THE VOICE OF SUMMER’S PAST REMEMBERED: DENNY McLAIN WINS 30! SEPTEMBER 14, 1968

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BY GEORGE CANTOR

DETROIT FREE PRESS — Sunday, September 15, 1968 — The Tigers won Denny McLain his 30th game Saturday and sent goose pimples down the back of the entire country.

Roaring from behind in the ninth inning, just like they’ve done all year, Detroit pulled it out for McLain in a win-it-or-bust rally, 5-4.

The victory made McLain the first man to win 30 games in 34 years, as the whole country and 44,087 fans at Tiger Stadium watched the drama unfold in spellbound fascination.

Willie Horton capped the two-run surge by belting a drive just out of the reach of pulled-in left-fielder, Goose Gosger, to knock in Mickey Stanley, and touch off the wildest scene at Tiger Stadium in 30 years.

Detroit had to pull it off because McLain was removed for a pinch hitter in the inning. If the team had merely tied the game, the decision would have been in the hands of another pitcher and Denny would have had to wait until next Wednesday.

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But as Stanley danced across the plate, the Tiger dugout exploded, led by McLain. First they mobbed Stanley at the plate, then the entire team rushed to grab Horton. Stanley finally picked up McLain bodily and hauled him off the field.

But the fans wouldn’t go home. They stood at their seats yelling for McLain until the pitcher came back on the field to take a bow.

Even then, several hundred fans stayed outside the Tiger clubhouse chanting “We Want Denny” long after the players had gone.

Going for the 30 victories was supposed to be drama enough. But the way it all ended made the affair vaguely unreal–as if McLain would suddenly strip-off his false face, reveal that he was really Paul Newman and the whole thing was a gigantic Hollywood put-on.

Reggie Jackson, the young Oakland rightfielder, looked as though he was going to steal the spotlight from Denny. He belted two homers, cut down one runner at the plate and made a leaping catch in right personally to account for the 4-3 score as the Tigers came up in the ninth.

* * *

Diego Segui, who had entered the game in the fifth, had choked off Detroit on three singles. The only runs scored on a three-run Norm Cash homer in the fourth that had given Detroit a brief lead.

But Al Kaline came up to bat for McLain to start the ninth inning and worked Segui for a 3-2 walk.

Dick McAuliffe fouled off two sacrifice bunts and finally fouled out to third baseman Sal Bando in front of a silent Detroit dugout.

But Stanley ripped a solid single right over second base as Kaline, showing no trace of his leg injury, darting around to third.

The next hitter was Jim Northrup. He tapped a slow roller down the first base line, and in the game’s biggest play, Kaline broke for the plate.

Danny Cater raced in for the ball and made an off balanced throw that sailed over the head of catcher Dave Duncan, Kaline and Duncan collided with Kaline scrambling for the plate on his hands and knees to score as Stanley galloped to third.

* * *

**Denny McLain** and Willie Horton in the Tigers dressing room after the game. September 14, 1968

HORTON came up and Segui took him to a 2-2 count. All the Oakland players were drawn in close for a play at the plate to cut off the potential winning run.

Willie hit one that Gosger would have caught if he had been playing in normal depth–but Stanley would have scored anyhow after the catch.

Horton was given a single on the hit–which was the most ignored scoring decision of the year. No one would have cared less among the worked up Tigers.

The A’s took an early 2-0 lead in the fourth on Jackson’s first homer following a Cater single.

But Cash connected in the Detroit half of the inning off Chuck Dobson behind a walk and Horton’s single.

The lead lasted only until Oakland came to bat in the fifth. McLain walked Duncan to lead off. He was bunted to second and Bert Campaneris tied the score with a single to left.

* * *

THEN JACKSON unloaded in the sixth to give Oakland the lead. It was his 28th of the year and the 30th off McLain. For a while, it looked as that were to be the only 30 Denny would reach Saturday.

Segui, who was beaten by a Bill Freeman homer in the 10th on Detroit’s visit to Oakland two weeks ago, was a tough customer. When he got Gates Brown with two on in the eighth, it seemed as he would make it all the way.

But the ninth inning turned him into a loser.

McLain wound up giving up six hits, walking just one and striking out 10. That brought his strikeout total to 265, just 10 short of Hal Newhauser’s club record.

**THE MAESTRO**, 1968 *(Photo: Detroit Free Press archives)*

That will be his next mark when he starts again, probably Wednesday night against the Yankees.

