Category: WKNR
WKNR-FM GOES PROGRESSIVE ROCK . . . JUNE 1, 1968
From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1968
Progressive Rock Is Bowed by WKNR-FM
DETROIT — WKNR-FM has marched into the fray against WABX-FM with a progressive rock format. Frank Maruca, operations manager of WKNR and WKNR-FM, said the 50,000-watt horizontal and 50,000-watt vertical monaural FM operation is simulcasting the the Hot 100 format of the AM station 6 a.m. – 3 p.m., then splitting from 3 p.m. – 2 a.m. daily.
The new format run was slated to begin Sunday, May 26.
There is a possibility of going 24-hour with progressive rock if the station’s format is acquired in rank with the current FM radio surge in popularity. WABX-FM has been programming progressive rock in Detroit since last year.
Among the air-personalities on WKNR-FM are Russ Gibb, owner and operator of the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, who does 6 hours on Saturday and six hours on Sunday; Jerry Taylor mans the evening hours from 3 p.m. – 9 p.m., and is followed by Ed Busch, from 9 p.m. – 2 a.m.
Paul Cannon, program director of the AM operation, will be selecting the music for the FM band as well. In the few days the station has been on the air, there has already been “excellent reaction,” Maruca said. END
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(Information and news source: Billboard; June 1, 1968)
WKNR 1310: AIRCHEX OF THE WEEK! JERRY GOODWIN
From the MCRFB AIRCHECK library:
Jerry Goodwin on 1310 WKNR-AM “Keener 13” May, August 1966
…”We have ‘Cherish’ by the Association, which is a pretty, pretty song which we’re gonna play next…”…
In 1963, WKMH-AM, Detroit’s only CBS-affiliated “Flagship Radio” station on the dial, was suddenly transformed overnight on October 31. The former was christened with a new set of calls, WKNR, along with a brand-new “total station sound” that would ultimately be known in Detroit as “Keener 13.”
Atone time floundering dismally with low ratings under WJBK and WXYZ on the Detroit radio dial, the Knorr Broadcasting family, which owned WKMH, made their decision to consult with famed radio-programmer Michael Joseph. Coming off recent successful radio changes he implemented prior at WGR-AM in Buffalo, New York, Joseph was hired to “modernize” the old station located in Dearborn, where he immediately instituted there more of his successful up-to-the-minute ‘Top 40’ and news format, but with a shorten “top 31” playlist Joseph implemented instead.
By early 1964, the Joseph radio formula would become the radio success story in Detroit that was, “Keener 13.” “WKNR – The New Radio 13,” as it first prided itself, also had a new crop of air-personalities whose names and popularity rose to prominence a short couple of months after the station’s inception in November 1963.
By March 1964, WKNR was alone at the top as No. 1. in Detroit. But more so, it was primarily those Keener deejays who were instrumental in retaining high the station’s popularity and sound — Swingin’ Sweeney, Robin Seymour, Bob Green, Gary Stevens, Bill Phillips and Jerry Goodwin.
Jerry Goodwin began his 40-year span broadcasting in radio, beginning in 1959, as Sam Hill in Amarillo, Texas on KFDA-AM. By 1961, Jerry moved over to Dallas’ own KBOX doing evening-drive under a new name while there, as Danny Preston.
But by 1962, it was on to Florida. Jerry found his place in the Sunshine State with the legendary WQAM-AM, the Storer Broadcasting-owned affiliate in Miami. By February 2, 1963, Jerry Goodwin was doing noon to 3 on the famous AM-560 and within three weeks time, he became the new morning man (6-9 a.m. time), replacing Charlie Murdock for that spot on February 23, 1963. During that time, Jerry Goodwin found himself in good company with some of the greatest 560 voices while there, some very familiar — Ted Clark, 9-12; Bob Green, 12-3; Charlie Murdock, 3-6; Tom Campbell, 6-10; Jim Dunlap; 1-6 a.m.
