April 29th is WMMR’s birthday, and this year we’re celebrating 55 years in Philadelphia. We’ll be playing birthday blocks all throughout the weekend, and Pierre kicked off the party today with a special selection of MMaRchive cuts.
Whether you’ve been on this long, strange trip with us since 1968, or just began listening last week, THANK YOU for being part of our crazy family!
RELATED: WMMR’s Philly Roots
Note: All ‘Live from the MMaRchives’ clips below originally aired in 2018 for WMMR’s 50th birthday celebration.
Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London
In this unique version of “Werewolves of London”, Warren Zevon alters the lyrics to “Werewolves of Bryn Mawr”, much to the delight of his audience. This adjustment was a reference to the Main Point, where WMMR was broadcasting the show live on June 20th, 1976. This was the beginning of a long relationship between MMR and Zevon. In the 80s he was a frequent guest of the Morning Zoo, a Philly resident for a stretch of time, and he later performed at the station’s 25th Birthday Show.
Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now
This is one of our most recent additions to the MMaRchives, when Tiffany performed live on the Preston & Steve Show last month.
Live - Pain Lies on the Riverside
This MMaRchive Session was done in April of 1992 with the band Live. In this cut we hear Bubba John Stevens introducing the band. At that time Bubba John helmed the afternoon drive, along with Mark the Shark. Live had released Mental Jewelry a few months prior; “Pain Lies On The Riverside” is the lead track on that album.
Corey Taylor - You Got Lucky
We’ve spoken with Corey Taylor many times on MMR, talking about his various musical projects (Slipknot, Stone Sour) and books (he’s published four so far), but this is the only time he brought a guitar with him to our studios. Jaxon hosted the MMaRchive Session on May 4th, 2011, and later that evening Stone Sour performed at the Electric Factory. This archive cut is Corey’s take on Tom Petty’s “You Got Lucky”, and as part of the session he also played the Stone Sour song “Hesitate”.
Metallica - Seek and Destroy
Jaxon and Sara were on stage at the Linc on May 12th, 2017 to welcome the massive crowd that had gathered for Metallica. Check out this recap of the gig, and look for MMR around the 1:48 mark!
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Pride and Joy
Ripley Music Hall was the place to be on South Street in the 80s. The club, run by promoter-turned-restaurateur Stephen Starr, hosted acts of all genres, including blues rocker Stevie Ray Vaughan on October 20th, 1983. MMR’s morning host at the time was John DeBella, and you’ll hear him introduce SRV & Double Trouble in this MMaRchive cut.
Barenaked Ladies - If I Had a Million Dollars
Planet M was a specialty show on WMMR that was hosted by Matt Cord. It started on Saturday nights, but eventually became a part of the evening show every weeknight. This was the first commercial radio show in Philly to play a long list of alternative acts like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Green Day. It was on the air from about 1990-95. Sometime in 1992, Barenaked Ladies stopped by for a fun performance at MMR’s studios, then located at 5th and Market, and one of the songs they treated us to was “If I Had A Million Dollars”.
Pete Townshend - Pinball Wizard
Pete Townshend of The Who played the Tower Theater as part of the Psychoderelict Tour in the summer of 1993. He was supposed to visit John DeBella’s show on MMR that afternoon, but had been running late, so instead he came to the studio after the concert at the Tower. The interview lasted until almost 2am. Debella and Townshend met again in 2016 while The Who were doing their Quadrophenia tour; Townshend told him it that the conversation from ‘93 was the best interview he was ever a part of! This version of “Pinball Wizard” begins with Townshend talking about why he loves this song – and the reason might surprise you…
The Who - I Can't Explain
July 7th, 2000 was an exciting night for WMMR as we were broadcasting live from the Who concert in Camden, then called the E-Center. We weren’t just broadcasting from the parking lot and talking to fans – Pierre was actually side stage, and listeners everywhere could hear the Who fire into “I Can’t Explain”.
