Top Ten Songs Mentioning the Beatles: Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio (#3)

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From one extreme to the other, we’ve survived the deluge. Now comes the heat. Always something to complain about, right? Here’s a song that did a very good job of complaining about the state of radio in the late 70s (which has only grown worse), and lucky for me they referenced a Beatle so I can use it!! #3: Do You Remember Rock N’ Roll Radio - Ramones We need change, and we need it fast Before rock’s just part of the past ’Cause lately it all sounds the same to me Yep, that was the late 70s. The funny thing is, this song was originally about the way radio got on a “nostalgia kick” in the 70s (brought on by the popularity of “throwback” things like the series Happy Days and the movie American Graffiti). The sad reality, though, is that the “oldies” vanished in favor of “formulaic” rock and pop, and “oldies” became something that was six months, not sixty years, old. I blame disco. It’s an easy scapegoat, sure, but when the record executives realized that people would buy the same KC & the Sunshine Band song four times just because they changed the title, that was it. And yes, that is still a problem with the “classic rock” radio stations that won’t bother telling you that Boz Scaggs has a terrific new album (Detour, from late 2025) because they’re too busy still playing the 50-year-old “Lido Shuffle.” But that’s only half the problem. I remember a DJ telling me that a radio station’s biggest competition wasn’t another radio station, but a person’s turntable. Now with streaming and make-your-own playlists (you can do that on AccuRadio, a relatively new service that’s free and terrific), it’s a wonder radio survives at all. They say variety is the spice of life. Apparently radio never got that memo. Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio Written by Dee Dee, Johnny, and Joey Ramone Recorded by the Ramones From End of the Century, 1980 BEATLES REFERENCE LYRICS: Do you remember Jerry Lee, John Lennon, T. Rex, and ol’ Moulty