But by mid-November in 1963, Jerry was no longer at WQAM. By then, Goodwin, along with WQAM’s Bob Green, had made the switch going north to Detroit on “the new Keener 13.”
From late 1963 through the early part of ’68, Jerry Goodwin rode the entire radio success story that was WKNR while here in the Motor City.
But by early 1967, the market was beginning to see some drastic changes across the Detroit radio landscape. The advent of FM radio was on the rise, coupled with the fact there was a new radio station, CKLW, which was starting to dominate the Detroit airways with its massive 50,000-watts of transmitted-power located across the Detroit river in Windsor, Ontario.
WKNR-AM * Jerry Goodwin * MAY 12, 1966
By the end of 1967 WKNR dropped in ratings at No. 2 radio for the very first time. Along with it’s deficient night-time signal, it was by then the station was beginning to lose of their appeal, no longer retainer of the largest audience share WKNR once had embraced in the market the year prior when the station was still hot on top at No. 1.
By April 1968 more changes became evident at WKNR-AM, both in staff and the management level. By that time ‘The Miami Four’ Bob Green, Ted Clark, Scott Regen (from WFUN; Miami) and Jerry Goodwin were no longer on board on AM Keener 13.
As WKNR-FM began experimenting with an album-rock format in 1968, Jerry Goodwin would instead take to the new “underground” movement in radio by crossing over to the WKNR FM side. At the time, WKNR-FM music director Paul Cannon decided they would compete going against WABX-FM. But the station’s “free-form” run would be entirely short-lived. As changes were on-going at WKNR both on the AM and FM sides, the “album-rock” format was soon dropped on 100.3 FM. It was replaced with an “easy-listening,” MOR music format the station dubbed as “Stereo Island.”
WKNR-AM * Jerry Goodwin * AUGUST 23, 1966
By year’s end 1969, and no longer at WKNR-FM, Jerry found himself with a new home with “album rocker” WABX-FM in Detroit. He was given the 7-11 a.m. time slot and, immediately found his niche there with the station both in popularity and with management personnel. In May 1971, Tim Powell, music director at WABX, had left the station for KLOS in Los Angeles. With that move, Jerry Goodwin, who was chief of creative productions for the station, became the new music director at ‘ABX up until 1972, when thereafter he would leave WABX for his next venture in radio, this time it was on to Toledo’s WIOT-FM. Historically, WIOT became Toledo’s first FM rock station. According to WiKipedia, it went on the air on December 25, 1972.
By early 1973, and having left WABX the previous year, Jerry had moved his family to Onsted, MI., a small township located just outside of Adrian. At the time, WCAR-AM in Detroit was still doing top 40 radio. Jerry Goodwin was hired at WCAR, though briefly, by Paul Christy as a ‘filler’ deejay for the station — a relief man. WCAR luminaries Dave Prince and Dave Shafer were also there, as well as Jim Harper, Kevin Sanderson and Tom Ingram. While at WIOT and while briefly at WCAR, Jerry went on to complete his academics by enrolling at Siena Heights College (today it is a university), where he graduated cum laude in 1974.
Later that same year, in late 1974, Goodwin was back in the Motor City. He was hired by station program director Paul Christy once again, but this time on WWWW-FM. WWWW was a progressive rock station with a unique format, with program emphasis on rock-oriented LP stop-sets they would play (albums in their entirety) during the evenings — well into the all-night hours. All during the time he was at WWWW, Jerry attended the University of Detroit. By 1975, within a year’s time there, he would graduate from the university with honors earning his Masters.
After a brief stay on W4 in Detroit, it was back east in 1976 to his hometown in Boston, where he would do PhD. work at Boston University. It was also during this time Jerry Goodwin would find himself back in radio, one more time, on WCOZ. He would remain in broadcasting in the Boston area for the remainder of his illustrious radio career while there. Stops would include Boston’s WBCN (as the Duke of Madness) from 1979-1982, WCGY (as the Duke of Madness) in 1985, and then it was off to Boston’s WROL from 1994 through 1999, thus capping off a very successful 40-year span in the radio business.
