(Above WJR ad courtesy freep.com newspapers archive. Copyright 2017; Newspapers.com).
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About This Aircheck . . . And a Word from Brian Wood
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WABX. If you listened to FM radio from the late-1960s through the 1970s, chances are you remember those legendary calls today. Sometime late in 1967, this station would give birth to a “new” radio sound.
It would become the Motor City’s first and only “free-form” style radio in the market.
Whatever your preferences for music, may it blues, jazz, folk, album-orient rock, to thousands crossing the AM band over to the FM side, it was the ultimate escape vinyl audio purists were looking for in radio in 1967. And they found it. 99.5 on the dial.
The station’s legacy derived primarily having played many ‘choices’ of recorded music offered at the time. Choices no other station would consider playing. Beyond the music, the radio staff also promoted well the signature “X.” Sponsoring popular entertainment venues, headlining famous groups of the day, also that of local bands playing around town. And no other radio station would try this — allowing groups to perform “live” while broadcasting on the air. If all else, this recording would serve a reminder WABX was that kind of station. And on this tape, that was Jerry Goodwin on WABX. Forty-seven years ago. There has been no other station one could compare in Detroit ever since.
Now. About this WABX aircheck.
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Last January, Motor City Radio Flashbacks received a parcel from a Brian Wood, from Highland, MI. Tucked inside was a letter, and, a CD marked WABX. The letter, in part, went on to relate an ‘on-air’ radio experience he had with ‘ABX ace Jerry Goodwin. It was a Saturday morning. September, 1970.
I’ll share here what he had to say of his one, unforgettable, WABX memory. Here’s several highlights from his letter, as he wrote it, below —
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Hello Jim —
This represents good memories from the good old days. Imagine being 19 and hearing your song on the radio, having to record at the WKNR radio station with Bob Green and later that year performing live, on Jerry Goodwin’s show on WABX was pretty darn exciting!
On the WABX recording, Jerry speaks with Rick Slotnick primarily. We were quite nervous and in awe of the situation. Although I was the main singer and songwriter, Rick had a better presence and wit to match with Jerry’s personality. The sad part is Rick passed away in 1982 from leukemia and miss him to this day. That makes these recordings more memorable.
WKNR * THE ‘MOTOR CITY MUSIC SEARCH’ CONTEST * 1970
(Audio source: courtesy Brian Wood)
The radio experience (our group was the 8th of 10 finalists in the WKNR ‘Motor City Music Search’ contest, 1970) opened doors which allowed us further cool opportunities. We were able to play larger venues and shared the stage with The Edgar Winter Group, The James Gang, The Yardbirds and The Animals. Of course, that was the best of times.
Nowadays we play at small bars, coffee houses, farmer’s markets, and the likes of fairs and folk festivals.
If you can use these recordings and share them with Jerry Goodwin, I’d be so delighted. I had reached out to Jerry on Facebook but I didn’t receive a response. Thank you for all that you do!
Sincerely & best wishes,
Brian Wood
January 18, 2017
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Today, Motor City Radio Flashbacks features (4 presentations) the sound that was WABX, Detroit.
A MCRFB THANK YOU
A special THANK YOU to Brian Wood for sharing recently this WABX memory, now aircheck archived, with Motor City Radio Flashbacks.
Herman’s Hermits‘ fifth U.S. album, ‘There’s A Kind Of Hush All Over The World,’ debuted on the Billboard Top LP chart (#125; 2 weeks) on March 18, 1967. After just 7 weeks on the chart, the LP peaked at #13 on April 29 and remained there for 2 consecutive weeks, through May 12. The album produced 3 singles for Herman and his Hermits. “There’s A Kind Of Hush,” “Dandy” (1966) and “East West.” “The biggest single off the LP, “There’s A Kind Of Hush,” was released in January. The single would peak at #4 on the U.S. pop chart. While “No Milk Today” (play audio 16:21) peaked (U.S.) #35 later in the year, M-G-M (U.S.) released the title instead as the B-side of the single, “There’s A Kind Of Hush.” Thus, becoming a two-sided hit for the British pop band.
This week in 1967, and still after an astounding 97 weeks on the LP chart, Herb Alpert’s album holds the number 11 spot (for the second week) on Billboard, week-ending March 18. The album, “Whipped Cream And Other Delights,” debuted on the Billboard Top LP chart at number 113, May 15, 1965.
A ‘RADIO’ AD * “Take A Lively Companion Wherever You Go” * 1964
A PHILIPS RADIOtrade advertisement, 1964.
