A ‘Q FM GREAT. OUR FRIEND BILL BAILEY REMEMBERED
WDRQ-FM BACK ON THE RADIO WITH: BILL BAILEY!
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From our MCRFB aircheck archives, featuring: WDRQ-FM with Bill Bailey!
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WXYZ-AM 1270 * THE DETROIT SOUND SURVEY * JUNE 13, 1966
From the MCRFB archive files:
THE TOP 35 HITS ON WXYZ ON THIS DATE IN 1966
WXYZ 1270 Detroit Sound Survey; No. 09 issued June 13, 1966 under Lee Alan, Program Director; WXYZ
(WXYZ 1270 Detroit Sound Survey for June 13, this date 1966; survey courtesy the Jim Heddle Collection. For the previous weekly WXYZ June 6, 1966 survey click here).
FMR. WDRQ DEEJAY BILL BAILEY DIED TODAY AGE 66
Veteran Personality/Programmer Bill Bailey Dies
RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, June 12, 2013 | 5:07pm CT
30-year veteran personality and Oldies WGVU-FM/Grand Rapids Program Director and morning personality Bill Bailey has died. He passed away Wednesday while playing golf (his off-air passion) during a station promotion. Bailey began his career with Armed Forces Radio during the Vietnam war. Back in the U.S., he worked at WXTR/Washington DC, mornings at WDRQ/Detroit, PD/mornings, then VP/Programming at WIZF/Cincinnati and on-air at WLS-AM/Chicago before moving to Grand Rapids.
“Bill has been an integral part of building WGVU Real Oldies,” said WGVU GM Michael Walenta. “We will miss his smile, his style, and the contribution he has made to our station and our lives. His passion for music, golf, and the community are an inspiration. Please keep Bill’s family in your thoughts.” (06-12-13)
(Information source: http://news.radio-online.com; June 12, 2013).
LOST GOLD * AUGUST 21, 1966
TRINI LOPEZ: REPRISE ARTIST MAKES IT BIG IN ONE YEAR . . . MAY 15, 1965
From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1965
EUROPEAN SUCCESS PAVE WAY FOR LOPEZ
T R I N I L O P E Z who really made it big in the United States during the last year, got his momentum from his acceptance of “If I Had A Hammer.”
As his manager Bullets Durgom explains, “Trini caught on fast in Europe because the people liked his sound and beat.” Durgom said he found it aggravating attempting to convince American booking agents that Trini had been a success on his own merit in Europe in 1964 and deserve showcasing here.
“They didn’t want to believe his European success,” Bullets said. “They thought it was manufactured.”
But in little over a year the 27 year-old Dallas singer had broken attendance marks, set the Europeans singing and dancing along with his infectious melodic style and traveled more than 100,000 miles to earn $480,000 dollars.
At the Olympic Music Hall in Paris, the Reprise artist reportedly stole the spotlight from the Beatles, earning more encores than the Fab Four. In berlin, 23,000 fans crammed inside an arena to hear him sing. In Buenos Aires he drew 60,000.
More of the same occurred in Holland, Spain, Italy, Puerto Rico, New Zealand, Australia, England, Germany, Monte Carlo, Beirut, Canada and Mexico.
In Mexico City, he broke the attendance record at the Terrazza Cassino and earned $80,000 for two weeks’ work.
Trini’s success in Europe can be directly traced to the single, “If I Had A Hammer,” culled from his debut LP for Reprise. This cut was recorded live at P.J.’s, a Los Angeles night spot.
A call by Pete Felderman, Reprise’s licensee in Holland, to Mo Ostin, Reprise general manager in Burbank, California, exclaiming that “Hammer” had everybody excited, alerted the record company of a developing enthusiasm for the rising star. Felderman said if Trini could appear on the Eurovision TV show “Grand Gala De Disc,” he felt the record could break wide open all over the Continent.
Lopez did go to Europe after ending a two-year engagement at P.J.’s and his appearance on the TV show excited other European bookers.
