Name That Joe

Here are all known Joe Frank programs and their first lines.

JoeFrank.com is Joe's offical web site. Joefrank.com contains links to the only official online source for Joe's work. This page used be a reference to where to find sharable MP3s of Joe's work but Joe has ever-so-politely chased them all away. I think Joe's polite harrassment of sites sharing his MP3s is misconceived - based on the dozens of hits this page gets every week, and the minuscule number of stations still airing his programs, I sense that there is little enough keeping the flame alive. See the visitor map link at the bottom of this page.

So instead of links to the programs, I've collected all the first spoken lines of his programs, so you can identify what program you heard (or what program you have taped) based on how it starts. It's also interesting to see the duplications, a good start toward a guide to Joe's recycling of his own material.

'Til You're GoneSingle male thirty years old, very handsome, five eight
2000 Pledge DriveI had a dream last night, actually, it was a nightmare
A Call In The NightWe were in the garden, I sat in my wheelchair
A Death In The FamilyThe development is called the fountains. Charming Spanish style three story apartment buildings
retelling of "A Pact with God"
A HearingWhy are you so sure that O.J. had nothing to do with this?
incorporated into "The O.J. chronicles"
A Kiss is Just a Kiss - part 2the funeral took place the following day
retold as "To The Bar Life"
A Kiss is Just a Kiss - part 3he marched onto a ship and was returned to america
A Landing Strip in the Junglethe first day I arrived there I checked into an odd looking hotel
A Natural DisasterI'm at 1305 Lindbrook Road, about three houses past the blinking traffic light
A Pact With Godthe development is called the fountains
retold as "A Death in the Family"
A Special FamilyEllen was a classmate of mine in high school
A Tour of the City - part 1you're in a commercial jet, circling above a city
A Tour of the City - part 2You're riding in a cab in the rain. The windshield wipers swish back and forth
continued in "Night Ride" remixed in "Black Hole"
Across The Riverabout ten, fifteen years ago there was a great scare that strongtium ninety was going to cause cancer
AlwaysWhen I was a young kid I was very allergic and uh had undergone a number of allergy treatment shots
An American Flowerher clock radio starts playing at six thirty in the morning
also broadcast as "Rose"
An Enterprising ManI remember when it snowed in the sahara
Another Country - part 1when his mother was depressed, you could feel her mood spreading through the house like a foul mist
Another Country - part 2don't think for a moment she said that israel did this without america's permission
Another Country - part 3his stepfather always tried to be cheerful
Anthology Of LoveI was on my way to an appointment a few years ago, and I got caught in a terrible rush hour traffic jam
This starts as "Anthology of Love - Part 2", but goes on
Anthology of Love - part 1We talk about love so much of the time, and yet we don't know what it means
Anthology of Love - part 2I was on my way to an appointment a few years ago and I got caught in a terrible rush hour traffic jam
ArenaThey stood at the water's edge, the waves mounting, the crashing and sweeping up the coastline
At LastHe had told me because for some reason he felt I would be open and non-judgemental
pre-Karma, Larry describes troubles with Zachery
At the BorderOne evening I walked up to a beautiful woman in a restaraunt and said
At the Dark End Of The BarI was on vacation in the caribbean with my parents
subjective retelling of "The Queen of Puerto Rico"
Badso what happened to my church was what happened to many churches
essentially the same as "Building A Church"
Bad KarmaI'm sitting at a dinner party, attended by Pol Pot, Hitler, Stalin, and Mao
Bible SalesmanA lot of people refer to other people as larger than life
Bible StoriesThe fact is that Joseph fell into a deep depression when his fiancee Mary became impregnated by God
contains material from "God Only Knows", "A Natural Disaster", and "Prayer"
Bitter PillIf I could write something it would be about, uh you know, equating one's mother to a sun
Black HoleImages of the city at night. People hurry along with umbrellas
remixed material from "A Tour of the City"
Black Lightit was my night! I owned these people
contains material from "A Tour of the City", "Photography", "The Truth About Women", and the phone calls from "No Show" and "Let Me Not Dream".
