This Day In 1970...

[BossRadioDJ]

A blast from the past ... Gary Pfeifer posted this survey in the Broadcast Airchex group; excerpted here are the top twelve songs from the KDON/1460 Boss 30 from today in 1970:

KDON - THE BIG 1460 - SALINAS, CALIF.
BOSS 30
PREVIEWED MARCH 6, 1970​

TW LW
1. Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel 1
2. Psychedelic Shack - Temptations 2
3. Victoria - The Kinks 7
4. Honey Come Back - Glen Campbell 8
5. Hey There Lonely Girl - Eddie Holman 3
6. Who'll Stop The Rain/Travelin' Band - C.C. Revival 5
7. Instant Karma - Plastic Ono Band 19
8. Through The Bathroom Window - Joe Cocker 11
9. Bold Soul Sister - Ike & Tina Turner 4
10. Fancy - Bobby Gentry 10
11. The Rapper - The Jaggerz 9
12. Easy Come, Easy Go - Bobby Sherman 21

Gary Culver - Music Director

The complete survey may be perused at:
http://www.broadcast.net/pipermail/broadcast-airchex/2009-March/021916.html

 

[radioman148]

I remember all the other Kinks songs except that one.

 

[djj]

Glen Campbell, Ike And Tina, Bobby Sherman, Bobbie (correct) Gentry
and The Kinks, a.o. - all nicely meshed onto a single station's playlist...

Now THAT'S variety!!

Too bad Contemporary Top-40 (or whatever it's called now) cannot
replicate that feel today...
--jay

 

[DavidKaye]

Glen Campbell, Ike And Tina, Bobby Sherman, Bobbie (correct) Gentry
and The Kinks, a.o. - all nicely meshed onto a single station's playlist...

Now THAT'S variety!!

Too bad Contemporary Top-40 (or whatever it's called now) cannot
replicate that feel today...
--jay

 

[DavidKaye]

Glen Campbell, Ike And Tina, Bobby Sherman, Bobbie (correct) Gentry
and The Kinks, a.o. - all nicely meshed onto a single station's playlist...

Now THAT'S variety!!

Too bad Contemporary Top-40 (or whatever it's called now) cannot
replicate that feel today...
--jay

But would you listen to a top-40 station that includes the likes of Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Incubus, The Killers, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, U2, and Lady Ga Ga? Seriously, now, would you?

 

[BossRadioDJ]

But would you listen to a top-40 station that includes the likes of Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Incubus, The Killers, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, U2, and Lady Ga Ga? Seriously, now, would you?

Yes, because I was raised on radio. Because I was taught (by radio) that good music is good music. That "Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat is as enjoyable as "Gitarzan" by Ray Stevens. That "Sunshine Of Your Love" by Cream is as enjoyable as "Harper Valley P.T.A." by Jeannie C. Riley.

(Note to young whipper-snappers reading this: those were all songs that were played on the radio when I was in elementary school. On Top 40 stations.)

(No, it wasn't the 1930s...)

I could make this list a thousand songs long, and it's all because a good (or great) pop song -- whether it's country, R&B, rock or other subset you stick it in -- is a joy to behold.

I don't say "I won't listen to that because it's [ENTER NAME OF ARTIST HERE]" or "I hate [MUSICAL GENRE] so I won't listen to any of that kind of music." If I hear a song I like, I'll listen to it. Period.

 

[LKellerIII]

But would you listen to a top-40 station that includes the likes of Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Incubus, The Killers, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, U2, and Lady Ga Ga? Seriously, now, would you?

Yes, because I was raised on radio. Because I was taught (by radio) that good music is good music. That "Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat is as enjoyable as "Gitarzan" by Ray Stevens. That "Sunshine Of Your Love" by Cream is as enjoyable as "Harper Valley P.T.A." by Jeannie C. Riley.

(Note to young whipper-snappers reading this: those were all songs that were played on the radio when I was in elementary school. On Top 40 stations.)

(No, it wasn't the 1930s...)

I could make this list a thousand songs long, and it's all because a good (or great) pop song -- whether it's country, R&B, rock or other subset you stick it in -- is a joy to behold.

I don't say "I won't listen to that because it's [ENTER NAME OF ARTIST HERE]" or "I hate [MUSICAL GENRE] so I won't listen to any of that kind of music." If I hear a song I like, I'll listen to it. Period.

