Category: Flashbacks
WXYZ-AM 1270 * THE DETROIT SOUND SURVEY * SEPTEMBER 19, 1966
From the MCRFB archive files:
THE TOP 35 HITS ON WXYZ ON THIS DATE IN 1966
WXYZ 1270 Detroit Sound Survey; Week no. 23 issued September 19, 1966 under Lee Alan, Program Director; WXYZ
(WXYZ 1270 Detroit Sound Survey for September 19, this date 1966; survey courtesy the Jim Heddle Collection. For the previous weekly WXYZ September 12, 1966 survey click here).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cbe7fFzQyA
WXYZ Detroit Sound Survey No. 22: “Money Won’t Change You (Pt. 1),” by James Brown, this date in September 1966.
DETROIT RADIO SIDEBAR: WXYZ-AM BILLBOARD NOTES
From the MCRFB RADIO notebook: 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1971
WXYZ-AM
DETROIT (November 7, 1960) — Joel Sebastian, formerly KLIF, Dallas, has returned to his home town and WXYZ, Detroit. END
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DETROIT (January 20, 1962) — Joel Sebastian has returned to WXYZ, Detroit, in the 7:15 p.m. to midnight time segment, Monday through Friday, and from 7:00 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays. The jock left WXYZ some time ago to join WIND, Chicago. He replaces Lou Sherman and Fred Weiss at WXYZ. In addition to his daily chores he will conduct “Teen Bulletin Board” on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30 to 7:45 p.m. Coca-Cola sponsors the teen show. END
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DETROIT (March 31, 1962) — There has been a personnel shuffle at WXYZ, Detroit, but station program director Bob Baker reports that the station’s programming will remain the same. Marty McNeely is leaving the station, and Lee Alan is returning in the 7:00 p.m. to midnight slot. Joel Sebastian, heretofore night man, is taking over the 3-7 p.m. hours, and Paul Winters, formerly afternoon man, is moving into the 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. mid-morning-early afternoon drive. END
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DETROIT (March 2, 1963) — Paul Winter of WXYZ radio, Detroit, ran a promotion during National Electric Week that deejays can adapt to any time. Winter offered to pay the next electric bill of any listener who correctly estimated the number of electrical appliances in the average American home, as determined by the electrical industry. Listeners were also asked to name one electric appliance they did not own. END
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DETROIT (March 9, 1963) — WXYZ disc jockey Dave Prince, who recently joined the station from WKMH, Dearborn-Detroit, launched his new show by doing remotes from the sports car exhibition at the Henry Ford Museum in the Motor City’s famous Greenfield Village. Dave Prince began his first Saturday morning and afternoon show on 1270 last week (March 2) and will be doing a Sunday afternoon show on weekends as well. END
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DETROIT (August 31, 1963) — When it comes to televised teen-dance shows gaining popularity in several major cities across the country, local Detroit TV show “Club 1270,” aired Sunday afternoons on WXYZ-TV (local ABC-owned Channel 7) is one on top. The program is co-hosted by Joel Sebastian, and Lee Alan. Some 100 youngsters, all regular participants, sit around tables on the club-type set. Sodas and potato chips are served while teens whirl around the floor to the latest records. The talents on the show is outstanding of course . . . Trini Lopez, Freddy Scott, Stevie Wonder, etc., whether nationally popular acts or local. END
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DETROIT (January 11, 1964) — WXYZ Radio personalities Joel Sebastian, Lee Alan, Paul Winter and Dave Prince conducted a pre-Holiday campaign to get usable toys for hospitalized children at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. More than 300 toys were given to the youngsters at the hospital Christmas party. On a different note, WXYZ radio personality Joel Sebastian, and wife, Frances, proud parents of eight and a half pound baby girl, Laura Elizabeth, born Thanksgiving day. END
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DETROIT (May 11, 1964) — Lee Alan, popular night-time deejay on WXYZ 1270 in Detroit, leaves his weeknights 7:15 p.m. – midnight show to set up his own promotional and programming service. END
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DETROIT (February 13, 1965) — WXYZ’s deejay Marc Avery show was interrupted recently by a call that came in on the station’s “Hot Line” (a private phone number in the studio designated for pick-up for emergency calls, etc.). The caller said, “This is C. E. Hooper calling. May I ask you what radio station you are listening to?
