RECORD OF ABSURD GETS SERIOUS PLAY . . . AUGUST 14, 1965

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1965

Are We On The Cusp Of ‘Destruction’?

HOLLYWOOD — A record predicting the frenetic plight of society today, written with biting incisiveness by a 19-year old renegade from surfing music, is gaining acceptance over Top 40 music stations despite its “controversial” lyrics.

The writer is P. F. Sloan and his composition is “Eve Of Destruction,” sung by Barry McGuire on Dunhill Records.

Close to 200,000 copies were sold as of last week. The disk was released on July 26.

Barry McGuire's 'Eve Of Destruction,' Dunhill Records; 1965. — **Barry McGuire‘s ‘Eve Of Destruction,’ Dunhill Records, 1965.**

What is so remarkable about the single is it’s acceptance by radio stations. During the past two years three other singles of a controversial or social nature were refused by radio stations. These disks, labeled unacceptable or controversial by American broadcasters were “In The Summer Of His Years,” a tribute by Millicent Martin to the late-President Kennedy on ABC-Paramount, which was covered by Kate Smith on RCA, Connie Francis on MGM, Mahalia Jackson on Columbia and Tony Arden on Decca; “Now,” a plea for first-class citizenship for Negroes sung by Lena Horne and released on 20th Century Fox and “Ballad Of Ira Hayes,” depicting injustices to American Indians, sung by Johnny Cash on Columbia.

Dunhill Productions executive Lou Adler, in attempting to explain why “Destruction” has jumped on format station playlists, claims the song is not a protest at all. The writer is simply relating conditions in the world today, he says. “Sloan is not a hippie or pacifist,” Adler says. “He’s just a youngster who speaks in a contemporary language.”

Adler feels many of radio’s young disk jockeys have beliefs which coincide with those of Sloan’s. Adler points to a broadening of attitudes by broadcasters which allows them to now accept a song whose lyrics (published by Trousdale Music) makes mention of “senators (who) don’t pass legislation . . . . marches alone can’t bring legislation . . . . when human respect is disintegratin’ . . . . think of all the hate there is in Red China . . . . then take a look around down Selma, Alabama.“

A rekindling of interest in folk music, including the current folk-rock trend (see Billboard; June 12) has created an aura in which disk jockeys are aware of changing times, Adler says.

One additionally vital reason for the acceptance of the single, according to Adler, is the rock-like background behind Barry McGuire, a former lead with the New Christy Minstrels.

This contemporary guitar-harmonica sound allows disk jockeys to quickly identify the disk as a commercial product. In the case of the other three “message” records, the arrangements (were regarded) uncommercial. There were scattered stations which played them, but nothing like the exposure “Destruction” has received here from KRLA, KFWB, KHJ and KBLA.

Despite the probing of domestic tinderbox situations like the struggle for human rights, the single is being played in all parts of the country, the label says. Among the first markets providing exposure were Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Baltimore and Washington. It was reported in some areas disk jockeys and program directors went to station managers and owners in obtaining clearance to play the record.

When Lena Horne’s “Now” protest single was released, several program directors told Billboard in Los Angeles they were in the entertainment business and were not concerned with airing records with political overtones. When the Millicent Martin tribute to the slain president was recorded from its original “This Was The Week That Was” British TV show, broadcasters claimed the single was in poor taste. Some said they did not think it was proper for anyone to make money from the tragedy.

John Barrett, general-manager of rating leader KRLA, told Billboard that the arts have always been associated with political thought and that for radio to negate this was foolish. KRLA was playing “Destruction” because it suddenly appeared on its local survey, Barrett says. If public demand warrants play, the station complies, unless decency rules out exposure, Barrett explained. “It is not our prerogative to censor.” Barrett said the station played a Kennedy tribute single but did not air the “Now” disk since it never showed up on its survey of 30 locations a week.

