***
Simon Loekle died last week. He was a brilliant raconteur, literature lover and scholar. His distinctive voice was heard over radio station WBAI for over 35 years. He had two different radio shows over the years. The most recent one was called As I Please, but his first show which ran for many years, the one I first listened to as I drove a NYC cab in the wee hours of the morning many years ago, the one that came on as the sun came up, was the show called Why The Revolution Hasn’t Come. The Kinks’ “Apeman” was his theme song, and sometimes he’d play it several times in a row just for effect.
“Oh what a life of luxury, to be like an ape man!” Rest In Peace, Simon.
The Kinks – Apeman 1970
I think I’m sophisticated
cos I’m living my life like a good homo sapien
But all around me everybody’s multiplying
Till they’re walking round like flies man
So I’m no better than the animals sitting in their cages
In the zoo man
cos compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees
I am an ape man
I think I’m so educated and I’m so civilized
cos I’m a strict vegetarian
But with the over-population and inflation and starvation
And the crazy politicians
I don’t feel safe in this world no more
I don’t want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore
and make like an ape man
I’m an ape man, I’m an ape ape man
I’m an ape man I’m a King Kong man I’m ape ape man
I’m an ape man
Cos compared to the sun that sits in the sky
Compared to the clouds as they roll by
Compared to the bugs and the spiders and flies
I am an ape man
In man’s evolution he has created the cities and
The motor traffic rumble, but give me half a chance
And I’d be taking off my clothes and living in the jungle
cos the only time that I feel at ease
Is swinging up and down in a coconut tree
Oh what a life of luxury to be like an ape man
I’m an ape, I’m an ape ape man, I’m an ape man
I’m a King Kong man, I’m a voo-doo man
I’m an ape man
I look out my window, but I can’t see the sky
cos the air pollution is fogging up my eyes
I want to get out of this city alive
And make like an ape man
Come and love me, be my ape man girl
And we will be so happy in my ape man world
I’m an ape man, I’m an ape ape man, I’m an ape man
I’m a king kong man, I’m a voo-doo man
I’m an ape man
I’ll be your Tarzan, you’ll be my Jane
I’ll keep you warm and you’ll keep me sane
And well sit in the trees and eat bananas all day
Just like an ape man
I’m an ape man, I’m an ape ape man, I’m an ape man
I’m a king kong man, I’m a voo-doo man
I’m an ape man.
I don’t feel safe in this world no more
I don’t want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore
And make like an ape man.
Thanks to YouTuber fritz51177
Oh NO! I didn’t know that Simon died!! How did I miss that??? I guess I have not been listening to BAI as often as I should be?? I loved him and his show. I had quit listening recently due to my schedule, but had been making a point of listening for years!! SO SAD!!
Jack, I got here via a Simon search on google. I’m an old friend of his older brother Chris – we went to School of Visual Arts together in the early 70’s. Their parents lived in the heart of the village then, in a brownstone (Greenwich, not East). There were many wonderful times spent chez Loekle. Simon’s style was in place very early on. His father was an amazing force too, very creative and entertaining. His mother was a lovely, highly accomplished, complex woman, who drove me crazy when she insisted that her greatest achievement was her three sons. All of family were/are smart as tacks.
Chris and I are in touch sporadically, and in a recent email he mentioned Simon, which is why I find myself here now. I hope that all makes a little sense. Your post is a great remembrance.
Thanks so much for that info about the family. Simon’s show got me through many tough early mornings when I was driving a yellow cab and listening to his show on WBAI decades ago. Unfortunately, I never got to meet him, but ended up now, years later, volunteering and producing segments for the radio station.
Interesting! I have known a number of people who’ve driven cabs for while….BAI was a mainstay back in the day….it must be fun, and satisfying to produce segments.