While doing radio in Boston, Jerry Goodwin was teaching radio courses and television performances at the Northeast School of Broadcasting where he taught for 20 years, until 2008. Today, the very same institution where Jerry had taught courses in the arts, the school has since evolved into an accredited four-year college course as the New England Institute of Arts.
Retired from radio since 1999, Jerry Goodwin today invests quality time in the art of theater, film and television. He is an award-winning actor in the New England area, and is a registered member of the New England Actors Guild. Demand for his professional “voice over” production work has earned him such clients as Perrier, American Airlines and Goodyear, to name a few, and he also “characterized” his voice-talents with multiple commercial CD-ROM game productions as well.
Currently, Jerry Goodwin has two Indie Films pending, The Red Death and Autonomy, which is slated for film shooting this month, May 2012. Also beginning in June (through October 2012), Jerry Goodwin will take to the stage as an actor in Cry Innocent. According to Jerry, “it will be a live performance based on the trial of Bridget Bishop, the first woman to be tried and executed as a witch” in Massachusetts. The stage production is tentative for its scheduled run at The Olde Salem Town Hall in Salem, MA.
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Today, Jerry Goodwin enjoys the comforts of home in Boston with his family. He is the proud grandfather, “of two amazingly beautiful grand-daughters, Jesse and Mimi Goodwin,” daughters of his son Jason Goodwin, who was born here in Detroit.
MCRFB would like to express our sincere gratitude to Jerry Goodwin for contributing to this exhibit. Photos courtesy of George Griggs, Art Vuolo, and also Scott Westerman’s Keener13.com.
Thank you Jerry Goodwin for sharing with us those special memories you shared with us on the radio during your successful long broadcasting years on WKNR-AM, WABX-FM and WWWW-FM in Detroit.
DETROIT RADIO WARS: CKLW HIRES BILL DRAKE AND PAUL DREW . . . APRIL 8, 1967
From the MCRFB news archives:
CKLW HIRES DREW, IN STEPS TO TUMBLE DETROIT LEADER WKNR
DETROIT — CKLW, the 50,000-watt RKO General operation here, has brought in Paul Drew as program director and will soon launch an all-out campaign against market-leader WKNR. Drew, former program director at WQXI in Atlanta, has slated May 1 as the day to bow with the station’s new sound — “Fun Radio.”
“Fun Radio” will include a jingles package that was custom made for the station’s and “for the sound I’m looking for,” Drew said.
Prior, there has been talk that Bill Drake, a programming consultant, was going to the station. Drake has set the program for RKO’s KHJ in Los Angeles and also revamped entirely San Francisco’s KFRC — both highly successful today in their markets. Though Drew would not commit himself, every indication is that he’ll use the same template/model that had been programmed at the two leading West Coast stations.
What will be in use will be the same playlist, rule-of-play with a shortened record format. “We’ll play whatever is necessary to play the hits, but the playlist will fluctuate.” This will not eliminate the playing of new records by new artists, evidently, as the station had played on the air about a week ago with “Sunshine Girl” by the Parade, a new record which had been introduced to the station by A&M Records promotion man Don Graham.
Already, CKLW has begun a sort of sneaky promotion campaign, in wake of their intent in placing the station at the top in the Detroit market with no holds barred. WJR, the easy listening outlet in Detroit, as long billed itself as “The Great Voice of the Great Lakes.” CKLW has aired the slogan: “The Choice of the Great Lakes.” WKNR, the leading Hot 100-formatted station in the market, is promoting a concert with Paul Revere & The Raiders on April 8. CKLW had bought a large section of front-row seats to the show and will be giving them away for free to listeners on the air, a ploy in part of the station’s ongoing blitz from the station’s promotion department.
(Information and news source: Billboard; April 8, 1967).
