1959 ‘PAYOLA’: A DEEJAY’S EXPOSE, VIEWS OF TRADE

From the MCRFB news archives: 1959

LIFE MAGAZINE (November 23, 1959)

” . . . . clear evidence of disk jockey bribery crops up.”

Edmond T. McKenzie, has worked in broadcasting in Detroit since 1937. His career, income and popularity had gone steadily upward until he quit bigtime radio in disgust some eight months ago. Here he tells what made him want to leave.

By ED MCKENZIE

Eight months ago I quit a $60,000-a-year disk jockey job on Detroit radio station WXYZ. I could not stand present-day “formula radio” (See MCRFB: ‘Veteran DJ Ed McKenzie Quits On WXYZ’ March 16, 1959) — its bad music, its incessant commercials in bad taste, its subservient to ratings and its pressure of payola. Because of the charts that are put together by numbers of music trade publications (Billboard; Cashbox) that rate the popularity of records, I had to play music on my program that I would never have played otherwise. And the charts are phony because of the most disgusting part of the radio industry — payola.

Ed McKenzie (Press photo; 1959) — **Ed McKenzie** *(Press photo; 1959)*

Payola really got started about 10 years ago. Until then the record business was controlled by the big companies by Decca, Columbia, RCA-Victor and Capitol. When the obscure little record companies started up and begin turning out offbeat records by unknown artists, they looked for a way to get their product distributed and played. The answer was payola: offering disk jockeys cash to play records they wouldn’t ordinarily play.

I never took payola because it was completely dishonest, but I was often approached by small companies who were having a tough time getting their stuff on the air. They would say, “Well, how much do you want to ride this record for the next three weeks?” They might offer $100 for a one week ride, which would have meant playing the record several times a day to make it popular.

Many disk jockeys are on the weekly payroll of five to ten record companies, which can mean a side income of $25,000 to $50,000 a year. The payment is by cash in an envelope. Phil Chess, co-owner of Chess, Checker and Argo Records, told me that when he called on certain disk jockeys to promote his records, the first question some jocks would ask was, “How many dead presidents are there for me?” Dead presidents means the president on bills. A $20 bill is a “Jackson.”

LIFE November 23, 1959 — **LIFE** *November 23, 1959*

The small companies know that if it can score in a key record-selling city — Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland or Pittsburgh — it will score nationally. If an unknown artist on an obscure label makes some noise in one of these cities, the record sales are promptly published in the trade papers — Billboard, Cashbox, Variety. Other jockeys around the country sees these listings, and a chain-reaction is set off. The offbeat record becomes a money-making hit, all through payola.

Another way to rig the key cities is to fix the bestseller charts. I know many record production men who takes out a girl who works on the local chart. They give her a big time, wine her and dine her, buy her gifts, become very friendly. Then they get her to list their record, even if it isn’t a best seller.

It’s even worse in the big-time. Many music publishers tell me that to get a song played on one popular teenage program, they have to give the star 50% of the song. He wants either half the song or a half-interest in the recording artist before he will put it on his program. He rejects many songs because he can’t get a piece of the record.

Ed McKenzie, formerly "Jack The Bellboy" on WJBK, Detroit, early-1950s. — **Ed McKenzie**, formerly *“Jack The Bellboy”* on WJBK, Detroit, early-1950s. McKenzie’s famed “Jack The Bellboy” moniker he used while on WJBK was retained legal *ownership* of the the Storer-owned station, immediately after McKenzie left WJBK for WXYZ, early-1950s.

“Slicing up an artist” in this way oftens involve a jockey. A few years ago we had a case like this in Detroit when a New York song plugger, a nightclub owner and a local disk jockey sliced up Johnny Ray early in his career. They pushed and plugged him in Detroit until he became popular, but they never got their cut of Ray subsequent bug earnings. Johnny Ray didn’t dare come back to sing in Detroit until he bought back the club owner’s share of his contract.

Payola usually begins when a song plugger or publisher comes to town and takes the jockey out for dinner. The sky’s the limit on entertainment — drinks, girls, everything. There is always a big follow-up at Christmas. They flood you with liquor, TV sets, hi-fi sets, expensive luggage, big baskets of food, expensive watches, silk shirts, imported sweaters. The flow doesn’t stop after the holiday season. A record plugger once offered to install a bar in my basement. When one Detroit jock moved into a new home, his property was landscaped with hundreds of dollars worth evergreens and flowering shrubs and trees.

Once when I had tried to squelch a song plugger who was after me to play a certain tune, he mailed me a $100 government bond in my name. I was the only person who could cash it. I did cash it for $75, added $25 of my own in interest and mailed a $100 check to Leader Dog for the Blind. I mailed the donation receipt to the song plugger and said, “This is where your money went.” I never played his record.