At first Avery thought it was a joke, but when the caller persisted in the interview, he realized it was on the level and answered back, “The Marc Avery Show on WXYZ-Radio.” Avery than confessed to the caller why he was listening to the show.
On a lighter note, what Avery and the executives of the ABC-owned station are now asking Hooper whether they will still get credit for Avery taking and answering the call. END
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DETROIT (October 16, 1965) — Jim McQuary has joined the WXYZ personality roster in Detroit; he was formerly with WJBK in the same city . . . WXYZ also added Danny Taylor . . . David R. Klemm, formerly with WXYZ in Detroit, has been appointed station manager of WLCY, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida. END
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DETROIT (January 15, 1966) — Program Director Bruce Still at WXYZ, Detroit, reports that a campaign launched by air personality Marc Avery drew in roughly 20,000 books of trading stamps to buy toys for children at Christmas. END
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DETROIT (March 3, 1966) — Bruce Still has been named operations director at WXYZ, Detroit; Lee Alan was promoted to program director and will continue his nightly on-air show. END
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DETROIT (February 18, 1967) — The deejay team of Martin & Howard debuted January 30 on WXYZ, Detroit. Teams have worked well on Easy Listening format stations and if these two do well on a Hot 100 format station in a major market like Detroit, it might prove interesting for other stations. Also, Joe Bacarella, formerly program director and afternoon deejay with WCAR, Detroit, has shifted to WXYZ, Detroit, as director of operations. END
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DETROIT (June 3, 1967) — Dick Kernan has been promoted to assistant director of operations and Jim Nell to traffic director of WXYZ, Detroit. Perry Krauss has been named producer of the Martin & Howard show. Incidentally, Kernan will assist operations director Joe Bacarella with programming. Krauss joins from WCAR, Detroit; where he headed the Perry Krauss Orchestra. END
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DETROIT (November 23, 1968) — Mike Sherman has joined WXYZ in the 2-6 p.m. slot and Dick Purtan, who’d been doing both morning and afternoon drive-time show, will now just be heard mornings 6-10 a.m. Sherman was formerly WIBC in Indianapolis. END
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DETROIT (February 27, 1971) — William F. Lochridge has been named general manager of WXYZ-FM; he’d been with Katz in that city; Dick Kernan will continue to direct operations and programming of the station. END
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(Information and news source: Billboard Magazine; All excerpts culled as was first published from the dated editions as noted above)
GRAND RAPIDS BEST RADIO
When traveling Western Michigan
Check Out this great Classic Radio
Hits from the 60’s 70’s and 80’s.
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‘THE REFLECTIONS’ * GOLDEN WORLD RECORDS * 1964
The Reflections was the name of a number of musical groups.
Perhaps the best known were a blue-eyed soul/doo-wop group from Detroit, Michigan. They had one hit single in 1964 called “(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet”, written by Bob Hamilton and “Please Mr. Postman” songwriter Freddie Gorman. The song was produced by Rob Reeco on Golden World Records. The disc reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #9 on the Cash Box magazine chart. The record was even more popular in rhythm and blues locations, reaching #3 on that Cashbox chart. After a few more records that were moderate successes on the national charts, Ray Steinberg left the group for other interests. As a foursome, The Reflections continued recording and making TV appearances. In 1965, they made their one-and-only movie appearance in Winter-A-Go-Go, performing “I’m Sweet On You”.
They were signed to the same Detroit R&B label, Golden World Records, as their blue-eyed soul peers, The Flaming Ember and The Shades Of Blue.
Today, The Reflections are one of many popular groups touring various oldies venues throughout their home state of Michigan and all over the States. Original members Tony Micale and John Dean are now augmented by three other members from various regional doo-wop groups: first tenor Joey Finazzo, baritone Gary Benovetz, and first tenor Sal Prado.
(Source information: — WiKipedia).
American Bandstand teens dance to “Romeo & Juliet” by The Reflections. (You Tube). American Bandstand. May 30, 1964.