Barrett added there has been “surprisingly little comment” from listeners about “Eve Of Destruction,” McGuire’s debut for Dunhill. There were more comment from station personnel who were split idealistically over the controversial overtones heard throughout the song. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; August 14, 1965)

“EVE OF DESTRUCTION” IN PROTEST . . . AUGUST 21, 1965

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1965

‘Eve Of Destruction’ Has Its Day

“This eastern world, it is explodin’, violence flarin’, bullets loading. You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’, you don’t believe in war, but what’s that gun you’re totin’. And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin’. …

But cha’, tell me over and over and over again my friend, ah, you don’t believe we’re on the eve of destruction.”…

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CHICAGO — Barry McGuire’s “Eve Of Destruction” may be too controversial for the city’s middle-of-the-road radio station, but it represents a new trend in music, according to WCFL and WLS, the city’s two rockers.

Barry McGuire's Eve Of Destruction on Dunhill Records; 1965. — **BARRY McGUIRE’S** “Eve Of Destruction” on Dunhill Records. Released in 1965.

The record also has all the earmarks of being a hit in terms of retail sales. Bob Garmisa, of Garmisa Distributing Co., says he moved 17,000 copies of the record in the Chicago area in the past three weeks.

Fred Sipiora, of Sipiora One-Stop, said he’s sold 1,500 records of the song and has another 1,500 on order. “Dealers are starting to ask for the records,” Sipiora says.

WCFL BROKE DISK

WCFL broke the record in late July and was followed by WLS a week later. Some of the more conservative radio stations, however, are keeping hands off. Jack Williams, recently named program director at WIND, Group W’s powerful middle-of-the-roader, termed the “Eve Of Destruction” lyrics “sick.” “It’s not the sort of record we want to play for our audience,” Williams said. WIND evaluates its playlist weekly, and Williams said “Destruction” was voted down twice.

“**EVE OF DESTRUCTION**” was written by P. F. Sloan; produced by Lou Adler, P. F. Sloan for Dunhill Records

At NBC’s WMAQ, Glenn Bell, program director, said, “We’re not playing it because it’s too hard for our middle-of-the-road audience sound.” Bell, however, said he felt the record will have the greatest impact on the world of pop music of any record issued in the past several years.

“If I were a Top 40 station, I would play it,” Bell said. “In fact, I would make it a pick.”

EARMARKS OF A HIT

At kingpin WLS, Clark Weber, the station’s new program director, said “Destruction” had all the earmarks of a hit. WLS’ sister stations WXYZ, Detroit; WABC, New York; KQV, Pittsburgh, all put it on the air the same time.

Weber described “Destruction” as a “message record blending folk and R&B.” “It bites,” he said.

The WLS music man feels that the British hold on pop music may be on the wane and that “Destruction” may represent a type of music which will “move up to fill the void.”

WCFL’s program chief Ken Draper predicted flatly that “Eve Of Destruction” would be “a very big record.” “Pop music doesn’t create taste, it reflects it,” Draper said. He felt that “protest music” was already a trend. “It’s a little frightening, it makes us look at ourselves, but it’s here.” Draper remarked.

The WCFL programming chief said the McGuire record was nothing more than a logical follow-up to other “protest” disks done by such artists as Sonny Bono, Bob Dylan, Sonny and Cher and Jody Miller.

“Tragedy is nothing new to music,” noted Draper. “Operas are filled with it, and people consider it art. When people hear it in a pop song lyric, it shakes them up a little bit.” END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; August 21, 1965)

WWWW-FM CHANGES FORMAT FOR 1970 . . . JULY 25, 1970

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1970

WWWW To Add Oldies With Current Hits

Detroit — Though WWWW-FM is building an image here of being the solid gold station, general manager Don Barrett said that the heavy slate of programming will be current releases from the charts. Working slowing with national program manager Ken Dowe, who’s responsible for the programming of all the McLendon Broadcasting stations, Barrett set up a format which hinges on two oldies to one current record.

All the oldies are slated for the personalities, though the deejays use their judgments in playing current hits. The current records are usually in the upper half of Billboard Hot 100 Chart or in the top 15 sellers in the city, although WWWW-FM will also play new releases such as Dionne Warwick’s “Your Own Backyard.”

