Five Bands the Electrifying Mojo Promoted to His Audience

This influential Detroit deejay helped put these musicians on the map, developed techno music, and expanded the tastes of his listeners.

by Rich Watson 

He was born Charles Johnson from Arkansas, but on the radio he was “The Electrifying Mojo,” a deejay who frustrated program directors but inspired his Detroit listeners. 

During his heyday in the eighties, he dabbled in a wide variety of styles, from electronic dance to funk to new wave to rock and hip hop and beyond. In a region known for Motown, Bob Seger, Iggy Pop, Ted Nugent, and other rock legends, he cultivated a new genre: techno music.

The musicians he promoted have acknowledged the debt they owe him in spreading the word about their music.

#WorldsFair64: Uniroyal’s Giant Tire Ferris Wheel Was a Hit in New York and Later, Detroit

This giant tire was born as a World’s Fair Ferris wheel and became a Motor City icon.

by Rich Watson 

Due to a dispute between the international sanctioning body in charge of world’s fairs and New York Fair Director Robert Moses, corporate sponsorship dominated the 1964 Fair. Lots of major businesses created pavilions for the event.

Among them included the U.S. Rubber Company, known today as Uniroyal. They took a creative approach into making something common to fairs everywhere: a Ferris wheel in the shape of a tire.