Blast from Your Past

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Rock Radio SEPTEMBER 1970 One-Hit Wonders

BFYP ROCKIN' NEWS: Read an eBook Day (Sept. 18th) SPECIALS!

All good things must come to an end. The book specials have ended, but the books are ready at great prices for your Holiday gift-buying!

BFYP’s Book 2: Rock Radio DJs of The Swinging Sixties PRINT edition is available now at a new LOWER price at least through December 31, 2020. Plus, watch for the eBook sale coming in October!

And Book 1: The First Five Years (1954-1959) with its pioneering Rock Radio DJ true tales is still at its lowest eBook price ... could there be another "free day" coming before Christmas? I love surprises, don't you?

Now, back to your regularly scheduled 50 Years Ago this Month!

Surf the Wave of One-Hit Wonders

But first, current news: Many long-time/native San Diegans will fondly recall popular 1960s, ‘70s, and mid-‘80s Rockin’ radio station, KPRI. Known in its heyday as a free-form station, its call letters basically di

sappeared when it flipped to KLZZ in 1984.

You might like to know … it’s baaaack! The same, but different. The infamous call letters found a new home in 2018, owned by the Pala Band of Mission Indians, with the initials standing for "Kupa Pala Rez Indians." On-air, it’s known as "Rez Radio 91.3."

Sure, they play some Native American music, but a mainstay of their eclectic format is variety, and Wolfman Jack’s syndicated shows. This month, they’re adding popular local DJ Jim McInnes, whose acclaimed “Vinyl Resting Place” show follows Wolfman on Saturday nights. Cool!

Even cooler, Jim is coming full circle … he originally signed on the innovative KPRI 106.5, playing album cuts, in 1973.

From the REZ website, Jim’s show is, “Classic rock deep tracks from San Diego radio icon Jim McInnes' personal music library every Saturday evening from 8 to 10p.” Enjoy!

And now, back to 1970! A familiar howl ruled the California airwaves and floated well beyond, as we start the Fall windup of the turbulent first year in the 2020s. Oops … I mean … 1970s! Tongue-in-cheek Freudian slip, as we mimic events (protests, rioting, social unrest; minus the pandemic) of …

50 Years Ago this Month ~ SEPTEMBER 1970

Getting into the songs of the day, I had to laugh when I realized this month’s Featured Radio Survey for K-POI/Hawaii, includes a crashing wave of THREE one-hit wonders. So what? Besides, somewhat of an anomaly, September 25^th is National One-Hit Wonder Day.* In order by chart number:

Yes, the tune still headlining this chart is a summer hold-over, “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry, their only big hit. We all sang it, we all loved it, but they just couldn’t follow through. You’ll also recall the soft and soulful love song at #17 (down from previous week’s #11) by Alive and Kicking, “Tighter, Tighter.”

The most unforgettable one-hit-no wonder-why on the survey is “Neanderthal Man” (Hotlegs) debuting on the bottom of the chart at #20. It never made it past #15 and dropped off by month’s end.

*There is no link associated with National One-Hit Wonder Day, so click on BFYP Featured Radio Survey for more one-hit fun! ♪ Hold on, just a little bit tighter now, baby … ♪

On Your Tinny Transistor Radio ~ SEPTEMBER 1970

Perhaps gearing up for October, Wolfman Jack’s fave screaming month, his publicist got him on the cover of K-POI/Hawaii’s “Action 20 Records” 50 Years Ago this Month.

1380 on your island radio dial, “The Hawaiian Word for Radio” didn’t just play Don Ho for its music lovers. They played lots of Rock ‘n’ Roll with Creedence, Diana Ross, and Three Dog Night. And Wolfman Jack stoking your luaus on Sunday nights.

“In the Summertime” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” grabbed the attention of most Hawaiian and Midwest listeners. Across the Pacific, and most of the way across the country, WLS/Chicago’s “Hit Parade” shared only those two tunes out of the top ten with K-POI. Celebrated bi-coastal DJ, Scotty Brink, slapped ‘em on the turntable to the delight of Chicago’s fans. ♪ Ain’t no river wide enough | To keep me from you … ♪

The biggest difference, however, is WLS proofread their chart before printing … which makes K-POI’s survey more valuable 50 Years later, with their misspelling of “Spetember,” and double-R on Edwin Starr’s name (#11’s “War”).

