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PAMS started it all. As early as 1947, singing station identifications (ID’s) were used by KLIF in Dallas, Texas. One of the musicians working on KLIF at the time was a Dallas native by the name of Bill Meeks. In addition to leading two bands that performed live on the station, Bill also sold commercial time to the shows’ sponsors. He participated in creating commercials and jingles for those sponsors, as well as making musical identifications for the station itself. They got favorable reaction, and KLIF did well. After a while, some of Bill’s clients urged him to devote more time to working on their advertising needs. So in 1951 Mr. Meeks formed his own advertising agency. He named it PAMS, which is an acronym for Production Advertising Merchandising Service. Initially, the company created and placed radio spots for local accounts. This ad agency experience strengthened Bill’s belief that most listeners at the time didn’t really know which station they were listening to. He noted that some stations with supposedly low ratings generated good response for advertisers, while many highly rated stations did not. Drawing on his experience at KLIF, Bill decided that many radio stations could benefit from having musical station ID’s.
PAMS designed a group of ten jingles, and called the package simply “Series 1”. A more elaborate “Series 2” followed shortly thereafter. The idea was that stations would hear a demonstration tape of the jingles (a “demo”), and re-write the lyrics to suit their own requirements. PAMS would then assemble the vocal group in a studio and re-sing the jingles using the new lyrics, over the already-existing instrumental backgrounds. This is the essence of jingle syndication. It began at PAMS in the early 1950″s, and the process continues to this day.
As word of success stories spread, PAMS began recording jingles for broadcasters from coast to coast. Although PAMS produced hundreds of musical jingles for merchants and advertising agencies, station identification jingles became the firm’s specialty. What began as a decision in 1906 to issue unique call signs to stations, eventually grew into a multi-million dollar industry devoted to setting those call signs to music.
TOP 40 RELIES ON JINGLES. For those who grew up with it, the top-40 sound of the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s made an indelible impression. This was before the age of FM radio and portable CD players. AM radio was where people turned for music and entertainment, and broadcasters battled fiercely to be perceived as the most exciting spot on the dial. In market after market, the winners were the ones who used PAMS jingles. And the sound of the jingles is forever linked in our memories with the sound of the stations and their DJs
Smart programmers always wanted to ride the latest trend. Whenever PAMS came up with a new idea and developed it into a series of jingles, many stations would build their entire image around the new jingle package. For a while it seemed as if the industry would wait to hear each new PAMS package so that they would know what to do next. Phrases like “Go Go”, “The In Sound”, “Fun Vibrations”, and “Music Power” became part of radio stations all over the world. The unmistakable PAMS sound was everywhere.
THE DEMO TAPES. As PAMS created each new collection of mass-appeal jingles, the series would be named, and also numbered sequentially. A demo tape would be prepared and sent to prospective clients to show them what the jingles sounded like. Often the demos would include a narrated sales pitch to explain the concepts involved. Sometimes there would be different variations of a series, or modular sections of a package that a station could choose from. These were differentiated with letters (e.g. “Series 34A” or “Series 34B”). Through the years PAMS also created many specialized jingle packages for other radio formats such as country, easy listening and talk. These packages were given names, but not included as one of the numbered series.
CHANGING TIMES. For a period spanning three decades, PAMS was the most influential and imitated source of radio jingles in the world, and an integral part of the sound of legendary stations. A great part of PAMS’ success was due to the ingenuity and musical excellence of the many writers, producers, engineers, and talent who worked there over the years. Another important ingredient was the prevailing atmosphere in broadcasting which allowed and encouraged jingles and DJs to be entertaining in their own right. By the mid ‘70s, however, changing trends in broadcasting, along with increased competition, began to have a serious impact on PAMS’ product and sales. Business difficulties ensued, and PAMS suspended operations in 1978. It remained legally dormant until 1990, when the corporation was bought and returned to active status with the intent of preserving the classic PAMS heritage.
For more details please read about our recent history.
Jonathan M. Wolfert
President
PAMS Productions, Inc.
Dallas, Texas
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The above featured PAMS jingle package was audio enhanced by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
The above PAMS Jingle Sampler is property of PAMS, Incorporated. Courtesy of JAM Productions, Dallas. Article by Jonathan Wolfert.
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MCRFB Note: This referenced article was edited and condensed. To read the above article authored by Jonathan Wolfert in its entirety, go here.
