Does Anyone Know What This Is From?

If this one sounds familiar and you can’t quite place it, here’s some help. It first turned up as the march music that introduced the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports. The program debuted on radio in 1944, moving to NBC when television became ubiquitous. Bob Haymes (billed as “Bob Stanton”) was the original announcer,  joined by Ray Forrest in 1948. The program covered a wide array of sporting events, but is perhaps most remembered for it’s Friday nigh boxing coverage. “Look Sharp, Be Sharp” became the show’s theme when it moved to television. If you played in a marching band in the early 50s, you probably played this one often.

The Bob Haymes and Ray Forrest combination wasn’t lost on two other radio comedians when they appropriated “Look Sharp, Be Sharp” for their act. Fans of the comedy of Bob Elliot and Ray Goulding will remember it as the theme song for Elliot’s character, Biff Burns. The faux sports reporter interviewed a plethora of Goulding’s characters from “Little Lightnin'” who was beating the drum for a professional Ring-Around-The-Rosy league, to Stuffy Hodgson, the bitter veteran ball player who couldn’t find the cheese that the younger athletes had hidden in his ball cap.

Biff Burns Sports Room was a fixture from Bob & Ray‘s earliest days on network radio, right up until their Bob & Ray Radio Show for NPR in the late 70s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i_cT_6H93s

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From Keener13.com: The Backstory Behind Jungle Fever

If WKNR’s owner, Mrs. Knorr, thought that Tommy James’ “I Think We’re Alone Now” was a little too much for the Keener airwaves, then “Jungle Fever” by the Chakachas was well over the edge of the envelope. That it became a hit at all is one of those improbable stories that seem to proliferate in the music business. Here’s the backstory from Keener13.com.

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A & W Root Beer

Roy Allen and Frank Wright are the two restauranteurs who provided the initials for A&W Root Beer a recipe that Allen concocted in 1919.  At the peak of the it’s popularity A&W had more outlets across America than did McDonalds. We remember many a summer’s evening, pulling our cars up to the A&W drive-in for a burger and that classic root beer taste that came in a glass mug with the famous orange and brown logo.

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Airchex Of The Week With Kevin O’Neill

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.

KEVIN O’NEILL * LOST GOLD

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Remembering Don Cornelius

From 1971-1993 Soul Train was 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 the Soul 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 the O’Jays performing, “Love Train,”  their number one soul single from 1973 on Soul Train.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaNMQg2nYT4

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KRKE RADIO / XM SIRIUS: ‘AMERICAN PIE’ DECIPHERED

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’s Scott Westerman’s breakdown of American Pie as broadcast on KRKE and XM/Sirius in 2010.

SCOTT WESTERMAN’S TAKEDOWN of AMERICAN PIE (2010)

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A WKNR CONTACT NEWS PRESENTATION: DETROIT 1965

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 the WKNR brand launched in Dearborn, Contact News was an important part of the format. With the award winning Philip Nye at 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 and Bill Bonds all 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)

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WKNR-AM 13: BOB GREEN IS THE KEENER PHILOSOPHY

Perhaps no one more typified the WKNR sound than Bob 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

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