1955: Popular country star Jimmy Dean interviews Elvis Presley on his Washington D. C. television show Town and Country Time. A nervous Elvis answers every question with a “yep” or “nope.”
Alan Freed’s “Rock Around The Clock” Movie Poster; circa 1956
1956: The Alan Freed film, Rock Around The Clock, starring The Platters and of course, Bill Haley and the Comets, premiers in New York City.
1958: The RIAA awards its first-ever gold record for sales of a million copies that year, the honor going to Perry Como’s, “Catch A Falling Star.”
1963: Gerry Marsden of the Pacemakers sneaks a custom-made guitar purchased in Germany through British customs and is fined 60 pounds.
1964: The Beatles “Twist And Shout” enters the Billboard charts on this day.
Petula Clark sings “Downtown” on the Ed Sullivan Show; 1965
1965: Petula Clark makes her American TV debut on CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Show singing “Downtown” and “I Know A Place.”
1968: The BBC-TV program Top Of The Pops broadcasts the Beatles new promotional video for “Lady Madonna,” which, oddly enough, is made up entirely of clips from the band’s recording of “Hey Bulldog.”
1970: On this date, the Supremes (without Diana Ross) enters the Billboard charts with “Up The Ladder To The Roof.”
1972: At tonight’s Grammys Awards, Carol King’s massively popular Tapestry LP is awarded the Album Of The Year honors.
1980: On the occasion of his forty-seventh birthday, Quincy Jones is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame at 1500 Vine.
1981: Bleeding ulcers forces Eric Clapton to cancel the remainder of his 60-date US tour. Clapton checks himself in a hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.
2005: The New York Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inducts Percy Sledge, The O’Jays, U2, Buddy Guy and the Pretenders.
The Foundations “Build Me Up Buttercup” Record 45 Picture Sleeve; 1969
2008: In London, ex-Foundations member Peter MacBeth is sentenced to six years in prison on pedophilia and sexual assault charges.
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . M A R C H 1 4
The Anita Kerr Singers on Warner Bros. Records 1967(click on image for larger view)
Let’s rewind back to 1966. If your AM dial was set on the radio here in Detroit to 1270, you may still remember listening to one of the most beautiful jingles packages ever produced for Detroit radio during that time. The Anita Kerr custom-series jingle package for WXYZ AM.
But first just who was Anita Kerr?
Insofar as mainstream music popularity goes, and by name definition, not much had been known or had been publicized about her back when, outside a few music-trade publications.
Anita Jean Grilli (Anita Kerr) was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 31, 1927. According to her biography, Anita took an early exposure to music early on during her childhood when she first appeared on her mother’s radio show in Memphis. During her teen years in high school there, she expanded her musical talents by forming her own singing group. As a youngster then, she also demonstrated maturity for writing music as well.
In 1949, she went on to form a singing group, the Anita Kerr Singers, which she later trimmed down to a quartet. Anita Kerr as soprano, Gil Wright as tenor, alto Dottie Gillard, and Louis Nunn as baritone. Eventually, the Anita Kerr Singers played on local radio and gained exposure on NBC television’s ‘Sunday Going South.’ The group’s talent for good music gained in popularity while in hometown Memphis, and in 1951, Decca Records signed the group as studio backing singers for their recording label.
The Anita Kerr Quartet on Decca Records. 1958
In 1956, the Anita Kerr Singers made an appearance on the Arthur ‘Godfrey’s Talent Scouts’ show on CBS television. The group also made gains with an appearance on the Jim Reeves Show in 1958. The group also went on to record an album as well, ‘Voices In Hi-Fi,’ which Decca released in 1958.
By the end of the 1950s, the group had signed over with RCA Records. Chet Atkins, the head of the Country Music Division of RCA, integrated Kerr’s talents to help facilitate a new “Nashville Sound.” The new “sound” Atkins produced was primarily intended to be more mainstream and appealing for the pop music scene at the time in the early 1960s. By adding strings and Anita Kerr’s vocal backings, along with the Jordanaires, RCA went on to introduce mainstream America with a brand new sound for country music. In crossing over, they called it, “Countrypolitan.”
