Motor City Radio Flashbacks – Page 7 – Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life

THE VOICE OF SUMMER REMEMBERED: ERNIE HARWELL and PAUL CAREY on WJR, MAY 24, 1977

_____________________

DETROIT FREE PRESS Wednesday, May 25, 1977 — Believe it or not, one of the reasons Ralph Houk temporarily turned John Hiller into a starting pitcher was to try to build the veteran’s confidence back up.

If nothing else, the Tiger’s accomplished that much Tuesday night at Tiger Stadium.

Although Hiller was no match for California’s record-setting Nolan Ryan, he certainly had nothing to be ashamed of as the Angels stopped the Tiger’s three-game winning streak, 2-1.

**Angels 2-Tigers 1** *(Click on box score for largest detailed view)*.

Ryan was his customary over-powering self, permitting three singles and striking out 12 to set an American League record for such feats. It marked the 75th time since joining the Angels in 1972, that Ryan had struck out 10 or more batters in a ball game.

THE ANGELS’ fireballing right-hander has enjoyed 89 such games in his major-league career, dating back to his days with the New York Mets, which leaves him just 8 shy of the major league record, held by Sandy Koufax.

But let the record show, John Hiller struck out five himself while only allowing five hits in his most impressing nine-inning effort against the Angels.

[See Detroit Free Press article below for more. Click on, tap or stretch article for larger detailed read].

_____________________

WJR served as the flagship station for the Detroit Tigers Radio Network, with Paul Carey producing broadcasts for the network from 1964 to 1971.

When Ray Lane transitioned to television, Carey teamed up with Ernie Harwell as a play-by-play announcer for the 1973 season, a role he held for 19 seasons. Except for his last three seasons, he also took on engineering duties for the broadcasts.

In early 1991, Carey announced his retirement at the end of the season, with his final Tigers broadcast taking place on the last day of the 1991 season—marking the final baseball game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. In 2012, Carey was honored as the third recipient of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association’s Harwell Lifetime Contribution Award, following Harwell and John Fountain.

Carey passed away on April 12, 2016, in Rochester, Michigan, due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the age of 88.

_____________________

BASEBALL REFERENCE: For the complete California Angels vs Detroit Tigers May 24, 1977 game-day box score and stats — click HERE

**THE VOICE OF THE DETROIT TIGERS** Ernie Harwell with Paul Carey.

WKQI 95 FM: BACK ON THE RADIO! DICK PURTAN with SOUPY SALES, JULY 13, 1992

_____________________

Newly restored! From the MCRFB collection. This selected audio recording was digitally remastered for this feature presentation by Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

_____________________

Motor City Radio Flashbacks extends warm, Birthday wishes to Dick Purtan. Happy Birthday, Dick! We hope your day was truly special. And thank you again, for all those great D.P. radio memories you shared with us for well over four decades on both sides of the Detroit radio dial. 🙂

CKLW! THE ‘FUN RADIO 8’ HIT PARADE: JULY 11, 1967

**CKLW FUN RADIO 8 HIT PARADE** July 11, 1967 [A]

**CKLW FUN RADIO 8 HIT PARADE** July 11, 1967 [B]

**CKLW FUN RADIO 8 HIT PARADE** July 11, 1967 [C]

_______________

The CKLW HIT PARADE represents the judgement of CKLW’s record selection committee as to the relative popularity of of current recordings in the Motor City area and is conditioned by such factors as industry tabulations, local record sales, and telephone requests.

The featured CKLW 07/11/1967 chart was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks

_______________

ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE? Tap over CKLW chart images. Open to second window. “Stretch” image across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.

ON YOUR PC? Click on all chart images 2x for largest print view.

**CKLW FUN RADIO 8 HIT PARADE** July 11, 1967 [D]

_______________

A sincere thank you Mrs. Patti Griggs. This featured presentation would have not been possible without your generosity, dedication, and your continuous support.

Above CKLW music chart courtesy of Mrs. Patti Griggs and the George L. Griggs estate.

PROGRAMMING: THE DETROIT AM RADIO DIAL, TUESDAY RADIO, JULY 9, 1968

_______________

In July 1968, eight months had passed since the two major newspaper temporarily ceased its daily publications on Saturday, November 18, 1967. Both newspapers were shut down by a major union strike.

**Detroit Free Press** Friday, November 17, 1967. Detroit was without their two newspaper dailies for nine months in 1967-1968.

In lieu of the two newspaper’s shutdown, Detroiters found themselves without their two daily newspapers, again, for the second time in four years. The previous newspaper strike/shutdowns was back in July 1964. In substitution, the Detroit American expanded its publication for a greater outreach in the metro-Detroit area throughout the remainder of the strike during this period.

Both newspapers, the Detroit Free Press, and the Detroit News, resumed daily publications after both papers reached a tentative settlement to end the strike on Friday, August 9. Both papers were back in circulation on Saturday, August 10, 1968.

The Detroit Free Press archives includes the Detroit American newspaper publications, covering the months of May, June, and July of 1968.

_______________

The above featured Detroit radio guide was clipped, saved, and digitally re-imaged from the credited source by Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

ON YOUR PC? To fully appreciate this Tuesday Radio guide from July 9, 1968 click on 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 home page.

ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE? Tap over the above guide image. Open to second window. “Stretch” image across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.

BIG 8 RADIO: THE CKLW TOP 100 HITS of 1973! THE 2024 MEMORIAL DAY COUNTDOWN PRESENTATION

Audio lightly digitally enhanced by Motor City Radio Flashbacks

A special THANK YOU to Charlie O’Brien for contributing this 2024 big8radio CKLW 1973 Countdown Memorial Day presentation for this site’s archive.