WKNR, WJR HITS BIG PAY DIRT . . . JULY 24, 1965
From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1965
RADIO RESPONSE ROUNDUP
WKNR, WJR Hitting Pay Dirt in Detroit, Thanks to Two Air Personalities
DETROIT — Two deejays — one in the Top 40 field and the other from a ‘middle-of-the-road’ easy music station, are basically responsible for the tremendous success of radio stations WKNR and WJR here in influencing the sales of records…. and may be largely responsible for the success of their respective radio stations in reaching a large audience.
WJR station manager James H. Quello, said that his good music station was proud of J. P. McCarthy. “He’s the number one radio personality in town. Everybody knows him and he’s in good part responsible… a major factor… in influencing the sale of LP’s in Detroit.”
According to Billboard’s Radio Response Rating Survey last week of the Detroit radio market — ranked the country’s fifth radio market — McCarthy was rated No. 1 in influencing radio listeners to purchase popular LPs. The station was rated first in the same category, but what makes it a unique situation is that the station gained strength to capture the top position since a similar Billboard survey of May 16, 1964, had placed WJR in second-place behind WCAR.
And the reason, according to Quello, is the power of McCarthy. McCarthy had been with the station at one time, then left WJR in Detroit to work for another radio station in San Francisco. He returned back to Detroit since the last Billboard survey. He’s so effective that WJR placed him on mornings in their 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. time-frame, and he returns for the 3:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. drive time. “After all, this is the motor city of the world… a big car place,” Quello went on to say. McCarthy features mostly MOR records, Quello said, “but we’re programming more contemporary music now, anything short of rock and roll.”
In influencing the sale of popular LP recordings, the major stations, in order, are WJR, WCAR, WWJ, and WJBK. WJR and WCAR has most of the power; in fact, WJR’s McCarthy had 52 per cent of the total points in Billboard’s survey, followed by WCAR deejay Joe Bacarella with 36 per cent overall.
WJR, incidentally, tied for second-place with WWJ in influencing the sale of conservative type records, was No. 1 in influencing the sale of classical records, and showed up fairly well as a power in influencing the sale of folk records as well.
Both Gain
The top position in the sale of popular record singles was again captured by radio station WKNR and its popular disk-jockey, Bob Green. In fact, both station and deejay gained in strength. WKNR radio was rated at 33 per cent in May 16, 1964, but increased its influence to 44 per cent as of last week. Green increased two points to 30 per cent.
WKNR radio station manager Walter Patterson said the Top 40 station isn’t doing anything different, “but we are fortunate in accumulating listeners.” A recent Pulse study showed that the 24-hour Detroit station as reaching 292,900 separate households during a given day.
“We’re not cocky, but we watch our position closely and never let up,” Patterson said. While the station does believe in strong air-personalities, — “some are and some are not” — it also practices “playing more music and keeping talk to a minimum.” The station’s “sound” is very important,” Patterson said.
WKMH the former, now WKNR, featured a “middle-of-the-road” music format until November 1, 1963, when it went Top 40. “We’ve pulled the fastest turnaround of any station in the country,” Patterson said. “What’s happening is the more we go, the more we get.” The station plays the top 31 records and distributes 99,000 copies of the station’s own survey guide of featured songs and hits. Patterson also said the station has a “refrigerator full” of promotions and uses them as the need arises.
Also in the Top 40 market, radio station CKLW has increased its power in influencing the sales of records since the last Billboard survey. The market saw WJBK change format from Top 40, where it ranked No. 2 last May, to good music. In May 1964, it was No. 4; now it ranks second. Dave Shafer and Tom Shannon of CKLW now rank second and third behind WKNR’s Bob Green.
John Gordon, the program director of CKLW, received the Billboard nod as most co-operative in exposing new records.
Close in R&B Field
In the R&B field in the Detroit market, it was a close race, but WCHB radio came out on top in influencing record sales. WCHB had 49 per cent, WJLB had 44 per cent and FM station WGPR had 7 per cent. WJLB ranked first last May.