Blues SingerThere was a time I was a blues singer
Brotherswell how do you know it's from you? maybe she's getting her period
this is "Jerry's World" edited down to an hour
Building A Churchchurch was what happened to many churches, we did all sorts of kinds of community activities
essentially the same as "Bad"
Caged HeartI was at rehersal and everything was going along pretty well
Case Studiesshe was a rather peculiar person, a woman in her mid forties who was always playing the child
Cave Dreameri'll always remember the great drought, when it didn't rain for two years
Clement At ChristmasI was on vacation from school and several of us went skiing
Cocktails Before DinnerIn this modern technological age, we humans have more than made up for our physical inferiority to animals
ComaMy fingers and toes are torn and bleeding from grasping the rock face
Dear AnnieI tell myself she's too young for me, that that's our problem, the difference of fifteen years between us
Don't Know MindThere came a point where I wanted to leave my apartment
Dreamland (45 minutes)Imagine that time is just a dimension of the universe
Dreamland (60 minutes)Imagine that time is just a dimension of the universe
Dreamland-1986good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome
Dreams of the Riverthe river is a winding tunnel through the jungle
retold as "Fat Man Down"
Either/Or - part 1This is joe frank, I'm here at the bellflower hotel
Either/Or - part 2This is joe frank, I'm here at the bellflower hotel
El CholoI'm from martel alpa, a very small city north of the capitol
Emerald Isleoh emerald isle, surrounded by the raging sea
Emergency Roomyou gonna do that for long?
EmptinessMenachem's about to come home, and my friends just called and asked if we wanted to meet them at the sky bar
EndingsA number of years ago I attended a party, and engaged a very pretty youn woman, literally half my age
Escape From Paradisei was a trucker, I had an eighteen wheeler
Evening SkyHave you heard the one about the guy who goes sailing on the weekend with his dog
Eye In The SkyThat sigalert continues out in Chino Hills on the Corona expressway
Fat Man DownHe tries to sleep as long as possible. When he feels himself rousing
retelling of "Dreams Of The River"
Fire And IceSo anyway last night we go to mandalay, and it's like on friday nights they have this
Five part Dissonancelet me begin by asking you a question
contains excerpts from Joe Frank in Concert and The Rare Recording
Four part DissonanceYou know cause I guess I called your to tell you something
Godi was standing on broadway, on the upper west side
God Only KnowsThe fact is that joseph fell into a deep depression when his fiancee Mary became impregnated by God
Great Liveswell of course, stalin was a very amusing man
Green CadillacA few years ago I saw an ad in the paper for an estate sale
Haitiand all of a sudden something has happened and i is house
HawaiiI remember it was one night, it was in summer, and the doors were open because it was so hot
also broadcast as "A Trip to Hawaii"
He HesitatedThere are paper clips, rubber bands, cellophane wrappers, and pennies on my living room carpet
Higher Learningi just, just turned eightteen in november
Highways Westlenni's a big tall curly haired man with glasses
Hit ManI'm basicly enormously tired all the time
Holy LandI'm in the garden of eden with Eve, she's naked
like "Bible Stories", only different
HomeWe lived in the slave quaters, big house was a costume shop
Hot LineTell me about this big thrill. Well it was a sensation that came over me
I'm Not CrazyOh one night stand, single page, dead end street, first and only never to be repeated passion
Iceland Ver A - part 1lila always carries a big purse, more of a bag than a purse really
Iceland Ver A - part 2do you have any idea how many people send me their short stories
Iceland Ver B - part 1lila always carries a big purse, more of a bag than a purse really
Iceland Ver B - part 2we find ourselves adrift, not knowing what to believe in
Iceland Ver B - part 3do you have any idea how many people send me their short stories
In A Lonely PlaceAnd um, when my parents moved from the big house where they raised their children
In the DarkI'm glad I got this nine millimenter, it's a beauty
In the Middle of Nowhere - part 1oh oh god oh my arm!
