THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409280124
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
ANNALISA E. MURDEN, who will be host of ``Saturday Bandstand'' on WFOS-FM 88.7, isn't a stranger to the microphone or the music.
An 18-year-old Indian River High School graduate, Murden already has trained for the job, a weekly swing show beginning this weekend.
``I got a feel for the music by hosting several `Swing Club' programs,'' she said. ``And my grandmother, Evelyn Eure, plays that music all the time at her home. I've gone over to her house many times to hear it. And I've done a lot of research on my own.''
The ``Swing Club,'' which plays big band music and oldies is heard Monday through Friday on WFOS.
But her radio experiences run much deeper than that. She was, in fact, the youngest person ever to appear on the air at the Chesapeake high school radio station.
When she was 9 and a student at Sparrow Road Intermediate School student, Murden went on the air for 10 minutes to deliver the weather, Virginia and national news.
``I was very nervous,'' she said. ``I mispronounced a few words, but all went well.''
Murden's mother had enrolled her in the free WFOS summer broadcast school and program.
``My mom was running through some cable channels one time and noticed the announcement about the WFOS summer program,'' Murden said. ``The program was free and open to any student, so she asked me if I was interested. I said, `Sure, I'll give it a try.' I've always been an avid radio listener and thought this would be fun for the summer.''
Murden's moppet radio stint lasted just 10 minutes.
Station manager and broadcast instructor Dennis McCurdy didn't want to run afoul of the Federal Communications Commission, which requires all those on the radio to possess an FCC license, which can only be obtained by those 14 and older. So no more kids behind the mike.
But Murden said she also attended all of the station's summer broadcast classes. She sat there right next to all the teens and high school students who enrolled for the summer program.
``They treated me like a regular student,'' she said. ``I was kind of nervous at first, but they all made me feel at home. Once I settled down it was great.''
After that summer, Murden didn't return to the station until after she graduated from Indian River High.
She was too busy with school and a part-time job at the Rally's Hamburgers drive-in on Indian River Road. The devotion she showed for her school work paid off.
Murden graduated 14th out of 400 students in her Indian River graduating class, was first-chair flutist for the Indian River High Band and a member of the flag line on the school's marching band while averaging 30 hours a week at the fast-food franchise.
``Between work and study, my brain fizzled out,'' she said. ``So rather than go to college right away, I came back to work part-time at WFOS. I just wanted to take it easy, enjoy myself and watch the world go by for a year.''
Next year, Murden plans to attend Chowan College in Murfreesboro, N.C., where she hopes to major in elementary education with a minor in music.
At the station, Murden has done promotional spots, read public service announcements, substituted for other on-the-air personalities and worked on the station's computer to help catalog its vast compact disc and record music library.
``I like to do it all,'' she said. ``And I like to go on the air, I'm a real ham.''
She said McCurdy had been thinking about starting a regular Saturday evening dance party, the same kind of program pioneered by the late and legendary area disc jockey Roger Clark.
Clark, who died a few years ago, was a Hampton Roads fixture with his WGH-FM program ``Saturday Night Dance Party.''
Like Clark's program, Murden's will feature much of the same big band swing and special features. In fact, the influence of Clark will run deeper than just the show's format.
Along with compact disks of big band music and swing, Murden said she'll use records and transcriptions from Clark's huge record library, which his family donated to the station.
The show will feature selections from some of the biggest and most popular names in big band and swing music, including Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton, the Dorsey Brothers and Woody Herman.
The program also will include historical interviews taken from radio transcriptions from Clark's collection; a ``Comedy Spot,'' featuring top comedians of the '30s, '40s and '50s; and a weekly ``Artist of the Week'' spot, which will highlight one top musician, bandleader or singer of the era.
``I'll program most of the music myself,'' Murden said. ``I'll play all of the big band stuff and the top hits of the day. Mostly up-tempo songs and music. I really like the music myself and particularly like the music of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Billy Holiday.''
You can bet Murden's family will be the show's biggest fans.
``My grandmother and mother love it,'' she said. ``They're thrilled I'll be on the air playing this kind of music. They'll tell all of their friends and anyone else to listen.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
Annalisa Murden will host ``Saturday Bandstand,'' a weekly swing
show on WFOS-FM 88.7.
1985 file photo
Shown in the studio at age 9, Murden participated then in the WFOS
summer broadcast program.
by CNB