During that time as well, Anita Kerr became more involved behind-the-scenes with the studio production facets at RCA. Now utilizing her talents elsewhere for Chet Atkins there, she was instrumental in producing orchestral arrangements for other RCA country recording artist as well, such as Skeeter Davis’ 1963 country/pop hit, “The End Of The World.” The group went on to back many other country artists on RCA as well, including Hank Snow, Jimmy Reeves, Floyd Cramer, Dottie West, Roy Orbison, and many, many more.
Anita Kerr’s Grammy award-winning RCA LP, ‘We Dig Mancini’ beat out the Beatles ‘Help!’ LP for “Best Performance by A Vocal Group” award. 1965
In 1965 the Anita Kerr Singers reached a high point by winning two Grammy awards. They were awarded for Best Performance By A Vocal Group for their RCA album, ‘We Dig Mancini,’ edging out the Beatles’ ‘Help!’ album in that category. The group also won the Best Gospel Album category by collaborating with George Beverly O’Shea in the 1964 RCA album release, ‘Southland Favorites.’
Anita Kerr Enterprises, 1965
Later on in the same year, according to a brief article in the October 16, 1965 edition of Billboard magazine, Anita Kerr moved to Hollywood from Nashville to form Anita Kerr Enterprises to work in the commercial radio and jingle industries. In concert with former RCA Victor European sales administrator, Alexandre Grob, they also obtained the services of Charlie Williams, former songwriter and personal manager at RCA Records. While on the west coast, Anita still continued to work with her Nashville singing group which bears her name, and stated of her intentions in bringing the other members of the singing group to California to record jingles. The singers will remain as an act for the RCA label, according to the Billboard brief.
By 1967 Anita Kerr Enterprises had recorded jingles for various radio clients across the country, including KMPC AM 710 in Los Angeles, California; WLS AM 890 in Chicago, Illinois, WGH AM 1310 in Newport News, Virginia, and WXYZ AM in Detroit.
At WXYZ AM 1270 here in Detroit, Lee Alan was program director for WXYZ-AM. In late 1965, new changes were being implemented at the station for the coming new year for 1966. Lee Alan personally wrote and composed the “Personality Plus” jingles series for the coming new “Detroit Sound Survey.” WXYZ-AM, at the time, was a Detroit affiliate and owned by the ABC Radio Network in New York.
Once approval had been attained for Lee Alan to proceed with the station’s new “Personality Plus” custom package, ABC in New York sanctioned station General Manager Chuck Fritz’s request to allow Lee Alan to hire Dick Marx Productions in Chicago “to finish the arrangements and contract with Anita to do the singing,” Lee Alan said. “Years earlier Dick (Marx) had produced the jingles for sister station WLS-AM in Chicago.”
Lee Alan further stated that, “the series were carefully crafted to upgrade and change the sound of WXYZ. I produced the package with Dick Marx in Chicago. We hired Anita Kerr and her back-up singers who recorded everything in two sessions in over a two day period.
“Later I was asked to write and produce another series for WXYZ-FM which was affected by the ‘broadcast separately from AM’ by FCC rules. At he same time I wrote and produced the opening jingles for the new ‘Martin and Howard’ show which began in 1967. For each production session I hired Dick Marx and contracted with Anita Kerr,” Lee Alan went on to conclude (see Lee Alan’s comments below; dated July 2, 2012).
The new Anita Kerr Singers; Warner Brothers Records 1968
After a trip to Europe in late 1967, Anita Kerr disbanded the group before signing over with Warner Brothers Records. But once again, she formed a new group of Anita Kerr Singers under the Warner label. The new group features tenor Gene Merlino, bass Bob Tedow, and sopranos Jackie Ward and B. J. Baker. They produced two albums for Warner records, both albums were produced with Warner Bros. recording artist Rod McKuen. The first album was entitled, ‘The Sea’ which became a best-seller in 1967. In late 1968, the group released their second album with McKuen. Their second LP was entitled, “Home By The Sea.’ In both albums, Anita composed the music and Rod McKuen wrote the lyrics to the songs.
Anita Kerr Singers ‘Reflect‘ Album; Dot Records 1969
In 1969, Anita Kerr made a move over to Dot Records. While at Dot Records, the group won the Edison Award for their first album under the new label, The Anita Kerr Singers Reflect On The Hits Of Burt Bacharach And Hal David.
According to the Wikipedia website, Anita Kerr received a special ASCAP Award in 1975, in recognition of her efforts “as a first class musician for her significant contributions to the birth and development of the Nashville Sound.” In 1992, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Science (NARAS) gave Anita Kerr the NARAS Governors Award “in recognition of her outstanding contributions to American music.”
