Rock Radio 50 Years Ago ~ DECEMBER 1974

It’s the Holidays & We’re Rockin’ the Man in the Moon   

12/02/2024 update: Although the initial holdup still stands, the BFYP article is posted, with corrections and images still to come. But like I said before ... Ya know, I’m writing right along on December’s article days before the end of the month. But then, I run into a research brick wall, or in ‘puter tech terms … the researching rabbit hole … and poof! A whole afternoon (& more!) is gone and nothing gained. So, yup, that’s my reason for a late one this month! LOL 

I finally found a few stories about Hawai’i's KPOI and most of the December article is below, sans images … they'll be coming soon, along with a few more Rockin' tales.

So, let’s see what I managed to pull out of the annals of Rock & Roll history … 50 Years Ago this Month … 

DECEMBER 1974 Radio News & Muse ♪ 

December 6^th: The first week of December we’re either thinking about Christmas and Holidays with the family, or the blowout New Year’s Eve party to ring in 1975—or both! On this day, George Harrison (1943-2001) likely anticipated a better reception to the release in the UK of “Ding Dong, Ding Dong." The New Year’s sing-a-long song was released so late in December—in the US on the 23^rd—that if it made the charts, it likely missed New Year’s parties.
       Granted, I made only a cursory search on it and found no US charts in January 1975 with the song listed. The lyrics are said to have taken George several years to create from two lines of verse carved into a stone fireplace of his nineteenth century drawing room. The song’s video is interesting, but curiously weird. I know George wrote better songs. ♪ … Yesterday, today was tomorrow | And tomorrow, today will be yesterday | So ring out the old | Ring in the new | Ding Dong, Ding Dong … ♪     

December 12^th: Although tensions were high and Mick Taylor was obviously frustrated, apparently members of The Rolling Stones were surprised when he left the band after six lucrative years. What better setting to quit than a Holiday party? The sentiment went, “What, is he insane? No one’s ever left the band before!” First time for everything … 

December 31^st: New Year’s Eve is often full of starry-eyed hope and renewed determination for life renewal. That works for bands, too. After several tumultuous years, Fleetwood Mac made a great decision to start out their 1975 New Year with a new sound. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac on this date in 1974. What a fun, Rockin’ New Year’s Eve party that must have been in Fresno, California, that included Rare Earth and Montrose. Were you there?   

On Your Tinny Transistor Radio ♪  
Was anyone spending Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Hawai’i, December 1974? I hear it’s the best month of the year there. Wolfman Jack must have thought so too, as he made the cover of KPOI/Honolulu surveys for December 1974 and January 1975. Nevermind that his shows were syndicated … if you were there, here’s a sample of what you heard on KPOI …

Since I have only one December 1974 Rockin’ radio survey in the BFYP Collection, there’s no point in teasing you—this month’s Featured Radio Survey is, indeed, KPOI/Honolulu, Hawai’i.  

The December 20, 1974 “Records of Hawaii” survey #344, pictures DJ Maxx MahiMahi and Wolfman Jack, which will be followed in January, by survey #346, continuing a fun, vintage image of life 50 Years Ago in Rock & Roll music—Hawaiian style. When he ushers in 1975, Wolfman Jack appears again on the cover, this time, hamming it up in a festive, New Year’s party hat.   

While Wolfman is legendary and stories abound about his antics, Maxx MahiMahi, was also known over a lengthy broadcasting career as … John Yount (given name) aka and maybe best known as Big John Carter, reportedly beginning at KPRI/San Diego in 1966 … and fired after his first day. Hmmmm … undaunted, he hit up a plethora of stations as Don Irwin, Spanky Elliott, and his longest-running, Big John Carter began in KYNO/Fresno (1969). There were more, mostly one-year gigs along the way.   

Likely looking for another new start, we find John at KPOI/Hawai’i “The Poi People” in 1974 as Maxx MahiMahi, but it was short-lived as he returned stateside to Los Angeles’ KHJ, again known as Big John Carter in 1975. By 1986, as Jay Crosby, John was at the helm of Jayman Productions until his death in 2005. 

