Stevie Ray Vaughan "Riviera Paradise"

I know people were wondering---were concerned, even---as to what we would play as our last song on 92.7FM.

We didn't have to think about this question for long, before coming to the conclusion that there was really no right answer.

Anyone who cares about 92.7 probably had their version of the "ideal" last song.  And it was going to be different for everyone.

So were weren't likely to please the majority of folks.

Instead, we talked about the criteria for a good final song.

It should be something we regularly play.

It should be something thoughtful and reflective, but not necessarily sad.

It should be something that we (and hopefully our listeners) associate with listening to on the radio.  (Songs that remind you of videos, commercials, TV themes, youtube clips, were off the table).

It should be something that listeners associate with listening to, specifically on MVY.  Meaning, this is the kind of tune you rarely hear elsewhere.

It should be beautiful.

Barbara was the one who suggested "Riviera Paradise."  It seemed like a great choice to me.

When I came to MVY in 2000, I had never heard the song before.  And I have never before, nor never since, heard another radio station play it (I'm sure a few do, but I haven't heard it anywhere but MVY).

Way back when, when we would do the station's legal ID ("You're listening to WMVY, broadcasting on 92.7 . . ."), a portion of "Riviera Paradise" was the music bed.  So, for many of our longtime listeners, the tune is forever hitched to us saying our frequency.

But that wasn't the last thing heard on 92.7.

Again, it was Barbara's very clever idea, to end with the Legal ID, stripped down.

Normally, we say "This is listener supported mvyradio, broadcasting on 92.7 WMVY, Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod, Nantucket and Newport."

But legally, the legal ID only needs the frequency, the call letters and the city of origin.  So that's what Barbara did.

"This is 92.7 WMVY, Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard . . ."

And then we let silence hang there.  Dropping the rest of the Legal ID created an absence, which was filled only by silence, to mark the end of a chapter, and an era for this little Island station.

We did this at 11:30, but we still had a half-hour before the official switch over at midnight.

It was my idea to fill the rest of our time with ocean waves.  It was a peaceful passing to another plain . . .



Hear the song on Youtube.