Rock Radio JULY 1972 Lovin’ the Oldies

Love is in the Air & on the Charts! 

Long before the Disco era’s song by John Paul Young ("Love is in the Air"), we were filling our Rock Radio music charts with Love. Along with love, guitar riffs heated up our radio speakers, as hot as the summer sun, 50 Years Ago This Month ... let’s Rock! 

♪ Then & Now  Rockin’ News & Views 
JULY 1972 created “Oldies” ... oh, and so did Paul McCartney! Radio would never be the same, we proved, Rock & Roll will never dieeeeeee ... 

> JULY 1972 Rockin’ News Then …
July 7^th: Wouldn’t ya know it. New York City, which loves to be biggest, best and first for everything, apparently became host to one of the nation’s first full-time radio stations to Rock an Oldies format, on this date 50 Years Ago. Iconic WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) began their “classic hits” with Dion’s “Runaround Sue” from 1961. Now owned by Audacy, Inc.—yay!—it’s still host to the Oldies with Scott Shannon in the Morning Show. 

July 9^th: Like now, major changes were a way of life during the 1970s. Music charts were no longer dominated by The Beatles. The Fab Four were exploring their options. For “the cute one,” Paul established McCartney & Wings, and honed their tour skills at UK universities early in 1972. On this date in July 1972, away they went in a splashy double-decker bus, to begin their first extended tour, Wings Over Europe. Remarkable? Not necessarily. However, to give you a spatial timeline perspective ...
      McCartney spent ten years as frontman for The Beatles, before Wings. Last month, June 18, 2022, to be exact, Sir Paul McCartney celebrated his 80^th birthday by performing a taxing-at-any-age concert with Jersey mega-stars (also from yesteryear), Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. Sir Paul gives new meaning to the term, “Oldies” Rock! I think he’s outplayed the Energizer Bunny ...

> JULY 2022 Rockin’ News Now … 
Well, Boomers, here’s a news headline we don’t see often ... um ever ... anymore ... “Manufacturers struggle to keep pace with vinyl record demand.“ It blared from the AP (Associated Press) newsline late last month. An interesting and welcome state of affairs that took 50 Years to re-manifest! Like everything else these days, the industry struggles from various shortages that present a frustrating manufacturing dilemma. Perhaps what is available will give a needed boost to pandemic-stressed small businesses for ...

Independent Retailer Month! Shopaholics unite! Gone are the past decades’ mega record stores like Tower Records and Sam Goody. There are, however, still many small business owners of vinyl record shops, offline and online, that sell vintage and more recently, new vinyl records. The once-ubiquitous shiny black, grooved disks, now come in a rainbow of colors, and sales have grown back into favor.
       We can thank some visionary recording artists and producers who realize that for all our technology, nothing surpasses the quality sound of a well-made vinyl recording. IndieRetailerMonth.com encourages consumers to shop local and celebrate indie retailers of all products. Let’s start with Rock & Roll music!

July 4^th: Break out the fireworks, even if they’re only on your computer or phone. It’s Independence Day! Those of us born in the United States have this celebratory day ingrained in our DNA. But regardless of where or when you arrived in this grand country—by birth or by car, air or boat—chances are, freedom and independence are part of your lifestyle plan. Celebrate this all-inclusive United States holiday for the grand meaning it was meant to embrace—FREEDOM.
      And if you think the “Star Spangled Banner” is old, stodgy, stale and stupid, you obviously never heard it wailing out of a guitar solo in slow-mo by Jimi Hendrix (Woodstock, 1969). Stay to the end and hear his proud response to late night show host, Dick Cavett, who assumed Jimi would receive hate mail for his rendition of the then-revered national anthem (like Diana Ross sang it, 1982). 

July 8^th: Vroom, vroom ... rev your engines and crank up the radio ... race ya to the diner! It’s Collector Car Appreciation Day (CCAD)! I’ve often said that vintage cars and Oldies music go together like a kid with a lollipop. Car collectors and Oldies Rock & Roll came of age together in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, which is BFYP’s strategic timeline ... if you can’t get to a vintage car show, at least head over to the SEMA Action Network (SAN) to see what’s going on for classic car collectors. From their website: “The date marks the thirteenth consecutive commemoration in what is now an annual holiday to raise awareness of the vital role automotive restoration and collection plays in American society.”
      For some of us, it’s fun to observe, for others, it’s a way of life. Either way, let’s not allow vintage car collecting to disappear into a soulless mist of bureaucratic prohibitions. Fun fact: do you know a contender (among many) for the very first Rock & Roll song (slash/R&B) is about a car? (Circa 1951) ... ♪ Let me introduce you to my Rocket ’88 ... ♪ 

July 30^th: At times I veer off the beaten path of Rock Radio and DJs. Though I still find a link, however thin it might be, I try never to miss an opportunity to remind you of why we’re here together ... Welcome to Paperback Book Day! There is no official link—so in the spirit of all that’s Rock & Roll, take a break from your day to visit our Blast from Your Past Amazon page of books featuring pioneering Rock & Roll Radio DJs (1954-1969). Have fun!