In The Middle Of Nowhere - part 2all these morphines and pain killers, they didn't touch my body
In The Middle Of Nowhere - part 3you know charlene, I was just thinking
Insomnia - 1995I grew up in a town called hopedale massachusets
Insomnia - 2001this morning, as is my habit, I wake up at dawn
Islandsit was twilight, dusk, i was in a deserted part of the city
JamI would like to open with the following statement: that I have for the last
Jerry's World - part 1Well, how do you know it's from you, maybe she's getting her period
Jerry's World - part 2My favorite sexual encounter that I had with you
Jerry's World - part 3I've been going to court, with a uh motor vehicle, my father gave me money for that
Joe Frank KPFA InterviewHi Susan, nice to be here
Joe Frank KPFA phone in programThe content of your stuff,um Joe, is really fantastic
Joe Frank On Fresh Airthe wall street journal called joe frank radio's prince of darkness
Joe Frank's AmericaMy name is Joe Frank, and I live in Burlington Vermont
JournalSo I promised you that I was going to present a journal of my daily life
Just a closer walk with theeI the course of a lifetime we loose keys, pens, wallets, pocket knives
Just Get Me Out Of HereThere was a period in my life when I had a breakdown and I was committed to a mental hospital on a ship
Just Hold Meit was a working man's bar in a beach front motel called the surf side in
Justineafter we broke up, justine, I crashed. I could barely sleep at night
Karma - part 1last night, after a series of phone calls in which I was forced to listen to hours and hours of kate raging against me
Karma - part 2what I'm doing is drinking tequila with a little lemon and salt
Karma - part 3I hate this nature stuff
Karma - part 4you remember I told you about marlene drucker
Karma - part 5I mean I can think of people that there were times in my life
Karma - part 6and so two weeks passed of emails and phone messages from kate
Karma - part 7my next door neighbors are a married couple
Karma 4 DollarsI have a funny feeling that this knawing sense of self loathing
Karma CrashMy girlfriend and I had broken up, we handn't emailed or spoken to each other for about three weeks
Karma Don't Deny Methere's a particular woman who lives in my building
Karma Memorieswhile my father was slowly dying, my mother had an affair with another, younger man, freddie
covers "A Pact With God" territory
Karma ReduxI haven't produced a new show in over a month
Last ShowWell it's me, Joe Frank, and this is my last show here on KCRW
Let Me Not Dreamsettle back and get very comfotable, let everything go
Liesat some point when I was in high school I lost my draft card
contains 'The Night Watchman', which concluded All Things Considered on Halloween, 1979
LinesWhat's your name? Nina. Where are you calling from?
Live at Market Streetprosperity for out time, so that the spectre of war will no longer loom darkly
LonerOne, Two O'clock in the afternoon after calling these major motels where I wished I could have stayed
Lost SoulThe parish was set on the rolling hills of a rocky coastline
Love IsIt was ten in the morning, he was in an airport waiting to catch a plane to chicago
Love PrisonerI'm sitting on my front porch; a woman pulling a cello in a case on casters
MargaritaIt takes place back the uh, one of those wonderful Nuremburg rallies
Men of the Clothalice don't know me that well. She says your momma wants to come back from the dead
MercyHe's always hated Christmas; it's the most depressing time of the year
Mercy NowHe's always hated Christmas, It's the most depressing time of the year
Mountain Rainmy father was a very, very popular and wonderful teacher
MysteryI must say that I did not come to los angeles to tiptoe through the tulips
Nauseaone afternoon I drove by a voluptuous, scantily dressed female hitchhiker
Night - part 1a jacuzzi is a small pool seven to eight feet in diameter
Night - part 2when donna got to l.a. the club where she'd been booked had closed down
Night Ridethat is the electric plant over there
related to "A Tour of the City"
No AngelMany years ago, my brother played in a uh orchestra
No Show - 120 Minutes - Part 1I have an announcement to make this evening: there is no show
No Show - 120 Minutes - Part 2this is on channel none, looks like one of those - looks like an interesting movie on channel nine
No Show - 60 MinutesI have an announcement to make this evening, the is no show
No Show - 90 MinutesI have na announcement to make this evening, there is no show
ObsessionsI was at a party, it was late, I was about to go home
On the EdgeWhen I first came to L.A. I lived in a hotel on the beach
PathologyThere was a time when I looked in the mirror, and I could see nothing
material from "White Moon" and "Mountain Rain".
