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We Can Dig that Werewolf … um … Wolfman!
Mixing in a little Halloween magic with Rock & Roll is always fun. We’re mingling ROCKtober’s fun Rock Radio History with ghosts, goblins, and werewolves! Well, at least hairy DJs and a wolf-related song.
From the beginning of his DJ career, Wolfman Jack made Halloween his natural fave holiday. Even before he became a broadcast icon, he chased his nephews around the house in a black cape, growling like a scary wolf while they ran giggling down the hall. To him, his Radio listeners were just big kids, chuckling at his on-air gravelly voiced antics, sparking jealousy from werewolves everywhere. So in ROCKtober, though we mentioned it last month, we “Clap for the Wolfman” in our monthly Song of Note!
“It was April 30, 2013. I’d been preparing for this moment for years, since I was 10, although back then I could never have imagined it. This was the morning I was going to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!”* Are you a nostalgic Rock Radio buff? Ya gotta READ *“All I Wanna Do Is Play the Hits!”
Shotgun’s story in BFYP Book 2: The Swinging Sixties, is a snippet of his sparkle that reminds us of the fun and quirky experiences Rock Radio life was in the early days. Meeting up with him at his book signing, we laughed all over again at his amazing adventures. (Photo: author Judy Pendell, Shotgun Tom Kelly, LinDee Rochelle [that be me!], and author/journalist, Joe Naiman, in famed Corvette Diner, September 2024. Of course, we all had to wear a hat of some kind!)
So, with visions of werewolves and Halloween fun dancing in your heads, let’s get on with it. Spooky songs and haunting memories await … 50 Years Ago this Month …
ROCK-TOBER 1974 Radio News & Muse ♪
October 25th: The official release date of Wings’ "Junior's Farm" was November 1, 1974, but it escaped a little early in a few areas, on this date. Set in a farmland area where Paul McCartney and family stayed during the Beatles’ contentious break-up, it may be set in the Country, but it’s all Rock & Roll. ♪ … Well let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go | Down to Junior's Farm where I want to lay low … ♪
Where were you bein’ witchy in October 1974? San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago? Here’s a sample of what and who you were listening to …
Were you trick-or-treating in San Francisco Bay Area listening to Chuck Buell on your afternoon drive with KFRC? Or were you meeting a ghoul in Dallas and listening to KAFM-92.5’s Metroplex Singles?
Though you may have been in the Halloween mood in Chicago, you didn’t opt to vote up the charts any Country crossovers other than the marginal “Sweet Home Alabama,” or get in the haunting mood with spooky songs (except for Wolfman’s). WCFL’s “Super CFL Survey” for October 5, 1974, is just an awesome Top 40 list of now-iconic tunes. You might recall, however, your amusing mornings with the DJs in their “Dick and Doug Show.” ‘Climb On Board”! Or, getting a jump on Valentine’s Day with the tune that tops the survey list, “I Honestly Love You” by Olivia Newton-John ♪ … Maybe I hang around here | a little more than I should … ♪
Last month I mentioned the Guess Who’s "Clap for the Wolfman," the idolizing tribute to Wolfman Jack, but it didn’t get top honors here. Since it’s still climbing at #25 on WCFL/Chicago’s October 5, 1974, “CFL Survey,” I just had to do it.
Wolfman Jack was obviously honored by the homage paid him by songwriters, Burton Cummings, Bill Wallace and Kurt Winter. He had no problem adding to segments of the song with his distinctive voice, and their release timing made it a Halloween favorite.
Off the spooky topic for a moment, Boomers, tell me now, how often did you sing along with Steve Miller in “The Joker,” (1973) ♪ … Some people call me Maurice | Cause I speak of the pompitous of love … ♪ Or do you imitate Wolfman Jack while listening to “Clap for the Wolfman,” when he brags ♪ … Everybody's talkin’ about the Wolfman's pompitous of love … ♪
Do you know pompitous is not even a word? Yet there we were, singling along like we were so cool … just like the Wolfman.
Of course, if you know Rock Radio History, you’re aware that DJs often helped tunes trek to the top and in the process, band members were known to become life-long friends with the DJs. Guess Who and the Wolfman shared a kinship from the beginning. Not to be confused with DJs who favored music in pay-for-play schemes that got them into trouble. Think that payola no longer exists? Think again … just last week (October 3, 2024) …
Up to #14 in Chicago by Halloween, “Clap for the Wolfman” had jacked up to #5 at KYNO/Fresno, California, more than thirty days before. Following its peak at #11 first week of November, it slid down the list as the weather cooled.
Now, many music artists using "real names" for stardom derive a singing persona from their birth name. However, Sami Jo Cole is in no way discernible from “Jane Annette Jobe” (except for the JO), giving her our Quirky Band Name Award. But I like Sami Jo—it’s short, sweet and easy to remember.
You might recall her first hit, “Tell Me a Lie” (February ‘74). After her second hit, which landed on this month’s chart at #28, “It Could Have Been Me,” her career rather faded away and by the end of the ‘80s, she reverted to civilian life. Perhaps she took the song’s lyrics to heart ♪ … It could have been me | Wearing that dress of white | It could have been me | Holding you close tonight … ♪
OCTOBER 2024 Music Events & More ♪
Yup. He did do something good while in office. Perhaps his final pleasant experience as the nation’s leader before leaving the Whitehouse in disgrace, was to become the first president to visit the Grand Ole Opry.
Of course, we celebrate it because we wouldn't be Rock & Roll without Country ... and R&B, and Gospel, and Bluegrass, and boogie-woogie, and anything else they could throw in the '50s musical pot. Hail, Hail, Country-Rock!
Thursday ~ October 10th: *And while we’re drumming up accolades, today, make time to hug your favorite drummer! Seriously. It’s Hug a Drummer Day! Though woefully out of date, the sponsor site still offers plenty of drumming info and proudly states, “At the World Drumming Network we believe the oldest, simplest instrument in the world is still the most magical. Like 8000 years of generations before.”
Thursday ~ October 31st: Boo! It’s Halloween! Where will you be Rockin’ on Halloween? From Tarrytown, New York’s Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to San Diego’s Hardrock Hotel, Halloween Rocks musical ghosts and goblins across the nation! Want to trick-or-treat in your neighborhood? Halloween Festivals across the country are waiting to lift the veil on your spooky fun.
October 5, 1974 ~ is a little early in the month to hone in on Halloween for WCFL/Chicago, but they did focus on their popular DJ duo with the “Dick and Doug Show.” The star of this survey, though, is a McDonald’s ad for their new breakfast menu with the Egg McMuffin. By 1974 the recent advent of the now-breakfast staple by franchisee, Herb Peterson in Santa Barbara, California, still had not yet become a national offering. That happened in 1975. Talk about the “good ol’ days”—the McMuffin only cost 63¢ … mmmmm, “Can’t Get Enough” … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …
Let’s Celebrate a Fun, Spooky Halloween & ROCK-TOBER 1974 … Rock On!
BFYP Book 1 (1954-1959) on Amazon
BFYP Book 2 (Swinging ‘60s) on Amazon
Blast from Your Past Gifts
Share your Golden Oldies R&R fun on “X”/Twitter: @BlastFromPastBk
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LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and author by way of Rock & Roll. Two books (of three planned) are published in her Blast from Your PastTM series, available on Amazon: Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959TM (eBook only; coming soon in updated print edition) and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging SixtiesTM (eBook & print). Coming soon-ish … Book 3 – The Psychedelic Seventies!TM
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. This site is wholly owned by LinDee Rochelle & sponsored by PenchantForPenning.comTM. 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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