Died On This Date (August 1, 2009) George Taylor Morris / Popular DJ; Sparked “Wizard Of Oz” vs “Dark Side Of The Moon” Phenomenon
themusicsover George Taylor Morris
1947 – August 1, 2009
George Taylor Morris was a popular FM disc jockey who most recently could be heard on XM Satellite’s classic rock channel, Deep Tracks. Morris began his radio career while still in high school in King City, California, and after graduating, he moved to a station in Lake Tahoe to work as programmer and disc jockey. Over the years, Morris worked at popular stations from Santa Barbara, California to New York City. He is perhaps best remembered for sparking a minor phenomenon while on the air at Boston’s WZLX in 1997. He had been tipped off about several remarkable similarities between The Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon. After syncing the opening of the movie up with the album at home one evening, Morris went on the air the next day and discussed the amazing synchronicity of the two, especially when you’re stoned. The word spread around the world almost immediately, despite the fact that the internet was basically in its infancy at the time. Morris went to work at XM in 2001 where he spun classic rock records and hosted the popular “XM Artist Confidential” interview series where he sat down with many of music’s biggest names. George Taylor Morris died of throat cancer at the age of 62.
Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums and Gary Case for the assist.
Mitch Miller was many things – musician, record company executive, A&R man, singer, conductor, band leader and producer, but to millions of Americans he was the host of the popular television series and number one albums entitled Sing Along With Mitch. Although his music was far from rock ‘n roll, he is considered one of the most influential people in popular music. He is also often credited for inventing what would later be called karaoke because of the “bouncing ball” he used over the songs’ lyrics as the music was broadcast into homes during the ’50s and ’60s. As an A&R man and producer for Columbia Records, Miller helped create stars out of the likes of Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, and 