CKLW-AM 800: Featuring Tom Shannon on the BIG 8 from 1979, click for audio here.
A nice studio shot! This Tom Shannon photograph was previously listed on eBay in 2012.
Motor City Radio Flashbacks
Memories From the Soundtrack of Your Life
Category Archives: Tom Shannon
LOOK WHAT WE FOUND! A TOM SHANNON (CKLW-AM 800) PHOTO FROM 1966
CKLW-AM 800: Featuring Tom Shannon on the BIG 8 in 1967, click for audio here.
A nice profile shot! This Tom Shannon photograph was previously listed on eBay in 2012.
THE NEW WMJC * 94.7 FM
FLASHBACK MOTOR CITY HAPPENINGS ’67. . . JULY 8, 1967
From the MCRFB news archive: 1967
Music Happenings In and Around Detroit Town, 1967
Detroit — Columbia Records, Tom and Jerry Schoenith’s Upper Deck of the Roostertail and CKLW combined Monday, July 3 in an all-out promotion for Columbia’s Moby Grape. Columbia Records promotion man Russ Yerge brought the Grape into town that day and arranged with the Schoenith’s to have a special Moby Grape night at their club, which is normally closed Mondays. The public was admitted free. Paul Drew, program director of CKLW, co-operated in promoting the evening with a barrage of spot announcements about the free show. Drew also put the group’s single “Omaha” on his CKLW Big 30 playlist. All of the CKLW deejays, including Tom Shannon and CKLW-TV personality Robin Seymour, were on hand at the Upper Deck to introduce the Haight-Ashbury San Francisco band. The new group earlier in the day appeared on Seymour’s TV show. . . . Terry Knight is booked into the Chess Mate for two weeks beginning Monday, July 10. . . . The Bee Gees are coming into Detroit on a promotion trip Thursday, July 13. . . . Gordon Lightfoot is playing at the Living End the week of July 17. . . . Nanett (Fabray) was in Detroit Tuesday, July 4 to promote her Canusa record, “The Look Of Love.” END
(Information and news source: Billboard; July 8, 1967).
FLASHBACK MOTOR CITY HAPPENINGS ’67 . . . AUGUST 19, 1967
Music Happenings In and Around Detroit Town, 1967
DETROIT — The Monkees concert originally scheduled for July 29 at Olympia Stadium which was canceled due to the riots, was rescheduled for August 13. WKNR, alongwith its promotion and production department, heavily advertised and was sponsor to the Detroit sold-out event, in conjunction with Dick Clark Productions. . . . The Pleasure-Seekers, an all-girl group from Grosse Pointe, are booked into Trude-Heller’s in Manhattan and have signed with Associated Bookings in New York. . . . The Grateful Dead played at the Grande Ballroom, a psychedelic ballroom-venue here owned by Russ Gibb, on Friday and Saturday, August11 - 12. . . . . CKLW-TV personality Robin Seymour is hosting a series of ‘Celebrity Nights’ at the Upper Deck at the Roostertail on Mondays. He opened on Monday, August 7 with the Rationals, Deon Jackson and Chris Peterson. . . . MGM promotion manager here, Larry Benjamin, is hosting a party for the Paupers to meet disk jockeys and the press at the Pontchartrain Hotel Wednesday, August 16. . . . The Kingsmen are booked to perform at the University of Detroit, Saturday, August 26. . . . “Bearskin Rug Sounds,” an album of readings by CKLW disk jockey Tom Shannon, did so well locally that it will be distributed nationally on the Sound label. . . . Walsh Allen has joined WJLB as operations manager. He spent three years as program director at Cleveland’s R&B WABQ. . . . The Jimi Hendrix Experience makes its first Michigan appearance at the Fifth Dimension in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, August 15. . . . The Spencer Davis Group is in concert at the Ford Auditorium here, slated for Thursday August 24. . . . The Motown Records sales convention takes place here August 25 - 28. END
Addendum: For more on the WKNR 1967 “Monkees In Detroit” concert, see our previous MCRFB March 3, 2012 feature, here.
For more on Tommy Shannon’s “Bear Skin Rug” Music LP, see our previous MCRFB May 4, 2012 feature, here.
The Monkees in 1967. WKNR and Dick Clark sponsored the (re-scheduled) Monkees’ Concert at the Olympia on August 13, 1967.
CKLW legendary great Tom Shannon was host to “Bearskin Rug” in 1966. (Photo courtesy Tom Shannon and the George Griggs collection).
(Information and news source: Billboard; August 19, 1967).