WXYZ-AM 1270 * THE DETROIT SOUND SURVEY * SEPTEMBER 12, 1966
From the MCRFB archive files:
THE TOP 35 HITS ON WXYZ ON THIS DATE IN 1966
WXYZ 1270 Detroit Sound Survey; Week no. 22 issued September 12, 1966 under Lee Alan, Program Director; WXYZ
(WXYZ 1270 Detroit Sound Survey for September 12, this date 1966; survey courtesy the Jim Heddle Collection. For the previous weekly WXYZ September 5, 1966 survey click here).
WXYZ Detroit Sound Survey No. 23: “Respect,” by the Rationals, this date in September 1966.
DETROIT RADIO SIDEBAR: WOMC-FM BILLBOARD NOTES
From the MCRFB notebook: 1977, 1979
and (2) 1981
WOMC-FM
DETROIT (March 5, 1977) — Dave Shafer is the new program director of WOMC-FM in Detroit. He has been an afternoon personality at the station since January 1976 and before that Shafer was an air personality and program director at WCAR-AM, Detroit. Oddly enough, he once was one of the Jack The Bellboys who worked at WJBK-AM in the old days, along with Tom Clay and others. Later, Shafer was a morning and afternoon disk jockey for eight years on CKLW-AM. Then he went to WYSL in Buffalo as program director, spent some later time at WYKC in Cleveland, then returned to do the morning show on CKLW in Detroit for 3 and a-half years. Shafer replaced Joe Taylor, who left to become program and general manager of WGAL in beautiful out-of-town Lancaster, Pennsylvania. END.
DETROIT (October 27, 1979) — Metromedia’s WOMC-FM has signed two of the Motor City’s top on-air personalities. Marc Avery has moved over from WJR-AM to handle morning drive and Tom Dean has left ABC’s talk station WXYZ-AM to move into an afternoon slot.
Avery, who will be on from 6 to 10 a.m., comes from more than eight years at WJR where he was host to his “Saturday Morning Confusion” show and more recently did the “Afternoon Music Hall.” He also had previously worked in Detroit as morning man at WJBK-AM and WXYZ. He succeeds Jim Davis.
Dean, before being a talk host on WXYZ, was host of the “Femme Forum” program on WDEE-AM. He succeeds Bob Charlton, who has left the station to pursue his own business. END.
DETROIT (August 1, 1981) — Bill Garcia has been hired away from WDRQ-FM Detroit to be program director at WOMC-FM. Garcia had been moving the Hot 100 formatted WDRQ into a more adult contemporary mode and into direct competition with Metromedia’s WOMC. Charter Broadcasting has WDRQ on the block. Garcia succeeds Dave Shafer, who’s moved over to WCZY-FM, which is running the syndicated Schulke II vocal-oriented Beautiful music format. END.
DETROIT (October 3, 1981) — Veteran Detroit broadcaster Dave Lockhart has joined the air staff at WOMC-FM hosting the morning drive program, 6-10 a.m., Monday through Saturday. Prior to his WOMC appointment, Lockhart spent 15 years at ABC’s WXYZ-AM Detroit, handling both music and news format. END.
(Information and news source: Billboard Magazine. All excerpts culled as was published from the dated editions noted above).
NEW * JEFF JENNINGS AIRCHECKS
SPECIAL THANKS TO JEFF JENNINGS FOR THESE RARE AIRCHECKS
Click Here to Listen To Jeff On Z-95.5 – 1988
Listen Here To Jeff On Other Radio Stations In Detroit
Jeff Jennings On WOMC – 1990’s
You can now hear Jeff Jennings on
WBXX in Battle Creek, Michigan.
He is the Program Director and Air Personality
Afternoons between 2 – 7pm.
Click here to go to the website.
LISTENERS CHOOSE WLLZ PLAYLIST . . . JULY 11, 1981
From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1981
Is It Dinosaur Rock?
DETROIT — WLLZ-FM, Detroit’s “Rockin’ Best” was born in November, 1980. In the winter ’81 Arbitron book, it debuted at 9.2 share, second only to WJR-AM. Its secret is simple according to program director John Larson: “We play whatever listeners want.”
