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Radio Host’s Love of Music Keeps Him Going |
The role of educator is comfortable for Shapiro, but celebrity is not. Yet, it is a little celebrity status that has kept Shapiro going for 30 years on public radio and through that fame, he now has influence in bringing acts to Kansas City as part of Cyprus Avenue Live at the Folly Theatre. “It was almost a lark that I started the radio show,” he says. “On September 28, I will mark 30 years on KCUR. I have had my shingle out this whole time. Music is a passion, so I called the show ‘Music.’ When National Public Radio expanded its market with satellite radio shows all over the nation, and then I realized the name was too generic. Looking for names, I ran across Van Morrison’s ‘Astral Weeks’ and the song ‘Cyprus Avenue.’ It just stuck.” What has stuck has been Shapiro’s loyal fans and his need to analyze the ever-changing world of popular music. “The field of pop music is so huge. It all started for me when I was 5 years old in 1942 and my mother’s best friend’s husband was in the coin-operated business. He brought me the 78-RPM records from jukeboxes and they became my source of joy. I am a non-musician who can’t carry a tune, but I was and am consumed by the desire to share an enhanced appreciation of music.” While some people may consider the passing litany of pop music nothing more than what Shapiro describes as “oral wallpaper,” but he says music can help mark history and there is value in that. “You can start with the rock and roll revolution of the 1950s which flowered in the 1960s with performers like Elvis, the Beatles and Bob Dylan. These folks are cultural greats. I bet people will still be quoting Bob Dylan 200 years from now.” The rise of pop music, historically defines the time when the artist and creator of a song are one person. “With the advent of the artist and performer rolled into one, it became a true art form much the way you have novelists and painters. It is a true artistic experience. It was really cemented for me when I saw Elvis in January of 1956 sing on the Dorsey Brothers show. It was one of those events that was my first insight into the revolution.” When Shapiro moved to New York in the early 1960s, he discovered Billy Taylor, a musician and disc jockey, who would take a song and offer the listening audience interpretations of that song by different performers. “It was another doorway opening for me,” Shapiro says. “It was another way of listening. I knew I could take Billy’s ideas and make it work with a rock format. I want listeners to know that one of our greatest contributions to the world is popular music.” To continue this model, Shapiro joined the Folly Theater board and decided to expand his influence and offer a live series with some of his favorite musicians. “The Folly is the best venue in Kansas City to hear live music. The theater is worth maintaining and saving. Now I get to be part of helping the theater by selecting acts that I want to hear. There is such joy and the acts are always telling me how much they enjoy the Folly and the Kansas City audiences.” On Sept. 20, Cyprus Avenue Live presents Jim White and Steeldrivers and on Oct. 19, Los Lobos will perform. He is also author of “The CD Rock and Roll Library,” 1988, and “The Rock and Roll Review” 1991, both published by Andrews & McMeel. “Cyprus Avenue” is from noon – 2 p.m. Saturdays on KCUR. BEST CONCERT: The best concert Shapiro ever saw took place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., in 1976. He saw Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run tour. “It was not even sold out. He came out stage about five or six minutes after 8 p.m. and left five or six minutes before 1 a.m. It was a wow experience.” USE OF TECHNOLOGY: Technology impacts the form, Shapiro says. When classical music started being recorded on long-playing records, others like Pink Floyd started concept albums and found a canvas to make a statement. “Now we are back to the three-minute songs that people can download. You don’t have to buy a full CD. To me, it limits the expressiveness of the artists. Convenience has eroded quality. THE LACK OF REBUILDING NEW ORLEANS: Culturally one of America’s greatest cities and one of the most dramatic producers of music has been left in ruins, Shapiro says. “As the city does rebuild, some of the best music that I have heard of late is coming from there. It is a shame the rebuilding is so slow.” TOP 10 ALBUMS:
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