What was middle of the road?

[gr8oldies]

Even in the 1960s, there were different strains of MOR. Billboard used the terms pop-standard, standard and conservative to describe adult music stations. It appears that conservative is the term used to describe stations that would eventually be called beautiful music.

Seems like most markets had a MOR that was always a little more contemporary even if that meant Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. Even before KMPC went to a more AC approach in 1973, I think they were always a little “heavier” than KFI (1968 maybe the exception). Same with WNEW vs. WHN or WIND vs. WMAQ or WIP vs, WPEN.

The full service stations that played even less music than the KMPCs of the world also seemed to have very easy listening overnight programming: WGN, KMOX, WJR, WCCO etc. Some carried shows like Dolly Holiday (WBAL) or Music Til Dawn (WLW, WCBS, WBBM) which mixed in semi classical selections.

While 1960s top 40 is well preserved especially the WLS and KHJs of the world, it is too bad that so few adult radio stations of the era exist on airchecks. Not to mention country and ethnic formats.

I guess we weren't recording the WNEWs and WLWs of this world as teenagers. Definitely a lot of radio history has been lost.
I remember some very uptempo A/Cs with top 40 formatics but all the news, weather, traffic etc. Both WTVN and WBNS, Columbus, OH, WVLK and WLAC , Lexington, KY for a couple of markets.

 

[TheBigA]

I guess we weren't recording the WNEWs and WLWs of this world as teenagers.

You never know. There are tapes somewhere. Some were recorded by the stations, and then donated to various archives. The Paley Center is one such place. It used to be called The Museum of Television & Radio. But that's not the only place. There are lots of colleges with audio collections from radio stations. There's the Library of Congress. There's also the National Archives. So lots of possible places where tapes exist.

 

[CCBInMI]

WCCO and WHAS are pretty well represented on RadioTapes.com and LKYRadio.com respectively. Especially WHAS' first-rate coverage of the 1974 tornadoes.
Detroit had two of those "more contemporary" types of MOR station during the late '60s and early '70s. One was the previously mentioned WCAR. The other was ABC O&O 1270 WXYZ, a former Top 40 that went MOR in early '67 after losing the pop radio wars to WKNR and (pre-Drake) CKLW and didn't really become competitive until they got Dick Purtan for mornings. They would later evolve in an Adult Top 40 direction before Purtan left for CKLW in 1978, at about which time WXYZ went Talk.
There was also 950 WWJ, which was Detroit News O&O and always second banana to WJR among MOR stations. They came off as even stodgier and more snobbish than 'JR, despite an attempt to liven up the sound with PAMS jingles in the late '60s (which can be listened to on YouTube). Instead of playing hipper music, they became a news/talk station, though they still simulcast WWJ-FM's beautiful music overnights for a while through the '70s.

 

[michael hagerty]

An article on the WKLO tribute website cites "The Cuddly Giant" as the first station in the market to play cuts from "Jesus Christ Superstar," which was one of the hottest albums of 1971. By the time of the '74 tornado outbreak they were calling the music "Good 'n' Gold" and playing a healthy dose of rock and roll oldies. Later on, they would even become the Louisville outlet for American Top 40.

Interestingly (at least to me), KMPC beat KHJ to "Jesus Christ Superstar" by six months---Jim Lange did a special that included playing the entire album in November of 1970. That special included tracks that wouldn't otherwise get play on KMPC, but afterward, "Everything's Alright" and "I Don't Know How To Love Him" were being played on the station as album cuts before there were singles/covers from Yvonne Elliman and Helen Reddy.

 

[michael hagerty]

You never know. There are tapes somewhere. Some were recorded by the stations, and then donated to various archives. The Paley Center is one such place. It used to be called The Museum of Television & Radio. But that's not the only place. There are lots of colleges with audio collections from radio stations. There's the Library of Congress. There's also the National Archives. So lots of possible places where tapes exist.

What I've learned in 20-plus years of aircheck collecting (focusing entirely on California radio) is that there's more of everything than we thought. And it comes from unexpected places.

For years, I couldn't find any trace of KMPC from the 1960s. There were two Johnny Grants from 1956 and 1959, and then a gap until 1973.

Then---a 1962 Dick Whittinghill that got recorded by a woman who was in a Burbank theater production and was appearing on Dick's show. It fell into the hands of a collector who, by chance, went to her estate sale, and was stunned when he listened to the reel that was just labelled "KMPC". It's 42 minutes long---she was on for five.

