Blast from Your Past

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Rock Radio MARCH 1970 Breaking Up Hard to Do

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 6^th: 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 11^th: 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 27^th: 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.

Featured Radio Survey ~ MARCH 1970

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!

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. 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!

Note: FYI – All links in the BFYP site are personally visited, verified, and vetted. Most are linked to commonly accessed sites of reputable note. However, as with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Rock Radio FEBRUARY 1970 Rockin’ Heavy

He Ain’t Heavy … He’s my Metalhead

50 Years Ago this Month ~ FEBRUARY 1970

Let’s start by putting 1970 in perspective … a new house cost $10,000 less (about $24,000) than today’s new car … and gas for your car averaged less per gallon than today’s candy bar, on sale. Sigh … now these are stats that truly make us pine for the “good ol’ days”!

Fashion-wise, we were striped, flared, leathered and booted up, swinging our suede fringe and contrarily by night, glowing with evening brocade.

Music-wise, Rock & Roll continued to evolve, adding more of that new weighty sound to the mix … gloom and doom with an eerily heavy hand.

You could still find plenty of Psychedelic Pop Rock and sinuous soul on the radio charts, like “Psychedelic Shack” (Temptations) and “The Thrill is Gone” (B.B. King)--#4 & #6, respectively at KFRC 610/San Francisco. But we crashed into our metal years on …

Friday the 13^th: Not your ordinary spooky day, it was no accident that an album in the UK, arguably deemed Rock’s initial foray to the dark side, would debut. Great marketing ploy … Want to wallow in doom and despair? Play the opener, “Black Sabbath,” on the self-titled band’s song/album and submerge yourself. Quickly gaining English popularity, it landed in the US in June.

Already considered the devil’s work by super-conservative parents, Rock’s rebel side with Black Sabbath gave February 1970 an edgy, leather-and-metal sound.

By 1971, Geezer Butler (one of Sabbath’s four founding members, including the iconic Ozzy Osbourne) explained their name choice and song title to Rolling Stone magazine, “It’s a satanic world. The devil’s more in control now. People can’t come together, there’s no equality.” Makes great music fodder, and yet … what have we learned in 50 years?

February 27^th: On a lighter and incongruous note, our parents still worked at curbing our youthful radical ways, to obvious failure … Jefferson Airplane found themselves fined $1,000 for buoyantly spouting profanity on stage at an Oklahoma City concert. Oh, the horrors of it …

While they are credited with the distinction of the only group to grace the stages of the 1960s’ three most iconic Rock festivals—Monterey Pop, Woodstock, and Altamont—1970 would signal the beginning of the end for San Francisco’s beloved band.

On Your Tinny Transistor Radio ~ FEBRUARY 1970

Why is it that many music groups write and/or record some of their best work as they’re breaking up? Is it “swan song” syndrome? Just released in January, Simon and Garfunkel’s final studio album and title song, “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” topped the charts in February. ♪ Like a bridge over troubled water | I will ease your mind ...♪

Though Paul Simon wrote the song, he suggested Art Garfunkel’s pure solo vocals best showcased Bridge’s myriad of musical genres for the ultimate soulful sound. His hunch worked. Were you listening to DJ Chuck Browning as he spun Bridge to the top of KFRC/San Francisco’s February 11^th radio chart?

Of course, it’s Valentines month, and there were plenty of love songs topping the charts in 1970. Another DJ Chuck (Leonard) played them for WABC/New York’s lovesick fans who favored ballads and lost loves early in the month. Shocking Blue gave us “Venus” at #2—She’s got it—while Tom Jones crooned his broken hearted blues “Without Love” (#6) I had nothing, nothing at all.

Featured Radio Survey: Ending the month of love, we danced our way down the musical rabbit hole with Three Dog Night’s “Celebrate” moving quickly up the final February chart. Check out WLS/Chicago’s “Hit Parade” survey for February 23, 1970, with DJs Chuck Buell and Kris Stevens to greet you … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when …

Celebrate FEBRUARY 1970 and … Rock On!