But most radio listeners aren't elderly like you BossRadioDJ...(listen to me, I had just graduated high school in 1970).

A true Top 40 format probably wouldn't work today because it hasn't been done in three decades. It would sound strange to people. Even the Hit stations of the 80s (KYUU, KMEL, KITS) specialized, and carved out their own niches. But I seem to remember that country and MOR music was not welcome on their playlists. In fact, even 610/KFRC in the last few years was very soul/funk oriented, and wouldn't have touched Bobby Gentry with a ten gallon cowboy hat.

I was raised on radio too...but depending on the month and year, I only liked anywhere from one-third to two-thirds of the songs. I grew up in a market with three Top 40 stations, and would often tune from one to the other. Many of my friends tuned between stations even more than I, because unlike me, they didn't care about the DJs or station formatics, they just wanted to hear their favorite hits.

Actually, the closest thing to a diverse play list these days is probably KOIT. As long as the music is "lite" enough, they will play cross-over country hits from Taylor Swift, LeeAnn Rimes, Faith Hill, and others; and modern standards (or whatever you would call them) from Michael Buble and similar artists.

 

[radioman148]

>>But would you listen to a top-40 station that includes the likes of Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Incubus, The Killers, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, U2, and Lady Ga Ga? Seriously, now, would you?


Yes, because I was raised on radio. Because I was taught (by radio) that good music is good music. That "Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat is as enjoyable as "Gitarzan" by Ray Stevens. That "Sunshine Of Your Love" by Cream is as enjoyable as "Harper Valley P.T.A." by Jeannie C. Riley.>>

I would too because I like variety.

 

[BossRadioDJ]

A true Top 40 format probably wouldn't work today because it hasn't been done in three decades.

...But Top 40 had never been done before the 1950s. How did we become accustomed to it then?

 

[djj]

But would you listen to a top-40 station that includes the likes of Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Incubus, The Killers, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, George Strait, U2, and Lady Ga Ga? Seriously, now, would you?

Seriously, yes, I would...it would be tricky to integrate some musical elements
now compared to the '60s or '70s, but it can be done...and as mentioned earlier,
KOIT is actually pretty close to a diverse playlist, yet it's technically "A.C."...

I like some of today's sounds, just not a steady diet of one element. Seems the
amount of songs on some Contemp stations - Country, R&B or Hot A.C., particularly -
can be pretty low. Witness Sacramento's "100.5 The Zone" (KZZO), a Hot AC station
that seems to play only ONE R.E.M. song ("Losing My Religion"), or Finger
Eleven's "Paralyzer" as if it were still a current...

It is amazing, when you think about it, how MOR songs like Ray Conniff's "Somewhere
My Love" and Paul Mauriat's "Love Is Blue" could be successfully integrated within
a Top-40 format in its era...
Alas, the closest thing to "Rap" then was....maybe...Lou Rawls?
(think "Dead End Street" ;D)...
--jay

 

[Starbucks]

...But Top 40 had never been done before the 1950s. How did we become accustomed to it then?
Posted on: Today at 05:15:11 pmPosted by: radioman148



I'll answer that. What was on the playlist pre-1955, were artist all considered pop artist. Take a year 1944.....Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Ames Brothers, Margaret Whiting, Andrew Sisters etc....there current hit single releases and concerts were enjoyed by the adults , just as much as the younger people or teenagers. This went on for almost 3 decades. There was a "one generation" of listeners...."mainstream America". When slowly but surely songs like "Sixty Minute Man" "Gee" "Ten Commandments" somehow managed too crossover to the pop charts from the R&B and getting radio airplay passing the covers ....the adults didn't care for it or hated it, but the younger listeners didn't. It could have been racial, different, lyrics or the beat was too hard, but that's when the branch off of young and old liking the same splintered..
That's what James Dean "Rebel" was about. No longer authority rules. The generation (stereotype 29 and younger) finally had their own sound and their own leaders....(Alan Freed, Bandstand etc) which branched into Top 40 rock n' roll on the radio.

 

[radioman148]

You're right on Starbucks!

 

[DavidKaye]

But I seem to remember that country and MOR music was not welcome on their playlists. In fact, even 610/KFRC in the last few years was very soul/funk oriented, and wouldn't have touched Bobby Gentry with a ten gallon cowboy hat.