A ‘RADIO’ AD * “You Can Swing The Blues…” * 1964
A PHILIPS RADIOtrade advertisement, 1964.
A ‘RADIO’ AD * “Wherever You Go We’re Your Musical Host” * 1964
RADIO ADS. ENDORSEMENTS
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The above classic ‘radio’ endorsement ads, featured today on Motor City Radio Flashbacks, was sponsored and distributed for radio by theNational Association of Broadcasters, 1964.
CRUISIN’ 1956 * The Four Lads * ROBIN SEYMOUR WKMH THEME
CRUISIN’ 1956 * Robin Seymour * WKMH REFLECTIONS
CRUISIN’ 1956 * Robin Seymour * DETROIT MEMORIES (2008)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
TO A DETROIT BROADCASTING LEGEND, ROBIN SEYMOUR
In celebration on the occasion of Robin Seymour‘s recent 91st birthday this week, Wednesday, March 8, 2017, Motor City Radio Flashbacks presents today,“Cruisin’ 1956.”Motor City Radio Flashbacks is showcasing some of Robin Seymour’s greatest Detroit radio memories, reflections he shared from his illustrious broadcasting career on the Detroit radio dial spanning over three decades from the 1940s – 1970s.
Happy Birthday, Robin Seymour
A ROBIN SEYMOURMotor City Radio Flashbacks photo collage. Photo created by Motor City Radio Flashbacks; 2017 (click on over image for largest view)
CRUISIN’ 1956 Original LP Cover Notes
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By Jerry Hopkins
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The CRUISIN’ history of rock and roll radio begins in 1956, one of the most exciting years in “pop” history, and to take us down this memory lane (with a beat) is Robin Seymour of WKMH, which was, when he joined it, a little-known station In Dearborn, Michigan. Robin came to the suburban Detroit station from the Armed Forces Radio Network and he brought with him a voice that mixed the warm, confidential tone of an intimate friend with the slick disc jockey rap we all know today, a blend which made him a natural for housewives and teenagers alike.
WKMH’s Robin Seymour
Robin never had any particular ethnic identification or allegiance but the “Bobbin’ with Robin Show” quickly found its audience, as he constructed a bright, orderly program that featured (almost exclusively) the records listed on the sales charts printed by the music press. He also was among the first of the nation’s deejays to ask his listeners what they thought about new records, and hosted some of the earliest sock hops and commercial tie-ins with local record stores. In 1953 he was named “Disc Jockey of the Year” by Billboard, the music trade magazine. The following year he was given the same title by another publication, Hit Parader.
1956: President Eisenhower underwent an operation to relieve blockage of the small intestine due to ileitis, but physicians said he would be physically fit to run for re-election. Scientists said radiation was a peril to the future of humanity, Egypt seized the Suez Canal and the United Nations established the first international police force on the Sinai Peninsula. The first trans-Atlantic telephone cable system went into effect. The Hungarians revolted. Six Marine recruits were marched into a stream at Paris Island and drowned. The Andrea Doria sank off the coast of Massachusetts. And Elvis Presley and the spread of rock and roll nearly pushed everything else in this list of news stories right out of the conversation.
This was the year Elvis recorded Heartbreak Hotel, Don’t Be Cruel, Hound Dog and perhaps half a dozen other million-selling songs . The first of these (Hotel) appeared in the number one position the end of April and that song or another by Elvis occupied the same lofty spot twenty-five of the year’s remaining thirty-six weeks.
1956 was the year “rock ‘n’ roll” became an angry epithet, blamed by psychiatrists and religious leaders (not to mention thousands of parents) for the rise in juvenile delinquency; some even said it was all a part of some Communist plot. Elvis and his pack of noisy imitators were called obscene and there were real riots at dozens of concerts. There were non-rockers on the record charts, to be sure, but it was Carl Perkins’ Blue Suede Shoes and Bill Haley’s Alligator that became a part of the New Culture, not Gogi Grant’s Wayward Wind and Morris Stoloff’s Picnic. The war babies had come to teen-age.
Most adults in ’56 thought it was a fad and that “it” would go away. Most radio listeners believed otherwise. There were a number of rock giants on the popular music charts in 1956 and many had made their abrupt and rhythmic appearances there after serving an apprenticeship in the ghetto called rhythm and blues.
That’s what 1956 was: the teen-age 1776. There’d been rumblings earlier, but this year all the lines were drawn.