And almost forgotten in the general hilarity following the game–the victory reduced the magic number to four, Detroit wins or Baltimore loses, for the Tigers winning the pennant.

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DETROIT FREE PRESS: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1968

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NOTE: Click on all images on your PC for largest detailed view. Tap on all images and stretch photos on your mobile devices.

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BASEBALL REFERENCE: For the complete Oakland A’s vs. Detroit Tigers September 14, 1968 game-day box score and stats — click HERE

ERNIE HARWELL / RAY LANE | COMPLETE GAME | SEPT. 14, 1968

KEENER ‘BEATLES IN DETROIT’ SERIES! ISSUE 1: SEPTEMBER 17, 1964

**WKNR MUSIC GUIDE** (**Beatles in Detroit – 1st of 4 Series**) [A] September 17, 1964

**WKNR MUSIC GUIDE** (**Beatles in Detroit** – **1st of 4 Series**) [B] September 17, 1964

BEATLES IN DETROIT ’64 | WKNR EXCLUSIVE 1ST of 4 GUIDES

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ON YOUR PC? To fully appreciate this WKNR Music Guide for the week of September 17, 1964 chart feature 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.

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— SEPTEMBER 17-23, 1964 —

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

— THIS WEEK 57 YEARS AGO —

The above WKNR music chart was digitally restored by Motor City Radio Flashbacks

NEXT WEEK: WKNR — 2ND of 4 SERIES — SEPTEMBER 24, 1964

— In Memory of George Griggs —

A SPECIAL THANK YOU

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

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

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THIS WEEK IN AMERICA! BILLBOARD HOT 100: SEPTEMBER 24, 1966

**BILLBOARD HOT 100** (week-ending) September 24, 1966

— NUMBER ONE SINGLE IN AMERICA —

“CHERISH” | THE ASSOCIATION | VALIANT

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BILLBOARD HOT 100 TABULATED BY RECORDS RETAIL SALES AND RADIO AIRPLAY

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September 18 through October 8, 1966

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“Cherish” by The Association debuted on the Billboard singles charts at #66, for the week ending, August 27, 1966. The Los Angeles-based six-man band would make its eventual climb to its three-week stay at the top — its fifth week on the charts — beginning September 18 through week-ending October 8, 1966.

Twelve weeks overall on the pop singles charts, “Cherish” drops out at #32 on its last charted week on Billboard, week-ending November 12, 1966.

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The above song/chart information researched by the author. Source credit: Billboard Hot 100 weekly charts of 1966

** A MCRFB VIEWING TIP **

ON YOUR PC? To fully appreciate this Billboard Hot 100 September 24, 1966 chart feature 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 on chart image. Open to second window. “Stretch” chart across your device screen to magnify for largest print view.

THIS WEEK, 1964: THE HOTTEST HIT IN THE U.S.A.! 57 YEARS AGO

— NUMBER ONE 1964 —

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FIFTEEN WEEKS overall on the singles pop charts, “Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison peaked at #1 this week (3 weeks) on the Billboard Hot 100. Beginning September 20 through week ending, October 10, 1964. (Source: Billboard)

For our previous Billboard 1964 Number One U.S.A. Hits go HERE

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THE BIG 8 RADIO SOUVENIR EDITION: THE CKLW TOP 100 of 1965!

**BIG 8 RADIO CKLW** Top 100 of 1965 (1.)

**BIG 8 RADIO CKLW** Top 100 of 1965 (2.)

**BIG 8 RADIO CKLW** Top 100 of 1965 (3.)

BIG8RADIO.COM | BROADCAST DATE: SEPTEMBER 4-6 2021

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The Top 100 has been compiled from the weekly RKO Giant Radio 80 ‘CK Surveys of 1965. The listing reflects total record sales, requests, highest chart positions and number of weeks on the charts.

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— SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT —

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NEW! A special THANK YOU to Charlie O’Brien for contributing this featured 2021 Special Edition (brochure) of the ‘CKLW Top 100 of 1965’ with Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

NOTE: Missed the ‘CKLW Top 100 of 1965’ broadcast? You can listen to the program in its entirety HERE.

ALSO: For a free downloadable version of the CKLW Top 100 of 1965 chart featured today on this page, please go HERE.

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**BIG 8 RADIO CKLW** Top 100 of 1965 (4.)