Radio station managers are aware of all the bad practices of payola, but I guess they take the attitude that “the kid isn’t making much salary here, so if he can make a little on the side, God bless him.”

Bad as payola is, it isn’t the only thing an honest disk jockey has to fight. Between each record you are required to give two, three or four commercials. Even though I was paid a commission for each commercial I gave at WXYZ it bothered my conscience terribly. I knew that I was driving any intelligent listener away from radio with this drivel.

How could anyone bear to listen to this sort of thing? One answer was given by Leonard Goldenson, president of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theaters. He said the ABC network was after one listener, the housewife just out of her teens. That is why you hear this so-called teenaged rock ‘n’ roll junk.

All of this — payola, ratings, the bad ratings, the obnoxious commercials — was far more than I could take, so last spring I quit formula radio. I have since joined a group of other radio mavericks at WQTE, a small daytime station station between Detroit – Monroe. On this station I feel like I can honestly entertain people without the excessive commercialism, and I don’t have to play any music unless I think it’s good. The station is only 500 watts — but it’s honest. END

william-b-williams-sitting-amid-the-8-000-records-a-dj-receives-each-year-from-record-companies. — New York City’s **WILLIAM B. WILLIAMS** sitting amid the 8,000 plus-records a radio disk jockey receives each year from record companies. *(LIFE photo; November 23, 1959).*

(Information and news source: LIFE; November 23, 1959).

DJ DON MCLEOD QUITS; WJBK MIRED IN 1959 PAYOLA

WJBK-AM (DETROIT)

Don McLeod, a popular nighttime Detroit radio personality, was the third disk jockey to leave WJBK behind Tom Clay and Dale Young. Tom Clay was fired. Dale Young abruptly resigned. McLeod left the station on Monday, November 23, 1959. Reportedly, all three were alleged having been involved taking gifts, accepting “cash-for-play,” known in the industry as payola, while at the Storer Broadcasting station that year.

(Click on image 2x for enlarged PC view).

FOR OUR PREVIOUS Motor City Radio Flashbacks coverage on the PAYOLA scandal that rocked the industry in 1959, please go HERE, HERE and HERE.

’50S: THE ‘PAYOLA’ SCANDAL PROBE . . . NOVEMBER 30, 1959

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1959

An Editorial | November 30, 1959

L A M E , H A L T A N D B L I N D

N E W Y O R K D I S T R I C T A T T O R N E Y Hogan and the Oren Harris Committee are boldly pursuing their investigations of the payola mess. This is all for the good, and may ultimately mean a better record and broadcasting industry — with cleaner business ethics and a fairer shake for the consumer.

Let us, however, urge the investigators to use utmost care in examining the evidence — in sifting the wheat from the chaff.

Many frustrated music men — out of step with current song and recording trends, see in the present goings-on a chance to a position of eminence. The ranks of the frustrated include artists, songwriters, publishers and record manufacturers — many of whom sigh for the good old days, blame their plight on rock and roll and construe that “rock ‘ n’ roll” is an outgrowth of payola.

T H E C A N C E R O F P A Y O L A cannot be pinned on rock and roll. Payola was rampart in the music business during the vaudeville era of the 1920s and the band era of the 1930s and 1940s. It did not affect major song trends then, and likewise, it is seen to have little effect in the 1950s.

The trend-setters are the Elvis Presleys, the Johnny Cashes, the Fats Dominoes, the Johnny Mathises, the Bobby Darins, etc. Artists of this stature make their mark despite payola. They make it because they reach kids with 98 cents in their pockets. They are the better arbiter.

Typical of the wild “evidence” being bandied about currently is the daily newspaper story about singer Don Anthony “whose record of ‘Careless’ became a hit on his own label, Barbizon Records . . . .”

Anthony made need police protection, as he claims, but his recording of ‘Careless’ never became a hit. Quite the contrary, all evidence indicates it was a complete bomb.

O T H E R S I M I L A R L Y W I L D A N D irresponsible pieces of “evidence” are lightly to come to light.

It would be highly unfair, and would do the record industry a great disservice, if irresponsible allegations by embittered has-beens were taken seriously by the investigators or the press.

There are many talented, creative peoplein the music business; there are many who are incompetent or no longer attuned; there are many who are, simply stated, evil.

The probers should aim carefully. A buckshot blast may do general and irreparable damage while missing the specific target: PAYOLA. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; November 30, 1959)

’50S: PAYOLA SCANDAL ROCKS 1959 RADIO INDUSTRY

**THE NEW YORK POST:** NYC WINS (and WABC) air staff were alleged to have been heavily involved with payola in 1959. *(Click on image 2x for largest detailed PC view).*

’50S: PAYOLA PROBE KEYS WIDESPREAD EFFECT . . . NOVEMBER 30, 1959

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1959

Spells Hefty Career Damage For Many; Finis For Some; Policy Shifts Likely

NEW YORK — Judging by events of the past week, one effect of the current deejay-payola probe is likely to be that of at least 25 disk jockeys (ranging in importance from the moderate to the biggest names), program directors, record execs and publishers will have been substantially damaged as far as their careers in the music business is concerned.

