Category: Flashbacks
REMEMBERING JOHN KENNEDY | NOVEMBER 25, 2013
MEMORIALS TO PRES. KENNEDY CARRIES WEIGHT IN LP MARKET . . . DECEMBER 21, 1963
From the MCRFB news archives: 1963
JFK Albums in Demand for pre-Christmas Holidays 1963
By RENT GREVANTT
NEW YORK — Albums memorializing the late President John F. Kennedy are having a heavy impact on the pre-Christmas record album market place. At week’s end, manufacturers were claiming virtually around-the-clock pressing activity “trying to keep up with orders.” This condition was in marked contrast to that obtaining in connection with various single records containing material related to the recent death of the President.
Three of the fastest-moving of the Kennedy albums are out on budget (99-cent) lines and these appear to be getting the heaviest retail action at the moment. These are available through Premier Albums. Pickwick International and Ambassador (Diplomat label). Twentieth Century-Fox has an album out at $3.98 and a new firm Documentaries Unlimited also released a full price set, though it’s understood the latter is now selling at $1.98 at some locations. Decca Records is also in the race with the sound track to the BBC-TV memorial show, “That Was The Week That Was,” and claims strong action.
Premier got out first and was actually shipping five days after the event, according to the firm’s president, Phil Landwehr. He said that currently, 16 pressing plants are turning out the LP’s, which he indicated had now been shipped in quantities approaching 1,000,000.
Benefit LP
Premier and WMCA have agreed to turn over their royalties to the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation for Mental Retardation. He added that arrangements are being made to bring out a full-price ($3.98) companion to the current 99-cent item, which will contain the news coverage of the Dallas tragedy by a different New York station.
A spokesman for Ambassador records , what has a 99-cent Diplomat label LP containing a number of Kennedy speeches and comments, declined to reveal actual sales figures. “It’s just fantastic and that’s all they’ll let me say right now,” he commented.
Close to 1,000,000 copies of the Pickwick-produced LP have been shipped in the first six days of its release, according to the firm’s president, Cy Leslie. He said that shipments are going out from four depots now and nine pressing plants are in currently in mass-production action.
“We didn’t get into this thing until last week, because we didn’t want to see anybody get into it.” But when others did, we felt we had to go,” said Leslie. “We’re replenishing supplies at the rate about 150,000 a day. There is one difficulty, however. Many dealers are now going into a sort of panic or shock that they won’t be able to get a supply. So some of them are duplicating or even tripling orders — the same orders. In other words, when one order is filled, they cancel the others, so you can have a certain inflation factor.”
Solid Action
At 20th Century-Fox, which has issued a $3.98 list LP with numerous of the Kennedy speeches, label head Norman Weiser, said: “We’ve shipped 315,000 with no guarantees and no allocations. We’ve received a great response from Schirmer’s in New York and the whole Sears chain has come through nicely.”
Weiser said he understood the Handleman racking operation alone has accounted for 75,000 orders through its wholly owned ARC distributorship in Detroit.
Decca, which grabbed the the original TV sound track to the BBC-TV, “That Was The Week That Was,” memorializing Kennedy, also reports strong demand for its $4.98 list album. Decca, like most other labels with a Kennedy package, is turning a good portion of its proceeds over to charity, got a big column break from Dorothy Kilgallen, Monday, December 9.
Since that time, the company’s New York branch in Woodside, Queens, has been running orders all over the city by station wagon, while other major orders are being flown around the country. A spokesman estimated a possible sale of up to 250,000 albums by the first of the year.
Meanwhile, the activities on singles of the song “In The Summer Of His Years,” appear to be uncertain due to lack of any full-scale radio support for any of the disks. Versions now available are by Connie Stevens, MGM; Milicent Martin, ABC-Paramount; Toni Arden, Decca; Kate Smith, RCA Victor; Mahalia Jackson, Columbia, and Hettie London, Palace Records.
Late in the week, two other memorial singles appeared. One of these was by the Briarwood Singers, a folk-based vocal group on the United Artists label, who offered “He Was A Friend Of Mine.” At the same time, British actor-singer Tony Newley wrote and recorded his own tribute to the late-President Kennedy on his A Capella label. END.
From the MCRFB news archives: 1963
JFK RECORD URGE ON RISE
NEW YORK — The consumer demand for documentary material featuring the voice of the late-President John F. Kennedy indicated in last week’s Billboard seems to be intensifying.
