Rock Radio 50 Years Ago ~ AUGUST 1974

It’s a Beachin’ Summer of ‘74 at BFYP!   

Oh, do I have a mid-summer’s dream article for you! Grab a brew or your other fave libation, kick back, and enjoy the read. It’s gonna be a long but most excellent adventure! 

With three fun Rock Radio music charts vying for the coveted Featured Radio Survey spot, we shan’t be lacking for a cool mountain of memories to help stave off our summer sweat. One of those charts grabbed the spotlight for this gal’s hometown San Diego connection. Oh yeah, it’s gonna be fun. Let’s get Rockin’ 50 Years Ago this Month … 

AUGUST 1974 Radio News & Muse ♪ 

Back then, and to a large degree even now, long hair on guys equates to a rebel … but today there are many more varying degrees of rebelliousness and its intent. In music of any era though, rebel is good! And when it came to playing the maverick music for listeners of the 1970s’ Rebel Rock Radio, our own BFYP DJ Shotgun Tom Kelly had the hair—and the ATTitude—for it! 

Though it pains me to admit I don’t have BFYP Book 3—Psychedelic Seventies—finished yet, Shotgun, who I interviewed for inclusion, was a vibrant part of San Diego’s AUGUST 1974 music radio scene, of which KCBQ played a vital role. Scroll down for a BIG surprise that will tune you in to his 1970s life behind the mic & more! In the meantime, check out the flowing mane on this guy ...  

And I have a not-so-secret source of rebel gossip from back in the day … our DJ Extraordinaire, Bill Gardner, featured in July’s BFYP article continues his story of the Bill-and-Shotgun’s most excellent adventure to NYC for Bill’s Billboard Award.

“We hit not only New York,” Bill revealed, “but several East Coast cities that trip, including my hometown, Philly. Shotgun actually 'shared a doobie' with my FATHER in their staid suburban home! 

“Andre [Bill’s younger bro also in radio—see below!] and I will never forget it, and always laugh about it to this day. We also visited Washington DC. Shotgun brought his video camera and was recording many things, among them of course, the White House and when security approached us, they told him he wasn't allowed to record the White House on videotape [the only means of recording back in the day] and asked us to leave 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! I think it's because we both had long hair back then.” Hmmmm, like I said—rebels. 

Bill spilled more beans, “We also visited Toronto and when I asked him to PLEASE pack my extra six bottles of Labatt's Blue beer in his suitcase for our return flight over the border, to head back to San Diego, he was very nervous. But I'd run out of room! I reassured him everything would be fine ... don't worry! When we got back, several of the bottles had broken in his suitcase via the airline's rugged luggage compartment, and all his clothes were soaked in it and smelled like BEER!”

Like that was a problem in 1970s San Diego? LOL Yup, August 1974 was a hairy time for San Diego’s favorite DJ! Bill snapped this photo as Shotgun slumbered at a NYC friend’s place. 

More fun with Shotgun below, On Your Tinny Transistor Radio … 

August 10^th: The era of glam rock and all things to excess, was a perfect backdrop for the hot, steamy, Summer August Jam at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Dubbed “Carolina’s Woodstock,” it drew more than double the expected attendance, weighing in at 200-300,000 music lovers jammin’ over the weekend. Like Woodstock, the organizers weren’t prepared for unruly patrons and weather, which eerily imitated Woodstock’s muddy quagmire. Hearty entertainers included The Allman Brothers, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and The Marshall Tucker Band. A fitting five-year anniversary tribute to Woodstock; and of course, it was sponsored by local radio powerhouse stations of 1974, WAYS and WROQ. 

August 16^th: Arguably credited with starting the punk rock era, it was today, The Ramones debuted their unique style and resonance—a simple but effective three-chord sound—at the infamous CBGB’s in New York City. They had so much fun, they continued concerts with rare breaks for twenty-two years. Sadly, all four original members jammed up to music heaven in early-to-mid 2000s. You may know “The Blitzkrieg Bop!” their first single release, February 1976. 

