Blast from Your Past

Monday, August 1, 2022

Rock Radio AUGUST 1972 No Messin’ with Jim

Hey! Don’t Be Tuggin’ on Superman’s Cape!

Or go messin’ around with Jim ... didn’t your parents teach you manners? Heehee. I doubt “Miss Manners” extended her etiquette to meeting superheroes ... they live by a different code of ethics (which is often, their downfall). But this month at BFYP, we’re warning you not to mess around with Jim ... Croce, that is! Let’s get Rockin’ 50 Years Ago this Month ...

♪ Then & Now Rockin’ News & Views
The "dog days of summer" make a great time to reflect ... on the year so far ... the last few years ... or a lifetime of years. With that in mind, I want to pay tribute to a Blast from Your Past DJ friend, who I only recently learned, passed away in 2019.

William F. Williams knew how to have fun and always looked forward, which is why he was truly a pioneering disc jockey. Locking into radio as it began its upward Rockin’ climb in the mid-1950s, he was a vibrant man who took the proverbial bull by the horns in every situation he faced. I'm proud to say I knew him, and you can read some of his tantalizing tales as he romps through all three of BFYP's historical DJ decades.

1972 was William’s final year behind the mic, as he followed his passions of acting and screenwriting. At KPPC/Los Angeles, that was the year he interviewed a cast that performed nude on stage, in “The Dirtiest Show in Town.” His avant-garde sense of humor (and the little devil on his shoulder) urged him to interview them live, in the studio—nude. He thought they’d play along and get naked with him. They were not amused. Just one of many, many outrageous stories William lived, behind the mic of his pioneering DJ circuit.
As a tribute to William, and proof that I am still working on BFYP Book 3: The Psychedelic Seventies, read William F. William’s draft preview from the third and final book of the series. And then ...

> AUGUST 1972 Rockin’ News Then …
Comin’ at ya in cool shades of summer, Dave “the Rave” Parks is your dynamic DJ at WFIL “56”/Philadelphia, August 7, 1972. Another pioneer in Rock & Roll Radio, Dave and the other DJs who were there in 1966 when WFIL flipped to Top 40, propelled the station to star status and kept it there. Exciting personalities are what fans gravitated to—Dave made sure he brought them in.
      It’s been seven years since Dave “the Rave” passed into DJ Heaven—08/24/2015—which makes this month’s Featured Radio Survey especially poignant. He’s still missed in radio circles, says our resident DJ extraordinaire, Bill Gardner. [Image: Bill sent their fun reunion photo--he's front row-center and Dave starts out the 2nd row, first fella on right.]
      “Dave Parks was one of the wonderful guys who I worked with at WFIL. He was there in ‘68 when I worked there, as well. The last time I saw Dave was at something called "the Philly legends radio reunion" in 1996, hosted by program director Scott Walker, and on-air at WOGL-FM/Philadelphia. Me, in August '72? Still in my year-and-a-half stretch at KING/Seattle.”
      What else caught radio listeners’ attention in AUGUST 1972? Onward ...

August 5^th: It was this day that venerable Brits of The Moody Blues thought, why write a new song when we can simply re-issue an old one and rest on our laurels? They did just that and fared even better the second time around with 1967’s “Nights in White Satin.” It hit #10 on WFIL’s September 11^th survey and finally scrambled to #1 by October 9^th. Proving once again, recycling is a good thing. Just what the truth is | I can’t say anymore ... ♪

August 21^st: The summer wasn’t so hot for Grace Slick, of Jefferson Airplane, who some reports claim, was maced by police when a band official called cops, pigs. As usual, nothing is as simple as a misleading headline. Since it happened at a concert in Akron, Ohio, I’d like to think the Akron Beacon Journal set the record straight, describing the chaotic “war-like” concert happenings between fans, band, and police.
“Slick later said she merely lost her balance and tried to steady herself on an officer. Patrolman Robert E. Gott didn’t see it that way. In his arrest report, he said Slick ‘grabbed his whistle chain and deliberately ripped it from his uniform.’ He said she scratched his arm while swinging wildly to claw his face. Slick’s boyfriend Paul Kantner, 31, tried to intervene and got maced. The two were charged with assaulting an officer.” Which is nothing new for band members then or now!

