The Morning Show
with Dale Connelly and Jim Ed Poole

Monday - Friday, 6-9 a.m., on the Classical Music Stations of Minnesota Public Radio

The Morning Show is a weekday morning radio show where the disc jockeys still pick the music. Types of music featured in the show may include, but are not limited to, folk, jazz, classical, showtunes, blues, rock, cajun, zydeco, klezmer, country, and assorted styles of yodeling and joikking. The Morning Show has been on the air since June 1983 and has yet to satisfy the numerous predictions that it will NEVER LAST!

Dale Connelly is the latest in a long family line of calm-voiced zombies who seem to float along with little connection to surrounding events. His great-great-grandfather, Orville Norcross Connelly, served the Union Army at Gettysburg, and was heard to remark as the Rebels closed in on Little Round Top, "... turning now to the popular works of American Composer Steven Foster, the Union Army Band will perform a stirring rendition of 'Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair.' "

Generations of Connellys struggled to find suitable work until the invention of radio opened up new markets for their brand of detached bemusement.

Dale has been with MPR since 1976, the same year that brought us Jimmy Carter as President. Carter has since moved on. Connelly remains entrenched.

Ma and Pa Poole used no spoken language with Jim Ed Poole until the age of 5. In his developmental years Jim Ed communicated with those closest to him through a series of grunts, squawks, crashes, creaky door sounds and various animal calls. While he now is an experienced user of the English language, those early experiences have served Jim Ed well, as he also communicates fluently in "Whirlybird," "Artillery," "Dripping Faucet," and "Pig French."

Jim Ed, who sometimes uses the stage name "Tom Keith," joined MPR in the heady days just after the invention of electricity. In the many years that have followed he has steadfastly held to his youthful pledge to use his talents "only in the name of good."