July 31^st: Besides being smack-dab in the middle of summer, this is National #LOVE Day! And how appropriate for those of us who love Oldies Rock & Roll Radio DJs. The day was created by radio DJ Rick McNeely. His fun site proclaims “#LOVE” as the most-used hashtag in social media. Long before hashtags were anything but a symbol for a number, we “numbered” our Love tunes on radio charts. Check out our Monthly Song of Note for the word’s prolific use in Oldies music titles ... but the question remains ... why this day and not, oh say, Valentine’s Day? I Love a good mystery.

♪ On Your Tinny Transistor Radio 
JULY 1972 WING, 1430 on your radio dial in Dayton, Ohio, makes our Featured Radio Survey this month. Good thing they weren’t up for a Great Survey of the Year contest, they would have had the judges scratching their heads as to how to rate them.
      On one hand, WING gets flying colors for ‘70s art graphics. Their downfall, was trying to put it all on one 3” x 7” (folded) chart. Song titles and artist names are a little crowded, pushing and shoving each other on the paper. Some titles were chopped off, others simply ran into their artist names.
       “Little Woman Love”/“Flip” by McCartney & McCartney is downright laughable, running into all kinds of aesthetic trouble at #25. However, we gave it a little love in the Monthly Song of Note below.
      WING’s DJ Mike Duff is apparently another DJ lost in the winds of time ... or at least not an Internet celeb, and if he used his real name. Extensive research turned up nothing about the smiling jock on the phone, gracing the survey cover.
      So scouring the ‘Net for July 1972, I found afternoon DJ dude, Chuck Brady in the driver’s seat of WKLO/Louisville’s Boogie Line choo-choo (07/19/72 survey). Meanwhile, Tom George in upstate Rochester, New York, at WBBF, tamed the late-night crowd with top tunes on the stack (07/12/72), urging fans to jump in the pool for a summer splash.

Monthly Song of Note ♪ 
Speaking of National LOVE Day, long before social media was a “thing,” we find the word in two of WING’s top ten tune titles #50YearsAgo this Month! Flack & Hathaway (Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway) ask “Where is the Love” at the #7 spot, while the Carpenters found it and let it go in “Goodbye to Love” at #9. But for your Song of Note, I chose “Little Woman Love”/”Flip” McCartney & McCartney. Far and away the most interesting of the three.
      This simple song was obviously a tribute to Linda. When the Beatles split, Paul began including her on many of his song credits, thus the lengthy “McCartney & McCartney” artist listing. However, it took me a few days of pondering to figure out WING’s listing of “Flip” printed with the Love song title. Hovering at #25 this week, WING’s survey didn’t have room for the dual-released “flip side,” even though it was considered Side A: “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Yep, the McCartneys’ new take on an age-old kids’ ditty wasn’t as beloved in the US. Both songs were pretty much history by the end of the month. ... ♪ You know I’ll always love | My little woman love ... ♪

Quirky Band Names 

Let’s begin this fun section with Mouth & MacNeal! Say, whaaaat? The instant visual conjures a floating set of lips ... but according to Wiki, popular 1970s Radio DJ, Jim Connors, apparently found more to the Dutch duo than a mouth and, um, a weirdly fun dummy, along with a willowy blonde (Maggie MacNeal). He’s credited with sending  “How Do You Do” up the charts, likely while spinning the tunes at Boston’s WMEX. This month it hit #2 on our Featured Radio Survey. Word is, “Big Mouth” was the solo stage name for Willem Duyn. Now you know which one is Mouth—and it isn’t the dummy!
      We can’t really count Godspell as a musical band or artist—more of a stage full of cast members who graced us with “Day By Day” to scamper up the WING chart to #2 the previous week, and starting back down to #6 by end of July. The popular folk Rock ballad spun out of the 1971 off-Broadway musical of the same name. Lead singer, Robin Lamont, was uncredited. That’s practically sacrilegious ...
      Which brings us to those who seek, and ye shall find ... the New Seekers! Their original claim to fame came the previous year with “Never Ending Song of Love” and shortly after, an ad jingle-turned-popular-pop-song, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony).” Trading on that blockbuster, their “Circles” started up the charts this month from the same titled album that would release in September. Why are they the New Seekers? Because Keith Potger created them from his former band, the Seekers. And now you know. 

♪ BFYP Featured Radio Survey 
JULY 30, 1972 ~ WING/Dayton, Ohio, “14/WING Thirty Heavy Hits” list may have been a bit crowded, but their cool scrolling artwork makes up for lack of space. DJ Mike Duff is busy talking to fans on the cover, while inside, a brooding Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) gives us a piercing stare of the Hitbound and Albums lists … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …

Let’s Celebrate JULY 1972 and … Rock On!  ♪  

BFYP Book 1 (1954-1959) on Amazon
BFYP Book 2 (Swinging ‘60s) on Amazon 
Blast from Your Past Gifts 
Share your Oldies R&R fun 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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Rock Radio SEPTEMBER 1970 One-Hit Wonders

BFYP ROCKIN' NEWS: Read an eBook Day (Sept. 18th) SPECIALS!