The oldies will go back to 1951, and the station has a library that will permit it to go nine-days without repeating an oldie. This is why Barrett slates all of the oldies — so that when an oldie comes up, it comes up at a different time of the day. “Gee” by the Crow is just as good at 3 a.m. as it is at 3 pm., Barrett said. And, to create a consistent sound around the clock, the station doesn’t alter its sound during the “housewives” hours or the afternoon hours when teens and young adults are more prone to listen to radio.

The reason for the format change (WWWW-FM was a background music station until March 10) was that a study of ARB and Pulse figures showed the station was “fighting with too many stations for too small a piece of the audience pie,” Barrett said. Barrett, whose career includes serving as national program director of all McLendon stations, was most recently in sales in XTRA, a Tijuana station in which McLendon is involved in.

Deejays at the station include program director Ron Rose, Chuck Richards, Tom Michaels, Robin Seymour on weekends, and Tom Clay. Clay, who does the 5 – midnight stint on the station, comes in at 9 a.m. to start prepping his show, Barrett said — “the sign of a real pro.” In McLendon fashion, WWWW-FM is building a campaign around Clay that will include a two-week saturation spot schedule on local television.

The station recently gave away a gold-painted 1957 Chevrolet to help build its image and is now preparing to give away “Good Guys” sweatshirts because no other radio station has done it in Detroit for several years.

Oldies are separated in three different lists — A, going back before 1960; B, 1960 through 1964; C, 1965 through the present. Any time a pre-1960 record is played, the next record is from the “C” list, said Barrett, so that the sound don’t stay too long in the distant past. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; July 25, 1970)

A MCRFB Note: You can watch a video with Don Schuster on WWWW-FM, December 25, 1970, in a previous MCRFB (February 20, 2012) feature by going HERE.

GAVIN REPORT: MERIT RATING IS IMPORTANT . . . DECEMBER 5, 1964

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1964

The Bill Gavin Newsletter December 5, 1964

From the Desk of Bill Gavin Billboard Contributing Editor

MANY YEARS AGO, before radio and television brought the World Series into our homes, some of our metropolitan newspapers would display large scoreboards high on their buildings so that the inning-by-inning progress could be followed by all who cared to wait and watch. Large crowds of baseball fans would cluster around, and as each inning was posted there would be cheers or groans, depending on prevailing sympathies.

The impatient anxiety with which many radio people await each succeeding Pulse or Hooper report is reminiscent of those baseball fans a half century ago. The audience measurement surveys keep the score; they report who is winning; they tell the station manager and his program director whether their programming was good; they tell the advertiser how large an audience he can expect for his commercials on each and every station. There is a saying among radio people that “you live and die by the numbers.”

Of course, there are many people in radio – probably a large majority – who take a fairly detached view of audience measurement reports. They are experienced professionals enough to know, without outside numerical reassurance, that they are doing a good job on the air, that they are attracting a fairly substantial audience, and that their station’s position in the local community and in the advertising world is reasonably secure.

It is demonstrably true that in many cities there are frequent and large fluctuations in shares of audience among some of the leading stations. It is small wonder that such wide swings of station popularity promote strong feelings of insecurity, among the leaders as well as among those whose turn it may be to fall behind. It is also true that in other cities, such frequent fluctuations in shares of audience are comparatively unknown. There must be a reason.

PROBABLY A MAJOR cause of the impatient instability that pervades radio competition in certain cities is the tradition of explosive popularity surges that has become associated with pop format stations. New or vastly improved format operations have in the past moved into a number of cities and have taken over an impressive rating leadership in a few short months. It has become an ingrained attitude in format radio that the right combination of tested ingredients – the right music, the right DJ’s, the right promotions – will automatically produce a winner. it has worked many times in the past. When it fails to work now, the assumption is likely to be that there is something wrong with the ingredients. More money is poured into bigger prize contests and into higher priced disk jockeys. This works for a month or two, until the competition follows the same course, and the rating pendulum swings again.

