Rocking Memory Lane on a Sentimental Journey
Every
relationship that succumbs to “nothing lasts forever,” has a sentimental
journey, whether we admit it or not. Just sometimes, it’s tough to remember the
good times …
50 Years
Ago this Month ~ MARCH 1970
March 6th: The Beatles rolled out their swan
song, "Let It Be" on this date, a full two months
prior to the same titled album release, and a month before Paul McCartney
announced his departure and dissolution of the band (April 10, 1970).
The Beatles
grace the inside of KHJ/Los Angeles’s “Boss 30” Featured* music survey this month on which nary
a Fab Four note is seen on the chart. It almost appears that sheepish George, Paul
and John are peeking out from behind Ringo’s bravado, as another chapter ends
in Rock & Roll history.
March 11th: In case you’re curious about winners
from 1970’s 12th Grammy Awards on this date, here’s a few for your tuneful
memories – Record of the Year: “Aquarius”/”Let the Sunshine In” (The Fifth Dimension), Best New Artist: Crosby Stills & Nash, Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Female: Peggy Lee for “Is That All There Is?”. Ah … ♪ Let’s just keep dancing ♪ …
March 27th: Rather interesting is Ringo Starr’s
release on this day, of his first solo album, Sentimental Journey.
Considering only song titles reflecting their imminent break-up, The
Beatles’ “Let It Be” (above) let’s them wash their hands
of the band, while Starr’s “Sentimental Journey” gives it perspective. Awwww.
The album is a who’s-who of classic
romance and love-lost tunes like, “Stardust” (1927), “Love is a Many-Splendored
Thing” (1955), and “You Always Hurt the One You Love” (1944). Was he trying to tell his bandmates
something? … ♪ It’s because I love you most of all ♪ …
On Your Tinny Transistor
Radio ~ MARCH 1970 
Many
a Radio DJ has lamented self-deprecatingly, “I have a face only for radio!” It
was just the opposite, when the Real Don Steele
showed up at KHJ/L.A.’s
door in the mid-Sixties. They soon took advantage of Don’s photogenic
California style and tapped him for their “Boss City” TV show by 1970. Smart
move.
Some
stations of the era struggled with radio’s progressive changes and upgrades,
like one that had a revolving door of formats and call letters, until finding
its niche. KFMS/San
Francisco began in 1968 at 106.1 as a new FM format for Top 40
power station, KFRC.
Not only stations, but the FM
signal was still fishing for its true calling and KFRC
610 AM established 106.1 as an innovative automated system—one of the first in the country—KFMS. Playing
“Late Great and Favorite Goldens,” without the familiar DJ chatter, its chart
songs are alphabetical. It listed many of the current hits, but not a rank
number in sight.
No doubt there was a call for
simple, round-the-clock favorites, sans all the hype, which lasted until 1972
when it switched call letters again to KKEE,
before reverting to KFRC-FM in
September 1973. It rested, playing oldies and early soft rock as “K106,”
finally finding its (somewhat) forever-home in the late ‘70s. Surely, if you
were a NorCal resident then, you recall the KMEL!
Yep—106.1 soon became another legendary Rock station of the 1980s.
Though many of us focused on the demise of The Beatles, another
breakup was in the works with the duo of Simon & Garfunkel. They
too were splitting after a #1 hit, “Bridge Over Troubled Water,”
calling it quits later in the year. It hit the top at *KHJ/Los Angeles’
“Boss 30,” March 4, 1970 … 50 Years Ago
this Month in Rock & Roll Radio!
Where were you that groovy day when
…
Celebrate MARCH 1970 and … Rock On!
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LinDee Rochelle
is a writer and editor by trade, and 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!
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