The 20th Century-Fox label, which has an album culled from its Movietone News affiliate, “John F. Kennedy — The Presidential Years,” has received strong reactions to its package. The album contains actual news reel sound tracks of the inaugural address by the late President and other prominent speeches.
The label has done little to promote the album, but produced it for educational and historical purposes. Outside of initial calls to distributors (to let them know the Kennedy album was available) no follow-through or hype calls have been made., but the label has been inundated with high demand for the disk. END.
(Above two articles appeared in Billboard; December 21, 1963).
TOM CLAY AND TOMMY CASH: SIX WHITE HORSES; JFK
THE COMPLETE STORY NOVEMBER 22-25, 1963: ‘FOUR DAYS THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD’ COLPIX RECORDS
From the MCRFB MISCELLANEOUS archive: 1963
The Actual Voices And Events of FOUR DAYS THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD – The Complete Story – November 22-25, 1963
Produced in association with United Press International; 1963
Colpix Records No. CP 2500 XTV 89953; 1963
The Complete Story ‘FOUR DAYS THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD’ November 22-25, 1963
P R O D U C E D B Y H E R B E R T S U S S A N | Colpix Records
P R O D U C E R ‘ S N O T E S
The FOUR DAYS THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD is told in three basic segments: first, Friday, November 22, the day of the assassination of President Kennedy . . . the day of shock . . . from early morning through the assassination until President Johnson’s first remarks at Andrews AFB as the new President.
The second section is the Lee Harvey Oswald story . . . from his capture in the Texas theater through his murder by Jack Ruby in the basement of the Dallas jail, to the announcement of his death.
The third major element covers the ceremonies and events in Washington from Friday, when the President’s body lay in repose in the White House, through the ceremonies at the Rotunda of the Capitol . . . through Monday . . . with the highlights of Mass . . . the procession to Arlington . . . and the events at the grave until the moments of the final taps.
The telling of this story in the limited time of a recording has been a great challenge. Compiled from more than 85 hours of audio tapes, this unprecedented example of audio journalism takes you directly into the scenes as as they happened and places you in the action . . . to create this memorable document in sound of the most dramatic four days in our times.
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
T H E W O R L D M O U R N S
“President Kennedy died as a soldier, under fire, for his duty and in the service of his country. In the name of the French people, a friend at all times of the American people, I salute this great example and this great memory.” – Charles De Gaulle, President of France
“The loss to the United States and to the world is incalculable. Those who come after Mr. Kennedy must strive the more to achieve the ideals of world peace and human happiness and dignity to which his Presidency was dedicated.” — Sir Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of Great Britain
“A heart-breaking tragedy has occurred. The world can ill afford at this time in our history to lose a man of his courage, which he displayed in war and which he displayed in peace.
“It is difficult for me to say anything more at this time. Our hearts are filled with sadness.” — Lester Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada
“The President’s shocking death deprives mankind of a compassionate champion of peace and brotherhood, his country of a courageous executive, his family of a loyal husband and father, his parents of a dutiful and devoted son.” — Pope Paul VI
“I shall remember my personal meetings with President John F. Kennedy as a person of broad outlook who realistically assessed the situation and tried to find ways for negotiated settlements which now divide the world.
“The Soviet government and the Soviet people share the grief of the American people over the great loss and express the hope that the search for settling disputed questions, a search to which President John F. Kennedy made a tangible contribution, would be continued in the interests of peace, for the benefit of mankind.