The obvious fallacy in this kind of thinking is that it fails to look beyond the ingredients. It fails to note that stations holding a fairly stable rating position have built up a large following whose loyalty is practically impervious to the competitive blandishments of big prizes and high-powered disk jockeys. It fails to see that a station’s position of respect and acceptance in a community is based on more long-term objectives than can be met by DJ’s, prizes, records and production.

We expect a good disk jockey to put on a consistently good show. We expect that our contests and promotions will attract a certain amount of attention. We expect that skillful selection of music, plus sharp production, will make our stations more attractive to more listeners. But if we limit our expectations exclusively to what is broadcast on the air, we are neglecting opportunities to build listener loyalty-something that grows out of the station’s non- broadcast activities in the community.

SHORT-SIGHTED MANAGERS conceive of public service only as a certain amount of air time devoted to non-commercial announcements that are placed to their credit by the FCC. More thoughtful managers encourage their air personalities to take an active part in community affairs – to work with schools, churches, charities and law enforcement agencies in all things that benefit the community. They don’t wait to be invited, they create new ways to participate, new activities to sponsor.

Radio has been called “the constant companion.” By definition, we have the right to expect our companions to be something more than pleasant, amusing, exciting or entertaining. We ask also that they be interested in us as people. Too many station managers are interested in their listeners only as numbers in a rating survey, and their stations reflect this attitude in their entire program output. It is small wonder that their brittle, superficial appeal is easily broken by an aggressive competitor.

A loyal audience is a valuable asset. It can’t be bought. It can’t be persuaded. It must be deserved. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; December 5, 1964)

THE STATE OF DETROIT RADIO: RESPONSE RATING; 1965

**DETROIT RADIO RESPONSE RATING** *Billboard July 17, 1965*

**DETROIT RADIO STATIONS BY FORMAT** *Billboard July 17, 1965*

DETROIT RADIO. THIS WEEK. JULY 1965

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DRAKE TO GUIDE ALL RKO PROGRAMMING . . . JULY 15, 1967

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1967

LOS ANGELES — RKO General Broadcasting has hired Bill Drake, its programming consultant for two Coast stations, for its remaining radio properties, according to reliable sources.

Drake, who currently guides the programming of top 40 stations KHJ locally and KFRC, San Francisco, will immediately take up the assignment to oversee and modify: CKLW, Detroit; WRKO, Boston; WOR-FM, New York; WGMS, Washington, D. C., and WHBQ Memphis.

Drake will initially concentrate on Detroit and Boston first. He has yet to visit and study the two markets, hence immediate personnel changes at the two stations is questionable.

Save for WTMS in the nation’s capital, all the stations are rockers, with WOR-FM an all stereo operation. Drake will also become involved at a later date with WOR-AM, the city’s leading all- conversation money and middle-of-the-road operation which apparently has been doing fairly well.’

Known for his “subliminal” approach to programming, whereby ingredients are strategically pieced within the broadcast hour. Drake will come up against WKNR in Detroit and both WBZ and WMEX in Boston. In Memphis he faces Plough’s WMPS plus a strong r &b operation -WDIA. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; July 15, 1967)

P.D. ALWAYS PUT ON THE SPOT . . . OCTOBER 19, 1963

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1963

The Bill Gavin Newsletter October 19, 1963

From the Desk of Bill Gavin Billboard Contributing Editor

SAN FRANCISCO — The music director at a top 40 station in a large city holds his job largely by continuing to demonstrate his ability to select the new records that eventually become hits. Every week, when he makes his top pick or discovery, he puts his reputation on the line.

It occasionally happens that even after his station has been playing his pick of the week once an hour for a week, none of the local stores can report any significant sales on it. Should such a thing happen with any degree of regularity. his boss will start looking for a new music director.