All good things must come to an end. The book specials have ended, but the books are ready at great prices for your Holiday gift-buying!  

BFYP’s Book 2: Rock Radio DJs of The Swinging Sixties PRINT edition is available now at a new LOWER price at least through December 31, 2020. Plus, watch for the eBook sale coming in October!

And Book 1: The First Five Years (1954-1959) with its pioneering Rock Radio DJ true tales is still at its lowest eBook price ... could there be another "free day" coming before Christmas? I love surprises, don't you?  

Now, back to your regularly scheduled 50 Years Ago this Month!

Surf the Wave of One-Hit Wonders 

But first, current news: Many long-time/native San Diegans will fondly recall popular 1960s, ‘70s, and mid-‘80s Rockin’ radio station, KPRI. Known in its heyday as a free-form station, its call letters basically disappeared when it flipped to KLZZ in 1984.

            You might like to know … it’s baaaack! The same, but different. The infamous call letters found a new home in 2018, owned by the Pala Band of Mission Indians, with the initials standing for "Kupa Pala Rez Indians." On-air, it’s known as "Rez Radio 91.3."

            Sure, they play some Native American music, but a mainstay of their eclectic format is variety, and Wolfman Jack’s syndicated shows. This month, they’re adding popular local DJ Jim McInnes, whose acclaimed “Vinyl Resting Place” show follows Wolfman on Saturday nights. Cool!

            Even cooler, Jim is coming full circle … he originally signed on the innovative KPRI 106.5, playing album cuts, in 1973.

From the REZ website, Jim’s show is, “Classic rock deep tracks from San Diego radio icon Jim McInnes' personal music library every Saturday evening from 8 to 10p.” Enjoy!

And now, back to 1970! A familiar howl ruled the California airwaves and floated well beyond, as we start the Fall windup of the turbulent first year in the 2020s. Oops … I mean … 1970s! Tongue-in-cheek Freudian slip, as we mimic events (protests, rioting, social unrest; minus the pandemic) of …

50 Years Ago this Month ~ SEPTEMBER 1970  

Getting into the songs of the day, I had to laugh when I realized this month’s Featured Radio Survey for K-POI/Hawaii, includes a crashing wave of THREE one-hit wonders. So what? Besides, somewhat of an anomaly, September 25^th is National One-Hit Wonder Day.* In order by chart number:

            Yes, the tune still headlining this chart is a summer hold-over, “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry, their only big hit. We all sang it, we all loved it, but they just couldn’t follow through. You’ll also recall the soft and soulful love song at #17 (down from previous week’s #11) by Alive and Kicking, “Tighter, Tighter.” 

            The most unforgettable one-hit-no wonder-why on the survey is “Neanderthal Man” (Hotlegs) debuting on the bottom of the chart at #20. It never made it past #15 and dropped off by month’s end.

*There is no link associated with National One-Hit Wonder Day, so click on BFYP Featured Radio Survey for more one-hit fun! ♪ Hold on, just a little bit tighter now, baby … ♪

On Your Tinny Transistor Radio ~ SEPTEMBER 1970    

Perhaps gearing up for October, Wolfman Jack’s fave screaming month, his publicist got him on the cover of K-POI/Hawaii’s “Action 20 Records” 50 Years Ago this Month.

            1380 on your island radio dial, “The Hawaiian Word for Radio” didn’t just play Don Ho for its music lovers. They played lots of Rock ‘n’ Roll with Creedence, Diana Ross, and Three Dog Night. And Wolfman Jack stoking your luaus on Sunday nights.

            “In the Summertime” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” grabbed the attention of most Hawaiian and Midwest listeners. Across the Pacific, and most of the way across the country, WLS/Chicago’s “Hit Parade” shared only those two tunes out of the top ten with K-POI. Celebrated bi-coastal DJ, Scotty Brink, slapped ‘em on the turntable to the delight of Chicago’s fans. ♪ Ain’t no river wide enough | To keep me from you … ♪

            The biggest difference, however, is WLS proofread their chart before printing … which makes K-POI’s survey more valuable 50 Years later, with their misspelling of “Spetember,” and double-R on Edwin Starr’s name (#11’s “War”).  

BFYP Featured Radio Survey ~ SEPTEMBER 1970

I may have overdone K-POI/Hawaii’s Action 20 Records feature for September 8, 1970 and throughout the BFYP blog, but it was just such a fun survey. To top it all off, Wolfman Jack’s Joe-Cool image practically leaps off the front. What more could we want? It’s an expanded feature this month, so Rock On! … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …

Celebrate SEPTEMBER 1970 and … Rock On!  

Blast from Your Past Gifts

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, there may be an unsecured link. As with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion and risk. *All holiday and special event days are found at Brownielocks.com’s calendar site. Enjoy! 

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