles) and on this clip they play an early unreleased version of Dead Flowers by the Stones. Some fascinating commercials are featured as well. The clip dates from April, 1971 and the DJ is Jim Parry I believe.  Corrections welcome.

The thing I miss about commercial free form is the fact that you were exposed to such a great variety of music and it was often presented by people who had extensive musical knowledge and that’s certainly the case with this BCN clip.

Much more to come from WBCN FM so watch this space. In the meantime enjoy this clip and the others that have been uploaded.

The clip below is not the Stones but it is a great version of Dead Flowers and was played on FM radio.