Born To Be Wild (excerpt from chapter 6)

As much as I enjoyed the pop AM stations, by the late 1960s rock n' roll was transitioning beyond the standard radio rules. Chart makers such as the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" and "Paperback Writer" were stories in rock and roll. reaching further out from the "Twist and Shout" days. It didn't take long for The Mamas and The Papas to emerge with a folkier California sound and, in tune with the times, a psychedelic revolution in music was taking hold. I gravitated to it, longed to hear more but didn't know where to find it. By the very late 1960s, my rock n' roll appreciation changed forever when I heard about a cult radio program deemed "The Underground Den."

Radio -- whether you are from "The Shadow" serial era or tuned to the diverse playlists of satellite or Internet radio -- is usually unpredictable and entertaining. I became obsessed after first tuning to"The Underground Den." It was quietly promoted as Chicago's first underground radio show, a special program aired only on Saturdays from Midnight to 1 a.m. on WSDM, 97.7 FM. My transistor radio only played AM, but I borrowed the family's kitchen Zenith, which could pick up FM radio and actually had a bass control. Every week, I tuned in on low volume in the after midnight sanctuary behind my closed bedroom door. To take it even further, I recorded a lot of the music to enjoy later on a small reel-to-reel tape recorder.

The music that I heard on "The Underground Den" was unlike any of the brief AM radio songs wedged between all the drag racing and cola commercials. At midnight, the show started with its theme song -- the first unearthly notes from the guitar of Jimi Hendrix playing "Are You Experienced?" The program was hosted by a female in a soft, sultry voice, introducing the songs and groups, often mentioning the album. It was there that I first heard haunting rock songs such as Jefferson Airplane's "3/5's of a Mile in 10 Seconds, Buffalo Springfields's "Mr. Soul" and the Doors' "Break On Through (to the Other Side)."