THE IMPRESSIONS * 1965
— BILLBOARD: Peaked #29 May 8, 1965 —
Category: Flashbacks
50TH! TALKIN’ ‘BOUT MY GENERATION: TOP HITS OF ’65!
“I KNOW A PLACE” * Petula Clark * Warner Bros. Records (1965)
FLASHBACK MOTOR CITY HAPPENINGS ’68 . . . MAY 18, 1968
From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1968
Music Happenings In and Around Detroit Town, 1968
DETROIT — Diana Ross and the Supremes are scheduled for a one-week engagement at the Fisher Theater, May 20-26 . . . . A production called Jazz Greats Volume II is booked into Cobo Arena Sunday (May 19). It will showcase such jazz personalities as Lou Donaldson, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Kenny Burrell, and the Modern Jazz Quartet, with Flip Wilson furnishing the comedy. . . . James Brown was presented a trophy by Bill Williams of station WCHB at the end of singer’s successful concert performance here last month.
Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers just ended a week-long engagement at the 20 Grand Driftwood Lounge . . . . Terra Shirma Sound Studios has recently opened a new 8-track complex here at 15305 Livernois. Some of the first productions there has been on local artists Louis Curry, Danny Woods, the Utopias, Jimmy Delphs, Ortheia Barnes and Parish, for labels such as MGM, M&S, RCA and Columbia.
WCHB has filled its late-evening spot, formerly held by Robbie D, with a new disk jockey calling himself Butterball, Jr. . . . Donald S. Condon has joined Stereodyne, the tape cartridge duplicator and manufacturer, introducing the spill-proof Dynapak tape cartridge. Condon will conduct the marketing for duplicating music, the Dynapak cartridge, and other Stereodyne products in the U. S., Canada, Mexico and Europe. . . . The Parliaments, Jimmy Delphs, Jimmy Ruffin, Bettye LaVette, Louis Curry and the Bandwagon will appear in one show at the Phelps Lounge, Friday, May 24. END
___
(Information and news source: Billboard; May 18, 1968)
KENNY BURRELL * “Wonder Why” * Verve * ‘Blues – The Common Ground’ (LP) * ’68
DID’NT GO UNNOTICED. ANOTHER MILLION PAGES HIT.
A MCRFB.COM THANK YOU!
Last year, on May 29, 2014, Motor City Radio Flashbacks celebrated having marked it’s first ONE MILLION page hits. That was then. This is now.
Since that time, it’s been THREE MILLION MORE total page hits overall added (the THREE MILLION mark was recorded having been attained on January 2). Not that it went unnoticed. Maybe to some, numbers tend to be a little redundant. But not here. Numbers are appreciated. And, to date, not even a year having passed since attaining that first one million mark, May 29, 2014. AMAZING NUMBERS. Incredible.
So THANK YOU again for your many countless visits here and show of support for the website. Again, you made it happen. Motor City Radio Flashbacks hits the FOUR MILLION mark. Having turned over ( 6:19 P.M.) Monday, April 27, 2015. A week ago, today!
MCRFB COMMERCIAL ADS: VITALIS! HAIR TONIC ‘1958
THE BRISTOL-MYERS COMPANY * “Get New Vitalis With V-7!” * 1958
(A MCRFB VIEWING TIP: Click on image 2x for larger detailed view).
DETROIT’S ‘DRQ SWITCHING TO ‘FORMULA 41’ AC FORMAT . . . APRIL 20, 1985
From the MCRFB news archive: 1985
URBAN PROGRAMMER JIM SNOWDEN WILL REMAIN STATION PD
DETROIT — Well-known urban programmer Jim Snowden will remain in his PD seat at WDRQ here when the station drops it urban output for Transtar’s “Formula 41” adult contemporary service in the next two to three weeks.
Snowden, most recently morning man at Inner City’s WBLS New York, was unavailable to comment on his seemingly strange decision at press time. Amaturo Group radio president Monte Lang, however, is quick to mention that Snowden’s background “includes working with many different formats,” and says Snowden “just loves this city, and we’re proud to say he is staying.”
While Lang claims that WDRQ was profitable as an urban station, he adds, “We were dissapointed with its success penetrating the market.” Explaining the choice of Transtar’s service, Lang says, “We’ve been happy with the success of ‘Formula 41’ at our WJQY Ft. Lauderdale, and saw the opportunity to do the same in Detroit.”
With the new adult programming, WDRQ will be re-christened with a yet undetermined set of calls (possibly WLTI) and will likely be clothed in a new image. “I’m not pounding my chest that this will be an overnight success,” says Lang, who cite’s all of Detroit’s adult stations as WDRQ’s new competition. “They are all terrific.”
Formula 41, being one of the lightest AC programs on the market, Lang intends to position the new WDRQ as a “very relaxing station targeted at listeners who prefer Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond and leaning toward easy listening,” against what he calls “the higher energy” adult outlets in Detroit.
Overseeing WDRQ’s new direction is forger general sales manager Jeff Slette, who steps into the general manager role after Chuck Borchard’s resignation earlier this month over what Lang calls “philosophical differences.” END
(Information and news source, Billboard; April 20, 1985).