Durgom relates it was “thrilling to hear European audiences, many of who couldn’t speak English, singing along with Trini on such singles as “If I Had A Hammer,” America,” “This Land Is Your Land” and “Kansas City.” “It reminded me of a revival meeting,” Durgom said. The effect worked and through advance radio exposure, audiences memorized the lyrics and came in person to see the young American with the Latin accent, the infectious rocking beat along with the happy voice. Accompanying Trini on his first European tour were David Shriver, bass guitar, and Micky Jones, drums, since replaced by Gene Riggio.
When Trini returned to the United States, his first East Coast breakthrough occurred at Basin St. East in New York, where he was paced on the bill with the Smothers Brothers. This appearance resulted in national television exposure at bookings at Harold’s, Reno; Mr. Kelly’s, Chicago; Blinstrub’s, Boston; Latin Casino, Philadelphia; Off-Broadway, San Francisco; Flamingo, Las Vegas (at $15,000 per week for three weeks).
Also scheduled bookings are slated at the Eden Roc, Miami Beach. Trini’s first major booking after P.J.’s was at Cal-Neva for $1,200. The club has him booked this year at $15,000. END
___
(Information and news source; Billboard; May 15, 1965)
A MCRFB Note: Trini Lopez with the Beatles (above two photos) courtesy the official Trini Lopez website.
DETROIT TIGERS
DECCA $1 MIL. GETS RICK NELSON . . . JANUARY 12, 1963
From the MCRFB news archives:
NELSON LANDS 20 -YEAR CONTRACT WITH LABEL
HOLLYWOOD — Rick Nelson last week signed a 20-year contract with Decca Records which guarantees him more than a million dollars in disk revenue, Billboard has learned. The contract, after a month of intense negotiations, was officially in effect at 3 p.m., Thursday (January 3) when Decca signatures were affixed to the label’s contract paper in New York. A separate contract, providing for two films featuring Rick (for Decca’s sister firm, Universal Pictures), also was signed.
Thus was ended one of the hottest bidding battles by record labels of recent years trying to get a top-selling artist. As exclusively reported by Billboard (October 27), bids for Nelson started flying last fall when it was learned that the young singer’s contract with Lew Chudd’s Imperial Records was expiring December 31. Labels seeking Nelson were Capitol, Challenge, Columbia, Dot, Everest and RCA Victor.
Decca was a late entry in the bidding. It opened its negotiations the last week of November.
Ozzie Bargains
Throughout the hot scramble for Rick, the singer’s father, Ozzie Nelson, who has guided his son’s career, held out for a guaranteed $1,000 a week over a 25-year period. The reported Universal Pictures’ deal may more than make up for the remaining five years a t $1,000 a week previously demanded.
Actually, the $1,000-per-week guaranteed payment is not unparalleled for Nelson. This was the basis with Chudd during Nelson’s six-year with Imperial. Including that guarantee, Nelson had earned in excess of $700,000 in the six-year period he had been under Chudd’s Imperial label.
Surplus royalties earned beyond the guaranteed $1,000 a week were accumulated by Imperial in a special royalty reserve account. Now that Rick and Imperial had parted ways, Imperial will pay the singer a lump sum of more than $400,000 in accumulated excess royalties.
Six-Year Climb
Rick’s meteoric rise as a disk seller occurred little more than six years ago when he launched his recording career as an adjunct to his TV acting (ABC TV’s “Ozzie And Harriet Show) with a single on Verve Records.
His first disk release, ironically, was Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin.” His second release found him rising on Imperial Records’ artist roster, and it was there that Nelson climbed into his present top status as a best selling recording artist.
During his six years with Imperial, Nelson scored with approximately 10 top sellers, of which six passed the million mark in disk sales.
Decca can be expected to hit the market early in the year with its first Rick Nelson releases in the new year 1963.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRr7fZQicM8
(Information and news source: Billboard; January 12, 1963).