MOTOWN MONDAYS! MOTOWN ON CBS’ ED SULLIVAN
NEW! WLTI 93.1 FM BACK ON THE RADIO: DAN MARTIN
WLTI RECALLED on MOTOR CITY RADIO FLASHBACKS
WLTI-FM 93.1 * 1996 * DAN MARTIN
DAN MARTIN WLTI aircheck date: FRIDAY, JULY 26, 1996
— SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT —
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NEW! A special THANK YOU to our latest website contributor, Dan Martin, of Ann Arbor, MI., for recently donating this WLTI-FM radio aircheck (he personally recorded in 1996) with Motor City Radio Flashbacks.
THE DAN MARTIN COLLECTION
WLTI 93.1 FM
–‘LITE MUSIC‘–
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Formerly WDRQ (1971-1985) and beginning in April, WLTI and their ‘Lite Music‘ format was lauched and was heard on the 93.1 frequency on the Detroit FM dial from 1985 to 1996.
By late summer of 1996, the station, then owned by Viacom, dropped the lite music format (easy listening) for a “rhythmic adult contemporary” format. The station’s call letters were also dropped. Once again, reverting back to the call letters the station held previous before the change, WDRQ.
WLTI’s decade run on the FM dial came to an end when the new changes were effectively implemented on Sunday, August 11, 1996. Viacom fired the entire air-staff, including station programmer, Brad Waldo, some fifteen days after this WLTI aircheck was recorded.
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(Source: Detroit Free Press archives)
E. J. KORVETTE RECORDS! PARADE OF HITS: 08/17/1964
E. J. KORVETTE DEPARTMENT STORE
—August 17, 1964—
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PARADE of HITS!
E. J. Korvette, the New York based department store chain (with multiple stores scattered throughout six eastern and mid-western states), opened its first two department stores in the Detroit metropolitan area, this month, 57 years ago.
The two store’s grand-opening, locations in Roseville (Gratiot and 12 Mile) and in Southgate, Mi. (Fort and Pennsylvania Rd.) was held on August 15, 1963 (according to The Detroit Free Press).
In the 1960s, the department chain published a weekly ‘Parade of Hits‘ record singles chart (tabulated out of New York). The chart was made available for the retailer’s large in-store record department. The Korvette listing showcased the most popular 40 singles for the week, as was dated, starting every Monday.
By 1974, Detroit had five E. J. Korvette stores on the map. Having expanded to Redford, Southfield and Madison Heights. By that time (and most likely due to retail competitor K-Mart’s growth and dominance in the Detroit market share), the Korvette stores were by then sustaining serious financial and sales decline. By year’s end, 1975, the five stores were no longer in operation in the Detroit area.
Five years later, having declared bankruptcy, the former New York-based department store (having been sold and under new ownership in 1979), officially came to it’s demise on December 24, 1980. What was left of the 17 remaining stores, all were permanently closed.
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(Source: E. J. Korvette; Wikipedia, The Detroit Free Press)
The above E. J. Korvette chart was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
— ACKNOWLEDGEMENT —
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NEW! A special THANK YOU to Ray Tessier, of Allen Park, MI., for recently sharing this rare E. J. Korvette chart with Motor City Radio Flashbacks 🙂
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THE CJSP 710 FASCINATIN’ FIFTY! WEEK OF 08/20/1962
CJSP 71 RADIO
—August 20, 1962—
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Heard in the United States, Detroit, Michigan, CJSP was a Canadian station situated on the AM dial at 710 KHZ. The station was owned by Sun Parlour Broadcasting. A daytimer, the CJSP studios was located across the Detroit River in Leamington, Ontario. In 1962, CJSP was a Top 40 station when the featured Fascinatin’ 50 chart went to print, 58 years ago, this week.
CJSP signed on in March 1955. The station’s call letters was retained for 12 years until September 1967, when the CRTC (Canadian Radio Television Commission) approved the station’s request to change its calls to CHYR. The daytimer’s new calls letters also adopted a new station moniker, C-H-Y-R, popularly referenced by the late 1960s as, ‘CHEER Radio’.