One annoying circumstance arises occasionally: a few weeks after a pick has been heavily played and yet has sold little or nothing in the market, it looms up in other cities and becomes a national hit. This is pretty frustrating. Why can’t the first station to spot a record’s potential break it for a hit?

BECAUSE IN MOST CASES, the record isn’t in the stores. The dealers get customer calls but don’t have it. Sometimes they’ll try to order it from the distributor and find that he hasn’t stocked it. By the time it finally reaches its destination at the retailer point of sale, there may be no further demand for it. The station may have dropped it entirely, figuring that it was a
bomb.

This kicks back at the station, too, in the form of listener displeasure. Those who have tried to buy the record, in the belief that it must be important, have their enthusiasm dampened when they find that it isn’t available in the stores.
Their confidence in the station is shaken. It’s unfortunate all the way around. Everybody loses.

Who gets blamed? Everybody. The retailer should keep up with what is being picked for air play, and he should have the new items in stock. The distributor should have stock on the floor, ready to move it out to the stores at the first sign of action. The music director should make certain of the record’s immediate availability before he picks it. At least, that’s the way everyone involved tries to evade the responsibility by blaming someone else.

A closer liaison between the station and the distributor can avoid such situations. Some of the nation’s most successful music directors always check with the distributor before picking a record. When will stock he available? If the station goes on the record, will the distributor order it? Will he guarantee an initial allocation to key retailers?

IT HAPPENS OCCASIONALLY that two or three versions of a record will appear almost simultaneously. Which label gets the pick? It is not always the version with the better sound. It is often the version whose distributor is known
to be alert and aggressive, and who can be depended upon to get it on the dealers’ shelves.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the distributor must guarantee 100 per cent. It should be enough – and usually is – that he will back up the station’s confidence in his product by making it quickly available to the dealers if they need it.

Most important distributors follow this kind of a policy. It is hard to understand why all do not. It is a weakness more often encountered in factory owned or controlled branches, where stock is controlled by the national brass, who estimate which of their weekly releases are most likely to be in demand. In such cases, the decision of an important station to pick a left field possibility – something that is not considered by the bosses to be a top plug item – is occasionally ignored by the local branch manager.

Station music directors are becoming more discriminating with picks in relations to practical sales prospects in a local market. It is a trend that merits serious consideration by record people, in improving their coordination between promotion and sales. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; October 19, 1963)

‘BLUES THEME’ REFUSES TO DIE . . . JULY 8, 1967

A MCRFB NEWS brief: 1967

Blues Theme’ Records Has Its Ups and Downs and Ups Riding the Chart

NEW YORK — “Blues Theme,” by Davie Allen & The Arrows is the “nuttiest record I ever had,” said Hugh Dallas, national sales manager of Tower Records.

The chart history of the record would be enough to frustrate any record man… it keeps happening in market after market, but never at the same time. The record first hit Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart on April 22 at No. 97. It climbed to 92 in a couple of weeks, then dropped off and was in the Bubbling Under a couple of more weeks before disappearing.

But the record refuses to die. It began showing sales action in another market and was “Bubbling Under” again. This week, “Blues Theme” is back at No. 99 on the chart. “It’s been No. 1 on many major station playlists, including stations in San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles,” said Dallas. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; July 8, 1967)

NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL HIT AS ARTISTIC, FINANCIAL SUCCESS . . . AUGUST 7, 1965

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1965

Bob Dylan Performs Non-Acoustic, ‘Electrified’ Newport Crowd

NEWPORT, R. I. – This year’s Newport Folk Festival (July 22 -25) was a resounding success – artistically and commercially.

From both standpoints, it came closer than ever before in achieving its primary purpose, to provide the greatest number of people with the widest possible sampling of folk music in its varied forms.

The result was an attendance of more than 74,000 highly enthusiastic people, topping last years turnout of nearly 70,000. This years estimated gross is in excess of $200,000. The four day event was presented by the nonprofit Newport Folk Foundation, the organization which has staged similar folk presentations here since 1963.