August 23^rd: Was John Lennon your fave Beatle? Then you likely know that on this date in 1974, he and then-girlfriend, May Pang (while on a Yoko break), in all their all-togethers, saw a UFO over the New York City skyline. Kinda makes ya wonder what “mothers’ little helper” they were enjoying at the time. Seriously though, they were serious. So much so, that Lennon started a song that Yoko finished for posthumous release in 1984, “Nobody Told Me.” Apparently around 400 sightings were recorded from other New Yorkers that night, in various stages of attire. ♪ … Everybody’s smoking and no one’s getting high | Everybody’s flying and never touch the sky | There’s a UFO over New York and I ain’t too surprised … ♪   

On Your Tinny Transistor Radio ♪  

Where were you sweating up a storm and listening to cool radio stations in August 1974? We go West this month for an odd line-up of decidedly not Top 40 Tunes. Making our way from the hot red dirt of Pueblo, Colorado, we head to heat-stricken Bakersfield, California, before hitting the cool waves of San Diego. Here’s a sample of what and who we were listening to …  

These radio stations marched to their own drumbeat in their list of popular tunes, with KAFY and KCBQ giving us their Top 26, and KDZA stretching the musical spectrum with a belligerent list of Top Forty-Two. Perhaps the Summer sun got to them as all three of these cities in the West were a little slower in picking up on new August top tunes. Their surveys, at least for their Top Ten, mimic our JULY’S WOKY/Milwaukee Top 30. The East is always a bit pushy.  

So, having explored much of August's Top Ten in July, our August Monthly Song of Note and Quirky Band Name contenders are taken from the surveys’ bottom of notable songs, as they begin scrambling up the ladder. 

Were you hanging out in the Rocky Mountain city of Pueblo, Colorado, 50 Years Ago? Strolling through the Steel City’s streets and visiting its many historic museums, you flipped the dial on your tinny transistor radio to KDZA. Wolfman Jack’s* tribute tune, “Clap for the Wolfman” by the Guess Who, jumped up 7 rungs to #10 on their “Pueblo’s Rock 1230” survey #317 for 08/09-08/15/1974. No wonder they aired his syndicated show to stir up their listeners on Saturday nights. What was #1? Going into its third week, Paper Lace’s “The Night Chicago Died.” *The BFYP series is dedicated to Wolfman Jack. Check out his early years, here.

Let’s head over to the left coast where DJ Chris Conner graces the cover of KAFY/Bakersfield; a small market station that had an historic effect on the DJs who began careers there. Some, however, like Chris, made Bakersfield home early in his radio days, and never left. He became the “voice of Bakersfield radio” for decades. Chris passed away at 70 in 2017, while still sharing the hits as a beloved DJ since 1977 at Bakersfield’s KUZZ (originally KAFY). News Director, Mark Howell, remembered Chris as “an old school, high energy radio personality on air and a great guy off mic” … Chris brought you the hits at KAFY when Paul Anka’s “(You’re) Having My Baby” was in its second week at #1; Anka hadn’t had a chart-topper since “Lonely Boy” (1959). 

So we hit the sand in San Diego next, and what a Summer treat! Who remembers the ubiquitous italic typeface of the IBM Selectric typewriter? It’s instantly recognizable in KCBQ’s list of Top 26 hits. Oh—and another now-famous DJ face on the “Q Hits” survey?—San Diego’s very hairy Shotgun Tom Kelly! 

Shotgun Tom just couldn't get enough of San Diego. With most of his career at one San Diego radio station or other, he’s been our “resident DJ” for most of the past fifty years. Radio was a mere steppingstone to a myriad of fantastic achievements in Radio and TV that led Tom to a prestigious star on the celebrated Hollywood Walk of Fame (2013). Corner of Hollywood & LaBrea if you’d like to see it.  Have a quick read with Shotgun’s excerpt from BFYP Book 2: The Swinging Sixties! And “Shotz” just released his own book of memoirs! Pick up a copy of his NEW book, All I Wanna Do Is Play the Hits! Enjoy the memories with him!

Like KDZA, “The Night Chicago Died” was still hanging around at #1 for KCBQ listeners, “Compiled by ‘Q’ – Based on YOU!” Beginning to slip behind the waves, “Sundown” was down from #6 to #10.