BIG 8 RADIO PRESENTS! THE CKLW TOP 100 of 1965

— A BIG 8 RADIO EXCLUSIVE —

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We recently uncovered an extremely rare CKLW year-end playlist for 1965 from a private collection, kept undisclosed for well over 55 years.

On Saturday, September 4, Big 8 Radio streamed the Official CKLW Top 100 of 1965 — for the first time over the Labor Day weekend — exactly as the chart was tabulated by the CKLW music department over five decades ago.

An encore presentation of the CKLW Top 100 of 1965 Countdown was also broadcast HERE at www.big8radio.com — Labor Day Monday, September 6 at NOON ET.

The year-end chart was never distributed nor made available to the public, and we believe the numbered playlist/countdown probably never aired on CKLW that year.

And last, we are pleased to say our special four-page souvenir chart of the CKLW Top 100 of 1965 is now available — FREE DOWNLOAD — on the Big 8 Radio official webpage (click the link above).

For our friends who may have missed the stream, it is now available (anytime) — ON DEMAND — here on Motor City Radio Flashbacks. Join us for this special 5-hour ‘CK 2021 broadcasting experience. The CKLW Top 100 of 1965. Presented here — exclusively — by Big 8 Radio. 🙂

— Charlie O’Brien

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NOTE: On Monday, September 20, look for the special Big 8 Radio’s own (four page) CKLW ‘Countdown Top 100 of 1965’ playlist/brochure on Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

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— SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT —

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NEW! A special THANK YOU to Charlie O’Brien for contributing the featured CKLW Top 100 of 1965 broadcast with Motor City Radio Flashbacks.

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A LATE SUMMER BREAK: OUR DAILY POSTS WILL BE BACK, ON SITE, SEPT. 20!

Passing a short note to inform our friends we will be away all next week for a late-summer break — but will be back here on Motor City Radio Flashbacks on Monday, September 20.

But be advised, this website remains open 24/7, always. And just maybe you may find something of interest here you might have missed, there’s really much to see here!

This site has already amassed over 6,150 posts and features to date, since January 2012. Thank you for your visits, contributions and your support! In the meantime, and until then, keep it right here. There’s more to come . . . on Motor City Radio Flashbacks! 🙂

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A MOTOR CITY RADIO BACK-PAGE: McKENZIE LEAVES WQTE, 1960

**The Detroit Free Press** March 27, 1960

SUNDAY, MARCH 27, 1960

— A DETROIT RADIO BACK-PAGE —

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The Detroit Free Press | Ed McKenzie | WQTE

Above article/ad courtesy freep.com newspaper archive.

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The above featured Detroit Free Press article was digitally re-imaged by Motor City Radio Flashbacks

— SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT —

A special THANK YOU to senior MCRFB consultant Greg Innis, of Livonia, MI., for contributing the Newspapers.com archives, (Detroit radio related) articles, ads, and images we have featured on this site, since 2016.

Thank you, Greg Innis, for making these historic Detroit radio features possible. 🙂

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Missed any of our previous ‘Detroit Radio Back-Pages‘ features? GO HERE

GAVIN REPORT: TOP 40 RADIO GETTING DEEP SIX . . . . SEPTEMBER 12, 1964

From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1964

The Bill Gavin Newsletter

By BILL GAVIN
Billboard Contributing Editor

“TOP 40 RADIO,” as we have known it for a decade, is fast becoming obsolete. “Top 40,” as a term of reference relating to a music format based on singles sales, will undoubtedly continue in our vocabulary for some time to come. In practice, however, the number of stations actually using a full 40 best selling singles is rapidly decreasing. The majority of pop format stations today have reduced their applicable lists of hits to 25 or 30 titles. The day of the playlist numbering 80 to 100 titles has passed. These days a list of 60 titles is considered long.

INTERESTINGLY enough, a good many stations decline to publicize the fact they have shortened their surveys. These stations continue to print and distribute a full top 40, or top 50, as they have done for years past. Their program directors will tell you privately that they are actually playing only a portion of the records on their charts. For some reason. not clearly understood, they are reluctant to publish a limited list of the hits they are playing, which omits some singles that are still selling better than some others that are being played. Other stations with attenuated surveys make no secret about it, they publish their top 30s with no attempt at concealment. There are two slightly different approaches now being taken to the short survey. In one case, the top survey items are simply listed according to tabulations of sales reports. The other system deletes the older hits that are dropping down rapidly, so that the resulting list of 30 may actually he a blue-penciled 40.

