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WYSO's Sonic 60th: The Hot Mud Family

WYSO went on the air 60 years ago, and we’re celebrating by listening back to some highlights from our historic audio collection.

In the 1970s, local programs were flowering at WYSO. Antioch College students, WYSO staff members, and community volunteers collaborated to make programs then, as now. And live, local music was also a defining part of what made WYSO, WYSO. Here’s a recording of the Hot Mud Family – familiar to WYSO listeners and music lovers all over the country back then.

They had their start in the late 60s as folkies, but went deep into bluegrass and old time music as well. Here they are in 1974: Suzanne and Dave Edmundson, and Rick Good with guest fiddlers Van Kidwell and Greg Dearth.

The recording engineered by Randy Thom, who went on to become the head of sound design for LucasFilm and Skywalker Sound in California with – so far – two Academy Awards and 15 nominations.You can record a birthday greeting for WYSO.  Here's how:

Plan a message about 90 seconds long.  You can start it like this:

Hi, my name is _______________ and I’m from ________________.  I’ve been listening to WYSO since_______________ and  (pick one): 

  • My favorite memory of WYSO is_________________
  • I hope WYSO never loses its ______________________
  • The funniest thing I ever heard on WYSO is _______________________
  • Listening to WYSO has been important to me over the years because_____________________.
  • WYSO is different from other radio stations because_________________.

…or craft your own message.

Record this on the voice memo app on your phone.  Send that to: wyso@wyso.org

OR  if you don’t want to use a voice memo app on your smart phone, call this number and record your message.  937-769-1374.

 

Copyright 2021 WYSO. To see more, visit WYSO.

Neenah Ellis is the general manager at WYSO. She began her radio career in high school, working at her parents’ commercial radio station in Valparaiso, Indiana. She came to WYSO in 2009 after 30 years as a radio documentary producer in Washington, D.C. She’ s been a producer for “ All Things Considered” at NPR and has won three Peabody Awards, broadcasting’ s highest honor, for her work. She is also the author of “ If I Live to be 100: Lessons from the Centenarians,” which is based on her radio series about people 100 years of age.
Jocelyn Robinson is a Yellow Springs, OH-based educator, independent media producer, and radio preservationist.