If you’re in a hurry to find out which radio station made the Featured Radio Survey page, scroll down … or ... you’ll have more fun if you just keep reading ‘til ya get there. 

Monthly Song of Note ♪ 
I found it! Another Summer song we can cruise the main with and like last month’s “Wild Thing” it’s great for warbling off-key at the top of our lungs. “Beach Baby” by British band The First Class, entered KDZA/Pueblo, Colorado’s “Top 42” at #39 this month. Though it never passed the top twenty with Pueblo fans, it crawled slowly up to the Top Ten lists in California for San Diegans by late September and Bakersfield listeners by mid-October.  

The bouncy bubble-gum tune written by The First Class organizer, John Carter and wife, Gillian (Jill) Shakespeare, was this band’s sole solid hit—however, Carter (born John Nicholas Shakespeare) is a prolific and multi-faceted creator of many musical works and tuneful entities. One of his many outlets, The First Class was an odd little band that used “front men” and session players for their recorded music, but a mishmash of other musicians to tour as The First Class. Alrighty.  

Though sketchy in some radio markets, like KDZA, “Beach Baby” nearly didn’t get heard at all. At the time of its production, the UK was suffering an energy crisis and frowned upon using electricity for anything other than basic human necessities. To do so could have resulted in a fine or worse. But Carter was convinced “Beach Baby” was a hit and persuaded top-notch record producer, Jonathan King, to hear a master demo tape. As Wiki quotes Kasey Casem’s American Top 40, “He [King] invited the artist to come in, and, in a room lit only by candles, keeping the volume turned way down, he listened to that tape, and he knew he'd bought a hit song.” ♪ … Beach baby, beach baby, give me your hand | Give me somethin' that I can remember | Just like before, we can walk by the shore in the moonlight … ♪   

Quirky Band Name Award ♪  

A growing presence since 1964, Kool & the Gang from Jersey City, New Jersey, didn’t really catch on until 1973 w/”Jungle Boogie” & “Hollywood Swinging,” the latter hitting California stations’ charts at #19 KCBQ, and #26 for KAFY in August 1974. We’re not privy to know what group name(s) the ten-man team began with, but by 1969 the versatile band, led by brothers, Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell aka "Khalis Bayyan," had become Kool & the Gang. Their ample musical repertoire includes jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco, rock, and pop music. Even with some tough member losses, the groovy band is still performing and in April this year (2024) became inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.*  

Who else caught our eye on the August 1974 surveys to vie for Quirky Band Name Award? 

Do you have time to remember the good Tymes? While the Tymes is memorable for several chart-toppers in their long career in Philadelphia (since 1956 as the Latineers—the only hint of a name history), “You Little Trustmaker” wasn’t one of them. It did, however, catch the bottom rung of KDZA/Pueblo, Colorado, at #36. It also gave them recognition for their better known, “Ms Grace” that came along the following year. It was the group’s earlier top tune, though, “So Much in Love” (1963) that garnered a spot in the 2001 Songs of the Century list (#215 of 365). And by 2005, Tymes was invited into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

And a drum roll, please … which of these admiral bands grabbed the Quirky Band Name Award? It was a tough call, but for pure versatility and still-current popularity, I chose Kool & the Gang. *Interestingly, their wildly popular tune, “Celebration” (1980) came in at #214 of the 2001 Songs of the Century list.

AUGUST 2024 Music Events & More ♪    

BIG Blast from your Past DJ NEWS! 
Our DJ Extraordinaire, Bill Gardner, blasted the news on his website recently that he’s retiring from flying—his enjoyable “side job” to radio. Flying not only provided transportation as he flitted from station to station, spreading his golden voice across the country over five decades, but created an off-air “professional” job in-between the love-of-his-life radio gigs. While it was always a second love throughout his esteemed radio career, flying less will give him more time to devote to Rock Radio Memories on his site. He updates it every week … go now and enjoy! 

Another “grounding” love in life for Bill, is family. He also announced the recent prestigious award presented to his “little brother,” also with a big radio presence. “Congratulations to my amazing talented brother Andre Gardner!  The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia just named Andre a 2024 Hall of Fame Honoree!” Andre has graced the airwaves of Philadelphia at WMGK-FM for 22 years of his 47 in radio! And he says he owes it all to his Big Bro, Bill. Awesome. 

