Norty Cohen—founder and CEO of Moosylvania, a multifaceted, St. Louis-based marketing agency, which also operates a record company, Rafter Records; he spearheaded “Rock And Roll Over”—explains the origin of his company name, a direct reference from “The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show.” He recounts how the idea for “Rock And Roll Over”– a 17-track collection of canine-saluting songs and musical-mutt memoirs—was spurred while walking his dog, Doc, and singing him songs, subbing in Doc-specific lyrics. Cohen recalls that he ran the seedling of the idea by singer-songwriter Steve McWilliams, of the Nashville band The Truehearts. McWilliams told Cohen that he and fellow Nashville musicians—unable to tour or even perform locally under Covid lockdown, so with extra time on their hands—could write a fresh batch of canine-centric songs. So, Cohen explains, he essentially commissioned a slew of dog songs, assigning a breed to each songwriter, to help ensure a broader array of tunes—besides, Cohen notes, these songwriters had passion and expertise for the breeds of their own dogs. He also explains how the shelter element was introduced—to download or stream “Rock And Roll Over,” listeners are asked to donate to an animal shelter—and widened out, through an alliance with the Givz platform, so that now, patrons can put the name of their favorite &/or local shelter into a database on the project website (https://justfurrfun.com), and earmark their donation as precisely as they’d like. Cohen says that, thus far, the “Rock And Roll Over” project has raised about $30,000 for those shelters. Over the course of the interview, and after, I played four “Rock And Roll Over” songs. Titles and songwriters outlined below. (Photo of Norty Cohen: Dilip Vishwanat/St. Louis Business Journal)
COMEDY CORNER: Mitch Hedberg’s “Smackie The Frog”
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” “King Of The Pack,” by Mike Younger, “Woooooo All Day” by Brett Ryan Stewart & Irakli Gabriel, “He’s A Poodle,” by Jason Quicksall,” and “Berner,” by Steve McWilliams, instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: John Hiatt’s “My Dog & Me” (https://www.johnhiatt.com)
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