Beatles Cartoon Ratings Success Saturday Mornings on ABC-TV
NEW YORK — King Features is reportedly planning another TV cartoon series based on a popular recording group. The company’s “The Beatles Series,”aired over Saturday morning over ABC-TV, has been running over a month, and, according to the Nielsen ratings, is reaching over 50 per cent of the audience with sets turned on in their time period. The series, produced in London by TV Cartoons, LTD., uses the English-accented animated-sounding voices of the Fab Four and the actual Beatles hit recordings in every episode as well.END
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(Information and news source: Billboard; October 30, 1965)
This copyrighted Beatles cartoon image was created by Kail Tescar. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
A MCRFB NOTE: The Beatles cartoon series premiered on the ABC Television Network, Saturday September 25, 1965. The last Beatles cartoon episode aired on April 20, 1969. Al Brodax and the King Features team created the cartoon series in New York.
A MCRFB ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: A special thank you goes out to Kail Tescar for allowing Motor City Radio Flashbacks to use his remarkably splendid Beatles cartoon image(s) above. For more on Kail Tescar‘s wonderfully created Beatles cartoon arts, you can visit his website here.
Copyrighted material. Used with permission by the artist. All rights reserved.
NEW YORK — In the six months prior to the peak of their American success, Beatles records grossed $17,500,000, according to EMI Managing Director John Wall.
This figure, which does not include the huge sales of Beatles records here in the United States, shows the staggering impact the group has had on the record industry around the world.
The Beatles performing in America, 1964(click on image for larger view)
Beatles records, whether “I Want To Hold Your Hand” or “I Saw her Standing There,” have risen to the top of the charts around the world on a grand scale. Besides England and the United States, the Beatles have topped charts globally whether in Australia, Eire, France, Holland, New Zealand, Norway and Hong Kong. Yet to be tapped by the hot British band are the Spanish speaking nations in Europe and South America, Germany and Japan.
The push is already on. In Spain, for instance, strong publicity is being done to further advance the pop group’s sensational rise. Also, the Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and other Beatles chart hits is gaining widespread popular airplay on the radio in Spain. A recent cover of the Spaniard fan magazine Discomania showered the Liverpool group with a large feature coverage. As planned, the strategy would be to further promote the “new Liverpool sound” which could potentially translate into a huge global market share there as well.
With the Beatles’ music popularity on the rise in Spain, it is anticipated it may become easier to introduce Beatle records through Central and South America, in the coming months ahead. It is commonly known that Spanish-speaking nations are tougher markets for English-speaking artists.
For the powerful German market, the Beatles have cut records in that country’s native language. This country has become a tough market for English-speaking artists in recent years as well. The German Beatles disks were cut in France during the group’s recent tour there prior to coming to America. END.
(Information and news source: Billboard; February 29, 1964).
NEW YORK — Atlantic Records hit it’s biggest single sales week in a seven-day span last week, shipping more than 1,500,000 disk copies to Atlantic and Atco Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records.
The top selling singles on Atlantic include, “It’s A Beautiful Morning,” by the Young Rascals, “Tighten Up,” by Archie Bell and The Drells, “Sweet Inspiration,” by the Sweet Inspirations, “I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free),” by Solomon Burke, “Tribute To A King,” by William Bell, and “I Have A Dream,” (Amanda) by the Hudson Chorale.
On Atco the biggest sellers were, “Funky Street,” by Arthur Conley, “Jumbo,” by the Bee Gees, “Going Away,” by the Fireballs, “Anyone For Tennis?,” by the Cream, and the “Happy Song,” by the late Otis Redding, on Volt Records. END.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50xSq-knduk
(Information and news source: Billboard; May 4, 1968).
WEXLER, ATLANTIC RECORDS SIGN ARETHA TO NEW LONG-TERM RECORD DEAL
NEW YORK — Aretha Franklin and Atlantic Records have negotiated a new contract, despite her original contract with the label had several years left open before it would have expired contractually. At a luncheon at the Hotel St. Regis last Thursday, April 25, the Atlantic organization were on hand to celebrate her new deal and her imminent departure on her first European concert tour.
