A MCRFB community reminder note:
The Keener 13 tribute site has been updated with two new entries added by Scott Westerman:
- Memorial Weekend, 1971
- Every Keener #1 and WKNR Music Guide
The Spartan Life by Scott Westerman
Author: Jim Feliciano
WJR-FM SEEKS NEW CALLS: WHYT-FM . . . JULY 3, 1982
From the MCRFB news archives:
NEW CALL LETTERS SOUGHT: WJR-FM Getting Joseph, ‘Hot Hits’
NEW YORK — When consultant Mike Joseph arrives in Detroit the first week in July, he’ll be taking his “Hot Hits” format to WJR-FM, which petitioned the FCC for a call-letter change to WHYT-FM on June 8.
Joseph confirmed Thursday that he would “monitor and research” the Motor City market for WJR, but it’s premature for him to commit to a new station sound. The Capitol Cities property is now a beautiful music outlet in the Detroit market.
Joseph normally lives in the market he’s consulting for a six-month period. But he says the length of his stay in Detroit will be “open ended.” The consultant last worked on the city scene in 1963, when he engineered a one-book turnaround for WKNR-FM, which simulcast the Top 40 sound he instituted for WKNR-AM during that time.
WJR-FM general manager Roger J. Longwell was in Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio on Wednesday, and was unavailable for comments on Joseph’s hiring. But WJR-FM sales manager Roger G. Sisson confirmed that the station had petitioned the FCC for new call letters and that other Motor City stations have been notified.
Joseph’s arrival “proves again that Detroit is the most volatile market in the country,” according to Elaine R. Baker, vice-president and general manager of WOMC-FM (104.3), an adult contemporary Metromedia outlet in Detroit. “I suspect the stations in the market will take a wait-and-see attitude.”
Baker says she doesn’t anticipate a format change at WOMC at present, although she notes that “aggressive management always look at new possibilities. But we’re adult contemporary and that’s where we are today.” Asked about any possibility for change “tomorrow” at WOMC-FM, the station executive replied, “I don’t have a crystal ball.” END
(Information and news source: Billboard; July 3, 1982).
MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS DEBUTS THE COPA . . . JUNE 22, 1968
From the MCRFB news archives:
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas Rock (and Soul) It to ‘Em; Wows ‘Em in the Big Apple
NEW YORK — Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, three sparkling ambassadors from Motown country in Detroit, delivered soul music downtown to the Copacabana on Thursday, June 20, to weather a spell on prom-happy students and other scholars of the soul sound.
Martha Reeves, the tall beauty who delivers the major sock in the group’s soul, marshaled the Vandellas through an opening-night traffic jam of steps, fancy hand symbols and harmonies. They sang “Ready For Love,” “Come And Get These Memories” and “Heatwave,” a medley of the trio’s golden goodies, then jumped into “Nowhere To Run” and “Honey Chile,” a booming gospel chorus punched through and through with that Motown magic.
The Copa debut of the Gordy artists touched off an in-person sit-in by Motown dignitaries and artists who loyally ringed the first-level stage. Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross of the Supremes and Berry Gordy presided over a crowd that also included Arthur Prysock and local deejay Hal Jackson. The Vandellas sand “I Can’t Help Myself,” originally by the Four Tops several years back, another stellar Motown act.
Martha Reeves and the Vandellas excited the Rhythm and Blues buffs with three encores with such materials as “Dancing In The Streets,” one of their best sellers, and “I Promise To Wait My Love,” their latest release off the Gordy label.
Miss Reeves, smooth and stylish on with her soulful renditions throughout the evening on stage, also sang a cover of the Ruby & The Romantics hit, “Our Day Will Come,” while accompanied by famed soul guitarist David T. Walker. The solo, which Miss Reeves strung along with vocal agility, suddenly turned into a rock revival as the Vandellas chipped in with the echo/reverb machine on, while drummer Melvin Jones turned up the beat laced with rapid rhythmic brushes and strokes.
“Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen” and “He Love Me, He Needs Me” also delighted the crowd into frenzied rippling applause and spontaneous standing ovations. END
(Information and news source: Billboard; June 22, 1968)
FLASHBACK ADS: “WITH THIS RING” * THE PLATTERS * 1967
FLASHBACK ADS: “AS TEARS GO BY” * MARIANNE FAITHFUL * 1964
FLASHBACK ADS: “CRY BABY” * GARNET MIMMS * 1963
FLASHBACKS: JAY & THE AMERICANS * 1969* HD STEREO
MOTOWN ACT THE DRIFTWOOD LOUNGE . . . MARCH 13, 1965
From the MCRFB news archive: 1965
‘HITSVILLE U.S.A.’ ACT IN DETROIT NIGHTCLUB A HIT
DETROIT — “Hitsville, U.S.A.,” the name of Berry Gordy’s talent firm, is presenting a swinging, solid show at the Driftwood Lounge here, situated on the second floor of Detroit’s popular 20 Grand. On the bill are Marvin Gaye, the Spinners, and the Earl Van Dyke Soul Orchestra (backed by Detroit blues orchestrator Choker Campbell).