But indeed, Bobby Gentry was played on KFRC, at least her "Ode to Billy Jo" was. That's where I first heard the song, actually. I remember because then I heard it the very next night on the Smothers Brothers show.

As to KFRC not playing country, they played everything from "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" by Donna Fargo (can't get much more country than that -- here's a YouTube clip if you don't remember it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPUlMC2qETo ) to songs like the 1976 #1 hit song "Convoy", which came at the peak of the CB fad. I remember that KFRC played "Happiest Girl" because that was the only music station I could get clearly when I was doing the swing shift at Hunt-Wesson's cannery in Hayward. I know that "Convoy" was played on KFRC because I had returned briefly to KWUN in Concord and Don DeFesi, who was our news guy also worked news at KFRC. He commented on it being on their playlist at the time. I think he said something to the effect that it "wasn't much of a song." I forget the exact comment, so I may be wrong.

True, there wasn't much country on KFRC, but those songs were hits and KFRC was a hit music station, period.

Among the other stuff KFRC played was a song called "We're the 49ers" sung by members of the SF 49ers. I remember when that happened in the early 80s because Marty Blecman, the CEO of Megatone Records was a customer of the telephone call center I owned. He left me a copy and told me that he'd finally hit "the big time", because of all the songs and artists Megatone had, the 49ers song was the first to be played on KFRC. This was the guy who had Sylvester under contract and produced all his hits, and yet he hadn't considered himself really successful until he had a song played on KFRC.

Also, Miss Rita Abrams Strawberry Point School4th Grade Class sang, "Mill Valley California (That's My Home) in typical 4th grade voices. It was in heavy rotation at KFRC.

And yes, KFRC played lots of syrupy songs, too, including Percy Faith's "Theme From A Summer Place", not in their hit rotation but as an oldie.

 

[radioman148]

Bobbie Gentry's "Fancy" was a good song. I wish we'd hear it more often on oldies stations.

 

[LKellerIII]

But I seem to remember that country and MOR music was not welcome on their playlists. In fact, even 610/KFRC in the last few years was very soul/funk oriented, and wouldn't have touched Bobby Gentry with a ten gallon cowboy hat.

But indeed, Bobby Gentry was played on KFRC, at least her "Ode to Billy Jo" was. That's where I first heard the song, actually. I remember because then I heard it the very next night on the Smothers Brothers show.

As to KFRC not playing country, they played everything from "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" by Donna Fargo (can't get much more country than that -- here's a YouTube clip if you don't remember it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPUlMC2qETo ) to songs like the 1976 #1 hit song "Convoy", which came at the peak of the CB fad. I remember that KFRC played "Happiest Girl" because that was the only music station I could get clearly when I was doing the swing shift at Hunt-Wesson's cannery in Hayward. I know that "Convoy" was played on KFRC because I had returned briefly to KWUN in Concord and Don DeFesi, who was our news guy also worked news at KFRC. He commented on it being on their playlist at the time. I think he said something to the effect that it "wasn't much of a song." I forget the exact comment, so I may be wrong.

True, there wasn't much country on KFRC, but those songs were hits and KFRC was a hit music station, period.

Among the other stuff KFRC played was a song called "We're the 49ers" sung by members of the SF 49ers. I remember when that happened in the early 80s because Marty Blecman, the CEO of Megatone Records was a customer of the telephone call center I owned. He left me a copy and told me that he'd finally hit "the big time", because of all the songs and artists Megatone had, the 49ers song was the first to be played on KFRC. This was the guy who had Sylvester under contract and produced all his hits, and yet he hadn't considered himself really successful until he had a song played on KFRC.

Also, Miss Rita Abrams Strawberry Point School4th Grade Class sang, "Mill Valley California (That's My Home) in typical 4th grade voices. It was in heavy rotation at KFRC.

And yes, KFRC played lots of syrupy songs, too, including Percy Faith's "Theme From A Summer Place", not in their hit rotation but as an oldie.

What I said, David, was that real Top 40 hasn't been around in 3 decades (since the 70s), and that the hit stations of the 80s were already NOT playing country or MOR, and neither did KFRC in it's final years. I have not forgotten that traditional Top 40 stations - of the 50s and 60s and even early 70s - indeed played everything from Bobby Gentry's Ode to Billy Joe - to Dean Martin (Everybody Loves Somebody), and yes - Theme from a Summer Place - which was a rare Easy Listening hit - probably because it was from the soundtrack of a popular movie.