Owned by Doubleday & Co., the station employs a strategy developed by Bobby Hattrik, corporate vice-president of programming. The station make 800 to 1,000 phone calls a week, asking listeners what they want to hear. Larson says, “Songs they like, we play; songs they don’t like, we don’t play. It’s that simple. The listener request line gets about 500 calls a day.These requests clue Larson and music director Joe Urbiel to tunes they hadn’t thought of adding.
The playlist changes frequently, at least twice a week. The process is ongoing. Current hot numbers include “Tom Sawyer” by Rush, AC/DC’s “Problem Child,” Rainbow’s “No Release” and the new Moody Blues record.
Prior to WLLZ taking to the airwaves, the frequency was occupied by WBFG, a 50-kilowatt religious station. Doubleday also owns WDWB-AM-FM Minneapolis and St. Louis’ KWK-AM/WWWK-FM. These also employ listener-determined playlists. Larson says “This strategy mirrors local taste. Their playlists are not the same as WLLZ’s. In St. Louis, for example, they play more Southern music.”
Larson came to the station from Rockford, Illinois. In the course of seven years in radio, he developed a similar listener-determined playlist. “The station’s personality is the music,” he claims. “We have news, but news director Jeff Young spotlights stories the listeners consider important. “No blood and guts.”
Among the station’s many requests, Van Halen is a particular favorite. The Who, Boston, Bob Seger and Bad Company figure prominently. “Over-saturation causes an artist to go out of fashion. They come back, though its like eating chocolate cake every day. Eventually you get tired of even your favorites,” Larson says.
WLLZ hasn’t done any print advertising since it first broke into the market. Promotion concentrates on giving people things, especially money, because “it’s something everybody can use,” Larson continued. There are no contests involved. A station staffer roams the streets of Detroit, asking pedestrians and drivers with radios what station they’re tuned to. If the answer is WLLZ, the staffer hands the lucky listener $1,000. Understandably, the promotion is highly popular.
Larson reported little action with record companies, except a CBS album giveaway at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Ohio. The station co-promotes concerts with Brass Ring, recently Rainbow/Krocus, Pat Travers and REO. Two local retailers, Harmony House and Musicland, handed out WLLZ bumper stickers. “It helped them with trafficto be mentioned on the air,” Larson says.
For the 4th of July, Larson ran an eight-hour special program of Detroit’s “Rockin’ Best” (also the station’s motto), the 98 favorite songs reported by listeners. The special included a motorcycle and cash giveaway.
“Our goal is to be number one in the market. We feel counter-programming is pointless, so we don’t do it. We want to take the offensive — do your own thing and hope it works,” Larson says describing his philosophy. “We don’t try to play what other stations are playing. We may play something we feel may do well, whether its getting the airplay elsewhere or not. We were the first to play Donnie Iris’ ‘Ah, Leah’ and Touch‘s ‘Don’t You Know What Love Is?’
“We try to keep a balance, not just appeal to 18-year old males who drink a lot of beer. We were number two with women in the last book,” Larson says. To introduce listeners to unfamiliar music, the station airs Rated Eight, playing new songs from new bands. Silver Condor was one recent newcomer aired.
Source concerts, weekly interviews and Album Review, a play through of listener-requested albums are some of WLLZ’s special programming the station has bonded favorably with its listeners. Rock Wars, aired from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. weeknights, pits well-known musicians against each other in sometimes bizarre battle-of-the-bands that net 250 calls nightly.
WLLZ doesn’t play much home-grown Detroit music. “There’s not a lot of interest from local people in local music,” Larson explains. The call-in line also gets negative requests, including complaint from new wavers and minorities that their music is being neglected. Larson defends the station by saying, “The playlist is based completely on calls. If listeners haven’t said they want to hear it, we don’t play it.
“Dinosaur rock is a term that has been thrown at us. But oldies are making a comeback. We use common sense. You can’t test songs no one knows. But you can look for certain ingredients that make it. Good songs and bad songs are obvious to everyone. END
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(Information and news source: Billboard; July 11, 1981)
