Rock Radio JULY 1971 What World Needs Now

BFYP BULLETIN 08/01/21 @ 7:39p (PDT): And what I need now is a better handle on my time management and less of a perfectionist personality! I'm diligently working on August's article ... please be patient. With any luck, you'll see it some time tomorrow!

 ♪ Into this World We’re Thrown … ♪   

In societal context, for more than a year, we’ve all been Riders on the Storm. Independence Day offers deepened meaning this year, as we feel the chains release, and experience freedom of spirit again.

With freedom of spirit comes freedom of speech. What some seem to forget as they vilify the country they have the privilege of living in, is those privileges are not a worldwide given. This country is not perfect. Are you?

Our Founding Fathers certainly were not, as recent historical conversations remind us. But where would we be without them? We cannot change or erase history … however, wisdom and change can be gained by learning from it. America is ever-evolving and hopefully, improving, which is all anyone should expect from a government. United we stand, divided we fall … and fail. 

Then and now, what better way to exercise our freedoms than through music? Let’s celebrate with good ol’ American Rock & Roll! ♪ What the World Needs Now is Love* ♪  JULY 1971 … 50 Years Ago this Month …

Rockin’ News & Views ~ Then & Now 
It was a difficult feat for musicians and bands to top the Beatles’ 1960s accolades, awards, and popularity. The Beatles members’ solo efforts fell flat in the early 1970s, until they each found their footing on paths going in opposite directions. That paved the way for others to hit the concerts and radio charts to try and top them.

Before fan frenzy topped radio’s Top 40 with new faves in JULY 1971, we fill the airwaves with shock and sadness …

 Then …                

July 3^rd: No, tell us it isn’t so. It’s said, the excesses of life got the better of The Doors’ frontman, Jim Morrison. He died in the Paris, France, apartment he shared with longtime girlfriend, Pamela Courson. At just twenty-seven years old … which seems a tipping point for many music artists of the era … he joined Janis Joplin (October 4, 1970), Jimi Hendrix (September 18, 1970), and Brian Jones (July 3, 1969) on an eerily growing list of deceased at 27-years-old musicians. ♪ And our love become a funeral pyre … ♪ **
      The Doors made a poignant distinction hitting the “Hit Bound” bottom of KQEO/Albuquerque, New Mexico’s July 17, 1971 Top 30 chart, with “Riders on the Storm” … ♪ Our life will never end … ♪ It was Morrison’s final song recorded (December 1970) with the band before his death. (**”Light My Fire,” recorded August 1966.)

July 9^th: What a coup! Grand Funk Railroad made history on this date in 1971 by outselling The Beatles for a Shea Stadium concert, in a record 72 hours. It had taken the Fab Four a couple of weeks at the height of their career (August 1965) to fill that grand New York City venue. ♪ Am I in my cabin dreaming …  ♪ (“I’m Your Captain,” recorded March 1970; this is their famous July 9, 1971 live version.)

From hints of sailing past mussels, to flexing your land muscles in a car, your radio was never far away. Muscle cars cruised the drag, screaming guitar tunes blaring. While you hum your favorite car song, let’s chat about the DJs who brought you the music for this month’s Featured Radio Survey.
       KQEO/Albuquerque, New Mexico, turned up the desert heat at #1240 on your radio dial with a full roster of DJs spinning “Albuquerque’s Top 30 Hits.”
      Bobby Box (Phil Box) steered you in the right musical direction on your way to work, and Chuck Logan held your hand on the way home. He could have been singing to you in a duet with James Taylor that shot up from #10 to #1 in one week, ♪ Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend …  ♪
    The rest of your KQEO listening day rocked with Keith Wade, Gary Diamond, Tom Watson, Charlie MacLane and Todd Stevens.

Now …          

These adorable replicas are way cheaper than real classics.

July 9^th: 2021’s July 9^th excitement for Collector Car Appreciation Day (CCAD) proves that classic cars and Rock & Roll go together like PB&J. Join in the fun and help “raise awareness of the vital role automotive restoration and collection plays in American society,” says the SEMA Action Network (SAN) on their website.
      Did you cruise main in your 1971 Pontiac Firebird, Plymouth Hemi Cuda, or Chevy Corvette? Better yet, do you still have it? '71 fairly well spelled the end of muscle cars, as the government imposed more eco-friendly manufacturing.
      The non-profit Specialty Equipment Market Association loves their classic and vintage cars. More importantly, they work to  keep you informed of the latest legislative and regulatory matters that affect your vintage and timeless car collecting. Look for nationwide events like Albuquerque, New Mexico’s July 10^th festivities.
      Beginning with the 1950s & ‘60s, collecting hot rods and muscle cars morphed into not just a hobby, but for some, a vocation and way of life, often played out on the radio … ♪ She’ll do a hundred and forty with the top end floored | She’s my little deuce coupe … ♪ (“Little Deuce Coupe” The Beach Boys 1963.) Rev your engines and enjoy car collecting and car songs!

50 Years Ago on Your Tinny Transistor Radio  
JULY 1971 ~ Of late, I’ve been using this space to spotlight a couple of songs from the featured radio survey. Some years and months, it’s difficult to find anything particularly interesting or enduring.

However, beginning about 1967, and continuing this whole decade, the difficulty is in how to pick just a couple!
      The BeeGees jumped from #28 on the KQEO chart to #9, asking the age-old question, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.” With a tune no less poignant over these many decades, controversial West Coast DJ, Tom Clay, moved from the bottom’s hitbound to #25, with an equally controversial version of “What the World Needs Now is Love,”* now, it’s a historical go-to anthem for mass suffering.

      After all the angst, we sought a little whimsy. Unfortunately, the only lighthearted part of this song is its title. Buoyed by a catchy tune, in spirte of its rather macabre lyrics, “Moon[]Shadow,”*** by Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) climbed steadily from #22 to #19. ♪ Yes, I’m being followed by a moonshadow … ♪ ***The title displayed as two words on the single record release, but one word on the album.  

BFYP Featured Radio Survey
JULY 17, 1971 ~ “the official KQEO double-power survey” for Albuquerque, New Mexico, may have been about music, but a proud aerial photo of the city graced the cover … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …  

Celebrate JULY 1971 and … Rock On!  

Blast from Your Past Gifts
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 LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and author by way of Rock & Roll. Two books (of three) are published in her Blast from Your Past series, available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!

Note: FYI – All links in the BFYP site are personally visited, verified, and vetted. Most are linked to commonly accessed sites of reputable note. Occasionally, since I often feature real people and/or singular sources there may be an unsecured link. As with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion and risk. No compensation is received for any mentions of businesses, products, or other commercial interests. *All holiday and special event days are found at Brownielocks.com’s calendar site. Enjoy! 

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