And more recently, Gordon Skene at PastDaily-dot-com starts to post Geoff Edwards, Roger Carroll and Johnny Magnus from the same week in June, 1968. Where'd those come from? KMPC was having the grand opening of its new studios at 5858 Sunset that week. They recorded the shows as keepsakes. A few years later, it was just old tape.

Gordon, as a kid, used to ride his bike around the radio stations and check the dumpsters to see what they'd tossed. He found those---and a couple of Whittinghill Sunday shows (Dick pre-taped those, so they were intact). Gordon then started writing letters to and calling the station GMs, asking them to let him take discards off their hands. He's built an incredible archive as a result.

On YouTube, there's a guy who in the past year has posted a couple of hours of KMLA (100.3) from 1962 and 1964. He'd been asked by the widow of the announcer to digitize the reels so she could hear her husband's voice again.

Unscoped Bob Crane shows from KNX bubble up online every year or so.

Scott Ellsworth, who did a great jazz show on KFI from 1969-72, passed away on New Years Day at age 95---but for the last eight years of his life, he did a podcast twice a week, and once a week that included an unscoped aircheck of his KFI show---he had saved most of them. All of the podcasts are in his archive online.

MOR didn't have teens trying to save their favorite songs or favorite DJs, and for the most part didn't have PDs flying in from all around the country to aircheck and analyze them, so the numbers are fewer---but the stuff is out there---and increasingly available online. Country, Classical and Beautiful Music, too.

 

[vchimpanzee]

"Everything's Alright" and "I Don't Know How To Love Him" were being played on the station as album cuts before there were singles/covers from Yvonne Elliman and Helen Reddy.

I've heard both covers on adult standards radio, but "Everything's Alright" I've only heard on WERT and not on any of the well known stations or formats.

 

[michael hagerty]

I've heard both covers on adult standards radio, but "Everything's Alright" I've only heard on WERT and not on any of the well known stations or formats.

I am talking about what KMPC did 53 years ago. Everyone's mileage may vary.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I am talking about what KMPC did 53 years ago. Everyone's mileage may vary.

I guess it's not surprising if adult standards these days includes even those more lively tunes from back then.

 

[TomásEstefan]

What I've learned in 20-plus years of aircheck collecting (focusing entirely on California radio) is that there's more of everything than we thought. And it comes from unexpected places.

For years, I couldn't find any trace of KMPC from the 1960s. There were two Johnny Grants from 1956 and 1959, and then a gap until 1973.

Then---a 1962 Dick Whittinghill that got recorded by a woman who was in a Burbank theater production and was appearing on Dick's show. It fell into the hands of a collector who, by chance, went to her estate sale, and was stunned when he listened to the reel that was just labelled "KMPC". It's 42 minutes long---she was on for five.

And more recently, Gordon Skene at PastDaily-dot-com starts to post Geoff Edwards, Roger Carroll and Johnny Magnus from the same week in June, 1968. Where'd those come from? KMPC was having the grand opening of its new studios at 5858 Sunset that week. They recorded the shows as keepsakes. A few years later, it was just old tape.

Gordon, as a kid, used to ride his bike around the radio stations and check the dumpsters to see what they'd tossed. He found those---and a couple of Whittinghill Sunday shows (Dick pre-taped those, so they were intact). Gordon then started writing letters to and calling the station GMs, asking them to let him take discards off their hands. He's built an incredible archive as a result.

On YouTube, there's a guy who in the past year has posted a couple of hours of KMLA (100.3) from 1962 and 1964. He'd been asked by the widow of the announcer to digitize the reels so she could hear her husband's voice again.

Unscoped Bob Crane shows from KNX bubble up online every year or so.

Scott Ellsworth, who did a great jazz show on KFI from 1969-72, passed away on New Years Day at age 95---but for the last eight years of his life, he did a podcast twice a week, and once a week that included an unscoped aircheck of his KFI show---he had saved most of them. All of the podcasts are in his archive online.

MOR didn't have teens trying to save their favorite songs or favorite DJs, and for the most part didn't have PDs flying in from all around the country to aircheck and analyze them, so the numbers are fewer---but the stuff is out there---and increasingly available online. Country, Classical and Beautiful Music, too.

Meant to say that sorry to hear about the passing of Scotty Ellsworth,. Met him while in school, he gave us in our class great advice, too bad most of us probably didn't follow it...but another discussion for another time...