The Beak of Crime

First the bad news. No Listomania tomorrow (and thus no clue today, obviously). Apologies all around, but alas I got mugged by reality this week and had to spend a fair chunk of time that would have otherwise been engaged in picking the Top Ten Oud Solos Evah instead helping a dear friend convalesce from major surgery.

The good news, however, is that you can now enjoy, from 1965, the premier episode of the hilarious radio serial The Adventures of Chickenman.




A parody of the TV Batman show, obviously, but it quickly took on a life of its own. Chickenman (secret identity: shoe salesman Benton Harbor), also known as the Winged Warrior and the Fantastic Feathered Fighter, started out on a local top 40 radio station in Chicago (WLS-AM) and for years I thought the show had been a strictly local phenomenon; it turns out, however, that it was syndicated across the country and beyond (GIs heard it in Vietnam, apparently). In any case, it's one of the great fondly remembered hoots of my late teens.

Oh, and please check in tomorrow -- as I said, no Listomania, but you'll definitely find something worth your attention in its place.