THE JAZZ CRUSADERS! ‘OLD SOCKS, NEW SHOES’ LP ’70
NEARING THE END OF WKNR ERA: WEEK OF 03/13/1972
HEART OF GOLD * Neil Young * WKNR (No. 03) 03/13/72
DAY DREAMING * Aretha Franklin * WKNR (No. 09) 03/13/72
EVERYTHING GOOD IS BAD * 100 Proof (Aged In Soul) * WKNR (Hit Preview) 03/13/72
(WKNR Survey Guide courtesy the John Freist Collection)
A WKNR FOOTNOTE: Today, April 25, marks 43 years having passed since WKNR consigned itself to Detroit radio history. In the 1972 WKNR music guides, you’ll note the top 31 was no longer standard station play. Cut in half, the new WKNR playlist rotation, as this March 13 music survey indicates, would focus primarily on the top 15 singles listed for the week.
The WKNR playlist was also leaning more heavily into album oriented tracks as well. While listing their bottom 15 as “hit previews,” several of these song titles confirmed WKNR was also promoting selections from their top 10 ‘WKNR Albums,’ as listed on the back-side of the survey. Notice as well the moniker “Keener 13,” the station’s famous ID staple, was noticeably stricken from the WKNR vocabulary, likewise, in 1972.
By then priding itself as “Detroit’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Station,” this WKNR March 13, 1972 issue was published the week before the station’s very last music guide would go to print, the week of March 20, 1972. A month later WKNR signed-off the air, April 25, 1972.
THIS WEEK IN AMERICA! BILLBOARD: ‘HOT 100′ 04/1983
BILLBOARD HOT 100 TABULATED BY NATIONAL RETAIL SALES AND RADIO AIRPLAY
BILLBOARD SONG No. 46 * Culture Club * WEEK ENDING 4/23/83
BILLBOARD SONG No. 81 ‘NEW ENTRY’ * Kajagoogoo * WEEK ENDING 4/23/83
BILLBOARD SONG No. 83 ‘NEW ENTRY’ * El DeBarge * WEEK ENDING 4/23/83
A MCRFB VIEWING TIP: To fully appreciate this Billboard Hot 100 April 23, 1983 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).
WAY-BACK DETROIT RADIO PAGES: WAR YEARS DETROIT RADIO EVENTS . . . JULY 8, 1944
From the MCRFB radio scrapbook pages: 1944
Army Air Show Sold In Detroit; One Newspaper Plus Every Detroit Radio Station Breaks Records for 20-Day Military Shindig
DETROIT (July 1, 1944) — The consistent, but most important use of radio by the army was the major factor in building an all-time record attendance for the Army Air Show. Turnstile clicked 2,100,000 in the 20 days ended Sunday (June 25). Show was sponsored by The Detroit Times and received general space there, naturally, but as The Times itself commented, it was just “not publicized” by the other newspapers. Practically all credit therefore for the large attendance goes to radio.
The show, staged five miles from town at the municipal airport, had a mile of exhibits under tent of Detroit-made (military) war products. Covered stage at the center of midway was used for on-the-ground shows and for the series of programs aired.
The Army Air Show set a record of three shows fed to national networks, three fed to regional networks and 52 local stations shows. Originating stations for the network shows were WXYZ, feeding the Blue and the Michigan Radio Net, and, WWJ, feeding the NBC-RED.
Local stations taking the shows were WJLB, WJBK, WJR, and CKLW. One show each was also fed to WTOL, Toledo, and to WCAR and WHK, Cleveland.
How Variety Shows Pull Best
Most consistent air show were Victory Varieties, opening five days in advance of the show on WJLB and broadcast through the entire run of the show. Program was variety with patriotic angles. Features of this, as of every practically show aired, was a combination of standard radio entertainment, with the casts of the radio station making the daily trip, via police escort, to the exhibit.
Among guest artists were Lt. William Holden and Pvt. John Payne, Hollywood stars; “Skeets” Gallagher, Benny Baker, and Gloria Humphrey, of Good Night, Ladies; Russell Swann, noted magician, and Norman H. Birnkrant, general counsel for the National Association of Theatrical Agents.
Numerous shows were not broadcast because of lack of air time. These were broadcast over the show’s P.A. system to all tents.
Reopening of the shows, which was closed four days because of a blow-down of fourteen big tents, was plugged by 35 spot announcements over various local stations.
Top accolades for the success of the radio program go to two former radio men, Lt. Col. J. Gordon Lloyd, and Staff Sgt. Arthur Sutton, assigned to the public relations office of the Sixth Service Command, Detroit Command, Detroit office. Lloyd was formerly account executive at WJZ, Blue Network, New York. Sutton was formerly production man and continuity writer at CKLW, WXYZ and WWJ, Detroit. END
(Information and news source, The Billboard; July 8, 1944).
ARMY’S AIR DISPLAY AGAIN SHOW DETROIT AS WEEK-END TOWN
DETROIT (July 1, 1944) — The Army Air Show, which featured a mile of tent exhibits of war products made in Detroit, closed a twenty-day span Sunday with attendance of 2, 100,000. Admission was free, but a check was made by General Motors and Ford Motor Company, principal exhibitors.
Sunday crowd reached about 300,000, second only to the opening Sunday, June 4, when it hit about 500,000. Mid-week attendance was down.
The factor points to a moral to shows playing in Detroit for the duration at least. The Motor City has become a 100 per cent weekend town, with amusements generally starving about four days a week, followed by turn-away crowds on weekends. END
(Information and news source, The Billboard; July 8, 1944).