CONGRATS to you both for long and distinguished careers. You can read about Bill’s early radio life in BFYP Book 2 (The Swinging Sixties), available on Amazon. And I swear, Andre, yours and brother Al Gardner’s, true tales behind the mic, are coming up (sigh, eventually) in Book 3, Psychedelic Seventies. While life has gotten in the way of my career-love, writing, after an interminable hiatus I am back working on Book 3.  

August 9^th – 17^th: Like every year at this time, Graceland—the palatial grounds of Elvis Presley’s home—is celebrating Elvis Week! Not only can you visit and enjoy everything Elvis, but there’s a special opportunity for virtual access to the festivities. Through the miracle of technology, online participants can have online front row seats without even being there! Schedule & pricing. Check out Elvis: Return to Vegas Show on August 16^th, featuring Elvis on the big screen accompanied by a live band … so cool. 

August 17th: We're Rockin' on for Baby Boomers' Recognition Day! Well darn, there is no longer a viable sponsor link for this auspicious day—but you know too, our Sis site, 39 and Holding Club celebrates Boomers every month! We’re more than happy to share even more recognition for those who remember the “Good ol’ Days,” to spice up the dog days of Summer! You may recall this special day used to be celebrated in June, but now jams and jiggles in August for more celebration with Woodstock Festival memories (August 15-18, 1969)! I hesitate to assume, but it’s likely not ALL Baby Boomers loved Rock & Roll—just the zaniest, hippest, and most fun ones! LOL  

BFYP Featured Radio Survey ♪♪  
AUGUST 16, 1974 ~ KCBQ/San Diego, California, where the surf’s up and long hair is “in” no matter what decade or music is making waves. In August 1974 Shotgun Tom Kelly ruled the airwaves on KCBQ, playing all the hot tunes of Summer listed in the “Q Hits.” We were feelin’ salacious and steamy with Roberta Flack’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love” (#5) and “Tell Me Something Good” (Rufus) at #7. Clear time in your day to check out … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played … 

Let’s Celebrate AUGUST 1974 ~ And … Rock On!  

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

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LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and author by way of Rock & Roll. Two books (of three planned) are published in her Blast from Your Past^TM series, available on Amazon: Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959^TM (eBook only; coming soon in updated print edition) and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties^TM (eBook & print). Coming soon-ish … Book 3 – The Psychedelic Seventies!^TM 

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. This site is wholly owned by LinDee Rochelle & sponsored by PenchantForPenning.com^TM. 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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Rock Radio 50 Years Ago ~ JULY 1974

Wild Summer of ’74!  

From HOT tunes to COOL news, Blast from Your Past is Rockin' the Summer, 50 Years Ago this Month. 😊 

Omigosh! I had such a tough time choosing which Song of Note and Quirky Band Name to feature! 

For sure, JULY 1974 was a classic! From the songs we sang along with to the bands we bounced to … there was and still is … never a dull moment in Rock & Roll Radio History. C'mon along as we Rock On …

JULY 1974 Radio Muse & News ♪ 
Although there wasn’t much music news happening this month, I found a couple noteworthy people and moments that some of you may recall …

July 8^th: Who remembers David Bowie’s (1947-2016) “Diamond Dogs” tour concert in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania? It began in Canada, mid-June, but the esteemed Tower Theater shows began on this day and earned the distinction as recording venue on four of the six concert nights for his first official album, David Live. ♪ … When you rock 'n' roll with me | No one else I'd rather be … ♪    

July 29^th: It’s always sad when a fave performer leaves us for Rock & Roll Heaven, but it hurts the most with the tragically young ones. Such is the case on this day 1974 when “Mama” Cass Elliot succumbed to a heart attack at the too-soon age of 32.
       She did, however, leave on a high note. Her solo London concerts just ended with a heartwarming standing ovation on the final evening. The next day she spent in a full day of fun-friend visits. They included Mick Jagger’s 31^st birthday celebration, a brunch in her honor organized by English singer/actor, Georgia Brown, and later a cocktail party hosted by journalist Jack Martin. Though treated for exhaustion just a couple months before, signs of heart issues were apparently dismissed. She died in her sleep, perhaps with the sound of a standing ovation crowd ringing through her dreams.

