Detroit Montage Of Disc Jockeys – 1966 – Part 2.mp3
Day: June 19, 2012
DICK CLARK RAPS BRITISH GROUPS… DECEMBER 26, 1964
From the MCRFB news archives:
DICK CLARK CITES GREED FOR BRITISH ACTS HERE
LOS ANGELES — “There’s nothing deader in Liverpool than the British beat sound and we’re sitting here hyping the hell out of it.” This is the impression Dick Clark has of the overlapping music-personal appearance business. The head of his own successful “Caravan Of Stars” teen show, Clark is irked about the supposedly successful impression left by visiting British rock and roll groups.
Take away the Beatles, and the “British imitators were never a box-office boom, although people thought they were,” Clark says. Clark’s desk is heavy with newspaper clippings of box-office disasters involving these British longhairs. He personally had felt the box-office bite twice, losing $9,000 on fiascos with the Animals in Columbus, Ohio and also in Norfolk, Virginia.
The apparent paradox of radio airplay strength and declining box-office appeal perplexes Clark. “These groups make the charts but audiences won’t pay to see them,” he charges. Business for Clark’s own operation was up 11 per cent this November over a corresponding period last year. While his shows continue their popularity with teen audiences, Clark feel the bad taste incurred by local promoters booking British groups hurt the entire road show business. “It’s been a blood bath for American promoters,” he says. Clark says the Pittsburgh promoter who handled his “Caravan” made $2,000 more than he did in handling the Beatles’ concert because of their great overhead and additional costs absorbed by the fine print for the U.S. tour bookings.
Clark’s nightly guarantee is “under $5,000” and consists of a string of popular hit artists, all carefully polished to work as a single unit. The executive says the British tours have been hastily put together, featuring one or two headliners and using poorly rehearsed local acts to fill out the bill.
Clark thinks the reason people have “snowballed” by the Redcoats is plain greed. He says promoters saw the success of the Beatles and “the thought of that green led them to grasp at the Rolling Stones, Animals, Searchers, etc.”
One California disc jockey who promoted several British concerts has vowed to “never again” enter the fray, Clark was told.
On a brighter note, Clark reports the college market will be opening for his teen caravan. Last year he only played three college dates, but so far requests indicate a new market for American Top 40 performers such as the one he has been showcasing around the country for several years now. END.
(Information and news source: Billboard; December 26, 1964).
FLASHBACK POP MUSIC HISTORY: JUNE 19
From the MCRFB music calendar:
Events on this date: JUNE 19
1958: Buddy Holly records his first solo songs, “Early In The Morning,” and “Now We’re One,” at Decca’s Pythian Temple Studios in New York City.
1960: At the height of the folk-music boom, the Kingston Trio premiered their own self-titled weekday show on the CBS Radio Network.
1963: For the first time, Ringo Starr uses his new Ludwig drum set, complete with the famous Beatles logo onstage as the group performs at the London Playhouse Theater.
1965: The Kinks and the Moody Blues make their U.S. stage debut in the same show, held at New York’s Academy of Music.
1967: Answering questions about a controversial interview he’d recently given to the Daily Mirror, Paul McCartney shocks the British public by admitting on BBC television that he had taken LSD four times.
1973: A strange musical ode to sci-fi and fifties kitsch starring Tim Curry, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, opens as a stage show at the Royal Court’s Theater Upstairs in London.
1973: Roberta Flack’s first (and last) television special, Roberta Flack… The First Time Ever, also starring the Blossoms and Seals and Croft, airs on ABC Television.
1976: “Rollermania” hits the U.S. as the Bay City Rollers begin their first-ever American tour with a concert in Atlanta City.
1980: David Geffen’s new self-titled record label signs it’s first artist, disco diva Donna Summers.
2000: At Bob Dylan’s concert in Portland, Oregon, British sign-language expert Professor Patrick Ladd “signs” the folk-rocker’s lyrics for the hearing impaired.
2009: North Wilkesboro, NC, holds a festival in honor of their late great native son, singer Oliver of “Good Morning Sunshine” fame.
Deaths: Bobby Helms; 1997.
Releases: “Long Tall Sally,” by the Beatles; U.K.
Recordings: 1961: “You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby,” Bobby Darin. 1962: “Ramblin’ Rose,” Nat King Cole. 1967: “All You Need Is Love,” Beatles.
Charts: 1961: “Moody River,” by Pat Boone hits No. 1. 1965: “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) by The Four Tops hit No. 1. 1965: “You Turn Me On,” by Ian Whitcomb enters the charts. 1971: “It’s Too Late,” by Carole King hits No. 1.
Certifications: 1973: The Edgar Winter Group’s “Frankenstein” certified gold by the RIAA.
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day…. JUNE 19.