The Big Mattress radio show provided many glorious years of entertainment to fans of WBCN -- but I had felt for some time that the phrase "the Big Mattress" was a bit tired, and that it was a too-often-used name which needed to find a resting-place somewhere in the annals of Boston radio history. 

My morning show at WZLX featured the same comedy bits, news, sports and entertainment information as before -- except with much more rock music than any station in Boston. It was less "talky" and more streamlined (I say that in a good way) with the same amount of topical satire, controversial opinions and humorous takes on events of the day.

Also, people were changing their habits: waking up earlier and getting on the roads sooner. The most important ratings time for morning-drive radio changed from 6:00-10:00 a.m. to 5:30-9:00 A.M. So we decided to officially start the show at 5:30 and end at 9:00.... and continue with even more music on the mid-day show (which now would begin at 9:00 a.m.) 

After trying out a few names for the show, my writers, Lance Norris, Bob Malatesta and I chose from a field of two possible titles: The Charles Laquidara Morning Show and The Charles Laquidara Radio Hour. 

The Charles Laquidara Radio Hour, a name which was a take-off on the old National Lampoon Radio Hour (which, by the way, was actually only a half-hour long), was finally selected because it seemed to capture the satirical, irreverent and somewhat tongue-in-cheek nature of our program. 

So that's the name we used for the rest of my radio days at WZLX - a name which was associated with morning Classic Rock right up to August 4, 2000.

Of course, we never completely dropped the phrase "The Big Mattress" (as you know, that is the name of this very web site!) because obviously it represented a lot of vintage memories to many listeners from 1969 to the beginning of the 21st Century.

Hopefully, both show names will bring back great memories, and remind us all of a time when rock radio was an art-form that reflected the times and the temperament of society; and in so many ways helped re-shape history, and helped expand the musical horizons of millions of young-thinking rebels and future leaders - some who would go on to try and change the world into a better place for future generations to live in.