Blast from Your Past

Thursday, September 30, 2021

Rock Radio ROCK-TOBER 1971 Little Country Rock & Roll

Little Bit Country, Little Bit Rock for ROCK-TOBER!

This month we sway a little bit country and swing a little bit Rock & Roll with a howl from Wolfman Jack for ROCK-tober! Aooowwww …

As John and Yoko do some wishful thinking in the studio, Pink Floyd gathered parts and pieces of their experimental recordings for a (sort of) cohesive final release. It’s a hint of what’s to come a couple years later in their epic Dark Side of the Moon … 50 Years Ago this Month …

♪ Rockin’ News & Views ~ Then OCTOBER 1971 …

October 5^th: Yet another band made history at the venerable Hollywood Whisky a Go Go, when Black Sabbath began their set in all-white tuxedos. Although they didn’t get much credit from R&R’s critics of the 1970s, they were still taking the stage in enigmatic fashion with their self-titled album, released in February the previous year. Who needs critics when the fans love their great black-and-white contrast statement. Along with the self-titled name, the album gave us more spooky songs like “The Wizard” and “Evil Woman” (a Crow cover song). ♪ I see the look of evil in your eyes … ♪

Album photo by Iain Macmillan

October 28th: And so Happy Xmas (war is over) ♪ ... not quite. It was nose-to-the-studio-grindstone for John Lennon and Yoko Ono to record a now-iconic wistful, Holiday tune. Released in December, "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" featured the Harlem Community Choir. Many big name artists have since recorded their own versions. “Happy Xmas” served a two-fold purpose, as a Christmas song and a Vietnam War protest tune. It won on both counts. ♪ A very Merry Xmas | And a happy New Year | Let’s hope it’s a good one | Without any fear … ♪

October 31^st: Having finally finished a “new” studio album in August, Pink Floyd released Meddle on this date in 1971. Its prominent song, “Echoes” is a hearty 23-1/2 minutes long and takes you tripping into another dimension, without any illegal inducements. ♪ The echo of a distant tide | Comes willowing across the sand … ♪

>Now OCTOBER 2021 …

Though we’re all about Rock & Roll here, the genre didn’t come of age all by itself. Last month, it had help from Classical Music. This month, we celebrate Rock’s roots for Country Music Month. Yeehaw!

That of course, makes our Monthly Song of Note, especially notable … its bouncy banjo on “Sweet City Woman” came in at #18 on our Featured Radio Survey (below). Considered The Stampeders’ signature song and labeled Country/Rock, it had dropped a rung on the music ladder. But it served the Canadian bred band (regarded a “Rock” band) well, as it climbed all the way up to #8 before sliding back down the chart. ♪ I can almost touch you | Sweet, sweet city woman … ♪

Country music … well, all music, really … is known for venting feelings about love, war, politics, or your old truck. That’s because we enjoy our First Amendment rights and this month, we celebrate Freedom of Speech Week (October 18-24^th). And like Rock, it’s intricately entwined with the twang of Country Music. ♪ Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again … ♪ (“Peace Train” by Cat Stevens, #26 on the Featured Radio Survey.)

Annnnnd … it’s Halloween month! This is one holiday of the year that has something for everyone—spooks and goblins for fun, scary costume parties or grand galas leading into the Christmas Holidays, and a myriad of traditional religious and other sacred rites. What’s not to love?
While you’re in the party mood, join BFYP’s ROCK-tober nod to our favorite consummate DJ and most lovable spooky character, Wolfman Jack! Aooooowwww!

♪ 50 Years Ago on Your Tinny Transistor Radio
OCTOBER 1971 ~ With sometimes sketchy documentation, it’s often difficult to track a DJ’s historically nomad life as they crisscross the country for jobs. That’s where radio music surveys and charts can pick up the trail.
       We know this week’s pictured survey establishes DJ Joe Conrad at KFRC 50 Years Ago. Working days, he trucked down the record road in the plush 9 to noon gig. The BFYP Collection also finds him risen in rank from the year before, in long-haired hippy style for the yawn-worthy midnight hour (11/16/70). So, we know Joe was there at least a year …
       It was a truckin’ month for KFRC. The following week (10/11/71), DJ Jim Carson sat behind the wheel driving you to work from 6 to 9.

♪ BFYP Featured Radio Survey

OCTOBER 4, 1971 ~ KFRC/San Francisco. Not only does DJ Joe Conrad mean business on the cover, when he tells listeners to “keep on truckin’,” but there’s a treasured pic of a pre-teen John Lennon inside, pulling the ears of a pig! Making it more humorous, Rod Stewart’s album title is a fitting comment at #1 in the top five: Every Picture Tells a Story … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …

Let’s Celebrate OCTOBER 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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Friday, September 3, 2021

Rock Radio SEPTEMBER 1971 Classical Rock & Roll

BFYP BULLETIN 09/24/21: It may be Classical Music Month, but it’s Rock & Roll that’s still making headlines, with our dynamic Rockin’ DJs! Coming up in BFYP Book 3 The Psychedelic Seventies (sigh, eventually) is the story of DJ Andre Gardner's 1970s start in radio. Now a mainstay of Philadelphia’s WMGK, he’s about to celebrate his 1,000^th episode of Breakfast with the Beatles! THIS Sunday’s (09/26) expanded edition (7-11A ET) with their “Baron of the Beatles” adds not only live call-ins from his fun fans, but one too, from a true Beatles “Starr”—Ringo! Tune in for an epic show ... BIG CONGRATS to Andre, and thanks to his big bro, Bill, who got him into radio (and tipped us off to the big news)!

