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.

CONSUMERS STEREO ELECTRONICS, ’67: RADIO SHACK

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS 1967

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50 YEARS AGO

Tape recorders. Home stereo components. Portable record players. Transistor radios.

A look back at some of the ’60s electronics American consumers were buying from the Radio Shack chain, 1967. These four product pages were taken from the Radio Shack catalog, from that year.

Motor City Radio Flashbacks found an amazing website online where you can view the entire archived Radio Shack publications — where you can view page-to-page — every single catalog from 1936 to 2005.

It’s a decades’ electronic blast from the past you’ll enjoy viewing. Check it out! 🙂

radioshackcatalogs.com

A MCRFB viewing tip: On your PC? For a larger detailed view click above image 2x and open to second window. Click image anytime to return to NORMAL image size.

Click your server’s back button to return to MCRFB.COM home page.

On your mobile device? Tap on image. Open to second window. “Stretch” image across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.

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)