CKLW’S TOM SHANNON
WPON - Tommy Shannon Interview With Jukebox John On January 28, 2008.mp3
The Angels - Tom Shannon Show Logo.mp3
Tommy Shannon - Wild Weekend Theme.mp3
Tom Shannon is now retired from radio and is living in California.
TOMMY SHANNON’S BEARSKIN RUG MUSIC
Here’s another cut from the Bearskin Rug L.P.
Thanks to Tommy Shannon for this forgotten photo
Tommy Shannon – Love (To A Friend).mp3
SHANNON’S SPOT ON CKLW-TV 9… OCTOBER 5, 1968
DETROIT’S NO. 1 DEEJAY DEBUTS NEW TEEN DANCE SHOW
DETROIT — “The Lively Spot,” hosted by CKLW deejay Tom Shannon, bowed here on CKLW-TV (channel 9) on Monday, September 30, replacing the Robin Seymour “Swingin’ Time” show. The show will be seen 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 to 7 p.m. Saturday when it will be known as “The Tom Shannon Show.” He’ll continue his 6 to 9 p.m. on the CKLW radio station.
The Tom Shannon Show on CKLW-TV 9; newspaper ad from local newspaper TV guide; 1969. (Click on image for larger view).
Elmer Jasper, director of programming for CKLW-TV, predicts Shannon will become a great favorite of Detroit young people on TV. Shannon joined CKLW four years ago. A song-writer, he wrote the 1963 hit, “Wild Weekend,” by the Rebel Rousers. He also wrote “Soul Clappin’,” a local hit currently playing in Detroit on the radio charts, as performed by the Buena Vistas on the Marquee record label. END.
(Information and news source: Billboard; October 5, 1968).
CKLW NUMBER ONE IN DETROIT! . . . NOVEMBER 4,1967
CKLW New Detroit Singles Champ
NEW YORK — CKLW, 50,000-watt Hot 100 format station in Detroit, has taken over as the leading influence on sales of singles records in the market, according to a Radio Response Survey just released by Billboard for publication.
WKNR lead last year by a wide margin. This year, CKLW had 55-per cent of the votes of record dealers, distributors, one-stop operators, and local and national record company executives — all whose business depends on record sales. The survey depicts not only a leading ability to influence sales of products, but a large teen and young adult audience. WKNR had 45 per cent of the votes.
Tom Shannon of CKLW was the leading deejay influencing singles sales, according to a Billboard survey dated October 2. WJR lead WXYZ by a thin margin in ability to influence sales of albums, indicative of a large younger adult and adult audience combined, as well as an ability to influence them to buy product. Bill Drake, RKO radio consultant, was hired by CKLW earlier in the year. END.
(Information and news source: Billboard Magazine; November 4, 1967).
Addendum: Besides playing the national Hot 100 hits, CKLW also was playing some of the greatest hit records that ever came out of Detroit (including Bob Seger) besides Motown — here’s just 4 from the CKLW BIG 30:
For the week of August 29, 1967, “Heavy Music” by Bob Seger is at the #4 spot, after just two weeks on the guide… “To Share Your Love” by the Fantastic Four is at #6, only three weeks after its debut on the BIG 30 survey… “You Gotta Pay The Price,” the instrumental by Ric-Tic’s own Al Kent, is just below at #7, another fast-climber after just three weeks… “If This Is Love” by Detroit’s very own Precisions, climbed to the #13 spot overall, after just two weeks on CKLW…
On the national pop and R&B music scene: “Some Kind Of Wonderful” by the Soul Brothers Six was on the CKLW playlist for eight-consecutive weeks… “Little ‘Ole Man,” by Bill Cosby, and “Never My Love,” by the Association, had just debuted a week earlier on the CKLW BIG 30 guide…
“Ode To Billy Joe” by Bobbi Gentry was the No. 1 song for the second-week in a row… and that’s just some of the BIG 30 hits that were played on CKLW 800 during the week of August 29, 1967.
The History of Detroit Radio
Everyone who is anyone in the radio biz knows “Radio’s Best Friend”. Art Vuolo is literally the video archivist of the broadcasting profession. VuoloVideo.com is 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. The still program stands up as one of the best radio documentaries ever made. It’s one of dozens of audio treasures in our Motor City Radio Flashback Aircheck Library.
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.01.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.2.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.3.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.4.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.5.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.06.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.07.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.08.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.09.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.10.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.11.mp3
History.Of.Detroit.Radio.Chapter.12.mp3
