It’s a ♪ Wild World ♪ … and a-Changin’ World!
Rearranging Blast’s sections allows for reasons to celebrate, which may have originated in Rock & Roll’s past or resonates with music, retro radio, and news of note today. First, News & Views to think about as we boogie into 50 Years Ago this Month. Enjoy!
Blast from Your Past ~ News & Views
We’ll revisit this subject no doubt, in December, the month Don McLean’s revered song, “American Pie” (with the famed line above) hit the charts and reminded us what we were missing. Rock & Roll music lovers, please bow your heads in a moment of silence.
February 11th: Then honor them again on Get Out Your Guitar Day with a rousing rendition of “Chantilly Lace”! (The Big Bopper; 1958) OR … “Come On Let’s Go” (Ritchie Valens; 1958); and “That’ll Be the Day” (Buddy Holly, 1957). There were no links associated with this day or The Day the Music Died, so enjoy a sing-a-long and have fun on these!
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| Just a few from the BFYP vintage radio collection |
Radio stations and pioneering Rock & Roll Radio folks, fans and listeners—bop into your memory banks and tell us about your fondest radio listening experiences. What radio message, event, or broadcaster left their mark on you? Tell us! @BlastFromPastBk or email your comment for posting to site!
Tell your friends! #WorldRadioDay #NewWorldNewRadio
February 27th: Grab your fringe jacket, bell bottom jeans, funky vintage transistor radio, and turn on the lava lamp—it’s National Retro Day! Although I’m not sure what their link is about, I’ve included their “official” special day here, because I just love the idea of going retro—any day! Rock On!
50 Years
Ago this Month
on Your
Tinny Transistor Radio
FEBRUARY 1971 ~ 
a stellar month for pop music. KHJ/Los
Angeles’s Top 30 for
February 17th included such memorable greats as
Judy Collins’s soulful recording of “Amazing Grace” at #24; “Mr. Bojangles,” a
sentimental cover tune by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band sliding down at #17; Ike
& Tina Turner belting out #12, “Proud Mary”; Janis
Joplin grousing about “Me
and Bobby McGee” at #11; and Francis Lai’s "Theme from Love Story" moving swiftly upward at #4--did anyone who saw the movie ever listen to the instrumental hit without sobbing?!
And we have 50 Years of changing tunes ‘round your tinny transistor radio dial … last month we spoke of KADI/St. Louis’s numerous format flips and call letter changes over its radio tenure. But ABC Radio takes the award for multiple station changes in one day across the country.
Apparently the prolific radio parent company wanted to spread the love on February 14th: All of ABC Radio's FM stations change call letters on the day of love …
>KABC-FM in Los Angeles becomes KLOS, for Los Angeles.
>KGO-FM in San Francisco becomes KSFX, for San Francisco (now KOSF).
>KQV-FM in Pittsburgh becomes WDVE, for a D o V E, the symbol of peace.
>WABC-FM in New York becomes WPLJ, for White Port & Lemon Juice.
>WXYZ-FM in Detroit becomes WRIF, for a guitar "R I F F" – legend goes that the calls were meant for WLS-FM to symbolize the city's jazz scene). But …
>WLS-FM in Chicago becomes WDAI, supposedly meant for WXYZ-FM to celebrate the Detroit Auto Industry; it had no meaning in Chicago.
Rounding out February radio fun, February 20, 1971 nearly saw a second “War of the Worlds” sans the war or the worlds … simply an erroneous warning from the U.S. Emergency Broadcast System. Although most radio stations ignored it (hopefully they investigated it), WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana, took it seriously with a 20-minute programming interruption. Oops! And on to our regular programming of the month’s fun survey!
BFYP Featured Radio SurveyFEBRUARY 1971 KHJ/Los Angeles featured a hit song’s star hitmaker in their February 17, 1971 “Boss 30” music survey. Hint: she’s mentioned above. And what hit #1 (again) for the trendsetting station? Take a peek … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …
Celebrate FEBRUARY 1971 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 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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