December 2014 – Page 4 – Motor City Radio Flashbacks

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: YULE-TIDE GREETINGS TO ALL!

IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR * Andy Williams * December 22 (No. 04)

JIM HAMPTON’S SPECIAL ‘AN ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS’ WILL BROADCAST CHRISTMAS DAY ON WJR-AM 760!

S E A S O N ‘ S G R E E T I N G S D E T R O I T !

H E L L O , J I M H A M P T O N H E R E . You know, after working as an air personality at WXYZ, WJBK and WCAR in Detroit, I moved to WLS as Production Director. One of my assignments was to create a 12-hour Christmas special that the station could play and give the entire staff the Holiday off.

After I moved to Los Angeles to work in radio syndication, among the thousands of programs I produced were numerous Christmas specials. There were short-form features, long-form specials and 24 hour formats.

In addition to great Christmas music, all of the programs I produced were filled with special features, stories, comedy, the amazing comments of little children, and, of course, interviews with everyday people and superstar celebrities.

The program content includes Contemporary and Classic Christmas songs. From Mathis to Buble, from Whitney to Barbra, and from The Ronettes to Jose Feliciano.

Plus, there are numerous vignettes about how Christmas customs came about, lots of celebrity drop-ins (Clint Eastwood, Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis and many more), Tom Murphy (otherwise known as “world-famous” Tom Murphy offers his Holiday anecdotes, there are old radio clips from classic performers of the 40’s (Jack Benny, Bob Hope, George Burns & Gracie Allen, to name a few), and the delightful, heartwarming and honest voices of little children reflecting on their favorite day of the year.

All in all, it is a 6-hour Holiday celebration for the whole family. It just may become the soundtrack of Christmas get togethers from now on. Hope you’ll join me, Thursday, December 25th., from 6:00 P.M. until 12 MIDNIGHT Christmas Day, for this special 2014 holiday event on Detroit’s 760-AM WJR.

Written, produced and hosted by Jim Hampton, AN ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS can be heard from anywhere in the world over iHeartRadio, wjr.com, and of course throughout the Midwest on NewsTalk 760 WJR.

Merry Christmas! – Jim Hampton

‘AN ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS’ * Jimmy Hampton * WJR 760 (PROMO)

DETROIT MOTOWN MONDAY RECORD FLASHBACK ’68!

THE TEMPTATIONS * Silent Night * GORDY (Motown 1968)

Motown Museum in winter. (To fully appreciated the beautiful Motown Museum image posted above, click on image 2x for largest detailed view).

THE MAGIC BEHIND THE DETROIT MOTOWN SOUND! ’65

“MY FAVORITE THINGS” (INSTRUMENTAL) * The Supremes * 1965

WKNR-AM BACK ON THE RADIO WITH: BOB GREEN!

**WKNR HEARD HERE 24/7 ON MOTOR CITY RADIO FLASHBACKS**

From the MCRFB aircheck archives featuring: WKNR-AM (’65) w/ BOB GREEN

DETROIT WKNR KEENER 13 TOP 31: DECEMBER 22, 1965!

NO MATTER WHAT SHAPE (You’re Stomach’s In) * T-Bones * WKNR (No. 08) 12/22/65

WAIT A MINUTE * Tim Tam & The Turn-Ons * WKNR (No. 28) 12/22/65

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS: YULE-TIDE GREETINGS TO ALL!

JINGLE BELL ROCK * Bobby Helms * December 21 (No. 05)

‘THE ANDY WILLIAMS (1963) CHRISTMAS ALBUM’ . . . DECEMBER 21, 1963

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1963

ANDY WILLIAMS’ YULE MARK; TOPS TWO CHARTS FOR CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY 1963

Andy Williams in 1963 (click image for larger view) — Andy Williams *1963* *(click image for larger view)*

NEW YORK — Columbia’s Andy Williams gave the label a first place in both the singles and albums derby, according to Billboard’s special Christmas sales recap last week. For the first time in the Christmas listings, Williams scored with his “White Christmas” single and his “Andy Williams Christmas Album.”

In the album running, Columbia held the top position with eight of the 25 packages listed, including three in the top 10. RCA Victor took second-honors with four on the parent label and two others on its low-priced Camden line. Capitol placed third with three Christmas best sellers. On the charts with one album each were Decca, Mercury, 20th-Century Fox, London, Liberty, Philles, MGM and Argo.

In the singles area, Decca and Capitol tied with four listings each out of 16 records reported showing healthy sales on this week’s best-selling Christmas singles charts. Liberty placed two on the list (both by the Chipmunks) while Columbia, 20th-Century Fox, King, Mercury, Epic and Warner Brothers landed one each on the Billboard special Christmas list for 1963. END

CHRISTMAS TOP 10 ALBUMS

The Christmas Top 10 best-selling albums Billboard listed (from 25) for December 21, 1963:

No. 1: “Andy Williams Christmas Album,” Columbia; No. 2: “Sounds Of Christmas,” Johnny Mathis, Mercury; No. 3: “Little Drummer Boy,” Harry Simeone Chorale, 20th-Century Fox; No. 4: “This Christmas I Spent With You,” Robert Goulet, Columbia; No. 5: “Elvis Christmas Album,” Elvis Presley, RCA Victor. No. 6: “Merry Christmas,” Bing Crosby, Decca; No. 7: “Christmas Greetings From Mantovani and his Orchestra,” London; No. 8: “Merry Christmas,” Johnny Mathis, Columbia; No. 9: “Christmas With The Chipmunks, Vol. 2,” David Seville and the Chipmunks, Liberty; No. 10: “Christmas Song,” Nat King Cole, Capitol Records.

This Holiday Season

MCRFB is presenting “The Andy Williams Christmas Album” in its entirety from 1963. You will note the audio source is from the actual vinyl record album, clicks, pops and all, not from a CD. But the album’s high-fidelity audio source is outstanding.

Aside from his best-selling Christmas recordings, Andy Williams brought us some of the best in televised Christmas specials into our homes during the Christmas holiday season as well, for nearly five decades, singing praise with profound holiday spirit and Christmas joy. Andy Williams passed away in September, 2012.

If only for a moment, in playing this album, imagine it’s Christmas-time 1963 once again. We hope this holiday album will take you back to a special time and place, to a memorable holiday seasons’ past we cherished with loved ones, our families, and with friends we were truly blessed having then when we first heard this beautiful Andy Williams yuletide recording for the very first time . . . . from a long time ago.