>>BFYP BULLETIN 08/19/18: Philly breeds DJs in
triplicate! The Gardner Brothers are
more than siblings and great friends. Originally from the City of Brotherly
Love, Al and Andre (center and right) followed big bro Bill, into radio
broadcasting, to help pioneer Rock Radio. Bill, a BFYP DJ featured in Book 2,
The Swinging Sixties, sent this pic from their recent reunion in Las Vegas.
Coming up in 2019, the spotlight will focus on Al and Andre’s stories in Book 3, The Psychedelic Seventies! Don’t touch that dial! But click here,
for a fun blurb on airline pilot and DJ extraordinaire, “Ol’ Captain” Bill’s website … And now, let's flip on the mic, and Rock On back to 1968 …
Dreamy, Restless, and Born to Be Wild!
In 1968 we sashayed toward the Psychedelic Seventies, with every dreamy and “far out” song that
hit the top of the charts.
Heating up the August charts with ethereal and floating
tunes, we crooned “Dream a Little Dream of Me”
with Mama Cass, and turned
retro with The Vogues’
“Turn Around, Look at Me.” But rebel Rock was never far from the top.
“Born to Be Wild”
(Steppenwolf)
flew up the WABC Radio 77 (New York) survey from the bottom, to #9, by the end of
August. Can’t you just see Cousin Brucie cuing
up the record and singing with us, ♪
Get your motor runnin’ | Head out on the highway … ♪ 
Across the country, “The Real Don Steele” spun the hits
at KHJ/Los Angeles. Their Boss 30 chart spotlighted the West’s
restlessness, with “Born to Be Wild” already sitting pretty at the top of the
chart by August 21st. ♪
Like a true nature's child | We were born, born to be wild …! ♪
Aiming for the stars, new bands coveting that #1 spot on the
chart, formed right and left; some fans said no, some yelled a resounding …
August 4th:
YES!
had an inauspicious start at a kids’ summer camp on this day in East Mersea,
Essex. But within a year, Tony Wilson, British columnist for pioneering weekly
music mag, Melody Maker, chose Yes and Led Zeppelin as the two bands "most likely
to succeed." Prophetic, indeed!
And through the long, hot summer of 1968, our radios blared
with the added spectrum of FM on our dials while music took on every color of
the rainbow … or at least it did, in our minds …
Trip on your mind-blowing memories of the Crown of Creation album (Jefferson Airplane),
set to debut the following month, September 1968.
Featured Radio
Survey: Though not appearing on the chart, Simon & Garfunkel graced
the cover of the Boss 30 chart for August
21, 1968 at KHJ/Los Angeles. The
full chart is hosted at my fave vintage radio survey site The Airheads Radio Survey Archive.
Or, see the top ten as our featured survey, 50 Years Ago This Month.
Rev up your memories and recall that awesome day
when …
Celebrate AUGUST 1968 and … Rock On!
Share on Twitter: @BlastFromPastBk
LinDee Rochelle is a writer
and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published
two books (of three) 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!
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