Bill Williams, program director at WCHB, attributed the station’s increase in influence to a “much tighter format that was launched in January.” The station also went 24-hours in April. Williams said deejays on WCHB are now faster with delivery than before. “We play 35 of the top-selling R&B records, interspersed with every third record with one we think is a good prospect for a potential hit-maker to climb-up the chart.” This has made the station very important in getting listeners to go out and buy more into the R&B product,” Williams said.
“This is a good R&B market, its the home of the Motown sound,” he said, adding that he liked to think of his market as the entire population of Detroit. WJLB, however, scored with the top disc-jockey — Ernie Durham — in the power of influencing record sales. In fact, Durham almost captured the whole thing with a 44 per cent influence in the Detroit R&B market. The second-place honors goes out to Le Baron Taylor of WCHB, who held the No. 2 spot at 27 per cent.
Interesting to note is that an FM station, WBRB-FM is now showing muscles in influencing the sales of country music records. The field is still dominated by country powerhouse WEXL, which still came up with 86 per cent of the total points, but it’s no longer a one-station field. WBRB showed up with a 14 per cent; it’s a new station since the last Billboard survey. Bill Samples, of WEXL, is still the No. 1 deejay in the motor town getting country music records sold. END
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(Information and news source: Billboard; July 24, 1965)
WHEN WKNR SIGNED OFF 40 YEARS AGO. THIS DAY ’72
WKNR SIGNED OFF INTO HISTORY TODAY, APRIL 25, FORTY-YEARS AGO
DETROIT (April 25, 2012) — WKNR-AM, once the dominate radio station in Detroit during the 1960s, signed-off the 1310 AM frequency for the last time on this day, April 25, 1972.
Formerly WKMH-AM, the station made the switch to “the new Radio 13” on October 31, 1963. By early 1964, WKNR was by then the most popular radio station in Detroit and remained No. 1 in the market, still holding that status throughout the first six months through 1967.
WKNR, affectionately known as “Keener 13,” began it’s eventual slide from Detroit radio dominance in April, 1967. It was during this time WKNR saw their challenge met head-on by their other rival located across the Detroit river, CKLW.
CKLW, during that time, was totally being restructured into a formidable radio powerhouse the Canadian station would become by year’s end.
RKO radio consultant Bill Drake and Paul Drew were the two people responsible for the major changes at the “Big 8.” Paul Drew, the newly-appointed program director at CKLW, patterned the same “Boss Radio” format Bill Drake and Ron Jacobs had programmed on 93 KHJ in Los Angeles. By 1965’s end, Jacob’s KHJ was by then the No. 1 radio station in L.A.
But WKNR would not easily go down without a fight. While going against the “Big 8” giant, the legendary Detroit radio station’s ratings were found inside a downward decline, all the while battling against two major fronts.
CKLW officially became the No. 1 radio station in Detroit by November, 1967, according to a Radio Response Survey published in Billboard on November 4.
CKLW, with it’s massive 50,000-watts of transmitted radio power covered 3 Canadian provinces and at times, their night-time signal spanned across 28 States. In contrast, after sundown, WKNR’s 5,000-watt signal was commonly known to be absent from the radio dial in areas east of Detroit and, more so, deficient in night-time coverage and strength.
By now, major changes had begun at WKNR both in the management and personnel level. In January of 1968, J. Michael Wilson was by then doing mornings on Keener. Dick Purtan had left WKNR for Baltimore. By the first week of April 1968, WKNR radio greats Bob Green, Jerry Goodwin, Ted Clark and Scott Regen were no longer there. Sean Conrad, Edward Alan Busch, Tony Randolph, Ron Sherwood, and Dan Henderson were to be the new voices on Keener 13.
Despite the many changes in the Detroit radio market scene at the time, WKNR’s battle for survival against CKLW and FM’s “free-form” radio would drag on for five years.
Near the end of 1971, according to a Detroit Arbitron radio rating for the period Oct./Nov., WKNR-AM had a 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. cume of 377,300 in total listenership during a given broadcast day. For WKNR, those numbers represented a reduction down to a 15 to 12 total market share. In comparison, WABX-FM ranked just under in total rank, with a cume of 330,000 during those same hours.
