Are there songs radio should avoid during pandemic?

Jim Seals and Dash Crofts

It occurred to me over the weekend when “Get Closer,” the 1976 yacht rock standard by Seals and Crofts, came on: There may be some songs that radio shouldn’t be playing during a global pandemic.

So I reached out to an old friend, Rick O’Dell, program director of Me-TV FM, the Weigel Broadcasting soft-rock oldies station at WRME 87.7-FM, for advice on other songs to add to the list.

Here are the titles he suggested:

  • "Touch Me" - The Doors
  • "I Want to Hold Your Hand" - The Beatles
  • "Come a Little Bit Closer" - Jay and the Americans
  • "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand" - Diana Ross
  • "Touch Me in the Morning" - Diana Ross
  • "Rockin' Pneumonia and Boogie Woogie Flu" - Johnny Rivers
  • "My Little Town" - Simon & Garfunkel
  • "Stand By Me" - Ben E. King
  • "The Closer I Get to You" - Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
  • "Be Near Me" - ABC
  • "Close to You" - The Carpenters
  • "Touch Me When We're Dancing" - The Carpenters

Rick O'Dell

O’Dell said he hasn’t taken any of the songs out of Me-TV FM’s rotation, although he did receive complaints from listeners for airing “My Little Town,” which includes the grim lyrics: “Nothing but the dead and dying back in my little town.”

Then he suggested I challenge his competitors to come up with similar lists for their formats.

So . . . what songs would you add to the list?