“Accept, Mr. President, my personal condolences.” — Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union, in a telegram to President Johnson
F O U R D A Y S T H A T S H O C K E D T H E W O R L D
N A R R A T E D B Y R E I D C O L L I N S | WNEW Radio News
SIDE I
- President Kennedy — Fort Worth Breakfast Speech
- Arrival At Love Field, Dallas — Coverage By Joseph Long, KLIF, Dallas
- At The Scene — At The Moment Motorcade Is Fired Upon — Coverage From The Texas School Book Depository
- With A Mobile Radio Unit At-The-Scene With The Motorcade Speeding To Parkland Hospital Nearby The Presidential Limousine
- Eyewitness Report Of The Actual Assassination
- Announcement Of Last Rites By Father Oscar Huber And Of Death Of President Kennedy
- Eyewitness Account –Ambulance Driver — Mrs. Kennedy Prior To Trip Back To Dallas
- Eyewitness Report — Merriman Smith — Scene Aboard ‘Air Force One’ As Mrs. Kennedy Returns With The President’s Body, The Swearing-In Of President Johnson, And Flight To Washington
- Actual Swearing-In Of Lyndon B. Johnson By Judge Sarah T. Hughes
- Arrival At Andrews Air Force Base First Public Statement — President Lyndon B. Johnson
SIDE II
- Dallas Policeman — Eyewitness Report Of Capture
- Lee Harvey Oswald — Actual Voice Denial Of Guilt
- Actual Court Charge Of Oswald
- Reports of Investigations
- Sunday Morning — Tensions Mount In Dallas
- On-The-Spot Report From Basement Of Dallas Jail At The Moment Oswald is Shot By Jack Ruby — Exclusive Coverage — Ike Pappas, WNEW News
- Oswald Rushed By Ambulance To Parkland Hospital
- Police Identify Killer As Jack Ruby
- On The Scene Report — Parkland Hospital
- Oswald’s Death Announced
- President Kennedy’s Body Lies In Repose In White House — November 23
- President Kennedy’s Body Taken From White House To Capitol Rotunda
- Final Playing Of “Hail To The Chief”
- Chief Justice Warren — Eulogy (Excerpt)
- Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield — Eulogy (Excerpt)
- President Kennedy’s Body Lies In State in Rotunda
- Mrs. Kennedy — Midnight Visit To Rotunda
- Funeral Procession From Rotunda To St. Matthews Cathedral
- Dignitaries From The Entire World Join Procession
- Mass At St. Matthews Cathedral By Richard Cardinal Cushing (Excerpts)
- Funeral Procession From St. Matthews Cathedral To Arlington Cemetery
- Jet Fly-By — Arlington
- Richard Cardinal Cushing — Prayer At Graveside
- 21 Gun Salute
- Taps At Arlington
REID COLLINS is the award-winning correspondent of America’s most honored independent radio news organization — WNEW, New York’s METROMEDIA Station. Winner of every major news award, WNEW covered the story of the President’s assassination from Dallas, Washington, New York and the foreign capitals of the world. Collins reported the four days from Friday, November 22nd through Monday, November 25th, from the nation’s capitol. Narration (Washington sequence) written by Reid Collins, WNEW.
HERBERT SUSSAN, producer of FOUR DAYS THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD, is an Executive Producer supervising International Production for Screen Gems, Inc. He is former National Director of Special Programs for NBC-TV, was the senior Producer of the highly-acclaimed WIDE WIDE WORLD television series, and is a veteran TV Producer-Director.
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL now has recorded the tragic events of November, 1963, in words, still pictures, motion picture film and sound. For the UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL this record represents reporting in a new dimension. UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL is happy to be associated with COLPIX RECORDS in the production of a permanent recording of these “Four Days That Shocked The World.”
EARL J. JOHNSON Vice President & Editor UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
WE AT COLPIX RECORDS have been determined to create an historical document of lasting significance out of the four heartbreaking days that began with President Kennedy’s speech at Fort Worth and ended with taps at Arlington. It was a task that required intense care and attention from everyone concerned with its preparation. Hours of audio tapes and hundreds of exclusive photos and filmstrips were utilized in production of this unique and special album. To the UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL for its permission to use this material and to all the reporters on radio, and in the press, whose on-the-spot coverage made this album possible — our sincere gratitude.
DON KIRSCHNER Executive Vice President Music and Record Division Columbia Pictures-Screen Gems TV
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COLPIX RECORDS IS A DIVISION OF COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION (c. 1963)
ABOUT THIS ALBUM
‘FOUR DAYS THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD‘ contained the information as was transcribed verbatim, above. These were the actual words found in print inside the album’s gate-fold spread. The album cover also contained “15 color and black and white photographs which were part of the extensive photographic coverage of these events by the United Press International.” A portion of royalties accrued to Colpix Records was donated to the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation for Research on Mental Retardation.
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All photos above were selected randomly by the author for this feature.
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In the January 18, 1964 issue of Billboard, ‘FOUR DAYS THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD’ was described as, “The most important record of our time. Not an album of speeches — you are there as the most dramatic flow of events become history.”
DETROIT WJBK RADIO 15: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1963
A MCRFB VIEWING TIP: To fully appreciate this WJBK Radio 15 November 22, 1963 chart feature — to enlarge chart image FULL SCREEN — click on the image and open to second window. See ‘Original size: ‘2550 × 3300‘ at the top/left and click on that link for EXPANDED LARGEST VIEW (twice). Click image anytime to return to NORMAL image size. (Click your server’s back button to return to MCRFB main home page).