By late 1967, the station had the distinction having operated under two licenses, in the daytime it was CHYR and during the night-time hours it switched over to CHIR. Sometime in 1974, the calls letters were re-amended and became CHYR-7 during the station’s broadcasting night-time hours.
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The above CJSP chart was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
— ACKNOWLEDGEMENT —
___
NEW! A special THANK YOU to Ray Tessier, of Allen Park, MI., for recently contributing this rare CJSP chart with Motor City Radio Flashbacks.
From the Ray Tessier Collection . . . more CJSP charts to come! ?
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WLBS-FM: IT’S THE ONE . . . 102.7 FM DISCO AND MORE
WLBS-FM
— 102.7 FM —
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WBRB-FM (Mt. Clemons) became the new WLBS-FM in January, 1979.
The “New Music” station, purchased by Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, based in New York, formatted the station with predominantly disco music from the outset. Having dominated the Detroit FM dial with their new “Disco and More” sound, the station’s format was left virtually unchanged for nearly five years on 102.7 FM.
WLBS-FM became the new WKSG-FM, “Kiss 102.7 FM” (oldies) on November 9, 1984.
— SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT —
A special THANK YOU to website contributor Vaughn Baskin for recently donating these classic WLBS-FM stickers with Motor City Radio Flashbacks! 🙂
WLBS 102.7: DETROIT FM RADIO DEBUTS A NEW SOUND
DETROIT FREE PRESS
—Wednesday, January 31, 1979—
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A DETROIT RADIO BACK-PAGE
Above Detroit Free Press WLBS feature is courtesy freep.com newspaper archive. Copyright 2020. Newspapers.com
The above WLBS newspaper feature was ‘clipped,’ saved, and was digitally imaged from the credited source by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
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MOTOWN MONDAYS! SPOTLIGHTS ON EARL VAN DYKE
—EARL VAN DYKE—
MOTOWN FUNK BROTHER
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Earl Van Dyke (July 8, 1930 – September 18, 1992) was an American soul musician, most notable as the main keyboardist for Motown Records’ in-house Funk Brothers band during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Van Dyke, who was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States, was preceded as keyboardist and bandleader of the Funk Brothers by Joe Hunter. In the early 1960s, he also recorded as a jazz organist with saxophonists Fred Jackson and Ike Quebec for the Blue Note label.
Besides his work as the session keyboardist on Motown hits such as “Bernadette” by The Four Tops, “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye, and “Runaway Child, Running Wild” by The Temptations, Van Dyke performed with a small band as an opening act for several Motown artists, and released instrumental singles and albums himself. Several of Van Dyke’s recordings feature him playing keys over the original instrumental tracks for Motown hits; others are complete covers of Motown songs.
His 1967 hit “6 by 6” is a much-loved stomper on the Northern Soul music scene. He was nicknamed “Big Funk”, and “Chunk o Funk”.
Van Dyke played the Steinway grand piano, the Hammond B-3 organ, the Wurlitzer electric piano, the Fender Rhodes, and the celeste and harpsichord. He played a toy piano for the introduction of the Temptations’ hit, “It’s Growing”. His musical influences included Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, and Barry Harris.
Van Dyke died of prostate cancer in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 62.
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Source: Earl Van Dyke; Wikipedia
MOTOWN: EARL VAN DYKE, 1991 NEWS PRINT FEATURE
— Sunday, March 24, 1991 —
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A MOTOWN MONDAY NEWS PRINT BACK-PAGE
The Detroit Free Press: Earl Van Dyke ‘Full Scale’
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Above article is courtesy freep.com newspaper archive. Copyright 2020. Newspapers.com.
The above featured ‘Motown’ newsprint article was clipped, saved, and imaged from the credited source by Motor City Radio Flashbacks
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Missed any of our previous MOTOWN related news prints? GO HERE
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DETROIT MOTOWN MONDAY: RECORD FLASHBACK ’64
—EARL VAN DYKE—
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“Soul Stomp”, by Earl Van Dyke, never charted on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues Singles chart nor the Billboard Pop Singles chart.
A Motown promotional single, the SOUL Van Dyke recording found some limited airplay (both sides) on radio soul stations WCHB and WJLB, Detroit, upon it’s release in 1964. A-side: “Hot ‘n’ Tot” GORDY 35006