But once again, in closing, listen closely to those classic jingles Anita Kerr had recorded for WXYZ radio in 1966. We’re certain you’ll agree this custom-package was one of the most beautifully arranged set of jingles that was ever produced for Detroit radio during the 1960s.
And we certainly would have to especially thank Lee Alan for making this beautifully written WXYZ custom series package we’ve featured here for making this all happen all the more in 1966.
1956: The Elvis Presley album is released today. Self-titled, many musicologists would affirm this LP as the first-million seller in sales shortly after the album’s release.
1958: The Recording Industry Association of America launches its Gold Award Program to honor artists in outstanding sales. One-million units sold of a single 45 rpm record earned Gold status; in 1976, the Platinum Award was introduced for singles which moved two-million units. Today, the single award is given at the half-million (gold) and million (platinum) level of sales or downloads, with the same award qualifications for album-length or CD releases.
The Kingston trio performing live on stage in the late 1950s.
1959: On Friday the 13th, the Kingston Trio are nearly killed when their plane makes an emergency landing on a turkey farm in South Bend, Indiana.
1964: According to Billboard, over 60 percent of all US singles sold are Beatles records.
1965: The Kinks releases their single, “Tired Of Waiting For You” and Freddie and the Dreamers enters the charts with “I’m Telling You Now.”
1965: On this week’s Cash Box charts, the Beatles hold down the top four positions, with “Eight Days A Week” at No. 1. Meet The Beatles has become the all-time best selling album in the U.S., having sold 3.5 million copies already.
1965: Disgusted with the pop direction taken with the latest single, the Graham Gouldman-penned “For Your Love,” Eric Clapton quits the Yardbirds, eventually forming Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
Tammy Wynette files for D.I.V.O.R.C.E from George Jones on January 8, 1975.
1975: George Jones and Tammy Wynette finally gets that D.I.V.O.R.C.E she had been singing about after six years of ill-wedded bliss.
1987: Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band are honored with their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine Street.
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . M A R C H 1 3
1953: Popular WDIA disc jockey Rufus Thomas signs with Memphis label Sun Records in order to release a song titled, “Bear Cat,” an answer song record to “Big Mama” Thorton’s hit, “Hound Dog.”
1955: Master jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker, dies at the age of 34. The hard-living Parker’s postmortem suggests he may have died from pneumonia, a heart attack, burst stomach ulcers, or cirrhosis of the liver.
Billy Holiday leaves a Philadelphia police station after her arrest for drug charges in 1956.
1958: A Philadelphia court sentences Billie Holiday to one year probation for pleading guilty two years earlier for heroine possession.
1959: Philadelphia’s own Fabian, discovered by Philadelphia’s own Dick Clark, is named “Most Promising New Talent” in an American Bandstand viewers poll.
The Beatles HELP! actual movie theater lobby placard; 1965.
1965: The Beatles wrap up their location shooting of Help! in the Bahamas. In an interview with the New York Times, Beatles manager Brian Epstein declares that the band will still be popular in ten years. Epstein also stated in the interview that the Rolling Stones were “just another fine group,” in his opinion.
1969: Infamous London police officer Det. Sgt. Norman Pilcher, well known for singling out and busting rock stars, enters George Harrison’s house in Esher, Surrey, England and arrest the Beatle and his wife Patti for possession of marijuana (specifically, cannabis resin). That same morning, Beatle Paul McCartney marries Linda Eastman in the office registry in Merylbone, London and again in the Anglican church in St, John’s Wood. The other three Beatles don’t attend.
1971: Paul McCartney’s lawsuit dissolving the Beatles is upheld when a London court grants his request to appoint a non-biased receiver to handle the group’d business affairs in the wake of the band’s management dispute.
Nancy Sinatra with her famous walkin’ Go-Go Boots; circa 1967.
1996: Nancy Sinatra gives her famous white go-go boots, the one that were made for walkin’, she donates the pair to the Beverly Hills Hard Rock Cafe where it has been on display there for the past sixteen years.
2003: On the eve of the Rolling Stones’ first tour of China, the Chinese government submits a list of forbidden songs to the group, songs which the band is prohibited from playing anywhere during their stay while in that country. Songs include “Brown Sugar,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” and “Let’s Spend The Night Together.”
