HEART OF GOLD * Neil Young * WKNR (No. 03) 03/13/72
DAY DREAMING * Aretha Franklin * WKNR (No. 09) 03/13/72
EVERYTHING GOOD IS BAD * 100 Proof (Aged In Soul) * WKNR (Hit Preview) 03/13/72
(WKNR Survey Guide courtesy the John Freist Collection)
A WKNR FOOTNOTE:Today, April 25, marks 43 years having passed since WKNR consigned itself to Detroit radio history. In the 1972 WKNR music guides, you’ll note the top 31 was no longer standard station play. Cut in half, the new WKNR playlist rotation, as this March 13 music survey indicates, would focus primarily on the top 15 singles listed for the week.
The WKNR playlist was also leaning more heavily into album oriented tracks as well. While listing their bottom 15 as “hit previews,” several of these song titles confirmed WKNR was also promoting selections from their top 10 ‘WKNR Albums,’ as listed on the back-side of the survey. Notice as well the moniker “Keener 13,” the station’s famous ID staple, was noticeably stricken from the WKNR vocabulary, likewise, in 1972.
By then priding itself as “Detroit’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Station,” this WKNR March 13, 1972 issue was published the week before the station’s very last music guide would go to print, the week of March 20, 1972. A month later WKNR signed-off the air, April 25, 1972.
BILLBOARD HOT 100 TABULATED BY NATIONAL RETAIL SALES AND RADIO AIRPLAY
BILLBOARD SONG No. 46 * Culture Club *WEEK ENDING 4/23/83
BILLBOARD SONG No. 81 ‘NEW ENTRY’* Kajagoogoo *WEEK ENDING 4/23/83
BILLBOARD SONG No. 83 ‘NEW ENTRY’* El DeBarge *WEEK ENDING 4/23/83
A MCRFB VIEWING TIP: To fully appreciate this Billboard Hot 100April 23, 1983 chart feature click on image 2x and open to second window. Click image anytime to return to NORMAL image size.
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Army Air Show Sold In Detroit; One Newspaper Plus Every Detroit Radio Station Breaks Records for 20-Day Military Shindig
DETROIT (July 1, 1944) — The consistent, but most important use of radio by the army was the major factor in building an all-time record attendance for the Army Air Show. Turnstile clicked 2,100,000 in the 20 days ended Sunday (June 25). Show was sponsored by The Detroit Times and received general space there, naturally, but as The Times itself commented, it was just “not publicized” by the other newspapers. Practically all credit therefore for the large attendance goes to radio.
Pvt. (film actor) John Payne in Army uniform, 1943.
The show, staged five miles from town at the municipal airport, had a mile of exhibits under tent of Detroit-made (military) war products. Covered stage at the center of midway was used for on-the-ground shows and for the series of programs aired.
The Army Air Show set a record of three shows fed to national networks, three fed to regional networks and 52 local stations shows. Originating stations for the network shows were WXYZ, feeding the Blue and the Michigan Radio Net, and, WWJ, feeding the NBC-RED.
Local stations taking the shows were WJLB, WJBK, WJR, and CKLW. One show each was also fed to WTOL, Toledo, and to WCAR and WHK, Cleveland.
How Variety Shows Pull Best
Most consistent air show were Victory Varieties, opening five days in advance of the show on WJLB and broadcast through the entire run of the show. Program was variety with patriotic angles. Features of this, as of every practically show aired, was a combination of standard radio entertainment, with the casts of the radio station making the daily trip, via police escort, to the exhibit.
Billboard, July 8, 1944
Among guest artists were Lt. William Holden and Pvt. John Payne, Hollywood stars; “Skeets” Gallagher, Benny Baker, and Gloria Humphrey, of Good Night, Ladies; Russell Swann, noted magician, and Norman H. Birnkrant, general counsel for the National Association of Theatrical Agents.
Numerous shows were not broadcast because of lack of air time. These were broadcast over the show’s P.A. system to all tents.
Reopening of the shows, which was closed four days because of a blow-down of fourteen big tents, was plugged by 35 spot announcements over various local stations.
Top accolades for the success of the radio program go to two former radio men, Lt. Col. J. Gordon Lloyd, and Staff Sgt. Arthur Sutton, assigned to the public relations office of the Sixth Service Command, Detroit Command, Detroit office. Lloyd was formerly account executive at WJZ, Blue Network, New York. Sutton was formerly production man and continuity writer at CKLW, WXYZ and WWJ, Detroit. END
(Information and news source, The Billboard; July 8, 1944).
ARMY’S AIR DISPLAY AGAIN SHOW DETROIT AS WEEK-END TOWN
DETROIT (July 1, 1944) — The Army Air Show, which featured a mile of tent exhibits of war products made in Detroit, closed a twenty-day span Sunday with attendance of 2, 100,000. Admission was free, but a check was made by General Motors and Ford Motor Company, principal exhibitors.
Sunday crowd reached about 300,000, second only to the opening Sunday, June 4, when it hit about 500,000. Mid-week attendance was down.
The factor points to a moral to shows playing in Detroit for the duration at least. The Motor City has become a 100 per cent weekend town, with amusements generally starving about four days a week, followed by turn-away crowds on weekends. END
(Information and news source, The Billboard; July 8, 1944).
NATION’S WEEKLY MUSIC POPULARITY CHART: THE TEN TOP TUNES INDEX
LES BROWN * My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time * (No. 01) 04/19/45
NATION’S WEEKLY MUSIC POPULARITY CHART: THE TEN TOP TUNES INDEX
MODERNAIRES w/ Paula Kelley * There! I’ve Said It Again * (No. 08) 04/19/45
A MCRFB VIEWING TIP: To fully appreciate this Billboard Honor Roll Of HitsApril 19, 1945 chart feature click on image 2x and open to second window for large detailed view. Click image anytime to return to NORMAL image size.
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