MONEY * The Beatles * THE BEATLES’ SECOND ALBUM
3 of 3. For our 2nd. of 3 Beatles’ Motown songs ‘SECOND ALBUM’ feature GO HERE.
Audio
MICHIGAN RADIO: A ‘JACK THOMAS’ WLEW MEMORY
WLEW * Jack Thomas * 1975
JACK THOMAS on WLEW REMEMBERED
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Motor City Radio Flashbacks would like to extend our thanks to Frederick Vobbe for sharing this Michigan broadcasting memory in behalf of his brother, Jack Thomas. Fred Vobbe was chief engineer for Detroit radio stations WHNE-FM, WMJC-FM and WHND-AM, Birmingham, Michigan, in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Today, Fred resides in Lima, Ohio, still doing what he does best as chief engineer for major media outlets (radio and TV) in the Buckeye state. We present Fred’s own words he shared of his brother’s broadcasting career, verbatim, below.
Audio and photos courtesy of Fred Vobbe.
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My brother Jack Thomas started broadcasting in 1958 at McKinley School’s educational radio station, WTDS-FM, while a student. In his spare time he recorded radio shows with his friends in his parent’s basement, and collected the latest rock & roll 45s while imitating the sounds of WJBK AM and other stations in Detroit.
In high school he jocked “sock hops” for private and company parties. His first “big time” job in radio was with WATH AM/FM in Athens, Ohio, serving as a Staff Announcer and Chief Engineer. He took the name “Jack Thomas” when on the air. After a decade in Athens he moved to WLEW AM/FM in Bad Axe, Michigan, in 1973 in a similar role.
Being a small market station he set up remotes, assisted in news broadcasts, assembled music libraries, and repaired the station’s broadcast equipment. Jack was proud that he entertained his audience with clean humor, “On This Day in History“and “Jack’s Birthday Book” where he kept a list of area listener’s birthdays and mentioned them on the air while reading entertaining stories and trivia.
While at both stations he produced automation tapes, first for WATH-FM 105.5, and later for both WLEW AM and FM. After retiring from WLEW in 2006, Jack worked part-time briefly for WCPT-FM, and was on the air as “Brother Jack.”
Thomas’ career in broadcasting in the thumb area comprised well over thirty years in radio, where his name is still remembered today.
Jack Thomas passed away in February 2017 at the age of 76.
Frederick Vobbe, August 19
CLASSIC 1971 LP: ISAAC HAYES’ SCORES WITH ‘SHAFT’!
ABOUT THIS ALBUM
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‘Shaft,’ the soundtrack score (click highlight for tracks listing link) to the movie of the same name, was written, produced, and sung by Isaac Hayes in 1971. The album was released in August that year, becoming the first double-album “of original studio material released by a R&B artist.”
The album peaked at number one on The Billboard 200 chart, and spent sixty weeks on the chart. It took the top position on the Top R&B Albums chart for 14 weeks. Both “Theme from Shaft” and “Do Your Thing” became Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with the former peaking at number one.
At the 1972 Grammy Awards, “Theme from Shaft” won the awards for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical and Best Instrumental Arrangement. The film score as a whole won for Best Instrumental Composition Written Specifically For A Motion Picture or for Television. The National Association of Television and Radio Announcers gave Shaft its Album of the Year award.
At the Academy Awards that year, Hayes became the first African-American to win an Oscar for a non-acting category when “Theme from Shaft” won the award for Best Original Song. Isaac Hayes was nominated for Original Dramatic Score as well, losing to Michel Legrand for the score to Summer of ’42.
A commercial and critical success, Shaft is Hayes’ best-known work and the best-selling LP ever released on a Stax label. In 2014, the album was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” (Source: Wikipedia)
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A MCRFB Note: This week, ‘Theme from Shaft,’ the single, began its ascent on the Detroit radio dial. The single charted on the CKLW Big 30 survey at #25, September 21, 1971. The single debuted at #29 on the WKNR Music Guide, September 20, 1971.
WJR BACK ON THE RADIO: THE ‘DINNER DATE’ SHOW
WJR RECALLED ON MOTOR CITY RADIO FLASHBACKS
WJR-AM 760 * JAN WYNN (‘DINNER DATE‘) w/THE JIMMY CLARK QUARTET
WJR aircheck date: ‘DINNER DATE’ (segments) 1958-1960
JAN WYNN on WJR
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Jan Wynn’s real name was Janet Marie Winkler Iagulli (1935-2008).
In the 1950s and in the early 1960s, Jan Wynn was a local Detroit vocalist/singer who was the prime feature on WJR’s evening programming called ‘Dinner Date,’ a 15 minute daily show accompanied by WJR’s house band The Jimmy Clark Quartet (see above ad). The program was aired live, from 6:15 to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday on the “Goodwill Station.” Wynn’s vocal talents also was heard on other WJR programming. She also made frequent appearances on WJR’s day-timer, “Open House,” hosted by Jack Harris.
In the post-war era, WJR was known as a prestigious radio station which featured local musicians, vocalists, talents, and personalities throughout their regular scheduled daily programming at the time, in most cases performing live musical shows in the studio while on the air.
In this special WJR aircheck, the performances by Jan Wynn presented here date from 1958-1960 and actually this audio is a compilation from more than one ‘Dinner Date’ broadcast which was recorded during that time.
THE ESSENCE OF ‘SOUL’ 60S GENERATION: ’67 DEFINED!
AL KENT * 1967
— BILLBOARD: Peaked #49; September 30, 1967 —
THE ESSENCE OF ‘SOUL’ 60S GENERATION: ’67 DEFINED!
LEON HAYWOOD * 1967
— BILLBOARD: Peaked #63; October 21, 1967 —
THIS WEEK 50 YEARS AGO: THE HOTTEST HIT IN THE USA!
NUMBER 1 IN AMERICA ’67 * The Box Tops * 09/17/67 – 10/14/1967
BILLBOARD HOT 100 TOP FIVE: WEEK-ENDING SEPTEMBER 23, 1967
(Click on chart image 2x for detailed view)
NUMBER ONE FOR 1967!
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SIXTEEN WEEKS on the singles chart, “The Letter” by the Box Tops peaked this week at No. 01 (4 weeks) on the Billboard Hot 100, week September 17 through October 14, 1967. (source: Billboard)
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MCRFB Link: For the previous No. 1 record in the U.S.A. 1967 GO HERE.
DETROIT MOTOWN MONDAY RECORD FLASHBACK ’62!
THE MIRACLES * 1962
DETROIT MOTOWN MONDAY: BEATLES FLASHBACK, ’64
YOU’VE REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME * The Beatles * THE BEATLES’ SECOND ALBUM
For our 1st of 3 Beatles’ Motown songs ‘SECOND ALBUM’ feature GO HERE.
THE MAGIC BEHIND THE DETROIT MOTOWN SOUND! ’62
“YOU’VE REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME” (INSTRUMENTAL) * THE MIRACLES * 1962