WKNR, who by then revamped its playlist to include some album-oriented tracks, also made much of their attempt to pull away from the “same as” CKLW all-pop music format. No longer were the top 31 songs part of the playlist rotation. Slashed in half, WKNR’s new playlist focused primarily on the top 15 hits instead, while “previewing” the other 16 songs or so for the week.
By late 1971 and early 1972, WKNR now was promoting itself as the new “American Rock and Roll” radio station. An obvious affront towards the dominance that was CKLW located in Windsor, Ontario.
MCRFB aircheck audio: WKNR Bob Chenault March 27, 1972
On the 100.3 FM side, the album rock-oriented ‘underground” format that was WKNR-FM was dropped after an unsuccessful run against WABX-FM. In it’s place, Stereo Island, an easy-listening music format, now found it’s place competing against WLDM-FM in Detroit.
MCRFB jingle audio: WKNR “Stereo Island” 1970
But the changes were not enough, and ultimately, it was not to be.
In the end, WKNR became the former on a brisk, chilly but sunny morning that was Tuesday, April 25, 1972. Just before 8:00 a.m., WKNR deejay John McCrae’s voice breaks but regains composure as he announced the inevitable —
MCRFB aircheck audio: John McCrae Last Moments of Keener 13 April 25, 1972
(This original audio source is property, courtesy of Scott Westerman and keener13.com)
“…This is John McCrae, I’d like to take it upon my, myself to speak on behalf of all the people who made Keener what it, was and is. You know, Pete Seeger, with a little help from his cosmic friend, wrote it much better than I could, and the Byrds sing it, much better than I, could ever say it. So this time Detroit, we’d like to thank you, for making nearly a decade — a Keener season.”
As the last few bars of the Byrd’s “Turn, Turn, Turn” began to fade, the magic that was once WKNR faded away with the song. But the memories, the events, the music, the great names, the faces and voices who crafted the Keener legacy a long time ago, remain in many a hearts and minds yet even still, to this day.
In 2002, thirty years since WKNR was last on the air, Scott Westerman and Steve Schram decided it was time someone gave WKNR it’s long due, with honors. Working together they packaged an incredibly amazing WKNR tribute site, aptly named, keener13.com.
This coming June, 2012, will mark a decade since the website’s creation. And the phenomenal story about this great Detroit radio legacy is still being told, remembered, and celebrated there on the world-wide web.
“Keener” was a radio station that went on to impact nearly a decade the many lives of a community it once served. It knew its listeners. And if only but for a short time, WKNR also was the station that, in all essence, knew the city of Detroit well by way of its prestigious award-winning news department informing and staying “on top of the news” during the station’s Top 40 reign here during the the 1960s and early-1970s.
As Bob Green previously commented to Scott Westerman on keener13.com, quote, “The WKNR experience provided some of my happiest radio memories.”
We agree.
As to a generation who grew up listening to top 40 radio in Detroit during the 1960s, one may actually say many of those “happiest radio memories” we recall having heard on Keener 13 — belongs to many of us today just the same.
WKNR. Those call letters would come to embody one sensational story. A story of a Detroit radio station’s historic top 40 run to number one status (in short-order all within 9 weeks) after having signed on in October 1963.
And it is a story still remembered to this day. Forty years after signing-off into Detroit radio history one April morning, on this day, in 1972.
A MCRFB NOTE: For a more comprehensive search in our MCRFB archives on WKNR to date, you may GO HERE.
FRANK SWEENEY PUSHES MONUMENT RECORDS AFTER WKNR . . . DECEMBER 11, 1965
From the MCRFB news archives: 1965
Recording Industry’s Record Personnel, Station Management cited for ‘Communication Blackout’ by Frank L. Sweeney, Promotion Director; Monument Records
NEW YORK — The recording music industry is suffering from a tremendous lack of understanding between record personnel (simply known in the industry as “record men”) and radio people at the management level, according to Frank L. Sweeney, former music director at WKNR, now national promotion director with Monument Records and Sound Stage 7 Records. Sweeney (known as Swingin’ Sweeney on the air in Detroit) left WKNR mid-August to join Monument Records.