While the show is centered on Gaye, there is more than enough talent to go around. Motown’s own Spinners come on five strong and weave their musical, soulful strut while on stage, a standout each time they perform. They are a good sight act as well as potent purveyors of pop music and rock, interspersed with smooth ballads. Kim Weston is a young Detroit performer who can really belt a ballad. With strong pipes, she holds a solid vocal projection, coupled with fine hit materials with a solid backing by the Earl Van Dyke orchestra to hold the evening Driftwood crowd entertained all the way.
Marvin Gaye has come a long way since his first Motown hit in 1962. He has acquired tremendous stage presence and he knows how to inject excitement before crowds with his fine, bluesy-at-times vocalization, into what has now turned out to be — a polished act. His strings of hits carries his audience along with enthusiasm and applause, and he also gets crowd rave response for his glitzy, colorful apparel-clothing changes during his stage act. His exciting performance can easily project him into class night-spot clubs around the country as well, and possibly gaining further career exposure with more television appearances on many of today’s best variety shows.
The show’s emcee is Detroit radio deejay Sonny Carter, while Motown’s own Earl Van Dyke’s group does an outstanding work in delighting the audience throughout each session and performance. END
___
A MCRFB Note: The Driftwood Lounge, at the time owned by Bill Kabbus and Marty Eisner, was situated inside the 20 Grand multiplex facility once located at 14th and W. Warren Avenue in Detroit. While the former 20 Grand location is a vacant Detroit lot today, the 20 Grand Motel is still situated nearby on West Warren Avenue. During it’s heyday in the 1960s, the 20 Grand Motel became part-and-parcel with the 20 Grand Driftwood crowd after a night of entertainment at the club.
At that time, the 20 Grand Hotel was owned by Detroit’s other soul record-mogul great, Ed Wingate. Wingate owned Ric-Tic and Golden World Records. Many of Wingate’s top soul recording performers (Detroit Emeralds; J.J. Barnes; Edwin Starr; Reflections; Al Kent; Fantastic Four and others) went on to become popular headliners at the 20 Grand Driftwood Lounge in 1965, ’66, ’67 and 1968. — Jim Feliciano
___
(Information and news source: Billboard; March 13, 1965)
WCAR DUMPS MOR FOR ROCK… NOVEMBER 6, 1971
From the MCRFB news archives:
WCAR DUMPS MOR CONSULTING SERVICE; NEW PROGRAM MANAGER NAMED
DETROIT — WCAR, the 50,000-watt station here, was revamped in a surprise move last week as the firm consulting the station, Programing db, was replaced by a full-time program manager, C. J. Jones. Neil McIntyre, the previous program director, resigned.
First move by the new program manager Jones was to chop the playlist to 30 records, while adding five new hitbounds. In addition the station will be playing selected cuts from two to five albums, The firm of Programing db had consulted the station for more than a year and only recently switched the format from MOR* to rock. Jones said that when he took over the station Monday (November 1), there were more than 70 records on the playlist. “The air personalities had format clocks that had no real direction and the station paid very little attention to mechanics.”
Under Jones, WCAR air-personalities (and he plans to retain them all, if possible) will be allowed to rap between records to some extent — “say three seconds… or even 25 seconds… but I can’t visualize anything so super important that it needs 25 seconds to say it,” as Jones reiterated. Basically, the station will be a “more music” station, “but with personality, we’ve got some great radio professionals on the air here.” Air personalities include Dan O’Shea 6-10 a.m., Dave Prince 10-2 p.m., Scott Regen 2-6 p.m., Ron O’Brien 6-10 p.m., Ed Busch 10-2 a.m. and Jim Keene 2-6 a.m.
From the MCRFB Aircheck Library, featuring:
(Note: three airchecks when WCAR was MOR before the format switch).
“WCAR is a real rarity–the best radio opportunity in the nation. It has a good frequency, 1130 on the dial, 50,000 watts day-timer and 10,000 watts during nights, and it’s well financed. The major station in the market, CKLW, is more or less a time and temperature station. I feel we can succeed by playing a hell of a lot of music per hour.” And he felt that the ruling calling for Canadian radio stations to play a hefty percentage of Canadian product would be to the advantage of WCAR.
Jones is actually a consultant himself. He took responsibility for taking over WFDF in Flint, Michigan, on October 1, 1970, and took it to No. 1 in the market. Currently, he also consults WJIM in Lansing, Mich. He will continue to serve these two stations as consultant, but his major priority at the moment will be focused on WCAR.
WCAR has acquired a semi-custom set of jingles from TM Productions in Dallas–a set using the basics as the jingles package featured on the Pacific & Southern Broadcasting stations.
Jones will be doing the music chores at WCAR himself. The rotation pattern at the station “will concentrate on the top 10 selling records, plus the up-and-coming records (meaning: the records going up the station’s playlist rather than those dropping down). Oldies will be will be programmed fairly heavily in the morning drive period and in the mid-day, “but the format is by no means an oldies format. We will be willing to break a new record if we feel it’s going to be a hit, but not five in a week,” he said, regarding the new records added each week. Both WFDF and WJIM has a playlist of 40 records, plus five new records per week. Each station’s music is picked separately — the other two stations have their own program and music directors. END.