On Your Tinny Transistor Radio ♪  

Then, as now, dissidence and uprisings were common and seemingly never-ending. The 2000s have a lot in common with the salacious and steamy 1970s. It seems in fifty years, we have learned little.
       1974: a presidency in turmoil (Nixon), racial tensions (Boston busing for desegregation), and we were still avidly following the news of seemingly heiress-turned-terrorist (Hearst & SLA). Just for fun, we endured a 1960s hold-over in an “epidemic” of streaking.

Substitute a few circumstances and names, and you can plop them down in 2024. Both eras reflect a transitional period, as personal and political mores are challenged, revised, and reversed.

Yes, our tiny transistor radios brought us news of the day, but through it all, the Rock Radio DJs brought us music to soothe the savage beast …

Where were you slathering on the suntan lotion in July 1974? Atlanta, Dallas, or Milwaukee? Here’s a sample of what and who you were listening to …

From the memories of BFYP DJ Extraordinaire, Bill Gardner:

If you were hanging around in Dallas, Texas, summer of 1974, I’ll bet your fave DJ on KVIL was the affable Bill Gardner! Some time over that summer he trekked to New York City for the Billboard Radio Convention at the Plaza Hotel. He had to … so they could hand him the award for Air Personality of the Year in the Large Market category! 

Bill said when he sent the award image for this article, “Always thought it was hilarious that KVIL was SO new and unknown in '74, they actually misspelled the call letters on my award :-).” Yup. Sure enough, “KIXL” is big and bold. Knowing Bill, it has made his award even more endearing, along with the memories, “Shotgun Tom (Kelly; a San Diego treasured DJ) went with me and sat at the table with me in that swanky hotel.”

Justifiably, Bill was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2020. In the throes of Covid-19, there was no fancy hotel or long-winded speeches, but it was still a much-deserved honor. He suggested on his website that the YouTube video of his presentation might still be available if you search. I did it for you … check it out, along with a couple more fun items of Bill Gardner on YouTube!

In 1961’s WLS/Chicago station, popular DJ Art Roberts became known as Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky in a long stint that finally ended with a cross-country move to San Francisco’s KNBR in 1971. Apparently that wasn’t the New York native’s cuppa tea, where he only spent one year. Headed back to Chicago, he landed this time at WCFL—another iconic and pioneering station.

We catch up with Art and his happy attitude summer 1974 at WOKY, another legendary Rock station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he stayed for about five years.

On July 22, 1974, Art casually peeks out on fans from the cover of “WOKY Plays Favorites” music chart. Were you there to hear him noon to 3:00p? Check out what he was playing for you …

Monthly Song of Note ♪  
Sex, drugs and Rock & Roll—it’s all here and then some!—in July 1974’s WOKY/Milwaukee music chart. In the running for our Song of Note:

I thought about going with “Rock and Roll Heaven” on this month’s chart at #14 by the venerable Righteous Brothers. (And half of the bros, Bobby Hatfield joined his heavenly mates in 2003.) After all, Rock & Roll is in the title, how could I go wrong! But … this is July—middle of summer when we want to be happy and free—while this song is sentimental and sweet, it is a well-deserved ode to many Rock & Roll icons who went before. Just a little too somber for summer fun.

Then I spotted it—the quintessential ‘70s sexy summer song with all the steamy ingredients of “Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll”! “Wild Thing” by Fancy who gave it a second incarnation (originals: 1965 & ’66) and WOKY listeners gyrated it up to #10 in one giant leap from #16 the previous week. You’re welcome … ♪ … Wild thing | You make my heart sing | You make everything groovy … ♪   

Quirky Band Names ♪
I was totally tempted to crown Blue Magic with “Sideshow” at WOKY’s #17 spot, simply for the song’s inspiration by a visit to an antique museum. But the name’s the game here and Blue Magic is fun, but there wasn’t much magic to their origin story.

Although Fancy’s “Wild Thing” made the cut for July’s Song of Note, due to lack of name origin, they were aced out of the Quirky Band Name Award by England’s Paper Lace.