> AUGUST 2022 Rockin’ News Now …
Now for this year’s hot summer Rockin’ news. Read on for a hunka-hunka burnin’ love, for book lovers, vinyl record fans, and if you’re “of a certain age,” pat yourself on the back—you made it this far!

August 9^th: Bibliophiles unite—it’s Book Lovers Day! According to Wiki the official title is National Book Lovers Day, but let’s not nitpick the semantics. Although shameless self-promotion is not new for me—after all, Blast from Your Past books founded this site—I can’t exactly ignore today! If you’re reading this blog, you obviously love old music, old radio, and new takes on old history. Have you read any good books on them yet?

Blast from Your Past books about Rock & Roll Radio DJs of yesteryear, pay tribute to the often-raucous personalities who created a ruckus behind the microphone of some of your favorite pioneering Rock Radio stations. If you haven’t already read them, Book 1 The First Five Years (1954-1959) and Book 2 The Swinging Sixties are available on Amazon (Book 1 in eBook only, at the moment). Get them both and make a day of it!

August 9^th- 16^th: Are you making your annual pilgrimage to Graceland for Elvis Week? Whether in person, online, or only in your memories, enjoy the best of Elvis. Arizona Central newspaper republished a cool article that appeared in July’s USA Today (by esteemed music critic Jerry Shriver) that links practically all music genre with Elvis’s uncanny ability to sing each not just good, but masterfully. “... when assessing the more than 750 songs Elvis recorded, it's more useful to appreciate his mastery of multiple styles rather than quibble over whether "How Great Thou Art" was, well, greater than "Hound Dog." Enjoy ...

August 12^th: Let’s go spinning ‘round and ‘round and ‘round on Vinyl Record Day! Unbelievably, this day has no official sponsor, either. There are a couple Record Store Days on the calendars (April, June and July) with retail sponsor links (of course), but none just for vinyl records. Let’s face it—they are the granddaddies of music media, especially Rock & Roll!
How many vintage vinyl records do you own? Bet you can name your top five vinyl records off the top of your head, regardless of how long it’s been since you set them spinning on a turntable. Do it again and watch the black vinyl roll around, as you feign karaoke night in your living room!
Want to know where to buy more of the shiny black music disks (and in rare form, colors) in your neighborhood? Check out Vinyl Times’ website for a long list of nationwide stores and their vinyl record shows throughout the year. Ray K, the site’s owner knows his stuff, as a former Radio Jock and club DJ. It was second nature for him to begin collecting back in the day ... and now, he wants to make his wife happy. He’s selling his 30,000+ vinyl record collection ... have fun!

August 17^th: I’m OK with most of my readers who (like me) can enjoy musical memories of the 1950s,’60s and ‘70s. Besides Oldies Rock & Roll, we share today’s special Baby Boomer's Recognition Day! The link’s reference site is stuck in 2019 ... by the time August rolled around in 2020, the world had stopped ... and for some websites, it’s been slow to get kickstarted again. But we’re still here, kickin’ up our heels—if only from our chairs. 😊
Although a tad off-subject, many people ask, what’s the big deal about where to place an apostrophe? What a difference a day makes ... another Baby Boomers Recognition Day (sans apostrophe) is also listed on my fave calendar site as June 1^st. So take your pick and enjoy your day!

♪ On Your Tinny Transistor Radio
AUGUST 1972 ~ WFIL/Philly’s August 7, 1972 survey shared a cigarette-smoking Jim Croce picture next to his #7 song climbing the radio charts. Sadly, at the zenith of his career, Croce perished a year later in a plane crash. The day set Croce’s two-year-old son, A.J., on a heartbreaking path that today, has led him finally, to his father’s music. CBS News’ June 2022 article tells A.J.’s poignant story as we delve into his famous dad’s pinnacle of success ...