“I don’t think most record people truly know how radio station people operate — and conversely, more so — precious few people at the management level understand the record business. I would like to see better liaison at the management level between the radio and record industry,” he said. “When I call at a station, besides the music librarian and the program director, I’d like to see the station manager. After all, I represent an industry which supplies him with 87.7 per cent of his product — the percentage of programming that’s based on records.”
Sweeney felt that many radio men had a generally low regard for record people that wasn’t warranted. “This relationship between radio and the record industry just sort of grew — like Topsy.” That is why he believes that a national promotion man today has to be very aware of public relations. “I want to call on a station, to get to know everybody there, even if I don’t have a record to plug with me. I want the station to think constantly, and favorably, of Monument. I want to create a new image for me and Monument — we’re sort of synonymous now. I would hope that myself, as an air-personality going into the record industry, might contribute to a better understanding between the two businesses.”
The Problem with radio, he said, is that on most modern radio stations which program the Top 40 format, the only criteria used in programming a particular record is sales… not the merit of the record itself. “We’re feeding an industry it’s programming — and free.” He said he’d once figured that an ordinary station had used roughly $2,700 in records during a year at retail prices. It isn’t that the record industry is supporting broadcasters… $2,700 probably means little over-all in broadcasting costs over a year’s time, he felt. The wrong is that station managers very seldom pays that much attention to what their station is playing. It’s immaterial to a large number of them.
“Management in radio are good hard-working people. But the truth is most of them had their basic training in sales rather than music. Some of management have precious little knowledge of programming. They say ‘Hell, we’ll play top 40’ and we’ll either do one of two things: Hire a young man whose basic job is not programming, but tabulating. Or get an old pro and turn everything over to him.
“But either way, there’s very little communication, or a lack of, between management and the man who does the programming.” The old cliche about radio stations not being in business to sell records may be, or may not be, true, he said. “But it was the choice of radio stations that records be used as the bulk of their product.”
To improve public relations between record companies and the radio business, Sweeney feels he’ll have to spend a lot of time on the road. “I can’t say the things I’ve said, and then hang around Detroit (his present headquarters) or in Nashville (headquarters of Monument Records)…. I’ve got to get out and see radio people — hopefully not only those who program the music, but the managers themselves.” END
(Information and news source: Billboard; December 11, 1965).
WJBK AM DROPS POP FORMAT . . . AUGUST 1, 1964
From the MCRFB news archive: 1964
WJBK SWITCH FROM ROCK TO CONSERVATIVE MUSIC FORMAT
DETROIT — The Motor City will soon lose it’s distinction of being the only city in the U.S. with four full-time contemporary music formatted radio stations.
WJBK, the Storer-owned station, will drop its rock-pop music format on August 16 in favor of an all album, conservative music format.
The post-TV situation saw a battle for the pop market between WXYZ, the ABC-owned outlet, WKMH, with Robin Seymour leading the way, and WJBK.
Six or seven years ago, the 50,000-watt CKLW, just across the Detroit river in Windsor, began to feature a younger deejay lineup and playing more of the top current pop singles. The RKO General station with its big wattage has been effective carving an important niche for itself in the Detroit market as well as in secondary markets in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.
The next significant important change in the contemporary station line-up was the switch of WKMH to a standard, no rock policy, leaving the field to WXYZ and WJBK, with CKLW contributing its share to the hot pop scene, but not to the same degree.
Enter WKNR
The most exciting change to the status quo took place in November of last year, when WKMH pulled a complete 360-dgree switch in music format and call letters, WKNR, came a 30 plus 1 contemporary music format, promotions galore, much fanfare in the press and also added a few new swingin’ airman to enhance the format change.
