BlackLight Radio’s celebration of the 80s radio station that brought Tulsa “The Music You See On MTV” returns this Tuesday (tomorrow!) from midnight to midnight central time.

For those who don’t know, 14K was radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma for two years between August 1983 & August 1985. They had the largest teen listening audience of ANY AM radio station in the United States at the time, and clobbered the local FM top-40 in Tulsa County.

How did they do it? First, they focused on the new wave of music that was being made popular on MTV. Then, they put hot top-40 jocks on the air to compliment the hits. Finally, they did great and crazy promotions… from Win-A-Hundred to the Cash Copter to Winning Tag Numbers, the station was fun to listen to. When Michael Jackson was hurt filming the Pepsi commercial, they made the world’s largest get well card and had the citizens of Tulsa sign it at various locations around town. They played party mixes, the same 12″ versions of the hits you hear BlackLight Radio play, on Friday and Saturday nights.

They were first with Tulsa’s hottest hits, and they kept their finger on the plus of the record-buying public in Tulsa by calling the stores each week to see what was selling, and going to the clubs every weekend to see what the teens were dancing to. They had the top 5 at 5, Tulsa Top 25, and Rick Dees’ Weekly Top 40.

They had the Love Lines, the Nuke Lines, rock trivia, K-Crew laces, t-shirts, bumper stickers, midnight movies, the Spring Fling, trip giveaways… they turned Tulsa upside down in two too-short years.

The station is gone, but every year we bring them back on the anniversary of their sign-off. We play airchecks from the station, plus songs they aired and recent interviews with the staff. This year we have expanded the interview segments so you can get a better view of what was happening at the station and behind the scenes.

If you were here in Tulsa, relive the fun of 14K; if you weren’t here, listen in to find out what you missed as BlackLight Radio becomes 14K for a day.

The last hour of 14K is a show not to be missed… we’ll air it again this year, this time at 11pm central time Tuesday night.

TMZ is reporting the lead singer for the late 80s hair metal / glam metal band Warrant has passed away at the age of 47. His body was found in a Comfort Inn hotel in Woodland Hills, CA; no official cause of death has yet been released, but his alcohol struggles in recent years were well-documented.

He leaves behind two daughters: Taylar Jayne Lane, aged 19; and Madison Michelle Lane, aged 14. His former live-in girlfriend, actress / director Sheila Lussier tweeted Thursday night four simple words: “My heart is broken.”

He was born John Kennedy Oswald on February 1, 1964 (the first and middle names no doubt designed to cushion the pain of that last name just 2 & 1/2 months after the assassination by an Oswald of President John Kennedy). Part of a family of musicians, by age 11 he was playing drums in clubs under the name “Mitch Dynomite” (who gets credited on one of Warrant’s “greatest hits” CDs!). In 1982 he joined a local band (“Cyren”), then formed his own band (“Plain Jane”) in 1985.

He was invited to join Warrant in 1986, and together he and the band hit the charts over and over again with hits like “Heaven,” “Down Boys” and “Sometimes She Cries” (all written by Lane) and “Cherry Pie,” “I Saw Red,” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (all also from his pen!).

He left Warrant in 1993, came back in 1994, left in 2004, came back in 2008, and left for good six months later. He had numerous solo projects, and wrote for other artists including Alice Cooper.

As recently as last summer he had filled in for Jack Russell, lead singer of Great White, on their tour while Russell recovered from surgery.

Lane had a history of alcohol-related issues — he was ordered to serve 120 days in jail after he was arrested for DUI in 2010 … his second DUI in two years. Rumors already point to alcohol in this death, but that may not be known for weeks as we wait for toxicology tests.

Prior to serving time in jail for his most recent legal troubles, Lane issued a statement in which he said, in part, “My true hope is that anyone out there dealing with personal problems… the consequences do not get lighter. I can only say I’ve never regretted a good decision or action and never been proud of bad ones. People have an astounding ability to forgive… I have to start with forgiving myself. That is something that I find far more difficult than I imagined. I think it starts with gratitude.”

