The death of Bobby Vee Monday at 73 meant the show started with selections from his 1963 Buddy Holly tribute album, whose death started his own career.
And the death of longtime TV horror host John Zacherle Thursday at 98 (!) meant he began the rest of the show’s long Halloween set, which included a lot of songs about ghosts, devils, werewolves and monsters and such for a holiday that’s produced quite a lot of music, second only to Christmas probably.
Here’s what I played on the radio:
Friday Night Rock, 10-18-2016, 10 p.m.- 1 a.m. Radio CPR 101.7 FM, Washington, D.C.
- “That’ll Be the Day,” Bobby Vee
- “Peggy Sue,” Bobby Vee
- “It’s So Easy,” Bobby Vee
- “Oh, Boy!” Bobby Vee
- “Think It Over,” Bobby Vee
- “Maybe Baby,” Bobby Vee
- “Buddy’s Song,” Bobby Vee
- “Halloween Hootenanny,” Zacherle
- “Sinister Purpose,” Zacherle with Southern Culture on the Skids
- “Happy Halloween,” Zacherle
- “The Halloween Dance,” Reverend Horton Heat
- “A Fistful of Terror,” The Bomboras
- “Werewolf,” Southern Culture on the Skids
- “Gravewalk,” Satan’s Pilgrims
- “I Drink Blood,” Rocket from the Crypt
- “Little Demon,” The Amazing Crowns
- “No Costume, No Candy,” Swinging’ Neckbreakers
- “‘The Munsters’ Theme,” Los Straightjackets
- “Extrasensory Deception,” Davie allan & the Phantom Surfers
- “Spooks Night Out,” The Legendary Invisible Men
- “Bela Legosi’s Dead,” Bauhaus
- “Do They Know It’s Hallowe’en?” The North American Hallowe’en Prevention Initiative
- “Creature From the Black Leather Lagoon,” The Cramps
- “Creature with the Atom Brain,” Roky Ericsson & The Aliens
- “Dance with the Ghoulman,” The Fleshtones
- “Goblin Girl,” Frank Zappa
- “Halloween Parade,” Lou Reed
- “Werewolves of London,” Warren Zevon
- “Walking with a Ghost,” Tegan and Sara
- “Wise Up Ghost,” Elvis Costello & the Roots
- “Somebody’s Watching Me,” Rockwell
- “Season of the Witch,” Steve Stills, Al Kooper
- “I Put a Spell On You,” Screaming’ Jay Hawkins
- “New Jersey Devil,” Bruce Springsteen
- “Screaming’ Ball at Dracula Hall,” The Duponts
- “Drac’s Back,” Billy Demarco & Count Dracula
- “Ghost Train,” Virgil Holmes
- “The Mummy’s Ball,” The Verdicts
- “Frankenstein’s Den,” Hollywood Flames
- “I’m the Wolfman,” Round Robin
- “Spooksville,” The Nu-Trends
- “The Creature from Outer Space,” The Jayhawks
- “Mr. Were-Wolf,” The Kac Ties
- “My Son, the Vampire,” Allan Sherman
- “The Monster,” Bobby Please and the Pleaser
- “Nightmare Mash,” Billy Lee Riley
- “Frankenstein’s Party,“ The Swingin’ Phillies
- “Bo Meets the Monster,” Bo Diddley
- “Rockin’ in the Graveyard,” Jackie Morningstar
- “Devil in My Car,” The B-52’s
- “Pet Sematary,” The Ramones
- “Scary Monsters,” David Bowie
Friday Night Rock returns Nov. 4 on Radio CPR, 101.7 FM in Washington, D.C. or streaming online at www.tinyurl.com/radiocpr