THE HISTORY OF WXYZ T.V.
THE BIG 8 – CKLW SURVEY
WJR RADIO AD: WHO’S BURIED IN LENIN’S TOMB? * 1959
WJR Detroit. RADIO WITH ADULT APPEAL
WOMEN EXECS DRIVE DETROIT RADIO FAST LANE . . . APRIL 26, 1986
From the MCRFB news archive: 1986
A LARGE NUMBER HOLD KEY POSITIONS
‘We have to do more, be superior.’
DETROIT — “Detroit is suppose to be one of the worst cities in the country to get ahead . . . except in radio and television,” says Maureen Hathaway, station manager of of Motor City top 40 WHYT-FM.
Hathaway is one of a large number of women holding holding top exective positions in Detroit radio — vice-presidents/general managers, station managers, general sales managers, even owners. Radio is a business whose key jobs are generally held by men, and Detroit is widely perceived as a two-fisted blue-collar city. Yet women there have been able to make a more than significant mark in the upper echelons of radio.
“The radio market here is [one of the most] competitive in the country,” observes Elaine Baker, VP/GM of adult contemporary WOMC-FM. “Because of that, talent is recognized for what it is. Women have been able to move up the ladder because they’re good in what they do.”
Both Hathaway and Vicky Trondle, general sales manager of WNIC-AM-FM, surmise that Detroit is such fertile ground for women executives because extensive station turnovers in the recent past have cleared the way for capable, talented women.
“One of the biggest problems for women had been lack of opportunity,” say Hathaway. “Men were holding jobs they’d always held, but when turnovers occurred, women were there to take those jobs.”
Trondle add, “It took a long time for women to get the type of experienceit takes to run a large business.”
Trondle was promoted to GSM when her predecessor left to join former WNIC GM Lorraine Golden, who had formed her own company. Golden is now VP of Metropolis Broadcasting and GM/VP of its first property, the top 40/AC formatted WDTX.
The turnover theory doesn’t hold for Vera Green, VP/GM of urban outlet WJLB-FM, who brought the station from a No. 12 overall when she joined in 1982 to its current No. 2 status. She says, “Women has the least seniority, and so were the first to go.”
Green’s prior experience in the automotive industry left her with the perspective that the male concentration there and in Detroit’s other heavy industries “gave women other ways to achieve.”
“For women to excel in this market place,” agrees Suzanne Gougherty, national sales manager of WWJ-AM, “they had to look in other areas.”
The majority of the female’s executives started out not in the typing pool, but in the sales department. “It’s the business aspect of the radio station,” observes Gougherty. “Working in sales gives you an awareness of the bottom line . . . and GMs have to be aware of the bottom line . . . it gives an idea of the structure of the station.”
Operating in a predominately man’s world, Detroit’s female execs nevertheless all agree they have faced little or no gender discrimination in their positions. “There has probably been some, but I’ve been too busy to notice,” remarks Green.
However, says Betty Pazdernik, VP and GSM of top 40 WCZY-AM-FM, “I still think we have to do a bit more, be superior, excel.
“If I felt I wanted to do a tantrum, I wouldn’t do it,” she continues, “yet I’ve seen males fly off the handle, and its perfectly acceptable. If I feel like crying from frustration, I’ll leave the office. But, men are allowed to explode for the same reason with no loss of esteem. It’ll probably always be like that.”
All agree that their stations hire for excellence, not gender.
“I’m looking for the best person for a job, when I hire,” says Baker. “I had a female program director in 1983 [Lorna Ozman], and we had a female sales staff — not because they’re woman, but for their skills.”
Woman applicants can look forward to advice and information on support groups when they go to WJLB, says Green. “We tell them to contact American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT), the Women’s Advertising Club in Detroit, Women In Music, and Women In Communications,” she describes. “We advise everyone, not just women, to read the trades and market reports. Women graduate as mass communications majors with no practical skills; we try to spread the word that if they’re considering internships, they can get them.”
Detroit’s women executives all stress that hard work, knowledge, desire, goal-setting, risk taking, and dedication got them where they are. “Don’t be overly conscious of your difference,” advises WHYT’s Hathaway. “You can be a lone wolf and succeed.” You’ve got to be part of the system, teamwork and company loyalty, that’s what has traditionally gotten men ahead. A lot of women feel they have to be Joan of Arc, but that just reinforces differences. Being a team player does not mean selling out.” END.
(Information and news source: Billboard; April 26, 1986).