I remember hearing Warrant on the radio and seeing Warrant on MTV, and while they were “one of the hair bands” (I seemed to want to confuse them with Skid Row and maybe Poison), I liked the softer edge of songs like “I Saw Red” and “Heaven.” The only thing that drove me crazy about “Heaven” was liking the more stripped-down, less reverb-drenched version of the song, while the only version I seemed to find on CD was the re-recorded and super-polished version for pop radio.

Jani had a great voice, a great look (in the early years, anyway!), and wrote fantastic songs. He donated his time and talent to tributes to bands like Rush and causes like “Voices That Care,” a recording event designed to boost the morale of U.S. troops involved in Operation Desert Storm as well as support the International Red Cross. Whatever his personal demons, he was yet another talent snuffed out far, far too soon… he will be deeply missed.

My wife LOVED “Dirty Dancing.” She rewound the video cassette again and again to watch Patrick Swayze romance Jennifer Grey over and over again… these days, it’s a matter of picking one of the three (yes, THREE) DVD versions of the movie we have, & jumping from chapter to chapter.

My senior year in high school was a break-out year for me where I went from nerd / geek to cool guy from the “Pirates” musical… the last song at the cast party was “I’ve Had The Time Of My Life” by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes… and indeed, that’s EXACTLY what I’d had.

I say all this to say, hearing that a pivotal movie in mine & my wife’s teen years is going to be remade today doesn’t inspire confidence. The original seems to have captured the moment beautifully, it’s perfectly preserved on DVD & Blu-Ray… what have we missed?

To their credit, they’ve picked Kenny Ortega (the original choreographer) to direct the movie. We can expect good dance scenes; will the script and cinematography be worth anything?

Another feather in the cap of Lionsgate studios is the original “Baby,” Jennifer Grey, who says “I’m so excited about this news and I think there’s nobody better to do this than my beloved Kenny Ortega, who is as responsible as anyone for the success of the first one. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do with it.”

…Then again, she thought it would be a good idea to “fix” her nose…

Jennifer Grey is now on “Dancing With the Stars,” so that’s certainly some publicity for one of the stars of the original film, & an introduction to a younger audience. So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Best Dance Crew, and America’s Got Talent are all recent TV hits, so, maybe…

Reports are the story will still be cast in the early 60s, in the same location, with the same hits (including “She’s Like The Wind”) and some new early 60s hits.

Otega, who has directed High School Musical and Michael Jackson’s This Is It, says “The opportunity to direct Dirty Dancing is like returning home for me. Growing up in the ’60s on the dance floor helped define me as a person and as an artist.

Patrick Swayze set the bar for men dancing in the movies as Gene Kelly & Fred Astaire did before him. I believe everywhere you look there is evidence that the talent is out there and I can’t wait to begin the process of discovering the next breakout triple-threats.”

Debra Martin Chase (“The Princess Diaries”) is producing the reboot with Ortega. Lionsgate is currently in negotiations with Eleanor Bergstein, who wrote & co-produced the original film, to sign on in a producer’s capacity.

The Facebook page for the movie has racked up 9.4 million fans as of May, prompting the studio to think of new ways to exploit the title, including a possible online video game. “Dirty Dancing” is also one of the most popular titles in Lionsgate’s catalog, having sold more than 10 million units on DVD.

I’m willing to give it a chance, but I’m not convinced… I think it may end up a bit like the Dirty Dancing TV series.

…What, you don’t remember the Dirty Dancing TV series? I’m shocked! It ran for a whole eleven episodes on CBS in the fall of 1988 & winter of 1989. Here’s the show opening, in case you missed it:

If the idea of putting Baby into an IMAX 3D film bugs you, just remember: it could be worse; they could be remaking Footloose!

…Oh, wait… they ARE!!!