Now, I know for a fact that KPOI still existed as a pop Rock station through January 1975, as I have a printed vintage radio survey to prove it! There is sketchy-to-no history though, after the ARSA music chart displayed for March 28, 1975 …  

Speaking of surveys, every once in a while, a chart anomaly, thanks to lazy or busy radio station personnel, makes it that much more valuable … KPOI had plenty of room for the full title of the Stylistics’ #2 tune, but left “It” out in this survey’s listing: “Let’s Put All Together.” Gotta love it …

And where were we headed for New Music in January 1975? Look next month for “Get Dancin’” by Disco Tex & the Sex-o-Lettes! Obviously a contender for our Quirky Band Name Award. Can’t wait …

December ‘74 Song of Note ♪

       If November is the month of gratitude, then surely, December is the month of nostalgia … looking back, making wishes, and moving forward. With music a conduit of emotions, it was tough to choose this month’s Song of Note. 
       I was first attracted to The Three Degrees’ “When Will I See You Again”—a question that will likely be asked many times over, around the globe, fifty years after it settled into the #3 spot on “KPOI Records of Hawaii” survey, December 20, 1974. A seemingly simple song of love and angst, it delved deeper with every stanza, as its unique lyrics were composed only of questions. ♪ … Are we in love or just friends? | Is this my beginning | Or is this the end? … ♪    
        As I scanned the December survey, my eye caught site of #9 (down from #6), as another contender in “Puka Shells” by Rod Young. Not exactly a Holiday tune, but it is sentimental, and it evoked personal memories, as I happily recall my mother and I stringing puka shell necklaces on her front lawn, to sell to friends and neighbors, in the summer of 1974 … Rod and Hawaiian composer, Lani Kai (George Clarence Dennis James Von Ruckleman Woodd III; phew! That’s a name!), rode the gigantic wave of puka shell popularity and by December, had a hit song. ♪ … I give to you | My puka shells | There is nothing more | I have to offer you | My love, my life | And a string of puka shells … ♪    
       However, I strayed out of the Top Ten and discovered Harry Chapin’s (1942-1981) wistful and reflective tune that every loving, hard-working parent, in every generation, can relate to, especially during the Holidays. Debuting at #30 on KPOI’s survey is tearjerker, “Cat’s in the Cradle.” December 1974’s, BFYP monthly Song of Note. It is no less nostalgic in 2024.
       As often happens, parent/child roles indeed, reverse over the years. Listening to Chapin’s #1 tune-to-be, yesteryear’s children may well identify with its very profound lyrics … Sadly, Chapin died in an auto accident at a youthful, 38 years old; son, Josh, had not yet reached the age of ten … ♪ … But it's sure nice talking to you Dad | And as he hung up the phone it occurred to me | He'd grown up just like me | M’boy was just like me  … ♪    

 December 2024 Music Events & More ♪    

Tuesday ~ December 31^st: Party on! Hmmmmm, couldn’t find anything fun to promote this month’s events and news, so … since the Holidays and New Year’s Eve is when Rock & Roll is at its shiniest, check out a list of popular hot spots … BFYP is based in SoCal, so this link works for us, but there are parties galore across the country, like Nashville, Tennessee, Orlando, Florida, and Seattle, Washington. Find your party place & see ya next year! 

BFYP Featured Radio Survey ♪♪  
DECEMBER 20, 1974 ~ K-POI’s “Records of Hawaii” music chart takes center stage as our Featured Radio Survey from the “Rock of Honolulu.” Were you relaxing on one of Hawai’i’s balmy isles listening to your tinny transistor radio? Whether you were swinging in the morning sun or listening to Wolfman Jack while staring at the starry sky, you were hearing the future iconic music of the era … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played … 

 Let’s Celebrate DECEMBER Holidays 1974 … Rock On!  

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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 Past^TM series, available on Amazon: Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959^TM (eBook only; coming soon in updated print edition) and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties^TM (eBook & print). Coming soon-ish … Book 3 – The Psychedelic Seventies!^TM 

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