Labor of Love

All participating artists appear at no charge, contributing their services to the Foundation. The funds collected go toward the costs of maintaining the Foundation and its festivals, and for supporting research and exposure of folk music in general. Artists are paid only their travel expense. This can be substantial at times when groups are brought from distant areas such as Europe and Africa.

The success of this year’s event stands as a tribute to the talents of the Foundations chairman and producer, George Wein; his wife, Joyce Wein, who served as production coordinator, and to their staff.

The Festival consisted of six concerts: four each evening, Thursday through Sunday; a Sunday morning presentation of religious music, and a Sunday afternoon concert. In addition to the concerts, the Festival offered daytime workshops (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.) on Friday and Saturday.

These consisted of small groups, with as many as a half dozen sessions going on simultaneously. Each was conducted by a recognized disciple of a different form of folk music. These sessions consisted of discussions and performances of the music under consideration.

Workshop Approach

The workshop approach, used by Newport in the past, proved to be particularly successful this year. It permitted those attending to gain a more intensive exposure of the particular type of music they preferred. Also, it allowed the fans to get closer to their idols.

This year’s Festival was held at Newport’s new Connel Highway Arena. It provided adequate seating capacity, as well as sufficient parking facilities for the thousands of cars which jammed the fashionable resort community. To make certain that order and crowd control would be maintained, the city of Newport banned bunking on the open beaches, and insisted that all who entered the town had appropriate lodgings.

Also, the city’s 80-man police force was beefed up for the event. Officers from neighboring communities and Pinkerton guards were brought in to build a force of 200 men who kept vigil to assure an orderly affair.

Saturday Sellout

The climaxing event was the closing concert Sunday night. It attracted a sellout attendance – the second one during this year’s series – and offered a dazzling array of performers. The concert extended far past the scheduled closing, finally winding up at 1:30 a.m.

Despite the late hour, and what would normally seem to be a saturation point in listening, the crowd demanded more, and was quick to voice its disfavor that the end had finally come. Peter, Paul and Mary, who appeared on past midnight, drew a standing ovation with the crowd refusing to let them leave the stage. Mary begged off with the deftness of a polished performer who can handle a crowd. She then brought the Festival performers to the stage, with each joining in on the finale number.

Enter Baez

(As the finale swelled to hootenanny proportions with the addition of each performer, it suddenly came to a dramatic standstill with the arrival on stage of Joan Baez. She chose to sidestep the number everyone was singing, and instead, offered a song in Portuguese. Since her fellow artists did not seem to be at home in that language, Miss Baez enjoyed a brief solo until the group returned to singing more familiar selections.)

The evening featured a number of standouts – Pete Seeger, whose simple, straightforward song style and stage manner left his listeners convinced that they were in the presence of a giant in the field. He seemed to spread an aura of true dedication to the folk cause, and the crowd could sense it each time he appeared.

Bob Dylan appeared, after long and loud shouting from the crowd demanding his presence. (The audience for this performance, as during the previous concerts, was a free -swinging, outspoken crowd which was ever quick to let its likes and dislikes be known).

Stormy Reception

Then, when Dylan arrived, for a brief moment it seemed that he had lost the support of his followers. Shouts from non-Dylan attendees that he go back to the “Ed Sullivan Show,” or that he shun the electric guitar, brought cheers. The indication was that many in the audience felt that he wasn’t the same Bobby of a year ago – that perhaps he’s turned too commercial for the folk purists.

Dylan, with the air of one who relishes controversy, soon had the crowd in his palm. A particularly moving rendition of his “Tambourine Man” brought it to its feet with cheers for more.

Josh White, who canceled his scheduled appearance during the Thursday night concert for health reasons, delighted the audience with a saucy rendition of “Jelly Jelly,” and a version of “Nobody Wants You When You’re Down And Out,” which moved the crowd to cheers. In introducing the latter, White paid tribute to Bessie Smith (“the greatest blues singer who ever lived “) and said she had introduced him to that song.