But it seems to me that this was less and less true by the late 1970s. I don't remember hearing much country or MOR on KFRC or KYA during the disco era, for instance.

 

[Marv-L.A.]

Actually, country music was aired on top 40 stations in the eighties; '9 To 5' and 'I Love A Rainy Night' both went to #1, and Kenny Rogers had plenty of hits at top 40 radio during the early eighties, and it wasn't that unusual to hear Ronnie Milsap, Alabama and other country radio megastars on top 40 stations back then.

Granted, the format was indeed different from 1967, when Bobbie Gentry hit #1 with 'Ode To Billie Joe, but playing 'OTBJ' on the same station as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Seeds, Elvis, Bobby Goldsboro, Paul Mauriat, Procol Harum and dozens of other artists, none of whom sounded like anybody else, was the epitome of what a top 40 powerhouse should sound like.

As someone who grew up listening to KHJ, KFWB & KRLA, I certainly knew a mass-appeal radio station when I heard one, and KHJ and KFRC certainly were two beyond-legendary mass-appeal powerhouses.

Top 40 was still an adult-friendly format for most of the eighties, and Gerry DeFrancesco's KIIS-FM was proof of that, as it rose to a 10.0 share in the fall of 1984, with a stellar playlist with a very wide range of artists such as Prince, Springsteen, the Police, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Phil Collins, Lionel Richie, the Pretenders and tons of others.

Top forty radio deteriorated in the late eighties; KIIS's disastrous overreaction to KPWR going from non-existent to #1 in less than a year in the spring of 1987 was copied by dozens of top 40 stations from coast-to-coast, and the format plunged in popularity, with R&Rs reporting panel lost over 100 stations between 1987 and 2003.

Today's top 40 stations can claim to have 'variety' in their playlists, and many of them have been using that tired line for 15+ years, but all of us baby-boomers know otherwise.

 

[djj]

...real Top 40 hasn't been around in 3 decades (since the 70s), and that the hit stations of the 80s were already NOT playing country or MOR, and neither did KFRC in it's final years. I have not forgotten that traditional Top 40 stations - of the 50s and 60s and even early 70s - indeed played everything from Bobby Gentry's Ode to Billy Joe - to Dean Martin (Everybody Loves Somebody), and yes - Theme from a Summer Place - which was a rare Easy Listening hit - probably because it was from the soundtrack of a popular movie.

But it seems to me that this was less and less true by the late 1970s. I don't remember hearing much country or MOR on KFRC or KYA during the disco era, for instance.

"Crossover Country" went through a dry spell on either side of the 'Urban Cowboy' craze of the 1979-1982 period...
as mentioned earlier, Eddie Rabbitt, Dolly Parton, and even Willie Nelson had Top-10 pop hits, and this is when "new
wave" music was taking off...it took the changes of "Modern Country" during the early-1990s to bring that genre back
onto the Top-40 charts...

It was when "rap" was becoming more mainstream in the mid-1980s, particularly following Tone Loc's "Wild Thing," that
whatever vestige of Top-40 as us "baby boomers" remembered was gone...and MOR was unfairly becoming tabbed as
"standards"...

I still remember when KHTT, Healdsburg (aka "The Heat, at 92.9") gamely tried a true Top-40 format around 1989, with
a mix of several different genres ranging from Michael Bolton to Ice-T. To me it jelled but, alas, the format lasted only
2 years...
--jay

 

[michael hagerty]

Llew's point is about the Gerry Cagle era (1981-1983) at KFRC. While you could certainly hear country songs on 610 up until 1980, Cagle went toward a very R&B/funk lean....especially notable since he made the move when the rest of Top 40 radio was embracing the "Urban Cowboy" craze and its aftermath.

KFRC ignored big hits by Kenny Rogers, Eddie Rabbitt, Juice Newton, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ronnie Milsap and Willie Nelson in 1981 and 1982 that other Top 40s of the time played...and going to an R&B lean presaged the eventual shift of hit radio from a rock base to a hip-hop/R&B base.

