problem appears to be solved...
The feedback here has been very helpful.
I believe it was a combination of several issues... some of which I can address.
First, I was using an old guitar cord, it was not shielded & way too long for what I needed.
second... My strat pick-ups are unshielded
third... I live very close to several broadcast towers.
I will not be moving, or replacing my Strat... but I did replace my old long cord with a new shorter, shielded cord and have not had the problem again...
so far
( & Queuing up Steely Dan must have had influence too....)
daredel's post in Picking up an FM signal was marked as the answer