American Jukebox® and Broadway Bound, Saturdays 4:00 - 6:00 pM

Garrett Stack hosts programs celebrating two aspects of American popular music. Started in 2006, American Jukebox® primarily concentrates on pop, rock, and soul of the late ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, those tunes and artists commonly heard on radios and jukeboxes as Baby Boomers were coming of age.

Since 2005, Broadway Bound celebrates classic performances from the musical theater. The concentration is on Broadway’s great golden age, the second half of the 20th century, with select shows featured from more modern times.

Now a retired school principal, in 1988 Garrett joined WMNR as a broadcaster. Brought in as a summer replacement, he was invited to stay on. During his first 18 years Garrett hosted Echoes of the Past, a show that concentrated on America’s popular music of the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s. American Jukebox® eventually replaced that program.

In 2023, Garrett celebrated his 35th anniversary at WMNR. He took the occasion to tell listeners more about himself.

“My love of popular music goes back to my early boyhood and to the radio that was a constant companion in our house and car and on the beach, thanks to my mother. As a teen I couldn’t get enough of the weekly countdowns on WABC with Cousin Brucie, Peter Tripp on WMGM, and Richard Ward Fatherly on WICC. The fascination with rock, pop and soul continued into the 70s when I became a jukebox programmer and disco DJ in New Haven, CT. It was so cool to actually open jukeboxes, place records in the slots, insert new title labels, watch the mechanical parts all work together and hear the music. The dream job.”

Garrett’s love of performing took a new twist in 2020. American Jukebox on Tour was born. Instead of playing “records” on the radio, Garrett sings Baby Boomer favorites live with his vintage Martin 12-string guitar, supported by modern technological wizardry. Entertaining audiences in varied settings, from bars to country fairs, town greens to private events, he loves “yet another dream job.”