A few stations, accepting the principle of a smaller number of records for airplay, still cling to the mystic magic of the number 10. They continue with a full-blown survey of 40 hits but hold down their “extras” to only 10 or 15. Such playlists obviously have less room for new releases than lists of “25 plus 25.”

PEOPLE in the record business quite naturally regard these changes in radio program policies with some misgivings. The sale of single records. as everybody knows, is almost entirely controlled by airplay. Some record men express the fear that widespread curtailment of playlists will reduce the exposure of new product. A number of radio people consider such fears to be groundless. “What’s the good of 40 or 50 extras on a playlist?” asks one radio man. “Most of them never get played often enough to find out if they’re hits or not. With only 20 extras. and 30 survey records, all the new things on your list get played at least every three or four hours all day long.” Another program director puts it this way: “Every time we knock a tired old hit off our chart, it makes room for something new. With this new system we’ll not only break more new hits but we’ll also stir up lots more interest and excitement in new records, new artists and new sounds. The record people all ought to be cheering us, instead of finding fault.”

SUCH A STATEMENT of the new policy should make good sense, but apparently it does not. Judging from comments and inquiries that have been coming in to me, a good many people seem to think that a playlist is shortened by chop- ping new tunes off the bottom. This is not so in the big majority of cases. The first chopping is done on the older hits that have dropped down below 20 or 25. Then the half hits, whose sales have been fair, but which have failed to show improvement for two weeks, are dropped. This makes room for the more dynamic newcomers, either with a number on the chart or as “hot comers” standing next in line for a number next week.

AT THIS POINT, the playlist would show about 10 titles in addition to the chart – a total of 35 to 40 selections. The final 10 or 15 on the list will be about equally divided among (a) previous picks that still could be hits, (b) regional hits that were passed by the first time around, and (c) brand-new releases.

If every pop format station in the nation played only five new records a week – many will continue to play more – it would be practically certain that every worthwhile new release would get fair exposure in a number of markets, large and small.

True enough, promoters will find it more difficult to get big station picks in some cities. In others, of course, this condition has existed for quite some time and will not be a new experience.

Let’s get one point quite clear: The new trend is toward a shorter survey. It is not in the direction of drastic curtailing of airplay on newer material. The emphasis is on weeding out the weaker sides – either weak from the infirmities of old age, or weak from an inherent inability to build sales. This does not imply an impetuous haste to delete every item that has passed its sales peak. The occasional smashes, like a Dean Martin or a Louis Armstrong, continue selling in big volume for a long time after they have dropped out of the No. 1 position, and radio will keep its “umbrella” over them while they’re moving out of the rack locations. On the other hand, fast dropping items become candidates for oblivion.

What the change does imply is that radio programmers now rely less blindly on statistics. There is more evaluation of statistical data to interpret in terms of strongest possible airplay. END

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Information, credit, and news source: Billboard; September 12, 1964

MOTOWN: SALES CRUSHERS, 37 LP’s . . . . SEPTEMBER 12, 1970

Motown Convention Hypes 1970 Fall Happenings ala San Francisco Chartered

SAN FRANCISCO — Motown disclosed sweeping sales increases on all fronts during its sales convention here last week prior to unveiling an impressive 37-LP new fall product release.

The meeting here marked the firm’s 10th anniversary and also served as the company’s first international convention attended by representatives from its affiliates in the U.K., Holland, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Japan, in addition to its U.S. distributors and their wives.

Phil Jones, Motown’s director of sales, told distributors that the company’s total singles sales during the first six months of 1970 increased by 14.7 per-cent over the same period of 1969 despite the fact that there were three fewer releases this year.

He said that the average sale per singles release during the past 12 months amounted to 618,000. The total percent of singles sales increase since 1960, Jones said, reached 2,400 per-cent.

Jones said that 18 out of 24 singles released during the first six months of this year made the charts, giving Motown a batting average of .750.

In the tape field, Motown showed a 70.8 percent increase during the first half of this year over sales for the same period of 1969, according to Jones. He said that his firm was one of the first to handle its own tape CARtridge production and helped pioneer the field. He said that since 1966, the four -year period showed a 2,600 percent sales increase in Motown’s prerecorded tape product.

On the album front, Jones said, the first six months of this year showed a 37.1 percent LP sales increase over the like period during 1969. Since 1961, the company’s LP sales have increased 5.600 percent, Jones said.

