I'm going to veer a little off topic here (just a little) because I think some of the folks following this thread (especially some younger ones) may find this interesting, especially if you're a fan of Art Bell.
As unique and interesting as Art Bell's Dreamland and Coast to Coast late night radio shows were, he was by no means the first to do this kind of thing. Some of us are old enough to remember lying in bed late at night in the dark, under the glow of the radio dial, listening to the elaborate tales of strange anomalous phenomena, the paranormal and UFOs brought to us by Long John Nebel and his interesting cast of offbeat guests, some of whom were regulars on the show. Sound familiar? Without Long John Nebel, there would have been no Art Bell. Like many of us, Art too grew up listening to Nebel as a kid and as a teenager and was deeply influenced by him. Long John Nebel was the original pioneer of late night talk radio as there had never been anything like it before and he garnered a huge audience. Late night radio was otherwise a dead time that stations didn't really know what to do with until Long John came along and WOR in NYC gave him the airwaves from midnight to 5:30 AM never anticipating the huge success it would become. He broadcast from the mid 1950s 'til his death in 1978 when his slot on WOR was given to a little known guy by the name of Larry King.
If you have never heard a Long John Nebel broadcast before, and even if you have, you may enjoy listening to all or part this 39 minute recording. If you are a fan of Art Bell's broadcasting it is impossible to listen to this recording without hearing Long John Nebel's influence on Art Bell's career which began around the time Nebel died.