PerformerA month ago I visited my mother in Columbus Ohio
PhilosophyLately I've ben suffering from the compulsion to wander
contains retellings of material from "At The Border" and "Case Studies"
Photographyknockoff was the inventor of the photographic negative
PilgrimThe first light snow of the year has fallen, and the ground is dusted in white
PilotOnce uh I went alone to the Yucatan to go diving
Pledge Drive - Winter 2001Anyway, Kelly and I go into this bar and the music is kickin'
Pledge Drive 2Hello. Hi I'm looking for Jenny
Plethory of Painoh man! What happened? aha, he spit all over his floor
Policemen's BallMy high school gym teacher was the most uh opressive out front personality it's ever been my misfortune
Policemen's Ball (remix)Gym teacher was the most uh opressive out front fasciest
PrayerAlice don't know me that well
contains material first heard in "A Natural Disaster"
Predatorthis young lady came to stay with us a couple of months ago
Pretenderok, here I am, four years old, sitting on the handlebars of our lawnmower
Prison SongsIt was a particularly hot day of a sweltering summer in Manhattan
Problemsmy father was a pioneer in the flourocarbon and silocon industry
Questionsyou experience yourself as a free agent
Rainrain is very sexual to me
Red Seathere was a time when I looked in the mirror, and I could see nothing
very different from Red Sea 1996. Material from pathology and white moon.
Red Sea - 1996there was a time when I was a televangelist
Redneck RounderMy biological grandfather was a huge bear of a man
Rent A Family - part 1anyway they closed the office and they let me go
Rent A Family - part 2see there's wendy, she's climbing up on the top of the sliding board
Rent A Family - part 3I had a terrible dream last night. I had this baby
RepriseThen after the, your experience on lake titticaca
selections of other material
Roseher clock radio starts playing at six thirty in the morning
also broadcast as "An American Flower"
SalesI'm waiting for an epithany, and I'm waiting for understanding
Silent SeaWhen I'm away from home, I repeatedly check my answering machine with my cell phone to see if she's called
SleepI was a child, it was late at night, I couldn't sleep
Small World KarmaThe picture opens with a married couple, sunbathing on a boat
contains a retelling of the "He Hesitated" telling of "The Incredible Shrinking Man" story
SmileI tried to handle this and not, you know, I mean the whole point was for me to take care of this
Soulmatecan you believe that I had to wear my brother's hand me down jacket
material from Emerald Isle
StonerI stepped into a gob of spit on the floor of his room last night
Stories For Nothingi have drunk gallons of chablis, danced the samba, sat outside the casino in the hours ...
Streetwiseimagine that time is just a dimension of the universe
Summer HillA monkey's walking along, like, in the jungle, having a beautiful day
Summer NotesI notice a metal sheet here, lying beside you
Talk To Meum, how long has this been going on, in the next room
Talking About Lovemy dental hygenist told me to use baking soda
TaylorWhat is with this day, it's so beautiful?!
Tell Me What To Dohe didn't really notice her in the beginning
TerminalI have this strange fantasy life when I eat
Thank You, You're BeautifulHold on a second I just have to get a ciggarette
That NightMy uncle fred was a deeply religious man who labored all his life
The 80 Yard Runnow the story of my, as I like to call it my infamous eighty yard run
The Angina DialoguesI was walking past a church, off of central park west, you know
The BestRockwell gave visual form to essential American values
The BoxThis is a microphone, are we recording now?
