Captain Al celebrates 11 soulful years
As the saxophone groove of Rahsaan Roland Kirk glides into the harmonies of the Temptations, the radio seems to be taking a trip back in time. Freddie Jackson comes up next, crooning a romantic ballad, followed by more soul, smooth jazz, and rhythm and blues. On "R&B Jukebox," hosted by " Captain Al " Sundays from 6 to 8 p.m. on WMBR-FM (88.1 ), the African-American popular music of the late '50s through the mid-'80s comes alive.
"I like it all," says Frank A. Shefton , a.k.a. Captain Al, referring to the blend of genres from earlier decades. Although Shefton will mark the 11th anniversary of "R&B Jukebox" on June 3, not all of his playlist predates his program. A new tune by an older artist, such as Mavis Staples, may make its way in, but nothing jarring: not much guitar, and certainly no synthesized rhythms. "I cut off at the drum machine," says Shefton, referring to the disco-era sound. Even his signature signoff, "Goodnight, Miss Gums, wherever you are," is a throwback, a fond salute to his first - grade teacher -- and first crush. She was "the first black teacher I had seen," he says. "And the first young and pretty teacher, too."
Shefton may be one of the few DJs playing Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown on air. (Emerson College's WERS-FM , 88.9 , now programs soul Saturdays and Sundays, 8 p.m. to midnight.) But it wasn't always so. "Most of what I play had, at one time, been played regularly on Boston radio," he says. Growing up in Lower Roxbury, Shefton would tune into WILD-AM (1090) (which now programs African - American talk) and even WBCN-FM (104.1) in its late '60s free-form days. "You'd hear the Delfonics, the Velvet Underground, and all this stuff mixed in, including jazz," recalls the 58-year-old Shefton.
"I used to have a little transistor radio that I'd carry on the bus with me to school," he says. "I was always glued to the radio. I'd listen to Motown. I'd listen to Hugh Masekela. It all blends in."
Now , he says, he can't find that mix on air. "Most radio is kind of lock step . If you turn on Jam'n [WJMN-FM, 94.5], it's all hip-hop, no variation whatsoever. Even the softer stations, it's whatever fits into their format and nothing varies."
Fans of the classic sound agree that his long-running program showcases his expertise. "He's serving the community of people who like that music: vintage rhythm and blues and soul," confirms Jack Wolker, owner of Stereo Jack's, a Cambridge record and CD store specializing in jazz, blues, and classic R&B. "He really knows his stuff."
Music may be Shefton's love, but the two-hour show remains a sideline. By day, he is a project technician at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, and it was there that he first heard, and enjoyed, the tiny community station. So when he saw a flier looking for volunteers, he signed up. Making his debut in 1986, when he took over an up tempo student program called "Ebony Express," he soon developed the more mellow "Night Cruise," which ran for several years. "But I got very frustrated with the type of music that was coming out at that time," he recalls. "It was just the same thing, all sex, sex, sex."
In response, Shefton took a few months off and thought about the music he really loved. When he came back, in June 1996, he was ready. Although his original show title, "Blues and the Soulful Truth," didn't last ("it didn't roll off the tongue easily," he notes), his program concept -- presenting all the variations on classic R&B -- did. "I try to keep it in a soulful vein," says Shefton. "If something has an old-school groove, I'll play it."