Monthly Song of Note ♪
Great tune for the middle of summer, as heat waves flare tempers across our great nation. At #7 on this month’s Featured Radio Survey, “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim” offers a couple of tough life lessons!
You don't tug on Superman's cape | You don't spit into the wind | You don't pull the mask off that ol' Lone Ranger | And you don't mess around with Jim. However, like many things in life, a situation may not be all it seems ... and according to the song’s lyrics, Jim soon found himself outwitted by “Slim.” In my interpretation, its lesson also reminds us, violence is never the answer ...
It wouldn't be Croce's only song about a tough guy who got his comeuppance ... we hear it again in Spring 1973's top tune, “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.” Although you might think they’re self-reflection, like many writers, he reportedly based the tune’s bad guys on life acquaintances.

Quirky Band Names
At #11 on WFIL’s survey, it isn’t surprising that an off-the-wall song title like “Motorcycle Mama” came from an oddball band named Sailcat. Little is known about them beyond a Wiki account of the essentially one-hit-wonder artists. The short-lived southern pop/rock group was apparently made up of some members who would later go on to greater prominence—just not together.
      The Crusaders on the other hand, simply changed their name from the Jazz Crusaders and added popular music to their repertoire, to find themselves at #20 with catchy instrumental, “Put It Where You Want It.” By the late 1970s, they had gone full circle, back to jazz funk.
      But the O’Jays have a story we love to share! Scraping the bottom of the survey at #30, their “Back Stabber(s)” came complete with choreographed dancing reminiscent of the late 1950s—great moves! The surveys list the song singular, but the official title is plural—yep there’s definitely more than one. It climbed up the chart to #4 by September 11^th. Best part? They paid tribute to Cleveland Radio Disc Jockey, Eddie O’Jay with their group name! (These days, they’d be sued for it!)

♪ BFYP Featured Radio Survey
AUGUST 7, 1972 ~ WFIL/Philadelphia, was already looking back at the “WFIL Solid Gold” Rock & Roll of a year earlier in a Top Five song list from August 1971. Tommy James’ “Draggin’ the Line” took #1 spot. Another week topping the Top Thirty: Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again” … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …

Let’s Celebrate AUGUST 1972 and … Rock On! ♪

BFYP Book 1 (1954-1959) on Amazon
BFYP Book 2 (Swinging ‘60s) on Amazon
Blast from Your Past Gifts
Share your Oldies R&R fun on Twitter: @BlastFromPastBk

LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and author by way of Rock & Roll. Two books (of three) are published 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. Occasionally, since I often feature real people and/or singular sources there may be an unsecured link. As with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion and risk. No compensation is received for any mentions of businesses, products, or other commercial interests. *All holiday and special event days are found at Brownielocks.com’s calendar site. Enjoy!

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Friday, July 1, 2022

Rock Radio JULY 1972 Lovin’ the Oldies

Love is in the Air & on the Charts!

Long before the Disco era’s song by John Paul Young ("Love is in the Air"), we were filling our Rock Radio music charts with Love. Along with love, guitar riffs heated up our radio speakers, as hot as the summer sun, 50 Years Ago This Month ... let’s Rock!

♪ Then & Now Rockin’ News & Views
JULY 1972 created “Oldies” ... oh, and so did Paul McCartney! Radio would never be the same, we proved, Rock & Roll will never dieeeeeee ...

> JULY 1972 Rockin’ News Then …
July 7^th: Wouldn’t ya know it. New York City, which loves to be biggest, best and first for everything, apparently became host to one of the nation’s first full-time radio stations to Rock an Oldies format, on this date 50 Years Ago. Iconic WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) began their “classic hits” with Dion’s “Runaround Sue” from 1961. Now owned by Audacy, Inc.—yay!—it’s still host to the Oldies with Scott Shannon in the Morning Show.

July 9^th: Like now, major changes were a way of life during the 1970s. Music charts were no longer dominated by The Beatles. The Fab Four were exploring their options. For “the cute one,” Paul established McCartney & Wings, and honed their tour skills at UK universities early in 1972. On this date in July 1972, away they went in a splashy double-decker bus, to begin their first extended tour, Wings Over Europe. Remarkable? Not necessarily. However, to give you a spatial timeline perspective ...
McCartney spent ten years as frontman for The Beatles, before Wings. Last month, June 18,2022, to be exact, Sir Paul McCartney celebrated his 80^th birthday by performing a taxing-at-any-age concert with Jersey mega-stars (also from yesteryear), Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. Sir Paul gives new meaning to the term, “Oldies” Rock! I think he’s outplayed the Energizer Bunny ...

