BFYP BULLETIN 01/21/19: Happy Birthday Wolfman Jack … wherever
you are! “Wolfman Jack—Robert Weston Smith—summed up our generation and the
dawn of unconventional Rock & Roll Radio, in Have
Mercy! Confessions of the Original Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal. Alternately
glorified, vilified and memorialized, Rock Radio DJs personified the turmoil
and tremendous strides of three decades of society in the US.”* Wolfman Jack
was an unparalleled leader of the pack. Aaaooooowww!
*From Blast
from Your Past Book 2, Rock
& Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties.And now, flip on the mic, let’s Rock On back to 1969 …
Rise ‘n’ Shine and Rock & Roll in 2019!
Whoohoo! We made it! If you’re reading
this, 2018 was a GOOD year. Perils are many in our convoluted world, so New
Year’s Eve is more significant every time its glittery night comes around, and
we awaken on New Year’s Day. 
If you’re eagerly
seeking another clean slate, remember there is benefit in looking back—not just
over the past year, but reflecting on life as a whole. It helps us take
advantage of the road ahead … may it be a golden one for you! Happy New Year!
Looking back
at Blast from Your Past, we like to
romanticize the “good ol’ days,” and tout early Rock & Roll as the best
ever; but from payola to hijacking record labels, we know it wasn’t without its
crime and punishment.
Sadly, many labels treated their
artists badly and it’s no secret that royalties for some artists were
decades—if ever—in the making. Hopefully, the music industry is kinder these
days.
Some
performers have since written about their fun but frustrating experiences. One
such, is an icon who waited until all the nefarious parties had headed to Hades
before cluing us fans in on what he had to endure to bring his music to our wild-‘n’-crazy transistor radios …
Tommy James of The Shondells first caught our attention with a little “Hanky Panky” (1966) and
followed up with the dreamy “Crimson and Clover”* (1969).
According to his book Me, The Mob, and The Music (2011), Tommy “… tells the incredible
story, revealing his complex and sometimes terrifying relationship with
Roulette Records and Morris Levy, the legendary Godfather of the music
business.”
But in 1969 we were oblivious to the shenanigans
behind the scenes. With barely fifty words to its name, we sent the wistful *“Crimson
and Clover” shooting to the top of the charts just before Christmas 1968, where
it stayed through most of January 1969. ♪ Now,
I don't hardly know her | But I think I could love her ♪
Reportedly, an
early song recorded on 16-track equipment, Crimson was hijacked by WLS/Chicago when Tommy played a rough
cut off-the-record (yep, that’s a pun!) and the station secretly recorded it,
releasing it as a “world exclusive.” Shame, shame.
All was
forgiven, however, as the WLS DJs
helped Crimson debut on the “Hit
Parade” chart at #22 on December 16, 1968. It didn’t stop ‘til reaching #1 on
January 13, 1969.
Featured Radio
Survey: WKNR/Detroit
fans loved “Crimson & Clover”
too. Their “Music Guide” floated it up to #1 for the January 2, 1969 chart,
keeping it there through the end of the month .… 50 Years Ago This Month.
That awesome day
when …
Celebrate JANUARY 1969 and … Rock On!
Share on Twitter: @BlastFromPastBk
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!
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