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . M A R C H 1 2
DETROIT, March 09, 2012 — Elvis Presley, “the nation’s new singing sensation,” came to Detroit for the first time on Friday, May 25, 1956. He was booked to perform “in person” live on stage at the Fox Theater for three performances for that date.
The 21-year old singing phenom was winding up his tour in the Midwest that spring, having previously stopped in St. Paul, Minn., and in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. Presley also performed at the Ellis Auditorium in Memphis Tennessee on May 15, then took a ten-day break from his tour while home before heading north to the Motor City.
Actual Elvis Presley Fox Billboard (click on image for larger view)
In the Lacrosse, Wisconsin performance Presley’s hip-thigh gyrations on stage compelled the editor of the local newspaper to complain to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, of various reports picked up that Elvis’ act consists of ‘sexual gratification on stage.’
At the Detroit concert, the general admission ticket price to see Elvis was $1.50, all seats were available at that set admission price. In the earlier two shows, a young Lee Alan, who was then the all-night deejay at WJLB, emceed the event by introducing Elvis before the Detroit Fox crowd. Robin Seymour, the popular radio personality on WKMH then, also met Elvis Presley backstage during one of the three Fox concerts.
In 2006, FTD released a book, entitled, A Moment In Time: 4 Days in ’56 on November 29 that year. It was authored by Michael Rose. Rose had assembled these May 25 Detroit photographs while capturing a glimpse of Elvis Presley’s life during 1956. A snapshot in time, many of these photographs reportedly have never been published before, according to the author.
The following evening, Saturday, May 26, Elvis was in Columbus, Ohio. Then it was off to Dayton, Ohio for two performances at the University of Dayton Fieldhouse on Sunday, May 27, before heading back home to Memphis, on Monday, May 28, 1956.
But here in Detroit in 1956, these images captured a moment in time in the lives of these Detroiters when “the nation’s new singing sensation” swept their city by storm during one memorable evening in May of 1956.
1961: The Supremes release their first single, “I Want A Guy,” it is not a hit.
1963: The Beatles kick off in a UK tour supporting Tommy Roe and Chris Montez. By the end of the 21-date tour, the band becomes the headliner.
1970: The British blues band formerly known as Earth take the stage at
Actual Chris Montez, Tommy Roe UK Tour Billboard with the Beatles; March, 1963
London’s Roundhouse with a heavier sound and new name — Black Sabbath.
1976: For the second time, the Who’s Keith Moon collapses while performing at a show, this time at the Boston Garden. Though drug and alcohol are the culprits, Roger Daltrey tells the crowd Moon is suffering from the flu. The gig ends, but the group plays another concert for ticket-holders on April 1.
1987: The Songwriters Hall Of Fame in New York City inducts Lennon and McCartney, Goffin and King, Mann and Weil, and Sam Cooke in their initial awards ceremony for the selected inductees.
2004: Tom Jone’s manager — and son — Mark orders the 63-year old sex symbol singer to stop wearing tight leather pants onstage.
And that’s just a few of the events which took place in pop music history, on this day . . . . M A R C H 9
NEW YORK — Under wraps of secrecy, RCA Victor brought its Italian and world-wide singing star Rita Pavone into the country for clandestine recording sessions.
Miss Pavone recorded her first album and some singles in English for release later this year, when the young lady makes her official performance debut and an extensive stay in either May or September. She was assisted at the recording date by Dorio Soria, international director for RCA Victor.
The recording will include special English material for the young lady and a drive will be mounted to help push Rita Pavone’s recordings in this country. She has steadily widened her sphere of influence on the Continent, where she has sold something like three million single records and albums in a little more than a year in her native Italy. In addition, she has currently established a breakthrough singing in German, while in Germany with the title, “Wenn Ich Ein Junge Waer” (I Wish I Were A Boy). Plans have also been implemented to push the lass into the Benelux countries and Scandinavia.
Pavone returns to Italy this week for dates all over the European continent and will star in a musical film, which she will start filming upon her immediate return to her native country. END
Addendum: Rita Pavone first debuted here on the WKNR playlist on May 28, 1964, when RCA released her one and only two-sided hit, “Remember Me,” along with “Just Once More” on the B-side. “Remember Me” was on the WKNR music guides for five consecutive weeks from the end of May throughout the month of June, peaking at the #7 spot on “Keener 13” on June 18, 1964, while dropping down to the #9 spot altogether from the WKNR playlist on June 25, 1964.