Among the incredible statistics Jones tossed at the distributors was Motown’s 10-year singles chart batting average. Jones said that during Motown’s decade the company released 535 singles. Of these, 357 made the charts, giving it a percent- age of 66.7 of all the singles it has released hitting the charts.

In announcing the new fall product, Motown revealed it was adding a new label, Black Forum, which will be devoted to “the presentation of ideas and voices of the worldwide struggle of black people to create a new era. Black Forum also serves to provide authentic material for use in schools and colleges and for the home study of black history and culture.”

Three LP’s were introduced in launching the Black Forum line. These consisted of a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. album dealing with his opposition to the Viet Nam war, an album featuring black poets Langston Hughes and Margaret Danner, and an LP devoted to Stokely Carmichael.

Fall Product

The fall product array included a Temptations Greatest Hits LP and a Martha Reeves & the Vandellas album on the Gordy label; Earl Van Dyke, Jimmy Ruffin, Jr. Walker and the All Stars, the Ruffin Brothers, The Originals, and Gladys Knight & the Pips on Soul; the VIP line offered LP’s featuring Chuck Jackson, a new group called the Hearts of Stone, and an album by the Spinners produced by Stevie Wonder. On the Rare Earth label, new LP’s included a release by a new English group, Sounds Nice (the group was named by Paul McCartney), and albums featuring Power of Zeus, Lost Nation which was produced by Ollie McLaughlin, Holland’s top chart riders The Cats, who will be on tour in the U.S. this fall, the Poor Boys, and Rare Earth.

An eight-LP release on the Motown label will feature the Jackson 5, the Supremes, the Four Tops, an album packaging the Supremes with the Four Tops and the Magnificent 7, Gordon Staples and the Strong Things, volumes 1 and 2
of a new series called Chartbusters (this features a gold foil package with only the color of the type on the sleeve being changed from one release to
the next for easy identification purposes), with each Chartbuster package featuring established Motown names, and an album of Diana Ross to round out the Motown label portion of the fall offering.

On Tamla, the new release included albums by the Marvelettes with this LP produced by Smokey Robinson; Marvin Gaye in a package of his 16 biggest sellers; and an album of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

The Chisa label features Letta, the Hugh Masekela South African discovery.

4 Yule Packages

In addition to these LP’s, the firm unveiled four Christmas packages. These featured Yuletide product by the Temptations (Gordy), an album of various artists on Motown (Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles), Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (Tamla), and the fourth holiday package, the Jackson 5 (Motown). Tom Schlesinger, in charge of the firm’s graphics supervision, was credited with producing the sales presentation.

The meetings convened on Aug. 28 and were concluded Aug. 31 afternoon. They consisted of a well organized schedule of activities, highlighted by a banquet and show on Aug. 30. The show featured performances by Jimmy and David Ruffin, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and following the intermission, Rare
Earth and the Jackson 5.

Bobby Darin, newly signed to Motown, and Smokey Robinson were co-masters of ceremonies.

Each performer brought a standing ovation. The last two acts on the bill brought the house down. Despite the late hour, the distributors applauded loud and long for the Jackson 5 clamoring for more.

Berry Gordy Jr., Motown’s president, addressed the distributors and members of his own company prior to the show stressing that the company was celebrating its 10th anniversary. He recalled the circumstances surrounding the birth of Motown, and related some of the milestones in its growth. His brief talk was comprised of a mixture of nostalgia and humor.

Welcoming remarks to all assembled were delivered by Barney Ales, Motown’s executive vice president and general manager. Ales singled out the presence of international representatives at the convention, and then introduced Gordy.

Among the guests attending the festivities were Mr. and Mrs. Berry Gordy Sr. Representatives from abroad included from the U.K. Ken East (EMI), Philip Brodie (EMI), John Reid (EMI), John Marshall (from the London Tamla-Motown operation), and Bill Fowler (Carlin Music).

Other international representatives attending were George Barlow (EMI), Australia; John Bush (EMD, Mexico; Gerry Oord (EMI) and Pete Felleman (EMI), Holland, and Don McKim (Phonodisc), Canada. Representatives from Japan included Joshihisa Honda (Victor of Japan) and Kazuo Hoshino (Cosdel). END

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Information, credit, and news source: Billboard; September 12, 1970

Note: All photos featured herein courtesy Billboard from issue as dated.

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Click on images for enlargement (PC). Stretch images across your (Mobile) device’s screen for enlarged detailed view.