TODAY IN OLDIES HISTORY * MAY 15

Births

1918: Eddy Arnold
1937: Trini Lopez
1938: Lenny Welch
1944: Ian Amey (Dave Dee, Dozey, Beaky, Mick and Tich)
1947: Graham Goble (The Little River Band)
1948: Gary Thain (Uriah Heep)
1948: Brian Eno
1953: Mike Oldfield
Deaths

1992: Barbara Lee Jones (The Chiffons)
2000: Geoff Goddard (The Tornadoes)
2001: Brian Pendleton (The Pretty Things)
2003: June Carter Cash
Events

1954: A Memphis truck driver named Elvis Presley auditions with the house band at Memphis’ Hi Hat Club and is told he’ll never make it as a singer.
1961: Brenda Lee guest stars as struggling singer “Tina Davis” on tonight’s “Teenage Thrush” episode of CBS-TV’s Make Room For Daddy.
1963: The Rolling Stones sign to Decca Records.
1963: At the 5th Annual Grammy Awards, most of the big prizes go to Henry Mancini for his instrumental movie theme “The Days Of Wine And Roses.” Best Album and Best Female Vocal go to The Barbra Streisand Album, while Nino Tempo and April Stevens inexplicably win Best Rock and Roll Recording for “Deep Purple.” However, Ray Charles does win the top R&B award for “Busted.”
1967: While attending a concert by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames at London’s ultrahip Bag O’Nails club, Paul McCartney meets a young photographer named Linda Eastman. They will meet again one year later to the day when Paul appears with John on NBC-TV’s Tonight Show to talk about their upcoming venture, Apple Records.
1971: Pink Floyd play London’s Crystal Palace Bowl, situated in front of a large lake in which, thanks to the band’s volume, most of the fish will die.
1973: Former Boz Scaggs and Elvin Bishop backup singers the Pointer Sisters make their stage debut as an act of their own, singing at the Troubadour in Los Angeles.
1975: The latest and ultimately most famous lineup of Fleetwood Mac — Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks — play their first show together in El Paso.
1977: Procol Harum plays what will prove to be their last live show at the Academy of Music in New York.
1986: Bob Dylan signs for his first true acting gig, the disastrous love triangle Hearts Of Fire, also starring Rupert Everett and future pop-metal afterthought Fiona.
1996: The earliest-ever footage of the Beatles, found in a Liverpool home, was broadcast by Britain’s ITV; it shows the group (minus sound) performing at the Casanova Club on February 14, 1961.
1997: Muzak turns four KISS hits, inexplicably, into its patented “beautiful music” instrumentals.
2009: Randy Bachman of the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive is presented with Canada’s highest civilian honor, an officer of the Order of Canada.
Releases

1970: The Carpenters, Close To You
1970: Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath
Recording

1972: The Temptations, “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone”
Charts

1965: The Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” enters the charts
1971: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s LP 4 Way Street hits #1
1976: The Rolling Stones LP Black And Blue hits #1
1976: The Sylvers’ “Boogie Fever” hits #1
Certifications

1972: Glen Campbell’s Greatest Hits LP is certified gold

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GARY BERKOWITZ LEAVES WHYT-FM FOR WJR-AM . . . OCTOBER 18, 1986

Motor City Radio Flashbacks logoA MCRFB NEWS brief: 1986

Berkowitz Transits Cap Cities Sister FM Over to AM 760 WJR

 

 

 


 

DETROIT — GARY BERKOWITZ will soon be putting all of his energies into Cap Cities/ABC News/talker/WJR Detroit. He will be leaving the operation of sister hit outlet WHYT to a yet-unamed PD. “It was a difficult decision to make,” say Berkowitz. “I love WHYT and it’s format and I’m very proud that we’ve set it up so it can run all by itself.” With regard to leaving the operations manager post at WHYT to concentrate on the same responsibility for WJR, Berkowitz says, “I will be nice to have just one job, and the WJR post will put me in a better position to get closer to a GM spot.

In the meantime, Berkowitz will be helping WHYT’s newly named GM, John Cravens (Billboard reference below), find a suitable PD for the top 40 station. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; October 18, 1986)


NEW GM NAMED FOR WHYT

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John Cravens is named president/general manager of hit outlet WHYT Detroit. Craven joins the Cap Cities/ABC outlet from the VP/GM post at Malrite’s KSRR Houston.”

(Billboard; October 11, 1986)


WJR-AM Gary Berkowitz (second from right) poses with WJR-AM management and on-air notables Warren Pierce and J. P. McCarthy, 1986. (Photo property of Gary Berkowitz; click over image for larger size).


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