The Paper Lace story also doesn’t note much of a name origin, other than relating the tidbit that Music Box became Paper Lace in 1969. OK. So why do they warrant our July Quirky Band Name Award? We’re back to the songs … Their version of “Billy Don’t Be a Hero,” though sliding down, was #8 at WOKY, even after Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods charted with it at the top, back in June.

Annnnnd, Paper Lace gave us a second song on WOKY’s chart at #1—“The Night Chicago Died.” Apparently, Milwaukee listeners loved a good gloom-and-doom story with poignant purpose. Bottom line, Paper Lace’s feat of two songs in the Top Ten, set them ahead for a BFYP award.

JULY 2024 Music Events & More ♪    
It’s history, but never forgotten. Special days for your Rockin’ memories calendar …

July 4^th: America’s Independence Day! Well now, there are so many reasons to celebrate … or not … with it coming after last week’s presidential debate. As we question what this day means, I found a song in the Top Ten that, while not a patriotic song per se, could be an interesting metaphor in the relationship with our country. “Rock the Boat” (Hues Corporation) is afloat at #2 on WOKY’s Featured Radio Survey this month in 1974 … when we navigated the waters of another tumultuous era. Enjoy the lyrics and/or the tune as you watch the fireworks this day … and all the way through the impending skewed election ♪ … Our love is like a ship on the ocean | We've been sailing with a cargo full of, love and devotion | So I'd like to know where, you got the notion | Said I'd like to know where, you got the notion | To rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby … ♪

July 5^th: Most years, San Diego’s County Fair in Del Mar, closes with spectacular 4^th of July fireworks. But this year, there are three more days of fun-in-the-sun and “Let’s Go RETRO,” segueing into Friday, July 5^th’s Papa Do Run Run concert! Although they’re Beach Boy sound-alikes and love paying tribute to the venerable surf band, Papa Do Run Run is a classic in their own right, when in 1975 they topped the charts with the Beach Boys’ “Be True to Your School.” By 1978 their horizons expanded with the soundtrack gig for CBS film, Deadman’s Curve. Get your tickets asap!

July 7^th: Amazingly, there is a National Day of Rock n' Roll! More amazing is there is no “official” supporting site. But you’re here, and we’re all about pioneering Rock & Roll, so do a little dance and Rock On!  

July 9^th: “Always a hoot” it’s Dead Head Day.  Many Grateful Dead fans (Deadheads, if you will) celebrate this international day of respect for Jerry Garcia and the band. It was on this day in 1995 that the Grateful Dead as originated, wowed their fans for the final show at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. They didn’t realize then, it would be their last show together. Jerry Garcia died of a heart attack exactly one month later. Though there is no longer an official link for the tribute, the band lives on in some of its founding members, and links above all have history and current events.

July 30^th: Are you a book reader? Do you wanna be? It’s Paperback Book Day! What better day to pick up a good book and settle in for a relaxing read. And we have just the book for you … Consider, all great music of the 1970s is a direct result of the incredibly innovative Rock & Roll of the 1960s. I can prove it … Get your copy of Blast from Your Past, Book 2 ~ Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties! I tell ya all about it …
Paperback / black & white … Paperback in collectible color …

BFYP Featured Radio Survey ♪♪  
JULY 22, 1974 ~ WOKY/Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While you were sippin’ on your Coke ‘cause “It’s the Real Thing,” getting ready to call the Mighty 92 for a song request, DJ Art Roberts was likely frantically juggling the next record, ad jingle, and another call on WOKY’s “Instant Request Line.” Bein’ a DJ wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, as they say. But it was apparently, a heck of a lotta fun … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played … 

Let’s Celebrate JULY 1974 ~ And … Rock On!  

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

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LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and author by way of Rock & Roll. Two books (of three planned) are published in her Blast from Your Past^TM series, available on Amazon: Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959^TM (eBook only; coming soon in updated print edition) and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties^TM (eBook & print). Coming soon-ish … Book 3 – The Psychedelic Seventies!^TM 

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. This site is wholly owned by LinDee Rochelle & sponsored by PenchantForPenning.com^TM. 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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