BFYP Featured Radio Survey ~ SEPTEMBER 1970

I may have overdone K-POI/Hawaii’s Action 20 Records feature for September 8, 1970 and throughout the BFYP blog, but it was just such a fun survey. To top it all off, Wolfman Jack’s Joe-Cool image practically leaps off the front. What more could we want? It’s an expanded feature this month, so Rock On! … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …

Celebrate SEPTEMBER 1970 and … Rock On!

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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, there may be an unsecured link. As with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion and risk. *All holiday and special event days are found at Brownielocks.com’s calendar site. Enjoy!

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Sunday, August 2, 2020

Rock Radio AUGUST 1970 Sweat, Snow & War

BFYP BULLETIN 08/09/20: Sadly, just days after I posted August's BFYP blog, Pat O'Day, the DJ spotlighted with our Featured Radio Survey, passed to DJ Heaven (at 85 years old, Tuesday, 08/4/20). Pat's, popularity as a pioneering West Coast DJ was legendary. This feature has now turned into a tribute ... RIP, Pat.
And now, flip on the mic, let's Rock On back to Pat's era,1970 ...

Summer Sweat, Snow, and War

Except during a World War, more than ever in our lifetime we’re dealing with extreme highs and lows, and too many personal tragedies. With slightly less calamity, we look back on the 1970s.

No matter our capacity for empathy, we cannot take on the mourning of every loss; so often, we express our profound grief for celebrities, as an alternative. The 1970s would prove to be a tough decade of deaths for young artists. But August 1970, the summer heat covered us in sweat, no tears …

50 Years Ago this Month ~ AUGUST 1970

August 8^th: The Capitol Theatre (Port Chester, New York) hosted Janis Joplin where she introduced

the first incarnation of “Mercedes Benz.” Talk about spontaneity … reportedly, Janis was stirred by the first line of a song by poet, Michael McClure, "Come on, God, and buy me a Mercedes Benz."

She and music buddy Bob Neuwirth found their mutual muses in a local area bar where they penned the anti-establishment song and introduced it in the second show.

Sadly, barely two months later, we Rock & Roll fans still suffered from the death of Jimi Hendrix (September 18), when we met with another painful loss in Janis’ death on October 7^th.

Janis recorded the a cappella “Mercedes Benz” in one take, October 1, 1970, but never saw it released on the B-side of her May 1971 posthumous hit, “Cry Baby.” She died three days after the recording session. (I never thought “Mercedes Benz” received the respect it’s due. Definitely better than a B-side release.)

On Your Tinny Transistor Radio ~ AUGUST 1970

Pop music station, KFRC/San Francisco, blasted the summer with fan-favored hits in its 08/17/70 chart listing. Two weather extremes, with hits like Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime,” and Anne Murray’s “Snowbird” grabbed our attention in the top ten. ♪ The snowbird sings the song he always sings ♪ but … ♪ It’ll soon be summertime | And we’ll sing again …

Then, as now, the summer airwaves reverberated with riots and protests. In a 5-week top-of-the-heap run reflecting the global mood, “War” by Edwin Starr clung to #1. Grasping its heels at #2, Dawn’s love song, “Candida,” headed up by lead vocalist, Tony Orlando, challenged the musical ravages of “War” … did it kick the protest song off the chart the following week?

Nope. “Candida” slipped to #4 in the third week of August, taking the place of “Lookin’ Out My Back Door” (Creedence Clearwater [Revival]) that skipped up to #1 and finally knocked “War” one rung down, to #2.

A notoriously misunderstood song jumped 7 rungs up that chart’s ladder in one week, to land at #18. Apparently, the meaning of “25 or 6 to 4” made popular by Chicago, took on a life of its own, beyond composer Robert Lamm’s original thought. Just time, people, just time … not referring to illegal happy drugs or code for a renowned person. Simply, the time he began writing the song … it was, oh, 25 or 26 minutes to 4:00 a.m.! Gotta love it.

And what dynamic DJ graced the broadcast air at KFRC summer of 1970? Avid listeners may remember the affable Frank Terry (1939-2007), on your 610 radio dial from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Frank had the scoop on the sweltering hot tunes!

We’re not all about the left-coast here. What was the other side of the country doing for musical fun? Check it out …

BFYP Featured Radio Survey ~ AUGUST 1970

At the tail end of the summer, WLOF/Orlando, Florida, featured popular DJ Pat O’Day in a handsome caricature on the cover of its “Fun 40 Hits” survey (08/28-09/04/70). Did “War” headline its chart, too? Take a peek … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …

Celebrate AUGUST 1970 and … Rock On!