Some will recover, but other may truly “go down the drain,” in the words of Alan Freed, who lost both his jobs at WABC and WNEW-TV last week.

Budget Angle

One of the most immediate effects of the probe may very well be a sharp decrease in the number of local record-hop type shows. Freed’s parting with WNEW-TV was said to have been at least partially sparked by AFTRA’s ruling that Freed (who reportedly was paid only $450.00 weekly for six-hour long daily TV shows) paid scale (about $140) to each act for lip-synching to records on his show.

Freed — and many other TV record hop emcees across the country — usually had from four to eight disks guests daily, thereby posing a practically impossible budget problem.

In line with this, station WJBK, Detroit, has said it had no intention of scheduling another “Detroit Bandstand” show replacement for emcee Dale Young, who resigned from that station last week, refusing to comment on the reason for his exit.

Tom Clay was fired from WJBK over the weekend, after he admitted accepting payola. Clay admitted he received about $6,000 over the last year and a half from small record companies. Another Detroit broadcaster, Jack Le Goff, was fired last week from WJBK after he aired an editorial defending payola “as a part of American culture.” Still another Detroit radio jock, Dom McLeod, resigned also from WJBK last week, making three spinners out in a 36-hour period.

Other Resignations

Although the payola probe wasn’t necessarily involved, several other deejays resigned from stations across the country last week. Joe Niagara moved his previously announced December 19 resignation date (from WIBG Philadelphia) up to last Monday (November 23) following a conference with WIBG managing director John C. Moler.

Three of Boston’s top jocks (Stan Richards, Bill Marlowe, Joe Smith) were given notice by WILD,in what was described as a move “to de-emphasize the role of the deejays and to emphasize the role of the station from now on.”

The WILD story suggests what many in the trade believe to be a strong possibility — namely that the probe may result in the selection of music being taken out of the hands of individual disk jockeys and program directors almost entirely.Confronted with a threat to their FCC licenses, station management may decide the only solution is to ride herd on record programming personally.

It has been suggested that they elimination of payola will mean the return of “good music” (i.e. non-rock and roll) to radio. However, station management usually places more emphasis on the importance of ratings than anybody else in a radio operation, so the only conclusion is that they will give the public what surveys and rating indicate it wants to hear — be it rock and roll, far-out jazz or the minuet. Ratings services, of course, have also been recently been accused of hanky panky.

‘Payola’ Not Defined

The word ‘Payola’ itself has yet to be defined. Some stations believe it perfectly proper for jocks to have ownership interests in publishing companies, record firms, distributing outfits, etc. — as long as they don’t infringe on station programming; while other consider such activities just as much a part of payola as cash on the line.

For example, John V. B. Sullivan, general manager of WNEW, New York, says he doesn’t consider it real payola “unless it affects the music.” Consequently, said Sullivan, he has no objections to WNEW jockey Lonnie Starr’s ownership in a couple of firms. Because his investigations have shown they don’t show up on his radio program. In fact, notes Sullivan, last year the firm actually cost Starr $400.

Sullivan also said that, “I don’t care if Frank Sinatra wants to give WNEW jockey Bill Williams a Cadillac because Williams would be playing Sinatra record already — thus such a gift wouldn’t affect the music.”

Westinghouse View

On the other hand Westinghouse Broadcasting last week said, “WBC does not condone disk jockeys’ ownership of record companies, distributing companies, publishing companies or ownership of talent. That is because of the actual or potential conflict of interest between ownership on the one hand and the creative selection of programming on the other.” Westinghouse did not say if it would take any action if investigation reveals that any of it’s jockeys are involved in such outside activities.

Harold Anderson, general manager of WINS, New York, agrees with WNEW manager Sullivan, in that he doesn’t think ownership of labels, etc., necessarily constitute payola. For example, he said the station is aware of jockey Murray Kaufman’s publishing and recording activities but he doesn’t think they may influence the spinner’s programming, because jocks at WINS don’t select records played on their own shows.

The disks are selected by the program department, with the assistance of a rotating trio of jocks. Anderson said he is convinced “our people are perfectly clean,” and that instant dismissal would follow if he discovered anything to the contrary.

The happiest result of the probe should be that it will make payola deals so difficult to manage in the future, that legitimate forms of record promotion will have a tremendous resurgence moving forward. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; November 30, 1959)

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