The impact of WKNR greatly altered the Detroit market picture, rating-wise and pop-music wise. The tight-playlist formula the station’s concentrated on and off-the-air promotion drove the station’s ratings from obscurity up to a position of prominence.
Although many factors must be taken into consideration in reasoning why a station decides to change it’s format, many programmers label any format changes as a certain sign of defeat. Industry observers opinion that the mitigating factor in the forthcoming WJBK change was brought on by the impact of WKNR on the market, along with the solidifying of WXYZ’s influence on its pop music audience and coupled with the increased competition in the same area from CKLW.
Other important factors to be taken into consideration is the affinity of the Storer Broadcasting Company for conservative and subdued music formats. WJBK will, along with WGBS, Miami; WHN, New York City; WJW, Cleveland and KGBS, Los Angeles, be programmed musically from Storer’s music department in Miami.
At present Storer’s 50,000-watt station in Philadelphia is the company’s foremost and highly successful exponent of contemporary music. Another tpo-rated Storer station, WSPD in Toledo, also features a pop music, news and personality format.
Current Research
WJBK is presently in the survey of the listeners in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties to keep in touch with their taste, desires and preferences in radio.
“Although we have only completed approximately half of the current survey, we are learning that the majority of the people polled are desirous of the type of format we will be launching in August,” said John Grubbs, WJBK program station manager.
According to Billboard’s May 16 Radio Response Rating for Detroit, WQTE and WWJ reported conservative music formats. WCAR and WWJ features music of the standard variety, culled primarily from albums.
“WJBK’s ‘Sound of (Just Beautiful) Music and Total Information News’ format is being designed to incorporate all members of the staff,” said Grubbs. “Our air personalities are all top pros and are capable of handling any format.”
WJBK staffers include Marc Avery, Clark Reid, Robert E. Lee, Robin Walker and Bobby Layne. Grubbs scotched rumors circulating in the trade in recent weeks that he is being transferred to WIBG in Philadelphia as program manager replacing William Wheatley.
“The rumors circulating to the effect that I am being moved to WIBG or any other station are not in any way based on fact,” emphasized Grubbs. END.
(Information and news source: Billboard; August 1, 1964)
DETROIT HEATS UP FOUR-WAY RADIO WAR… NOVEMBER 16, 1963
From the MCRFB news archives:
FROM WKMH TO WKNR, FOUR-WAY BATTLE HEATS UP RADIO DIALS ACROSS DETROIT
DETROIT — A four-way battle is shaping up in this market with the immediate changeover in programming at WKMH.
The Dearborn-based 5,000 watter has introduced a new set of calls, WKNR, several new deejays, and a radical switch from the soft sound in music to a “30 plus 1” format. Detroit will be one of the few markets where severe competition is taking place among three or more pop music stations.
The Knorr-owned radio outlet has been under the programming consulting of Mike Joseph for many months. Soft standards have been the path for more than a year. WKMH (now WKNR) was once the major pop music outlet in the market. Today a major fight is now developing between the new WKNR, RKO radio’s 50,000 watter, CKLW, WJBK, Storer-owned “teen’s swinger” radio, and WXYZ, the ABC-owned pop-rater on the 1270 radio dial in Detroit. Recently CKLW had added Tom Clay in the afternoon-evening drive to help accentuate CKLW’s positive pop sound.
Mort Crowley, a KHJ defector, broadcasts 5 to 9 a.m., followed by the former-WKMH mainstay Robin Seymour in the 9 to 12 p.m. time slot. Jim Sanders is handling the noon to 3 p.m. shift, and Gary Stevens will be hosting the 3 to 7 p.m. segment. Bob Green will deejay from 7 to 12 a.m., while Bill Phillips will hold down the fort all night long until 5 a.m. END.
(Information and news source: Billboard; November 16, 1963).
WKNR * BOB GREEN ‘BACK FROM EUROPE’ SHOW * 1966
WKNR – Bob Green Europe Show – 1966.mp3
Special Thanks To Bob Green for sharing this
great WKNR aircheck from his vault.