“Meet The Beatles” was released in the U.S. by Capitol Records, January 20, 1964 (Click on image 2x for largest detailed view).
From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1964
‘U. S. ROCKS AND REELS FROM BEATLES’ INVASION’
NEW YORK — President Lyndon B. Johnson visited here late last week but his arrival was overshadowed by the Beatles’ invasion. Few were aware of the President’s visit in their midst, but no one could miss the fact that Britain’s Beatles have descended upon the city. Radio, TV and all other communication media were filled with Beatle clamor. At Kennedy Airport here, Beatle greeters here began lining up at 4 a.m. Friday to await the group’s arrival that afternoon.
For the first time in disk history, a single attraction had five sides in the Hot 100 — all going up — plus three albums in the Top LP’s chart. RIAA already has certified the Capitol single already has a million seller, and the Capitol album as having sold more than 500,000 copies. The group, which was first introduced to U.S. television audiences on the Jack Parr Show via film a month ago, arrived here for its live TV debut on the Ed Sullivan Show, February 9. END
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(Information and news source: Billboard; February 15, 1964)
From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1964
Two Albums, Single, Moves 1,000,000 Sales Mark
NEW YORK — The Beatles are hitting are hitting the gold disk route — again. Late last week Capitol Records asked the Record Industry Association of America for gold records award certifications on two albums, “Beatles ’65” and “The Beatles’ Story” and a single, “I Fell Fine.”
“The Beatles’ Story,” a two-disk LP, was released late-November and hit the 1,000,000 sales mark within the first week. “Beatles ’65” was released a week ago and has already scored over 1,000,000 copies in sales. The single, “I Feel Fine,” was released November 23 and Capitol reports 1,000,000 copies were sold immediately thereafter. END
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(Information and news source: Billboard; December 26, 1964)
“Meet The Beatles” was released in the U.S. by Capitol Records, January 20, 1964 (Click on image 2x for largest detailed view).
From the MCRFB news archive: 1967
Redding, Band Members Killed; Bodies Pulled From Wisconsin Lake
LAKE WINONA, WIS. — Otis Redding, star Stax/Volt Records’ soul artist,was killed here on Sunday, December 10, when his plane crashed into a lake. Redding was 26. Also killed were four members of the Bar-Kays, his accompanying group; pilot Richard Frazier; and Matthew Kelley, 17, the artist’s valet.
One member of the Bar-Kays, Ben Culley, survived the crash. He was reported in fair condition in a nearby hospital. Another member of the group, James Alexander, was on a different flight. Dead are Phalon Jones, 18; Ronnie Caldwell, 19; Jimmy King, 18; and Carl Cunningham, 18, all from Memphis.
The crash occurred when the private twin-engine plane was attempting to land at at the Madison Airport after a flight from Cleveland. Redding’s body was flown to Macon, Georgia, for a funeral on Friday, December 15.
Redding’s best-known Volt singles were “Try A Little Tenderness,” “Satisfaction,” “These Arms Of Mine,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” and “Respect.” “Respect,” which Redding wrote, recently was a top-seller for Aretha Franklin. He hit the Hot 100 chart twice this year with Carla Thomas in “Tramp” and “Knock On Wood,” both on Stax. He had five Volt albums, one on Atco, and one with Miss Thomas on Stax.
Three months ago, Britain’s Melody Maker, a fan magazine, selected Redding as the world’s top male vocalist dethroning Elvis Presley, who held the top spot since 1956. Redding had been seventh last year.
Earlier this month, Redding had accepted an invitation from Vice-President Hubert Humphrey to head a troupe of Stax/Volt artists to entertain U.S. troops in Viet Nam in the spring. Redding and the Bar-Kays were the only soul artists at the recent Monterey Pop Music Festival The Bar-Kays had one album on Volt.
In August, Redding and Miss Thomas were crowned king and queen of the “Memphis Sound” at the Chicago Daily Defender’s Billiken Day Parade. Redding was to have appeared in San Francisco on Tuesday, December 26, when Ralph J. Gleason, San Francisco Chronicle columnist, planned to produce a Redding TV special for the National Educational Television Foundation.
Redding owned the 300-acre Big O ranch outside of Macon, which recently was visited by a BBC-TV film crew. He had earned more than $600,000 from public appearances this year. He was survived by his widow, Zelma, and three children. END
(Information and news source: Billboard; December 23, 1967).
S E A S O N ‘ S G R E E T I N G S D E T R O I T !
H E L L O , J I M H A M P T O N H E R E . You know, after working as an air personality at WXYZ, WJBK and WCAR in Detroit, I moved to WLS as Production Director. One of my assignments was to create a 12-hour Christmas special that the station could play and give the entire staff the Holiday off.
After I moved to Los Angeles to work in radio syndication, among the thousands of programs I produced were numerous Christmas specials. There were short-form features, long-form specials and 24 hour formats.
In addition to great Christmas music, all of the programs I produced were filled with special features, stories, comedy, the amazing comments of little children, and, of course, interviews with everyday people and superstar celebrities.
The program content includes Contemporary and Classic Christmas songs. From Mathis to Buble, from Whitney to Barbra, and from The Ronettes to Jose Feliciano.
Plus, there are numerous vignettes about how Christmas customs came about, lots of celebrity drop-ins (Clint Eastwood, Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis and many more), Tom Murphy (otherwise known as “world-famous” Tom Murphy offers his Holiday anecdotes, there are old radio clips from classic performers of the 40’s (Jack Benny, Bob Hope, George Burns & Gracie Allen, to name a few), and the delightful, heartwarming and honest voices of little children reflecting on their favorite day of the year.
All in all, it is a 6-hour Holiday celebration for the whole family. It just may become the soundtrack of Christmas get togethers from now on. Hope you’ll join me tomorrow evening from 6:00 P.M. until 12 MIDNIGHT Christmas Day, for this special 2014 holiday event on Detroit’s 760-AM WJR.
Written, produced and hosted by Jim Hampton, AN ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS can be heard from anywhere in the world over iHeartRadio, wjr.com, and of course throughout the Midwest on NewsTalk 760 WJR.
Merry Christmas! – Jim Hampton
