Gary O'Blog
Maureen McGovern/BJ Thomas
Posted by: Gary O'Brien
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 12:59 PM
One of the most challenging aspects of what I do for a living is trying to keep my voice in decent shape despite the typical colds, etc. that occur throughout the year. I was lucky that I did not get a cold for more than a year, but when I did in December it was a doosey! While I only felt bad for about two days the voice was gruff for several weeks, and even lost it a few times...which Justin at home did not complain too much about! Michael Medved, the well-known political commentator, gave me tips on what to do as did others, but mostly yuo just have to ride it out. My mom taught pre-school for more than 20 years and she would often catch colds from all the kids she taught in the morning and afternoon sessions. Kids certainly are not as careful as adults in washing hands, etc. In a lot of ways working here at the station is the same way. We work in small studios, talk in the the same microphones, share equipment. It seems if one person gets a cold there is somewhat of a domino effect. I knew I was doomed after many at the station got sick, but I held out for the longest time and then it hit. However, I believe I caught my cold from the wonderful singer Maureen McGovern. She was to have appeared in concert with the Danville Symphony Orchestra on December 13, and I did an interview with her over the phone in advance to talk about her career, her hit records and the upcoming concert. The day after our phone interview, I got a major cold. Oddly enough, so did Miss McGovern. Hers ended up being much worse than mine as she got strep throat, forcing her to cancel her appearance in Danville. I joked with her assistant via email that one of us gave the other the cold over the phone as impossible as that seems. She couldn't sing and I couldn't talk very well. She did fully recover but she said it took her several days to sound recognizable. Ron Hedlund, the amazingly talented opera singer who lives here in Champaign gave me tips on how to take care of your voice, and he is going to come on the air sometime soon to share his expertise on this issue...that not only singers need to worry about, but the average person as well. Replacing Maureen McGovern for the Danville Symphony concert was one of my all-time favorite guests, BJ Thomas, who we all know from his many hits including the classic "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." He performed a great concert, and if I were able to post pictures on this blog I would post the picture of Justin and me with Mr. Thomas. I have had the pleasure of meeting him several times, and has been a great guest on the show. It was nice talking to him after the show about the challenges of making it to Danville with the weather as it was, and filling in last minute with an Orchestra. The concert was about 10 days before the 6th anniversary of Justin's and my adoption. It seems that whenever we speak the conversation does turn to adoption and Mr. Thomas adopted a daughter many years ago. Turns out now she has made him a grandfather! You'd be hard-pressed to find a nicer guy than B.J. Thomas and he is welcome on the show any time. In fact, it looks like he may be one of my geusts on my upcoming 5th anniversary show on either February 23 or 24.Comments
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