(Information and news source: Billboard; November 6, 1971).
FLASHBACK POP MUSIC HISTORY: MAY 16
From the MCRFB music calendar:
Events on this date: MAY 16
1956: Vee-Jay Records announces it has signed the legendary R&B doo-wop group Sonny Til and the Orioles to it’s label.
1960: Billboard magazine report that Detroit’s own Berry Gordy plans to create three record labels, including one called Motown.
1963: At this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, Tony Bennett’s “I left My Heart In San Francisco” wins Record Of The Year and Best Male Vocal honors, while Ray Charles win the Best R&B Recording with “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” In a strange twist after all considerations, Bent Fabric wins in the Best Rock And Roll Record with their instrumental hit, “Alley Cat.”
1965: The Rolling Stones limo is mobbed and attacked by female fans on their way back to their motel after a concert in Long Beach, California. Reports indicated that numerous females were seen standing on the roof in numbers causing the roof to cave-in. In desperation, while the band attempted to hold up the roof with their hands, the chauffeur accelerates the limo, leaving fans rolling off, bouncing off unto the road as they sped away.
1969: Jack Casady, bassist for the Jefferson Airplane, is arrested in New Orleans for possession of marijuana and is given a suspended sentence of 2.5 years.
1969: During a Who concert at the Fillmore East in New York, a plainclothes policeman rushes on stage to tell the audience a fire has broken out, but guitarist Pete Townsend, thinking out he must be a rabid fan, kicks him off the stage instead. Literally. Townsend is arrested on stage and is fined $30.00 for his spontaneous derelict reaction.
1970: Randy Bachman leaves the Guess Who to produce an album for Winnipeg band Brave Belt, which he eventually joins. At the suggestion of Neil Young, Bachman recruits fellow Winnipeg bassist and vocalist C. F. Turner, and the band Bachman-Turner Overdrive is born.
1970: Marty Balin of the Jefferson Airplane is arrested in his Bloomington, MN. hotel, after police, responding to a noise complaint call, find the singer smoking marijuana and having sex with teenage girls. His sentence is eventually reduced to a small fine.
1975: Tonight’s showing of NBC-TV’s The Midnight Special is a retro-tribute hosted by Chubby Checker and features musical-performances by Bo Diddley, The Drifters, The Angels, Lesley Gore, The Tymes, and Danny and the Juniors.
1976: Mayor James H. McGee declares today “Ohio Players Day” in the band’s hometown of Dayton, Ohio.
1980: The Carpenters hosts their last television special, Music, Music, Music which airs on ABC-TV.
1980: Brian May of Queen collapses onstage during a concert and is rushed to the hospital, where he is diagnosed (for the second time) with hepatitis.
1980: Elvis Presley’s personal doctor, George Nichopoulous, is brought before the Memphis medical board and is officially charged with 14-counts of abusing his right to prescribe medication. Though he will be acquitted in November, his case will be reopened twelve-years later, when his license will be revoked.
1983: The Temptations and the Four Tops made their appearances on Motown’s 25th anniversary special, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles are re-united for the show, which aired on NBC-TV. The Supremes (Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong) also reunited for the event, and sang, appropriately, “Someday We’ll Be Together.” Stevie Wonder also performed, singing “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.”
1985: Manager Ken Kragen — who developed the idea for the We Are The World Recording project to raise money for Africa Hunger Relief — was handed a check for $6.5 million dollars in royalties from Columbia Records President Al Teller. The song’s merchandising rights and album would go on to raise in excess of $50 million.
1986: Johnny Paycheck is convicted of shooting a man when a misunderstanding occurring inside a bar in Hillsboro, OH. The fan was only grazed by the bullet, and Paycheck is pardoned after serving a 22-month prison term.
1987: David Crosby marries his long-time Jan Dance in Los Angeles, with bandmate Stephen Stills giving away the bride and Graham Nash renewing his vows with wife Susan.
1989: Janet Jackson is harassed by fans when she took a VIP tour of Universal Studios in Florida. Adding insult to injury, the fans believed they were hounding her brother Michael, while he was with the tour, was not recognized wearing a disguise.
1998: Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones reaches for several of his books of artistic nudes in his personal library at his home in Connecticut, falls from a ladder, breaks a few ribs, while forcing to band to cancel their upcoming scheduled tour.
2003: While undergoing dialysis, Barry White suffers a stroke, though his sister publicly claims he will perform again, it proves to be the end of White’s public life.
Deaths: Ernie Freeman, (1981); Sammy Davis, Jr., (1990); Marv Johnson; (1993).
Releases: Beach Boys: Pet Sounds; LP.
Recordings: Beatles: “Taxman,” “For No One.” Frank Sinatra: “Summer Wind.” Tony Joe White: “Polk Salad Annie.”
Charts: Bill Haley and His Comets: “Crazy, Man, Crazy” enters the charts, 1953; Mary Wells: “My Guy” hits No. 1. 1964; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s LP, Deja Vu, hit No. 1 on the charts.
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day…. 