Jerry Wexler and Aretha Franklin 1967(click on image for larger view)
Jerry Wexler, Atlantic’s executive vice-president, said that Miss Franklin will receive one of the largest guarantee ever given to any recording star but to reveal the sum would be in “gross taste.”
Miss Franklin signed with Atlantic Records in October, 1966, and her first single was issued in February, 1967. Since then she has had five singles releases that have sold more than 1 million copies, including an album that has garnered sales of over $1 million. Over the past year she has swept virtually every award in the record industry.
Miss Franklin’s European tour begins in Rotterdam, Sunday, May 5 and winds up in Stockholm on Thursday, May 9. END
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(Information and news source: Billboard; May 4, 1968)
DC5 Offered Guarantees for 7 -Week Tour of U.S. and Canada
NEW YORK — Bookings of the Dave Clark Five for it’s seven-week tour of the United Sates and Canada which began on Sunday, November 2, has varying guarantees for the English group scaled from $9,000 to $15,000, plus a percentage over a certain gate.
The Dave Clark Five on tour in 1965, Toronto, Canada. Prior the DC5’s performance, CKEY Dave Mickie introduced the Esquires on stage(click on image for larger view).
Size of the guarantee depends on the seating capacity of the hall and price of the tickets.
At Memphis, for example, where the show is scheduled for Sunday, December 13, the seating in the new $4.7 million Coliseum is 12,050 and a sell-out will bring in $42,000. The popular British band’s guarantee for the expected-sellout in Memphis will be approximately $9,000, by all estimations. The Memphis contract calls for the group to cash in 50 per cent of any amount over a gross gate of 18,000.
Thus, if the show is sold out at $42,000, the DC5 combo would claim $9,000 plus an additional $12,000, with a total for $21,000 for the booking. In larger cities, the scale will reap much higher. The tour was booked by Spotlight Productions, Inc., New York, with local promoters at cities the shows play will furnish preliminary acts.
The seven-week tour, which began Sunday, November 1, in Montreal, ends Sunday, December 20 in Buffalo, New York. The DC5 tour is expected to gross from $1.5 to $2 million. The British group will play at least 50 shows during their stay here and in Canada.
Ray Brown, of National Artists Attractions, a local sponsor, said his contract calls for him to provide local preliminary acts before the band’s appearance on stage. And Brown said that has presented a unique problem.
“I’m getting calls from many acts who want to appear on the show free,” said the puzzled Brown. “I never had been confronted with that situation before,” Brown said. END.
The Dave Clark Five on the Ed Sullivan Show on CBS-TV in 1965DC5 in 1965
(Information and news source: Billboard; November 7, 1964).
DETROIT —WKNR-FM has marched into the fray against WABX-FM with a progressive rock format. Frank Maruca, operations manager of WKNR and WKNR-FM, said the 50,000-watt horizontal and 50,000-watt vertical monaural FM operation is simulcasting the the Hot 100 format of the AM station 6 a.m. – 3 p.m., then splitting from 3 p.m. – 2 a.m. daily.
The new format run was slated to begin Sunday, May 26.
WKNR-FM radio personality Russ Gibb
There is a possibility of going 24-hour with progressive rock if the station’s format is acquired in rank with the current FM radio surge in popularity. WABX-FM has been programming progressive rock in Detroit since last year.
Among the air-personalities on WKNR-FM are Russ Gibb, owner and operator of the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, who does 6 hours on Saturday and six hours on Sunday; Jerry Taylor mans the evening hours from 3 p.m. – 9 p.m., and is followed by Ed Busch, from 9 p.m. – 2 a.m.
Paul Cannon, program director of the AM operation, will be selecting the music for the FM band as well. In the few days the station has been on the air, there has already been “excellent reaction,” Maruca said. END
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(Information and news source: Billboard; June 1, 1968)
A MCRFB NEWS brief: 1965
NEW YORK — King Features is reportedly planning another TV cartoon series based on a popular recording group. The company’s “The Beatles Series,”aired over Saturday morning over ABC-TV, has been running over a month, and, according to the Nielsen ratings, is reaching over 50 per cent of the audience with sets turned on in their time period. The series, produced in London by TV Cartoons, LTD., uses the English-accented animated-sounding voices of the Fab Four and the actual Beatles hit recordings in every episode as well. END
