Speak of Kevin O’Neill and the feedback you’ll get is, “consummate pro”, “durable”, “one of Detroit’s best”. With a career that is now in it’s fourth decade, Kevin’s story starts at 1973 at WRBR in South Bend, Indiana. While most of us pay our dues for several years in the minors, Kevin was soon batting in the big leagues at stations like WLYT, WGAR and KULF. By 1980 he was calling Detroit home and hasn’t been out of Michigan ever since. He’s best remembered as part of the WNIC brand, concluding his stay in the morning drive slot. Like many of us, he’s a student of rock history and in this segment from his Lost Gold series, you can quickly tell he still has his chops.
From 1971-1993Soul Trainwas the place where every R&B act wanted to be. Former journalist and Chicago DJ,Don Cornelius, got the idea that there ought to be a television program to showcase soul acts. While some likened the program to a soulful American Bandstand, Cornelius made the genre his own with the famous sign off, “.. and you can bet your last money, it’s all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I’m Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!”
During it’s heyday, Soul Train was a showcase for some of the most memorable R&B acts, helping amplify Michael Jackson’s career and cementing James Brown’s “Godfather of Soul” image for a generation. It’s been credited as the inspiration for present day shows like “So You Think You Can Dance”. The show’s theme song, “The Sound of Philadelphia“, became a crossover hit at the dawn of the disco age. Even after Cornelius departure he remained in the public eye as the force behind theSoul Train Music Awards. Which aired in syndication from 1987 through 2009.
Don Cornelius died today. The police say it was an apparent suicide.
Here are theO’Jaysperforming, “Love Train,” their number one soul single from 1973 on Soul Train.
ONE OF THE MOST analyzed records of all time is Don McLean’s “American Pie.” While it’s commonly agreed that the song is an ode to the deaths of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper, it’s nuances are still debated.
The closest McLean came to explaining it’s meaning was in his 2000 video, Starry Starry Night. “I’m very proud of the song,” he said. “It is biographical in nature and I don’t think anyone has ever picked up on that. The song starts off with my memories of the death of Buddy Holly. But it moves on to describe America as I was seeing it and how I was fantasizing it might become, so it’s part reality and part fantasy but I’m always in the song as a witness or as even the subject sometimes in some of the verses.”
While Don McLean never fully discussed it’s meaning, many of us have tried. The best analysis I’ve read was written by WKNR and WCFL veteran, Bob Dearborn. Here’sScott Westerman’s breakdown of American Pieas broadcast on KRKE and XM/Sirius in 2010.
Once upon a time, there were authentic journalists who worked at rock radio stations.
They covered the cops, city hall and the community, asked tough questions and interpreted what they heard for the listener.
From the moment theWKNRbrand launched in Dearborn,Contact Newswas an important part of the format. With the award winningPhilip Nyeat the helm, Keener Contact News was the career launching pad for some of Detroit’s greatest broadcast journalists.George Hunter, John Maher, Ed Mullen, Bob Neil, Erik Smith, Lou Morton, Jim Brooker andBill Bondsall sharpened their chops on the Contact News team. Listening for what passes for radio news on most stations today, it’s hard to believe that such amazing journalism emanated from a “music station”.
At the height of WKNR’s popularity, the Contact News team produced a series of annual albums, highlighting the top news stories of the year. The project was done primarily for historical purposes and the LPs were distributed broadly to schools and libraries in the Detroit area. But many were also sold to Keenerfans. The production values stand the test of time and the content takes us back to the seismic events that were happening behind the music.
Here’s a 45 minute taste of WKNR’s own radio news coverage for the Motor City back in 1965.
WKNR-AM Philip Nye WKNR KEENER CONTACT NEWS 1965(Play 49:37 audio)
Perhaps no one more typified the WKNR sound thanBob Green. He was there before there was a Keener and was involved at both the height of WKNR’s Success and in it’s 1970 rebirth under the Motor City Music banner.
After moving to Houston and forming his own successful production company, Bob took a moment to break down the factors that were part and parcel of “The Keener Philosophy”. It’s an object lesson on what made radio great back then and what’s wrong with the accountant driven homogenized radio that exists today.
The WKNR Bob Green narrative of The Keener Philosophy
H E Y D O Y O U R E M E M B E R the Think Summer campaign Keener launched in Detroit in the winter of 1965?
“Think Summer“ Susan Wayne WKNR 45 RPM jacket 1965
Well let’s see . . . . I can still see those Think Summer newspaper ads, and there were those Think Summer button give-aways, there was also a Think Summer contest as well, those Think Summer billboards around town, and then there was a Think Summer song, yeah . . . that was played on the radio on Keener 13!
