Sunday, May 3, 2020

Rock Radio MAY 1970 Righteous & Outasight!


Expressive Creativity Comes with Personal Freedom 

The 1970s erupted in decadence, personal freedoms, and expressive creativity. Oh wait … let me rephrase that … it reminded us of all those expressions. We’ve enjoyed them in various degrees of inanity and insanity, every decade since the inception of our country.

Truth be told, much of those movements resurfaced in the late 1960s, but we embraced and honed their definitions in the ‘70s. Enjoying a modern-day Renaissance of sorts, art permeated every aspect of life, from ornate and “mod” fabrics, to elaborate scrollwork jewelry, even adorning the music charts of our Rock and Roll radio stations …

50 Years Ago this Month ~ MAY 1970 
Let’s face it, the major market stations and neophyte wannabes played the same songs, over, and over, and over … but in all fairness, we did request them. Our voices gave structure to the order of songs’ appearance in any given week and various geographical radio markets, reflected in Radio music charts.
The point being, we could drive across the country and still hear the same songs. So why choose one station over another in our local areas?
From coast-to-coast In May 1970, stations took 1960s’ pop art, added a little elaborate Art Nouveau, and leaned heavy into the psychedelia, to adorn their surveys and grab our attention. Many were quite unique in creative designs, if not in their top 40 tunes.
Traditional scrollwork blended with swirls and curlicues that flowed into celestial details, punctuated with “Outasight” and “Righteous” exclamations. And often, they inserted “let’s-see-if-they’re-really-reading-this” text into the art, with amusing or outlandish statements like, “Under 1 billion listeners.”
The stations’ artistic music charts reflected life around us in carnival mirror images. We were treated to ornate artistry reminiscent of the past like—KOL/ Seattle, Washington, May 29, 1970—while others capitalized on the ‘70s popularity of futuristic space travel, astronomy and astrology like—KADI/St. Louis, Missouri, May 6, 1970.
Establishing an identity with art was not a priority for others, though. Take the plain-Jane chart for KSLY/San Luis Obispo, California’s “Famous Fourteen” list, May 1, 1970. It got the job done, listing the top 30 tunes, without all the hoopla.

On Your Tinny Transistor Radio ~ MAY 1970 (radio/music & DJs)       
With the songs all the same, it took outstanding musicality to grab our attention with a tune. Calling all memories! What songs stood out for us in this spring month, oh so long ago? While your reminiscences bubble to the surface, let me ask if you recall …
Everything is Beautiful” by Ray Stevens … apparently we thought so (and still do). This upbeat, truly righteous tune hit several stations’ top 20 about the same time, as it climbed into the top 10 for a nice run. It marked Stevens as a serious songwriter, after a run of novelty songs. Did you hear him a year earlier in the top 10, without a serious bone in his body, belting out, Gitarzan he’s a gitar man in a thin disguise defining the music industry’s “jungle”?
Two of this month’s showcased surveys carried “Cecilia” in the top 10. Seattle’s KOL only got it up to #29 by the end of the month. Simon & Garfunkel outdid themselves again, with another hit song from their much-touted Bridge Over Troubled Water album. Rumor has it, the title pays tribute to the Catholic patron saint of music … but Simon reportedly wrote the lyrics with a deceitful paramour in mind … two very conflicting concepts. Celia, you’re breaking my heart
Ya know what can make one vintage music survey more collectable than another? Misprints & misspellings. For instance, two of the three survey charts for the above radio stations gave “Cecilia” the common name spelling of “Cecelia.” Only KOL spelled it properly for the patron saint.

Featured Radio Survey: KADI/St. Louis, Missouri, wins the coveted Featured Radio Survey spot for this month. It’s colorful, fun, and truly “Déjà Vu” (C.S.N.&Y., aka, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), as the song tops the chart.  50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …We have all been here before

Celebrate MAY 1970 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 1Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2Rock & 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. 

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Rock Radio APRIL 1970 Baby Wrote a Letter


Earth Day Cometh & The Beatles Go-eth 

While President Richard Nixon put his John Hancock on a bill to limit cigarette advertisements (took effect the following January), Wisconsin senator, Gaylord Nelson founded our first Earth Day. Americans eagerly celebrated on April 22nd and it’s grown into a movement, not just a day.

Rock and Roll related April celebrations once included an “International ‘Louie Louie’ Day.” Apparently, that fell by the wayside, but WE still remember it, don’t we? Blast from Your Past DJ Ken Chase (aka Mike Korgan) produced The Kingsmen’s version in April 1963 and it still endures as the ultimate party song! ♪ Louie Louie, oh baby | We gotta go …! ♪

Let’s get our dancin’ shoes on and head into a feel-good COVID-19 note about International Guitar Month! April recognizes the many outstanding guitarists and classic strummin’ tunes over the decades. Of course that features incredible Rock and Roll songs.
WMGK/Philadelphia’s Andre Gardner may be broadcasting from home (as are most radio pros these days), but he’s still “cranking up the volume” on this month’s greatest top guitar hits for Philly’s listeners. Watch for Blast from Your Past 1970’s Book 3 (hopefully later this year) with tales of Andre’s broadcasting debut!  

And here, we'll pause as the music abruptly stops for this Public Service Announcement:
This month’s article WAS longer, but I guess being in lockdown means a police state in more ways than one. "The powers that be" don't care that I'm doing a service for those who love Old Time Rock & Roll--they arbitrarily removed three images I'd used to help us reminisce on history. No one notified me to ask nicely if I would remove them. I always use everything on my sites in a respectful, positive and hopefully enjoyable manner. Considering the amount of trash on Social Media sites that "meme" everything/everyone ... to hijack my website and remove images/blank them out without even allowing me to know who is behind the action and why, is reprehensible and cowardly. I have decided to remove text in this article that pertained to those images in question. There may have been a "glitch" on Blogger; if I find that's the case, I'll try to rectify it--but it's rather unlikely.

 That said ... let’s see what's left of music on the radio played to make the world go ‘round …

50 Years Ago this Month ~ APRIL 1970
Which ... leaves us with nothing much happening in this month "back in the day," that I'm apparently allowed to comment on; so sorry. I'll look around again and see what I can find. This issue may also cloud my future articles ... so sad someone has to ruin the fun for others.

On Your Tinny Transistor Radio 
This month’s Featured Radio Survey from KFRC/San Francisco not only showcased a playful McCartney on the front cover, but a shaggy-haired Joe Cocker on the back, advertising his upcoming concert at the Filmore West.
Joe recorded “The Letter” on St. Patrick’s Day the previous month and it already claimed #12 with San Fran fans, topping out at #3 by May 20th. Give me a ticket for an airoplane | I ain’t got time to take no fast trainMy baby she wrote me a letter
However, Joe was nowhere to be seen on WTRY/New York’s April 17 Big Sound Survey. On the other hand, were you listening to morning guy Jay Clark when you called to request “Let It Be”? It still held the top spot.

Featured Radio Survey: KFRC/San Francisco’s Big 30, April 22, 197050 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played … 

Celebrate APRIL 1970 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 1Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2Rock & 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. 

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