Super Bowl halftime show review

KNKX Public Radio | By John Kessler,

Published February 3, 2011 at 4:49 AM PST

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-949991.mp3

It's the unlikely history of the biggest halftime show on the planet: the Super Bowl. Sunday's game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers will be Super Bowl XLV - yes, 45 years of the Big Game - and among the millions watching some will be hanging on to see what passes as entertainment for the masses.

This year the Black Eyed Peas will take the halftime field stage in Arlington, Texas.

Record Bin Roulette spins us from the humble beginnings in the 1960's (with high school marching bands) to Michael Jackson in the 90's, and the 2004 game where his sister Janet brought the show to a screeching halt with the infamous "wardrobe malfunction".

In between, you've seen Carol Channing, Diana Ross, Up With People and the Rockettes. Enjoy this audio trip through musical Super Bowl history by clicking on the audio 'play' arrow at the top of this post.

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John Kessler

John has worked as a professional bassist for 20 years, including a 15 year stint as Musical Director of the Mountain Stage radio program. John has been at KNKX since 1999 where he hosts “All Blues”, is producer of the BirdNote radio program, and co-hosts “Record Bin Roulette”. John is also the recording engineer for KNKX “In-Studio Performances”. Not surprisingly, John's main musical interests are jazz and blues, and he is still performing around Seattle.

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John Maynard

John Maynard started working in radio in the seventies as a DJ at Seattle’s KJR AM which at the time was the dominant AM station in the Seattle market. After a brief stint as a restaurateur and night club owner, Maynard returned to radio with Robin Erickson, creating the hugely popular “Robin and Maynard Show.” In the more than 20 years under that marquee, Maynard flew with the Blue Angels, piloted the Goodyear Blimp, sang with Donny Osmond and hung out in a Universal Studios bar with Kojak (Telly Savalas).

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