According to the WKNR music guides posted onKeener13.com, Think Summer by Susan Wayne debuted during the week of February 18, 1965. But by the time Think Summer peaked at the No. 25 spot onWKNR, March 3, 1965, well, that would be it . . . just three short weeks on the WKNR Keener 13 playlists.
But that was enough for WKNR to generate some kind of ‘mirage,’ if you will, a brief winter’s thaw we must have felt, at least momentarily, during the station’s contest with all their summer-time give-a-ways during that February. If all else, the Think Summer promo became the ultimate Keener event during that cold winter here in Detroit 47-years ago.
Straight from the Keener vaults, courtesy of WKNR’s own Bob Green, here’s three of those WKNR Think Summer promos from that memorable winter’s brief “summer-time fun” contestants cashed in on listening to Keener 13, 1965.
And Last, from the MCRFB music archives, here we present “Think Summer“ as it was recorded by Columbia’s own, here she is, folks . . . Susan Wayne!
Enjoy the WKNR 1965 “THINK SUMMER” audio flashbacks!
A MCRFB NOTE: By the way, according to Bob Green, that was Danielle David and her Dearborn Dolls singing along in the ‘Name Game’ Think Summer promo. Thanks, Bob, for sharing with us these classic WKNR audio gems with Motor City Radio Flashbacks!
Everyone who is anyone in the radio biz knows “Radio’s Best Friend.”Art Vuolois literally the video archivist of the broadcasting profession. VuoloVideo.comis a must-visit site for both aspiring and accomplished broadcasters who want to watch the best of the best in action.
But before Art perfected his video artistry, he was a key chronicler of Detroit radio history. His 12 hour magnum opus, ‘The History of Detroit Radio’ became an instant classic when it first aired on WDRQ.
According to WDRQ programmer Don Barrett, he commissioned Art Vuolo to produce the ‘History of Detroit Radio’ which aired the weekend prior WDRQ’s official new format launch (formerly WDEE) in June, 1971. The documentary was narrated by WDRQ morning news anchor Richard Mock.
The still program stands up as one of the best radio documentaries ever made. It’s one of hundreds upon hundreds of audio treasures in our Motor City Radio FlashbackAircheck Library.
Need a CK fix? Who can forget Tom Shannon, Pat Holiday, & Teddy Bear Richards. And, yes, we have some vintage Tom Clay material, along with some sounds of CK in the 90s via Lynn Martin and Rick Hamilton. It’s Radio 8-0 during it’s glorious Top 40 reign on the Detroit AM dial.
Try these 15 classicaircheckson for size. These CKLW memories will take you back! 🙂
Here’s more radio memories during a time when jingles reigned supreme across the radio airways in the Motor City during the 1960s.
WJBK Survey May 12, 1958. (Click on image for larger view).
This set of jingles features more of WJBK Radio 15 from 1962 (PAMS). And we’ll also showcase a few jingles from WKNR Keener 13, notably from the Richard H. Ullman series here, from late 1963.
These very same jingles from the 1963 WKNR Ullman package had also been previously used in 1962, just the same, but with use of the WKMH call letters instead.
Here’s one feature from 1958 from WJBK Radio 1500… as you listen closely, classic vintage Motor City radio jingles, indeed!
WKNR Music GuideMay 31, 1966. (Click on image for larger view).
We also have a jingles montage from WKNR Keener 13 in 1966. And here we have a promo from WKNR for an All Request Memory Weekend which was featured on Keener 13 during 1969 and 1970.
George Griggs, Scott Westerman, and mcrfb.com will have more of this from the website’s various archived files of airchecks, jingles, vintage radio commercials and radio ads which we’ll be adding more unto the site as we’ll progress forward from this day on. So stick around. There’s much more to come!
Speak of Kevin O’Neill and the feedback you’ll get is, “consummate pro”, “durable”, “one of Detroit’s best”. With a career that is now in it’s fourth decade, Kevin’s story starts at 1973 at WRBR in South Bend, Indiana. While most of us pay our dues for several years in the minors, Kevin was soon batting in the big leagues at stations like WLYT, WGAR and KULF. By 1980 he was calling Detroit home and hasn’t been out of Michigan ever since. He’s best remembered as part of the WNIC brand, concluding his stay in the morning drive slot. Like many of us, he’s a student of rock history and in this segment from his Lost Gold series, you can quickly tell he still has his chops.