(Information and news source: Billboard magazine; January 18, 1964).
A typical suburban Detroit family viewing household television in 1958 (Photo credit: Detroit Times)
DETROIT — WJBK-TV has come up with ample evidence of current audience popularity for afternoon “bandstand” formats of programming records on TV for dancing by a live studio audience of teenagers.
The Detroit television station pulled a special ARB survey of its new “Detroit Bandstand,” emceed by Dale Young from 5:00 to 5:30 weekdays, and came up with a whopping 14.8 share in viewer ratings in the Detroit-TV market during the afternoon time period. The ratings were double its nearest competition, “Superman.”
Reacting to the ratings surprise, WJBK-TV added a Saturday segment of the “Detroit Bandstand” show at 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. The station claims that 4,000 pieces of mail came in during the show’s first week.
Hopping On The Hop Wagon
Stations in other markets have added record hops to their TV schedules, a major impetus being the success of Dick Clark’s ABC-TV network strip. As recently as WJBK-TV in Detroit, now KBTV, Denver, has taken the logical step of programming its new “Denver Bandstand” in and around Dick Clark’s show, so the teenagers will be dancing to local disks for 30 minutes, followed by Clark, returning to the local show for one hour. Up until now, stations have been programming directly opposite Clark or as far away from him on the clock as possible. END.
(Information and news source, Billboard Magazine; April 14, 1958).
R&B Radio Outlets Richer; Static Quo on DJ Dollars Dismal
NEW YORK — The current success of many R&B format radio stations across the nation “is not that all apparent at the deejay level,” according to Ronnie Roker, an executive at Mark II Records.
Mark II records is the label of Tag LTD. Productions, a firm headed by Magnificent Montague, former air-personality with KGFJ, Los Angeles, and Roker, formerly with Liberty Records. The label’s first release is “Precious Memories” by the Romeos, now No. 38 with a star on the R&B chart, and climbing also on the Hot 100 Chart in pop sales. Montague played congos and bongos on the record. The LP is due out soon featuring the group.
The record got its start on R&B stations; among those that helped boost it were WVON, Chicago; WWIN and WEBB in Baltimore; WABQ and WJMO in Cleveland; KGFJ in Los Angeles, KATZ in St. Louis, and WJLB and WCHB in Detroit. It was WQV in Pittsburgh, Roker said, that swung the record into the pop field and did so much to promote record sales.
Format Operation
R&B stations — practically all major ones — have gone to a format operation, Roker said. “Format lessens the amount of new records exposed, although the number of records exposed on R&B radio stations far surpass that on pop stations. Its much easier to get a record started in the R&B field, though not as easy as five years ago. Today, you have to put out a good record to get it played. There are very few bad records — or even mediocre ones — played on any R&B station.”
ERNIE DURHAM WJLB 1964
The tight formats now being used by R&B stations have really helped them, Roker felt. “It has been responsible for higher ratings of these stations in the general market, bringing them more business and higher advertising rates.” But this hasn’t helped most deejays, he said; their salaries haven’t been increased or, at least, it’s “not that apparent.” Roker said he felt deejays should share in the growth of the stations through higher salaries, “but whether they will is a different matter.”END
___
(Information and news source: Billboard Magazine; April 29, 1967)
Addendum: Here are two *rare* airchecks of Detroit’s own R&B Grandmaster himself, “Frantic” Ernie Durham, as he was 10 years earlier on R&B WBBC-AM in Flint, Michigan, in 1957 and in 1958.
Tamla-Motown’s all-star revue was SRO during it’s recent Brevoort Theater stint in Brooklyn. It broke an attendance record previously set by Jackie Wilson.
Home for a record-cutting session now, the troops included: the Miracles, Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Marvin Johnson, the Supremes, and Little Stevie Wonder…. Of the five awards given by BMI to Jobete Music, a Tamla-Motown affiliate, two belong to Bill (Smokey) Robinson, lead singer with the Miracles. Bill seem well on his way to some more awards this year. Robinson is the writer for Mary Wells’ “Two Lovers” and the Miracles’ “You Really Got A Hold On Me.” They’ve been one and two on Billboard’s R&B charts for weeks. END.
(Information and news source: Billboard Magazine; February 16, 1963).
From the MCRFB music calendar:
