Free Republic

Charles Laquidara is having second thoughts about participating in the four-day farewell to WBCN that starts tomorrow morning. The legendary former disc jockey, a centerpiece of the marathon sendoff, is upset that former jock Mark Parenteau is not invited to take part. “Mark’s one of the key figures, and we’re not allowed to mention him. His name’s been wiped out,’’ said Laquidara, who hosted “The Big Mattress’’ show back in the day. “I feel like a whore and a hypocrite doing [the farewell] because it’s not being handled in the ’BCN spirit.’’ After 40 years, the station is about to...

Don’t breathe a word of this. Because nobody’s supposed to know. But the real reason Charles Laquidara and WBOS parted ways was because the station believed the Boston radio legend was being too political - and he wouldn’t sit for censorship. Laquidara resigned his gig as host of a daily one-hour music show called “Back Spin” after catching heat from station suits for airing his way-left-of-center views on the prez, the war, etc. Our spies in the studio say that after Laquidara played Neil Young’s new tune “Impeach the President,” he was reprimanded by his boss, who told him something...

Darrell Martinie, a.k.a. The Cosmic Muffin, died last night in his home in Saugus, MA of cancer. One of the first astrologers to have a regular radio presence, he started his broadcasting career on The Big Mattress with Charles Laquidara, the infamous morning show on CBS Radio's WBCN/Boston back in 1972. The moniker The Cosmic Muffin came from a National Lampoon comedy bit known as "Deteriorata," which was a parody of the spoken-word recording "Desiderata." The Big Mattress moved across town to Classic Rock sister station WZLX in 1996, and Martinie moved to the new location with the show until...