Category: New York Top 40 Radio

Ivory and Ebony on WABC, 1962

I enjoyed doing an oldies post last Saturday night, so I’ll do another one tonight. On the audio player is a classic WABC Musicradio jingle, then two songs from the WABC chart for the week ending June 30, 1962. The first one is number 19, followed by number 20.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/FEB/WABCJingle.mp3,http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/FEB/DrKildare.mp3,http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/FEB/INeedYourLovin.mp3]

You must play the first song all the way through to get the full effect when the second song comes in. This is one of the best examples I’ve ever heard of the culture clash that was so unsettling to the White establishment of the time.

Being PETicular

Petula ClarkMy sister Jean has reminded me that it’s been a while since I’ve posted something about dear Petula Clark. Indeed! First, I would like to send you over to View Images to see a fabulous collection of over sixty Pet photos, some very early, and some very recent.

What a long and varied career Pet has had. She is so deserving of the title of Dame in the UK, but we’re still 100 shy of the 1000 mark for signatures on the PETition. I guess I’m not really entitled to say “we’re” because I can’t vote, not being a citizen or resident of the UK. There are only a couple more months to vote, folks! So please do it now. While you’re doing that you can listen to an audio interview with Pet, conducted for the U.S. Army in December, 1966, by disk jockey Harry Harrison, while he was with WMCA in New York. In ’68 Harrison jumped over to WABC to replace the departing Herb Oscar Anderson.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JAN/PetArmy.mp3]

As a child, Petula sang for the British troops on BBC radio during World War II. She was famous for singing “Mighty Lak A Rose.” Later, as a young woman she sang it again. I’m not sure exactly when this recording was made.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JAN/MightyLakARose.mp3]

And finally, I’ve a confession to make. I never wanted any of the Beatles to hold my hand. That’s why I’m glad Pet recorded her own version of “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JAN/PetHoldHand.mp3]

Cousin Brucie on WABC Saturday Night Oldies

Cousin Brucie on WABC

Tonight I happened to catch a few minutes of the legendary disk jockey Bruce Morrow on WABC’s Saturday Night Oldies with Mark Simone. Cousin Brucie talks about meeting the Beatles.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/MAR07/CousinBrucie.mp3]

Bruce Morrow with Beatles

If you haven’t checked out my tribute to New York radio in the 60’s, click here. The picture above of Bruce Morrow interviewing the Beatles in 1965 is amusing, because the boys appeared bored and disinterested. Maybe they were stoned. Or perhaps they’d had their fill of New York DJ’s. Murray “The K” Kaufman had leveraged his contact with The Beatles during their first visit to shamelessly further his own career.

Turn Me On Deadman

Roby YongeMy twin sister Jean and I caught up with the “Paul is Dead” phenomenon when it was picked up by WKBW in Buffalo, NY. The rumor got traction when Roby Yonge on WABC (about which there is more here) in NYC got himself fired for promoting the idea that Paul McCartney had been killed.

The audio player below has an aircheck of Yonge from October 21, 1969. Part 1 starts with his first mention of the speculation that Paul McCartney was dead, and part 2 ends with the moment he was replaced on the air by Les Marchak.

Yonge, working the overnight shift, was fired for breaking format, as it’s called in the radio biz. But ‘KBW followed ABC’s lead by running with the story, presenting every single alleged clue, in a heavily-promoted special presentation. I didn’t believe it, but I learned a valuable lesson about how easily people can be misled into believing something that is completely untrue when conjecture is presented as fact.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/JAN07/pauldead.mp3,http://www.dograt.com/Audio/JAN07/pauldead2.mp3]

One of the clues was the infamous “turn me on dead man” that was heard when “Revolution 9” was played backwards. Here is the first minute of the track, presented backwards, followed by the opening seconds with George Martin and Apple Corps publicist Derek Taylor apparently having a disagreement.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/JAN07/Revolution9.mp3,http://www.dograt.com/Audio/JAN07/GeorgeMartin.mp3]

New York Radio ‘Box Set’

Here are links to all five parts of the previously-posted video history of New York Top 40 radio, along with some extras.  Don’t miss the jingles, taken from the original master tapes.

 
 

Sweet Talkin’ Guys

1. WINS
2. WINS vs. WMCA
3. WMCA vs. WABC
4. WABC
5. AM vs. FM

Extras:

• Cousin Brucie vs. HOA
• Radio a Go-Go!
• Scott Muni
• WMCA Jingles
• WABC Jingles
• Cousin Brucie 10/14/06

Links:

• WABC Music Radio 77
• WABC Saturday Night Oldies