And now, let’s flip on the studio mic, and Rock On back to SEPTEMBER 1971 …

Colour My World, Ms. Maggie

Are you a vintage Radio chart/survey collector? It’s fun to compare surveys for the same time period from different stations/states, isn’t it?

September 1971, listeners of both WJET/Eerie, Pennsylvania, and KING/Seattle, Washington, voted Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” into the top five. Oh Maggie I couldn’t have tried any more … ♪

WJET, however, decided the song needed a little notoriety and listed the title with the spelling of an old 1800s Liverpool sailors’ folk song, “Maggie Mae.” Not to be confused with The Beatles’ 1970 reworked and truncated “Maggie Mae” … confused yet? Me too!

It’s anomalies with back stories like this, that make a collectible survey worth just a little more … 50 Years Ago this Month …

♪ Rockin’ News & Views ~ Then & Now

>Then: September 1971 …
The Jackson 5’s “Maybe Tomorrow” dropped from #6 to #18 on WJET/Eerie, Pennsylvania’s “Top 50 Survey” the first week of September. It preceded by a week, their new, short-lived cartoon series debut …

September 11^th: The Jackson 5ive joined ABC’s Saturday morning cartoon line-up without much assistance from the band. The purely fictional antics of The Jackson 5ive made a debut splash for kiddies but left the air about a year later, as Michael stepped out into the solo world.
A 1976-‘77 live musical variety show, The Jacksons, gave fans a more personal peek into most of the Jackson kids’ personalities … though that too, didn’t last long, as Michael began to stray from family to devote more time to his solo projects.

>Now: September 2021 …
So much of Rock & Roll pulls from earlier music genres, blending, swirling, incorporating sounds and rhythms and that of course, includes Classical music. So this month, let’s celebrate Classical Music Month and its influence on Rock & Roll!
Like Classical compositions, many melodious genres are infused with piano and flute solos, as is “Colour My World,” our Monthly Song of Note, #3 on this month's Featured Radio Survey. It begins with an unforgettable pattern tickling the ivories, followed by the one and only lyrical verse, before it breaks into the soulful sounds of the flute. No wonder it’s still a slow and dreamy wedding favorite. And dreams of our moments together … ♪

♪ 50 Years Ago on Your Tinny Transistor Radio
Yes, this month there are more unique band names topping the vintage charts. Let's do a quick comparison between KING/Seattle and WJET/Eerie PA:
KING:    The Sweet "Co-Co" #38 / Lighthouse "One Fine Morning" #36
       Tin Tin "Is That The Way" #32 / Nightlighters* "K-Gee"* #25

WJET: Runt "A Long Time" #21 / Messengers "That's the Way a Woman Is" #37
Dusk "Here Those Church Bells" #38 / Nite-Liters* "K-Jee"* #43

Although many stations left off "The" in a band's name, or misspelled artists/songs, KING got it all wrong this month! Truth be told: "The Nite-Liters" gave us the spunky instrumental, "K-Jee."

> DJ Tidbits from behind the mic …
WJET’s “Good Guys” are featured in fun caricatures on their survey cover. Who was your favorite?

Cute clown, Jim Connors; high flying Frank Martin; punster, Ronnie Gee; double-jointed, Jack O’Brien; or fringe-worthy Randy Michaels?
      No DJs are pictured or even listed, on KING/Seattle's survey, but through research, I learned DJ Bob Shannon (born Robert Lee Adams) was in residence about this time.
      KJR/Seattle gets all the glory in Wiki, supposedly with a straight shot from his KXOK St. Louis, gig. However, I have it on firm Radio research authority that he spent up to a year at KING after KXOK, before leaving for KJR.
      Unbeknownst of my plan to feature Bob this month, BFYP’s DJ-in-Residence, Bill Gardner, sent a note of personal history regarding KING radio that proved it, “I worked there two months later! [Than the September survey date.] I replaced a guy named Bob Shannon, who crossed town to work for competing station KJR!
       Love it when my research is validated. Thank you, Bill!
       Bob left radio in 1983 to continue pursuit of a career in film (as R.J. Adams), passing into DJ Heaven while directing a movie, in 2015.

>Music musings from the Featured Radio Survey …
The queen of soul, not to mention, early Rock & Roll, Aretha Franklin, graces the inside chart of KING/Seattle’s September 12, 1971 survey. Rightfully so, as her “Spanish Harlem” came up fast from #16 the week before, to #8 this week.

♪ BFYP Featured Radio Survey
SEPTEMBER 12, 1971 ~ KING/Seattle, Washington. Gotta love those Psychedelic Seventies art-inspired radio surveys. Half the time you can’t recognize anyone or even words, depicted in the flowing lines. A fresh-faced Ms. Franklin mini-poster makes it a special collectible … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …

Let’s Celebrate SEPTEMBER 1971 and … Rock On! ♪