The CruiseI was on a small luxury cruise ship, sailing from
The Death of Trotskythe bus leaves in the evening, from the beuna vista station
the 'nada poem' can also be found in Ernest Hemingway's 'A Clean, Well-Lighted Place'
The Decline of SpenglerHoffman died today, during surgery to remove fatty deposits from his thighs
The Dictator - part 1I'll always remember the great drought, when it didin't rain for two years
The Dictator - part 2Now many people condem me for rocketing the cities of our enemy
The Dictator - part 3my picture can be seen on highway billboards
The Endwhen did it begin? I don't know really
The FutureWe were in this little town called Northfork, Pennsylvania
The Last RunOne time, we went to Reno, we went there for the weekend
incorporated into "The O.J. chronicles"
The Loved OneWhen I was in high school, I hung out with a tall, skinny guy named Howard
The Lover Manis it the smouldering beauty of my purple eyes?
The More I Know YouI've always have very peculiar taste in men
The Nature of ThingsAccording to the theory of the big bang, the universe exploded from a single point
The O.J. ChroniclesOne time we went to Reno, we went there for the weekend
"The Last Run" followed by "A Hearing"
The Other SideI'd like to talk, uh, a little bit about and get your opinions
contains material from "Warheads", "Across the River", "Lines", etc.
The Queen Of Puerto RicoHe was seventeen, on vacation with his mother and father in the Caribbean
The Riverwe were on the nile, going down the river
The Road To CalvaryI was working in a slaughterhouse. My job was to grasp two cantilevers
The Road To Helloh midnight special, I ride the rods a hobo, not homeless
The SacredI remember once, were were sitting on my front steps, watching ants
The StreetYou know like I say I'm just a drifter. I like to travel from different cities
The Sunday Morning Servicewhen I first started talking to him, every time we'd start to say a sentence it was like
The Truth About Women - part 1I became involved with this, with guy once
The Truth About Women - part 2i grew up in a desert resort town not far from here
The WireI'm doing this play called 'God is Vengence'
TherapyNone of us has escaped the injuries and indignities of growing up
Third World CountryI first saw Raymond washing and waxing cars on my block
also aired as "Raymond" and "Third World Country"
Three ShinglesIt's a roadside bar, with a jukebox playing country and western music
To the bar LifeWe don't have any Jamisons, we got some, um, we got a little Imperial over here
polished retelling of "A Kiss is Just a Kiss"
TomorrowIt happened three years ago, about two weeks before new year's eve. My father, extremely drunk
Two BabesI think I'm over the illusions of prince charming and somebody to take care of me
Two WomenI became involved with this, this guy once
shares material with The Truth about Women
Untitled 1987one evening i walked up to a beautiful woman in a restaraunt
At the border?
Untitled 1997It was my night, I owned these people
could be 'black light'
Waiting For KarmaI feel very uncomfortable, eating when I'm sober
Waiting For The BellIs it the smouldering beauty of my purple eyes
contains material from "Lover Man", "Zen", "Obsessions"
WarheadsI'd like to talk a little bit and get your opinions about some new systems we've come up with at the institute
What Women WantWe left off with him playing the guitar and you singing
When She's Asleep, She Looks Like an Angelyears ago, when I lived in manhattan, I went to a psychoanalyst four times a week
Where Will It End?I told you that I I made this decision to sort of be engaged to myself
White Moonthere was a time when I looked in the mirror, and I could see nothing
shared material with red sea, white moon, pathology
Why I Don't Love You Anymorehave you, uh, ever been in a restaraunt or a theater
WindowsThere was a man who lived in an apartment complex in a city
Woman And Bull In Paint FactorySettle back and get very comfortable, let everything go
Women PoliceGot I, I really hate David Sendaris and Ira Glass
Wordsgentlemen in striped pants, cutaway morning coats, white fronted vests
ZenThis goes back to nineteen uh fify nine
comments/suggestions to:ddyer@real-me.net
my home page
Help Map The Web