Even if you set aside KFRC, it's been 27 years since Top 40 routinely included country hits. For perspective, that's as long ago today as 1955 was in 1982. And very few stations were looking at resurrecting programming philosophies from '55 then.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[LKellerIII]

Llew's point is about the Gerry Cagle era (1981-1983) at KFRC. While you could certainly hear country songs on 610 up until 1980, Cagle went toward a very R&B/funk lean....especially notable since he made the move when the rest of Top 40 radio was embracing the "Urban Cowboy" craze and its aftermath.

KFRC ignored big hits by Kenny Rogers, Eddie Rabbitt, Juice Newton, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ronnie Milsap and Willie Nelson in 1981 and 1982 that other Top 40s of the time played...and going to an R&B lean presaged the eventual shift of hit radio from a rock base to a hip-hop/R&B base.

Even if you set aside KFRC, it's been 27 years since Top 40 routinely included country hits. For perspective, that's as long ago today as 1955 was in 1982. And very few stations were looking at resurrecting programming philosophies from '55 then.

---Michael Hagerty

Thanks, Michael. Unfortunately, I have neither your memory nor your encyclopedic radio knowledge. It's always good to hear from you - not to mention informative.

Not to belabor the point (which people always say just before they belabor the point) - I doubt you would have heard very much country or crossover on the FM hit music stations in the early 80s either. The "All Hit" (pre-Hip Hop, but post AOR) version of KMEL in the early 80s was also quite R&B/funk oriented. In fact, I remember that it sounded very similar to KFRC to me, and it didn't hurt that they picked up a couple of veteran KFRC jocks, like Mark McKay.

"Hot Hits" KITS? No way. That station was a constant repeat of just the top rock/pop hits - no crossover.

KYUU was light rock at first, but transitioned to Hits - they might have played a few crossover songs like "Queen of Hearts" , as did K-101....but you couldn't really call K-101 a Top 40 station. But in my ( possibly faulty) memory, county was pretty much gone from the Bay Area Top 40 stations by the early 80s at the latest.

 

[Starbucks]

The last big country crossover was Kenny and Dolly's "Islands In the Stream" that was played on most CHR -FM stations, as well as remaining CHR/AC leaning AMers in the last quarter of 83'. Kenny continued with a few more like "This Woman" but was starting or showing to stiff, and airplay for him and other Country crossovers were dissolving. By 1984 the playlist consisted of New Wave ,Rock, and Pop artist. Even many R&B artist were struggling after the whole disco era crashed. By 1984, the whole John Travolta "Urban Cowboy era quietly crashed, country went back into it's own solid genre. "Baby I Lied" Deborah Allen is the only crossover I can think of (at the top of my mind) that managed to squeeze one more crossover before the next wave of Country crossovers in the mid 90's led by Shania/Leann as well as a few others brought country back to the CHR charts and airplay. Even artist as big as Garth Brooks, and Billy Ray Cyrus in the early 90's were not crossing over as far as CHR/AC airplay. Albums yes, but CHR airplay no, unless it was in Nashville, or Birmingham.
The difference in those days is what the mainstream public wanted on the airwaves by request, 45 sales, and just a natural trend that caused this. Not what corporate dictators wanted. Pure Top 40/CHR continued just like the KFRC/KYA days (except is was on FM) until somewhere in 1986 is when we were noticing that a few but growing programmers were not following the mainstream format. Then these power and urban stations with Run DMC, Keith Sweat, Deele, Babyface, Sir Mix Alot, etc were busting on CHR or Urban crossover formats, and they didn't even have to chart well to get airplay. Others that were charting well like Robbie Nevell's "Dominos, "Another Lover" Giant Steps, Michael Morales, "Who Do you Give Your Love To" etc. ...were not getting airplay. Do you remember these songs? The Billboard magazine didn't mean sh** to MD/PD's no longer.
They sure don't get played on 80's weekends. Then the rockers like 38 Special, Tom Petty, Cinderella were getting secondary airplay. They charted and were played on pre-leaning Urban CHR's just to break it up between the Ton-Locs, and Biz Markies. Then by the early 90's ....pure CHR became in the hands of the KMEL's and the WILDS. If you remember their playlist. Enya , that stupid Sesame Street Song, Snoop Dog, OPP's , "Baby Got Back" , It was Good day, weird re-mixes and quite a few other non charting off the wall tunes on one station.
That's the way it went down. Pure Top 40/CHR 1955-1986. R.I.P.