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Jerry Hopkins
47 YEARS AGO. A WORD FROM RON JACOBS
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“Recreating one of his old radio shows from 1956 is Robin Seymour, who then was with WKMH in Dearborn, Michigan. He had come to this suburban Detroit station from Armed Forces Radio and soon his warm, confidential tone had won him teenagers and housewives alike. His BOBBIN’ WITH ROBIN show was the reason BILLBOARD named him Disc Jockey of the Year in 1953, and HIT PARADER magazine did the same in 1954. Today he’s in television and concert promotion in Detroit. For this album, Robin Seymour was the first of the seven disc jockeys in the CRUISIN’ series selected as the best living representatives of Fifties and Sixties radio from seven top American radio cities.”
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The “Cruisin'” series was conceived, created and was produced by Ron Jacobs. The “Cruisin’ 1956” album was released by Increase Records, June 1970.
IT’S ROBIN SEYMOUR behind the microphone spinning the hits inside the WKMH-AM studio, Dearborn, MI., 1956. The long-time Detroit radio broadcast legend just observed his 91st birthday, this week, Wednesday, March 8, 2017. Happy Birthday, Robin Seymour!
THE FOUR TOPS‘ LP, ‘STILL WATERS RUN DEEP‘ was released this month 47 years ago. The 11th of 18 albums by Levi Stubbs and the Tops for Motown, the 1970 LP produced two singles,“It’s All In The Game“ and “Still Water (Love).” The album would hit #21 on the Billboard LP chart in the United States that year. Another track off the album, “Still Water (Peace),” found its way on the back-side of the single, “Still Water (Love).”LEVI STUBBS of the Four Tops, as he appeared in 1970, London.(Getty images: Michael Putland)
A ‘BIG 8’ PRESENTATION * THE HISTORY OF ROCK and ROLL * 02/28/69 (HR. 01-01)
A ‘BIG 8’ PRESENTATION * THE HISTORY OF ROCK and ROLL * 02/28/69 (HR. 01-02)
A ‘BIG 8’ PRESENTATION * THE HISTORY OF ROCK and ROLL * 02/28/69 (HR. 01-03)
A ‘BIG 8’ PRESENTATION * THE HISTORY OF ROCK and ROLL * 02/28/69 (HR. 01-04)
A ‘BIG 8’ PRESENTATION * THE HISTORY OF ROCK and ROLL * 02/28/69 (HR. 01-05)
A ‘BIG 8’ PRESENTATION * THE HISTORY OF ROCK and ROLL * 02/28/69 (HR. 01-06)
A ‘BIG 8’ PRESENTATION * THE HISTORY OF ROCK and ROLL * 02/28/69 (HR. 01-07)
48-YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
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In conjunction withKHJ Boss Radio(Los Angeles),RKO General, andDrake-Chenault Enterprises, CKLWpresented ‘The History Of Rock & Roll‘ this week in 1969. This seminal, historic rockumentary comprised of 48 hours of programming from start to finish. Covering the first and second generation of rock, the program traces the early roots of rock ‘n’ roll from its origins in the early ’50s, of its influence impacting the hits of the ’60s. For four days, CKLW aired theBill DrakeHRR program in 12-hour blocks — 12 noon to 12 midnight — beginning Sunday, February 28 through Wednesday, March 3, 1969.
BILL DRAKE. The producer, the voice behind the landmark rockumentary, ‘The History of Rock & Roll.’ 1969.
THE HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL * TIME SWEEP (A.)
THE HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL * TIME SWEEP (B.)
THE ORIGINAL CKLW SURVEYFebruary 18, 1969
Motor City Radio Flashbacks presents today the first hour of ‘THE HISTORY of ROCK & ROLL’ as aired on CKLW 12 noon — 1:00 p.m., Sunday, February 28, 1969.
Original program concept conceived and created by Ron Jacobs, KHJ. Produced by Bill Drake and Gene Chenault.
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Above CKLW music chart courtesy of Mrs. Patty Griggs and the George L. Griggs estate.
“PLEASE, PLEASE ME” * The Beatles * FEBRUARY 01, 1964
FEBRUARY 1964
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THE BEATLES first U.S. single debuts (#68) on the Billboard Hot 100, this month, 02/01/1964 on Vee-Jay Records. “Please, Please Me,” also noted, was released initially (and bombed due to dismal sales) by the Chicago-based label, coincidentally, one year earlier exactly to the date of the Beatles’ (1964) first visit to America, February 7, 1963. Re-released a year later due to the band’s surging popularity, the Beatles Vee-Jay 498 (misspelled Beattles) was introduced by Dick Biondi on its first U.S. radio airplay, WLS, Chicago, 02/08/1964.