> JULY 2022 Rockin’ News Now …
Well, Boomers, here’s a news headline we don’t see often ... um ever ... anymore ... “Manufacturers struggle to keep pace with vinyl record demand.“ It blared from the AP (Associated Press) newsline late last month. An interesting and welcome state of affairs that took 50 Years to re-manifest! Like everything else these days, the industry struggles from various shortages that present a frustrating manufacturing dilemma. Perhaps what is available will give a needed boost to pandemic-stressed small businesses for ...

Independent Retailer Month! Shopaholics unite! Gone are the past decades’ mega record stores like Tower Records and Sam Goody. There are, however, still many small business owners of vinyl record shops, offline and online, that sell vintage and more recently, new vinyl records. The once-ubiquitous shiny black, grooved disks, now come in a rainbow of colors, and sales have grown back into favor.
We can thank some visionary recording artists and producers who realize that for all our technology, nothing surpasses the quality sound of a well-made vinyl recording. IndieRetailerMonth.com encourages consumers to shop local and celebrate indie retailers of all products. Let’s start with Rock & Roll music!

July 4^th: Break out the fireworks, even if they’re only on your computer or phone. It’s Independence Day! Those of us born in the United States have this celebratory day ingrained in our DNA. But regardless of where or when you arrived in this grand country—by birth or by car, air or boat—chances are, freedom and independence are part of your lifestyle plan. Celebrate this all-inclusive United States holiday for the grand meaning it was meant to embrace—FREEDOM.
And if you think the “Star Spangled Banner” is old, stodgy, stale and stupid, you obviously never heard it wailing out of a guitar solo in slow-mo by Jimi Hendrix (Woodstock, 1969). Stay to the end and hear his proud response to late night show host, Dick Cavett, who assumed Jimi would receive hate mail for his rendition of the then-revered national anthem (like Diana Ross sang it, 1982).

July 8^th: Vroom, vroom ... rev your engines and crank up the radio ... race ya to the diner! It’s Collector Car Appreciation Day (CCAD)! I’ve often said that vintage cars and Oldies music go together like a kid with a lollipop. Car collectors and Oldies Rock & Roll came of age together in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, which is BFYP’s strategic timeline ... if you can’t get to a vintage car show, at least head over to the SEMA Action Network (SAN) to see what’s going on for classic car collectors. From their website: “The date marks the thirteenth consecutive commemoration in what is now an annual holiday to raise awareness of the vital role automotive restoration and collection plays in American society.”
For some of us, it’s fun to observe, for others, it’s a way of life. Either way, let’s not allow vintage car collecting to disappear into a soulless mist of bureaucratic prohibitions. Fun fact: do you know a contender (among many) for the very first Rock & Roll song (slash/R&B) is about a car? (Circa 1951) ... ♪ Let me introduce you to my Rocket ’88 ... ♪

July 30^th: At times I veer off the beaten path of Rock Radio and DJs. Though I still find a link, however thin it might be, I try never to miss an opportunity to remind you of why we’re here together ... Welcome to Paperback Book Day! There is no official link—so in the spirit of all that’s Rock & Roll, take a break from your day to visit our Blast from Your Past Amazon page of books featuring pioneering Rock & Roll Radio DJs (1954-1969). Have fun!

July 31^st: Besides being smack-dab in the middle of summer, this is National #LOVE Day! And how appropriate for those of us who love Oldies Rock & Roll Radio DJs. The day was created by radio DJ Rick McNeely. His fun site proclaims “#LOVE” as the most-used hashtag in social media. Long before hashtags were anything but a symbol for a number, we “numbered” our Love tunes on radio charts. Check out our Monthly Song of Note for the word’s prolific use in Oldies music titles ... but the question remains ... why this day and not, oh say, Valentine’s Day? I Love a good mystery.

