BFYP BULLETIN 09/24/21: It may be Classical Music Month, but it’s Rock & Roll that’s still making headlines, with our dynamic Rockin’ DJs! Coming up in BFYP Book 3 The Psychedelic Seventies (sigh, eventually) is the story of DJ Andre Gardner's 1970s start in radio. Now a mainstay of Philadelphia’s WMGK, he’s about to celebrate his 1,000th episode of Breakfast with the Beatles! THIS Sunday’s (09/26) expanded edition (7-11A ET) with their “Baron of the Beatles” adds not only live call-ins from his fun fans, but one too, from a true Beatles “Starr”—Ringo! Tune in for an epic show ... BIG CONGRATS to Andre, and thanks to his big bro, Bill, who got him into radio (and tipped us off to the big news)!
And now, let’s flip on the studio mic, and Rock On back to SEPTEMBER 1971 …
Colour My World, Ms. Maggie
September 1971, listeners of both WJET/Eerie, Pennsylvania, and KING/Seattle, Washington, voted Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” into the top five. Oh Maggie I couldn’t have tried any more … ♪
WJET, however, decided the song needed a little notoriety and listed the title with the spelling of an old 1800s Liverpool sailors’ folk song, “Maggie Mae.” Not to be confused with The Beatles’ 1970 reworked and truncated “Maggie Mae” … confused yet? Me too!
It’s anomalies with back stories like this, that make a collectible survey worth just a little more … 50 Years Ago this Month …
♪ Rockin’ News & Views ~ Then & Now
The Jackson 5’s “Maybe Tomorrow” dropped from #6 to #18 on WJET/Eerie, Pennsylvania’s “Top 50 Survey” the first week of September. It preceded by a week, their new, short-lived cartoon series debut …
September
11th:
The Jackson 5ive joined ABC’s Saturday morning cartoon line-up without much
assistance from the band. The purely fictional antics of The Jackson 5ive
made a debut splash for kiddies but left the air about a year later, as Michael
stepped out into the solo world.
A 1976-‘77 live musical variety show, The Jacksons, gave fans a more personal
peek into most of the Jackson kids’ personalities … though that too, didn’t
last long, as Michael began to stray from family to devote more time to his
solo projects.
>Now: September 2021 …
So much of Rock & Roll pulls from earlier music genres, blending, swirling,
incorporating sounds and rhythms and that of course, includes Classical music.
So this month, let’s celebrate Classical Music Month and its influence on Rock
& Roll!
Like
Classical compositions, many melodious genres are infused with piano and flute solos,
as is “Colour My World,” our Monthly Song
of Note, #3 on this month's Featured Radio Survey. It begins with an unforgettable pattern tickling the ivories, followed
by the one and only lyrical verse, before it breaks into the soulful sounds of
the flute. No wonder it’s still a slow and dreamy wedding favorite. And
dreams of our moments together … ♪
♪ 50 Years Ago on Your Tinny Transistor
Radio
Yes, this month there are more unique band names topping the vintage charts. Let's do a quick comparison between KING/Seattle and WJET/Eerie PA:
KING: The Sweet "Co-Co" #38 / Lighthouse "One Fine Morning" #36
Tin Tin "Is That The Way" #32 / Nightlighters* "K-Gee"* #25
WJET: Runt "A Long Time" #21 / Messengers "That's the Way a Woman Is" #37
Dusk "Here Those Church Bells" #38 / Nite-Liters* "K-Jee"* #43
Although many stations left off "The" in a band's name, or misspelled artists/songs, KING got it all wrong this month! Truth be told: "The Nite-Liters" gave us the spunky instrumental, "K-Jee."
> DJ Tidbits from behind
the mic …
WJET’s “Good Guys” are featured in fun caricatures on their survey
cover. Who was your favorite?
No DJs are pictured or even listed, on KING/Seattle's survey, but through research, I learned DJ Bob Shannon (born Robert Lee Adams) was in residence about this time.
KJR/Seattle gets all the glory in Wiki, supposedly with a straight shot from his KXOK St. Louis, gig. However, I have it on firm Radio research authority that he spent up to a year at KING after KXOK, before leaving for KJR.
Unbeknownst of my plan to feature Bob this month, BFYP’s DJ-in-Residence, Bill Gardner, sent a note of personal history regarding KING radio that proved it, “I worked there two months later! [Than the September survey date.] I replaced a guy named Bob Shannon, who crossed town to work for competing station KJR!
Love it when my research is validated. Thank you, Bill!
Bob left radio in 1983 to continue pursuit of a career in film (as R.J. Adams), passing into DJ Heaven while directing a movie, in 2015.
>Music musings from the Featured Radio
Survey …
The queen of soul, not to mention, early Rock & Roll, Aretha Franklin, graces the inside
chart of KING/Seattle’s September 12, 1971 survey. Rightfully so, as her
“Spanish Harlem” came up fast from #16 the week before, to #8 this week.
♪ BFYP Featured
Radio Survey
SEPTEMBER 12, 1971 ~ KING/Seattle, Washington. Gotta love
those Psychedelic Seventies art-inspired radio surveys. Half the time you can’t
recognize anyone or even words, depicted in the flowing lines. A fresh-faced Ms.
Franklin mini-poster makes it a special collectible … 50
Years Ago this Month in Rock &
Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when
your radio played …
Let’s Celebrate SEPTEMBER 1971 and … Rock On! ♪
Share on Twitter: @BlastFromPastBk
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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