Real People: Radio show is Benny Goodman in a Stetson

wrfg.org

For the last 30 years, David Chamberlain has spent two hours a week sharing his love of western swing music with radio listeners across Atlanta - even if many of those tuning in have no clue exactly what that genre encompasses. The 59-year-old Tucker resident is undeterred. He’s been faithfully showing up every week at the public WRFG - Radio Free Georgia station in Little Five Points and putting western swing out over the airwaves.

“Even the folks at the station said, ‘What in the world is that?’ when I pitched the idea in 1983,“ recalls Chamberlain with a laugh. “But they gave me the show, and I called it Sagebrush Boogie Radio Programme of The Air.”

Sagebrush has had different time slots over the years, but for the last decade, it has settled in the 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday slot. And it’s still about a style that Chamberlain describes as “jazz with a cowboy hat.”

“If Benny Goodman wore a Stetson, that would be western swing,” he said. “It’s not snobby or rigid, but it’s very contagious and nostalgic.”

Though western swing anchors the show, Chamberlain is never quite sure what’s going to go out over the air. He may toss in some Hawaiian (one of his personal favorites) with a variety of styles and tempos.

“It’s all free-form; I compose the show on the spot,” he said. “The music dictates how it’s going to go. I usually do about 30 songs a show from my record collection, which is pretty deep, and I like variety, so there may be a fast song followed by a ballad followed by an instrumental.”

Some shows feature in-studio performers and conversation, which is the main reason Chamberlain got started in radio.

“To me, radio has always been an important medium to share ideas,” said Chamberlain, who first found himself behind a mike as a student at Valdosta State. “I like to talk to musicians about their instruments and how they came across a particular musical idea. I feel very natural on the radio, sharing music with people. It’s the easiest thing to do.”

Chamberlain has been an avid music lover since his first listening encounter with Dave Brubeck as a child. Outside of his day job as a judicial assistant for a Fulton Superior court judge, he and his wife, Kim, a singer and clarinetist, are both musicians who formed the jazz duo Bright Moments that plays for weddings, corporate events and gatherings. But his 30-year gig at WRFG has always been on a volunteer basis.

“I’ve stopped thinking about the money a long time ago,” said Chamberlain with a laugh. “I recognized there was something special about music; it has a power that’s undeniable. And that’s what I want to share.”