The Struts - Could Have Been Me
The Struts are now good friends of WMMR, having been on Pierre’s show for a chat, doing a Pierre Presents session, performing at MMRBQ 2017 and 2021… the list goes on. This track comes from one of our first encounters with this band. They sat in with the Preston & Steve show on September 3rd, 2015, and delivered a take on “Could Have Been Me” that allowed Luke Spiller’s voice and charisma to truly shine. He won us over when he changed some of the lyrics on the fly to incorporate WMMR into the song (not that we weren’t impressed to begin with!).
Sublime with Rome - Wrong Way
In the summer of 2015 Pierre had a conversation with Bud, Josh and Rome of Sublime With Rome before their gig at The Hemp Heals Music Festival at the Festival Pier. They played a few songs and talked about their then-new album Sirens, a generation of Sublime fans that were not able to see the band before the passing of Brad, and carrying on the music of Sublime.
George Thorogood - No Particular Place to Go
This is one of the earliest pieces from the vaults of MMR. The station broadcast George Thorogood’s entire show at the Bijou Cafe on April 9th, 1978. Among the songs played was a cover of the Chuck Berry tune “No Particular Place to Go”.
Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive
This version of “Wanted Dead Or Alive” comes from Pierre’s very first conversation with Bon Jovi, on October 14th, 2002. Before they go into the song, you’ll hear Bon Jovi give a big thanks to WMMR and to Pierre!
Bruce Springsteen - Wings for Wheels (Thunder Road)
Five months before Born To Run was released and they were catapulted into the highest ranks of rock n’ roll, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band performed at the intimate Main Point on Lancaster Avenue in Bryn Mawr, PA. WMMR carried the show live on February 5th, 1975. It was hosted by Ed Sciaky, who accurately predicted in his introduction that Bruce would go on after this show “to conquer America and the world”. The song “Wings For Wheels” was still a work in progress at this point; it would eventually be known as “Thunder Road”. This early version was a highlight of this historical live broadcast. Today it served as Pierre’s Vinyl Cut.
John Mellencamp - Pink Houses
John Cougar Mellencamp recorded an MMaRchive Session with Pierre Robert on September 26th, 1991, at MMR’s studios at Rittenhouse Square. The session included Mellencamp plus two players in his band: Mike Wanchic (his longtime collaborator) and Kenny Aronoff (his drummer at the time, who has also worked with John Fogerty, Cinderella, Chickenfoot). A small crowd had gathered in the lobby in hopes of catching a glimpse of Mellencamp. An excited kid named Chris stood out to Pierre – turns out he was a megafan! After OK-ing it with the band, Pierre invited him into the studio, and he was overwhelmed with joy. See a photo here.
The Go-Go's - We Got The Beat
The Go-Go’s made history in the early 80s as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts. On August 31st, 1981, the band played a show at Emerald City in Cherry Hill, NJ, which was broadcast on Michael Tearson’s Gorilla Theater show and hosted by overnight DJ Tom Robinson, aka Nighthawk. The Go-Go’s debut album, Beauty And The Beat, had just come out a few months prior, and “We Got The Beat” was the song of the summer. This version comes from the vinyl release of MMR’s broadcast, so if you hear a few crackles and pops, it’s not your speakers – it’s the bona fide LP experience! See photos here.
Mack, Myers & Moore - Fat Bottomed Girls
This recording features Zach Myers of Shinedown, along with JR Moore & Zack Mack, together known as Mack, Myers & Moore. They did a show at Grape Room on March 8th, 2017, and after their set they joined Brent Porche in the MMR studios to perform live on his overnight show. Our favorite moment from this visit is when they covered ‘Fat Bottoms Girls’ acoustically, referring to it as their ‘bluegrass version’ of Queen.
The Beatles - Birthday
Okay, this isn’t from our MMaRchives, but we couldn’t do a birthday block without this iconic song!
