280. “Put Your Hands on the Radio”

March 11, 2011

Q: Many years ago there was a very short radio bit spoofing some sort of radio
preacher. I vaguely remember the voice saying something like this; “Put your hands on the radio!” An electrical buzz/shocking sound followed with the voice asking if the listener could feel the “power” of his words. Very funny bit. Cant for the life of me recall if it was NL or another
source.

A: V. Collum Rogers says in the comments that this was from a cut called “The Gospel” on the 1973 Reprise LP “Sold for Prevention of Disease Only” by Wilderness Road, a comedy-rock-blues foursome from Chicago led by Warren Leming and Nate Herman. Dave Meredith, also in the comments, notes that Herman also wrote and performed the song “You Don’t Have to Look at Pictures on the Radio” which used as the intro music to National Lampoon Radio Hour during the O’Donoghue era. More info in the comments below.

Comments

Pretty sure that this is not from the NLRH - maybe Firesign Theater?

—Dave Meredith

March 12, 2011 4:26 pm

When it comes to the Radio Hour, if anyone would know, you would, Dave. Thanks for chiming in. I agree, it does sound more like Firesign. Except for a couple of albums, I'm not that familiar with their work, though, so I can't confirm.

—Mark

March 12, 2011 7:13 pm

Yes, the preacher/radio listener interaction angle sounds a little bit like the first 10 minutes or so of Firesign Theatre's "Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers." In any case, the album's still well worth a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_MEpww2MHA

—Dell

March 13, 2011 11:38 pm

I do like some of their stuff, but I couldn't get through this clip. The sound was awful, bouncing back and forth between my left and right speakers every couple seconds. Really annoying. Was it really that way on the record? Anyway, if anyone could confirm this, that'd be great.

—Mark

March 14, 2011 9:34 am

Sorry about that, Mark. The guy who uploaded that couldn't keep his hand off the "balance" knob. It's not supposed to sound like that. However, there really are 2 minutes and 20 seconds of sound effects at the start of the track. (This works better if you're stoned.) The following URL cuts to the beginning of dialogue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGTY_jTZ-Zo&feature=player_embedded#t=136

—Dell

March 14, 2011 4:45 pm

(Said "interaction" actually occurs in "part 2" of side 1 [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CdiJvH50Bc&feature=related ] but will make a little more sense if you listen to part 1 of side 1 first.)

—Dell

March 14, 2011 5:08 pm

Much better, and pretty funny, too. I didn't notice any "Put your hands on the radio" lines in there. But thanks anyway.

—Mark

March 14, 2011 7:30 pm

The "Put Your Hands on the Radio" bit is part of "The Gospel," a 7:42 cut on the 1973 Reprise LP "Sold for Prevention of Disease Only" by Wilderness Road. WR was a comedy-rock-blues foursome out of Chicago led by Warren Leming and Nate Herman. "The Gospel" was made up of four Christian radio spoofs done back to back. The sermon (by the Rev. E.J. Corvette, I think) appeared somewhere in the middle, between the songs "What Key Does the Good Lord Sing In? and "Heavily Into Jesus." "Sold for..." is now available on CD from Discogs.

—V. Cullum Rogers

February 1, 2018 9:42 pm

Mark - A bit late to the party, but I've just located a copy of the 1973 LP "Sold for the Prevention of Disease Only" by Wilderness Road, as noted above by Mr. Rogers. 1) The track "The Gospel" is a medley of four (4) songs, as noted. The bit about putting your hands on the radio, as asked by the OP, is a part of this medley. This confirms what Mr. Rogers has already posted. A couple of additional comments, which further tie this album / group back to the Nat Lamp Radio Hour: 2) The fourth song of "The Gospel" medley as noted above is "Heavily Into Jesus", a C&W parody as sung by a truck driver. This excerpt was broadcast as a part of the Nat Lamp Radio Hour, episode no. 16. 3) Nate Herman, a member of this "Wilderness Road" group, wrote and performed the "You Don't Have To Look At Pictures On The Radio" song which was used as the intro to the first dozen or so of the initial NLRH one hour programs (the O'Donoghue era). 4) And finally, listening to the other tracks on this LP, the voicing of several of them is identical to the "The Crapper's Been Here And Gone" song used in the NLRH's Mad Vandal - High School Confidential episodes. I vaguely recall another Q&A on this site, asking who performed that song. So, as can be seen, there's quite a bit of connectivity between the Nat Lamp Radio Hour and this group / LP. Cheers - DM

—Dave Meredith

August 25, 2021 3:16 pm

Thanks, Dave! And very belated thanks to V. Callum Rogers.

—Mark

August 25, 2021 4:01 pm

There is an old cartoon, maybe with Elmer Fudd, listening to the radio, the radio preacher says, put your hand on the radio, Elmer does so, the preacher says, put your hand on the radiator, Elmer does and gets a big shock, and the preacher says, feel the power. Anybody know this cartoon?

—Law2001

July 3, 2024 3:00 pm

280. “Put Your Hands on the Radio”

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