♪ On Your Tinny Transistor Radio
JULY 1972 WING, 1430 on your radio dial in Dayton, Ohio, makes our Featured Radio Survey this month. Good thing they weren’t up for a Great Survey of the Year contest, they would have had the judges scratching their heads as to how to rate them.
      On one hand, WING gets flying colors for ‘70s art graphics. Their downfall, was trying to put it all on one 3” x 7” (folded) chart. Song titles and artist names are a little crowded, pushing and shoving each other on the paper. Some titles were chopped off, others simply ran into their artist names.
       “Little Woman Love”/“Flip” by McCartney & McCartney is downright laughable, running into all kinds of aesthetic trouble at #25. However, we gave it a little love in the Monthly Song of Note below.
      WING’s DJ Mike Duff is apparently another DJ lost in the winds of time ... or at least not an Internet celeb, and if he used his real name. Extensive research turned up nothing about the smiling jock on the phone, gracing the survey cover.
      So scouring the ‘Net for July 1972, I found afternoon DJ dude, Chuck Brady in the driver’s seat of WKLO/Louisville’s Boogie Line choo-choo (07/19/72 survey). Meanwhile, Tom George in upstate Rochester, New York, at WBBF, tamed the late-night crowd with top tunes on the stack (07/12/72), urging fans to jump in the pool for a summer splash.

Monthly Song of Note ♪
Speaking of National LOVE Day, long before social media was a “thing,” we find the word in two of WING’s top ten tune titles #50YearsAgo this Month! Flack & Hathaway (Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway) ask “Where is the Love” at the #7 spot, while the Carpenters found it and let it go in “Goodbye to Love” at #9. But for your Song of Note, I chose “Little Woman Love”/”Flip” McCartney & McCartney. Far and away the most interesting of the three.
This simple song was obviously a tribute to Linda. When the Beatles split, Paul began including her on many of his song credits, thus the lengthy “McCartney & McCartney” artist listing. However, it took me a few days of pondering to figure out WING’s listing of “Flip” printed with the Love song title. Hovering at #25 this week, WING’s survey didn’t have room for the dual-released “flip side,” even though it was considered Side A: “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Yep, the McCartneys’ new take on an age-old kids’ ditty wasn’t as beloved in the US. Both songs were pretty much history by the end of the month. ... ♪ You know I’ll always love | My little woman love ... ♪

Quirky Band Names

Let’s begin this fun section with Mouth & MacNeal! Say, whaaaat? The instant visual conjures a floating set of lips ... but according to Wiki, popular 1970s Radio DJ, Jim Connors, apparently found more to the Dutch duo than a mouth and, um, a weirdly fun dummy, along with a willowy blonde (Maggie MacNeal). He’s credited with sending “How Do You Do” up the charts, likely while spinning the tunes at Boston’s WMEX. This month it hit #2 on our Featured Radio Survey. Word is, “Big Mouth” was the solo stage name for Willem Duyn. Now you know which one is Mouth—and it isn’t the dummy!
We can’t really count Godspell as a musical band or artist—more of a stage full of cast members who graced us with “Day By Day” to scamper up the WING chart to #2 the previous week, and starting back down to #6 by end of July. The popular folk Rock ballad spun out of the 1971 off-Broadway musical of the same name. Lead singer, Robin Lamont, was uncredited. That’s practically sacrilegious ...
Which brings us to those who seek, and ye shall find ... the New Seekers! Their original claim to fame came the previous year with “Never Ending Song of Love” and shortly after, an ad jingle-turned-popular-pop-song, “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony).” Trading on that blockbuster, their “Circles” started up the charts this month from the same titled album that would release in September. Why are they the New Seekers? Because Keith Potger created them from his former band, the Seekers. And now you know.

♪ BFYP Featured Radio Survey
JULY 30, 1972 ~ WING/Dayton, Ohio, “14/WING Thirty Heavy Hits” list may have been a bit crowded, but their cool scrolling artwork makes up for lack of space. DJ Mike Duff is busy talking to fans on the cover, while inside, a brooding Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) gives us a piercing stare of the Hitbound and Albums lists … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …

Let’s Celebrate JULY 1972 and … Rock On! ♪