A 2024 INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION! . . . with LEE ALAN | ‘THE AMERICANS’

By 1992, in it’s third year run on radio syndication and under sponsorship of the Chrysler Corporation, The Americans was broadcast on over 1,000 American radio stations and was heard across the Armed Forces Radio Network in 80 countries around the world.

A special thank you to Lee Alan for having shared with Motor City Radio Flashbacks this special featured audio presentation.

This program was conceived, created, produced, and is narrated by Lee Alan. Property of Lee Alan and leealancreative.com.
Audio was digitally enhanced by Motor City Radio Flashbacks

THE DETROIT SOUND SURVEY! WXYZ RADIO 1270: JUNE 28, 1965

______________________________

This list is selected each week by WXYZ Radio reports of records sales gathered from leading record outlets in the Detroit area and other sources available to WXYZ.

The above WXYZ 06/28/1965 chart survey was digitally restored completely in its entirety by Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

_______________

By mid-January 1965, the Detroit Sound Survey charts was no longer printed for the public in general. The WXYZ charts, as featured above, were instead published solely for Detroit record retailers, music outlets, one-stop jobbers, and distributors only.

These Radio 1270 top 40 charts was the largest of the WXYZ Detroit Sound Survey charts ever printed, having measured 17.5″ W x 22 L” inches in size. These charts were primarily used for weekly record rank based by popularity, position, retail sales, and were used for record retail rack displays as well.

_______________

Unless this site is able to acquire more of these extremely rare WXYZ 1965 chart surveys in the future, this June 28, 1965 chart will be the final presentation. We first began presenting these Detroit Sound Surveys back in February of this year.

Also, if anyone has additional WXYZ charts from 1965 in their collection and are willing to share — scanned or xerox copies would suffice — please contact this site, here:

motorcityradioflashbacks65@gmail.com

_______________

ON YOUR PC? Click on chart image 2x for largest detailed print view.

ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE? Tap over WXYZ chart image. Open to second window. “Stretch” chart across your device screen to magnify for largest detailed view.

WXYZ RADIO 1270: JOHNNY RANDALL, BACK ON THE RADIO! OCTOBER 20, 1972

_______________

Newly found! Newly added! Newly remastered! From the MCRFB collection. This selected audio recording was digitally remastered for this feature presentation by Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

The first minute into this recording you will hear is the voice of WXYZ personality, Jim Davis. The snippet was recorded the previous day, Thursday, October 19, 1972.

WEE SURF DISK RIPPLE BUILDING INTO BIG WAVE . . . JUNE 29, 1963

California’s Wild Surf Sound Sweeping Across the Nation

HOLLYWOOD — A batch of West Coast labels — Liberty, Dolton, Capitol, Del-Fi and Dot — have helped turn the surfin’ fad into America’s latest musical craze, with the help of swinging records, astute promotion and a dash of showmanship.

Riding with the surfing wave when it was little more than a “shore break,” these firms and a few others, helped turn it into a “cruncher.” Right now one of these labels, Del-Fi, is devoting 50 per cent of its activity to the surfing market.

One of the first national surfing hits was originally issued on the Candix label. It featured the Marketts and was called “Surfer’s Stomp.” Liberty picked up the master and turned it into a national hit, which made the top 10 of Billboard’s “Hot 100.” The Marketts also had the first surfing LP, also called “Surfer’s Stomp,” which has sold more than 50,000 albums.

Another pioneering surfing hit, also originally issued on the Candix label, featured the Beach Boys, and was called simply “Surfin’.” The record was issued in December of 1961 and by January, 1962, had turned into a big West Coast hit. The Beach Boys were signed shortly after by Capitol.

National Noise

Since then, there have been a number of national surfing hits, both singles and LP’s. The Beach Boys, on Capitol, have had two big singles, “Surfin’ Safari” and “Surfin’ U.S.A.” The Chantays on Dot had a solid hit with “Pipeline.” The Marketts’ second big hit was “Balboa Blue.” And currently Jan and Jean, on Liberty, have a big, big smash with their recording of “Surf City,” a disk that jumped to No. 10 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” this week.

Del-Fi is not the only label to work hard on surfing disks. Liberty and its subsidiary label Dolton, have issued a surfing LP with the Ventures (on Dolton), and another with the Marketts called “The Surfing Scene” and the latest Jan and Dean “Jan and Dean Take Linda Surfin’.”

Capitol hasn’t been idle, either. In addition to the Beach Boys the label has one of the biggest West Coast surf names in Dick Dale. His sales of LP’s and singles on the Coast have been solid both on his own label Del-tone, and on Capitol. In order to try to break his disks nationally, especially his new single and LP “King Of The Surf Guitar,” the firm is sending him on a national tour under the aegis of GAC. And the Beach Boys have a tour being set by the William Morris office.

Hearse Contests

Del-Fi has “Win a Hearse” contest going in San Francisco, Portland, Washington, Seattle, St. Louis, Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo and Dallas, to help its record by the Lively Ones, and to cash in on the surf hearse nuttiness.

Dot has recently issued singles by the Surfaris, Gene Gray and the Sting Rays, and has a good selling LP in the Chantays’ “Pipeline” album.

As of now the surfing trend in the music world, born just a year and a half ago, appears to be on the verge of a national and possibly international breakthrough.

The big firms are getting on the band wagon, even those located in the East. Recently a Chicago label, Stacy Records, issued a surf record that had a touch of folk-country to it. It is called “Doin’ the Surfin’ Hootenanny,” with Al Casey, and it is reportedly getting attention from both markets. END

_______________

Information credit and source: Billboard, June 29, 1963