University of Virginia Library

WCHV Initiates
Blues And Rock

By Don Smith

Before last September, no one
ever imagined being able to turn on
one of the local radio stations to
hear good blues and progressive
rock, yet for the past six months,
Charlottesville's nighttime airways
have been filled with some of
today's best music. The initiator of
this local radio revolution is disc jockey
Joe Marshall, a twenty-three
year old former University student.

Marshall, aided by a forwarding
looking administration at WCHV,
began his nightly chores in early
September of the current school
year. Although constantly hindered
by a small record collection, he
managed to program an enjoyable
show which, despite limitations, did
not have the monotonous day-to-day
sound of Top-40 radio. In the
early days of the show, current hits
were mixed with well known underground
groups (such as Cream), but
Marshall's imagination led him
further. As the weeks flew by, he
played fewer and fewer of the
worn-out singles and concentrated
on album rock. At times he would
treat the listeners to original singles
from his Elmore James collection,
or he would take his radio audience
back to the roots of today's blues.

Marshall got his radio start at
student-operated WUVA, Charlottesville's
most progressive station.
For most people, unfortunately,
WUVA is little more than a
name, for the radio station is quite
limited in its range due to FCC
regulations. While still with WUVA,
Marshall did part-time work at
WCHV, running a Sunday morning
jazz show. It was not until last
summer that he joined the young
staff on Rose Hill Drive on a
full-time basis.

Now the nighttime Joe Marshall
Show is gone. Vacancies have
forced the program director to
relocate Marshall in an afternoon
easy-listening slot. His good taste
still manages to shine through as he
combines Mose Allison and Blood
Sweat and Tears for an audience
more familiar with Jack Jones, but
he is sorely missed by the evening
listeners. His various replacements
have tried to retain the freshness of
the Marshall Show, but lack both
the musical taste and the knowledge
possessed by him. Marshall
knew his music and played it for a
discerning audience.

Hopefully WCHV will not abandon
their progressive efforts, but
already an uneasy feeling accompanies
the nighttime slot. Could
WCHV be planning to drop the
experimental format? If they do,
Charlottesville radio will suffer a
great loss and return once again to
those dark days of monotony which
existed before Joe Marshall.