Political Comments

Len Chandler stirred the crowd with both his singing and his political remarks. He received a hearty welcome on stage, but when he decided to voice his opinions on the Vietnam situation while replacing a broken guitar string, a wave of boos filled the air. Chandler held his ground, exchanging pointed remarks with members of the audience. Undaunted by the storm he stirred, Chandler soon brought the crowd back to cheer him with his touching protest songs, “Rainbow And Shadow” and “To Be A Man.”

Fannie Lou Hamer, a moving force in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, drew an ovation with her Freedom songs. Others who sparked the evening’s performance included Jean Ritchie, the Moving Star Hall Singers, and Cousin Emmy.

Theodore Bikel, one of the founding fathers of the Foundation, appeared several times, either with accompanying guitar or introducing various artists.

The Sunday morning religious music concert proved to be a memorable affair. Particularly outstanding were songs by The Reverend Gary Davis, one of the foremost composers in the “holy blues” field; Maybelle Carter,.who won cheers from the crowd; the Cape Breton Singers, to provide a sample of Oriental-flavored liturgy from Nova Scotia; Jean Ritchie, and the New Lost City Ramblers. The last-named created a rhythmic wave that swept the crowd to clapping and stomping to their beat.

The Festival dazzled the crowd with a wealth of talentsome, artists of top stature, others unknown to most people present. Additional highlights included performances by such top-drawer people as Theodore Bikel, Blue Grass’ Bill Monroe, Odetta, Ian and Sylvia, Donovan, Mississippi John Hurt, Sam and Kirk McGree and Arthur Smith, Ed Smith and the Southern Fife and Drum Corps, to mention a few.

One of the most exciting moments of the Festival was provided by Spokes Mashiyane from South Africa. His rollicking, rhythmic selections as performed on the pennywhistle brought the crowd to its feet. The instrument’s timbre was fresh to the ear, and the novelty of its sound intrigued the audience.

Another listening thrill was presented by the Kweeskin Jug Band, using everything from tubs and washboards, combs and stovepipes, to create one of the most memorable experiences afforded by the Festival. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; August 7, 1965)

**THE NIGHT BOB DYLAN** went “electric” at the *Newport Folk Festival.* August 25, 1965

*(Photo credits: Getty Images; David Gahr)*

**PETER, PAUL and MARY** co-headlined the *Newport Folk Festival.* July 22-25, 1965

RADIOMEN MAP CLEAN-UP BATTLE VS DIRTY RECORDS . . . APRIL 8, 1967

From the MCRFB NEWS Archive: 1967

Broadcasters To Hold Private Session Amid National Association of Broadcasters Meet April 2-5

CHICAGO – Broadcasters will hold private meetings here Sunday to Wednesday (April 2 -5) during the National Association of Broadcasters‘ convention seeking some method of eliminating or censoring pornographic lyrics on records.

At present, two different factions are working on the same objective. One is headed by the McLendon Stations, who are calling for printed lyrics of both sides of every record submitted to their six music stations. The chain will refuse to play records sent without lyric sheets and refuse consideration of both sides of a record if one side is considered in bad taste.

This would have hurt “Ruby Tuesday” by the Rolling Stones, a big hit, because the flip side “Let’s Spend the Night Together” stirred up a national fuss.

The other radio faction is being headed by Harry Availl, general manager of WEAM in Washington. He said he had “half a dozen” stations lined up who have expressed strong interest in some method of avoiding the “dirty lyric” problem.

Averill said he will be meeting (no official connection with the NAB convention) with other station managers at the NAB to “formulate and pursue aggressively some system” of control.

He, too, wants to see lyrics. “Today, the records have to be watched very carefully,” he said. “We don’t want to be involved in any restraint of trade situation, so we’ll also be discussing this matter with our lawyers. But I think all the better operators in the top 25 markets will be involved in our campaign.”

Recently, several stations have refused to play records featuring even a suggestion of bad taste. One Hot 100 format station recently taped backward a possible suggestive line so listeners wouldn’t understand it on the air. END

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(Information and news source: Billboard; April; 8, 1967)