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WNEW-AM of the 1970s Throwing a Curve Ball

K

kevinsealy

WNEW 1130 throught out the 1970s was known as an MOR/AC station. But there were times when WNEW played songs that may not have made Billboard's AC Charts.

During the 70s WNEW was ahead of WABC when it came to playing newly releases by AC artists like Barry Manilow, the Capenters, Neil Diamond and their like. But there were songs by Gladys Knight & the Pips that not only didn't make the AC Chart, but didn't make Billboard's Hot 100 like, "Make Your's a Happy Home" from 1976 and "It's Better Than a Good Time" from 1978. The O' Jays "Use to Be My Girl" made it onto WNEW'S playlist in the summer of 1978, but didn't chart AC.










Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy
 
Kevin, you are better schooled than I am on artists and the history of their chart successes, but here's my 'spin' (sorry, old school humor): EZ Listening/MOR stations in those days seemed more focused on a song's substance than its chart success. Any song, by any artist, could earn airplay if it met the basic criteria of the day. Songs offering upbeat, breezy, adult sounding lyrics, along with exciting but pleasing instrumental quality usually passed the litmus test. I may be speculating, but these measures may have caused the uptick in so-called "Album" music formats; 33-RPMs were a goldmine for PD's and MD's (music directors, not doctors) looking for EZ Listening/MOR selections suitable for airplay.

Surprisingly, it didn't seem to matter how benign the subject; as a kid, I was schocked to hear WHLI playing Puff The Magic Dragon. I think I even remember this booming Nassau County icon playing those risque songs of seduction by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, albeit in the 1970's, long after each of those song's chart runs. While the subject matter of Young Girl and Lady Willpower would have seemed unlikely to pass muster, the jewel in the crown was the greater overall quality of those songs for their upbeat, easy melodies.

To sum it up, I think chart success often took a backseat to a song's character. Both WNEW and WHLI took some leaps with Peter, Paul and Mary, Gary Puckett, Gladys Knight and The O'jays. Of course, they did have their standards; I doubt either station ever airtested Ozzy Osbourne.
 
Kevin L. Sealy said:
WNEW 1130 throught out the 1970s was known as an MOR/AC station. But there were times when WNEW played songs that may not have made Billboard's AC Charts.

During the 70s WNEW was ahead of WABC when it came to playing newly releases by AC artists like Barry Manilow, the Capenters, Neil Diamond and their like. But there were songs by Gladys Knight & the Pips that not only didn't make the AC Chart, but didn't make Billboard's Hot 100 like, "Make Your's a Happy Home" from 1976 and "It's Better Than a Good Time" from 1978. The O' Jays "Use to Be My Girl" made it onto WNEW'S playlist in the summer of 1978, but didn't chart AC.










Thanks,
Kevin L. Sealy
Click to expand...


Kevin: I programmed AC in the late 70s. It wasn't terribly chart-dependent. Adults weren't buying many singles. Like JFrancis said, it was more about tempo, tone and flow.

However, "Use Ta Be My Girl" did make Billboard's Easy Listening chart, peaking at #21 the last week of July, 1978. Doesn't show up on Wikipedia, but Google Books' archive of back issues of Billboard documents it.
 
Looking back, I guess it was as far back as 1969 when I was driving around one night listening to WNEW.

Whoever was on the air -- I forget the name -- tracked the entire 'Dusty In Memphis' album. He played side one, made a few comments, and then spun side two.

I never found out whether that was a normal feature of WNEW. Their FM side probably gave rock albums that treatment from time to time.

Although to me it was more of a non-stop collection of well done pop songs, the LP became considered a 'landmark' R&B album. One would think that WWRL and/or WNJR would be more befitting the concept of tracking an LP bearing that tag, not WNEW.
 
Indeed, Steve, WNEW-FM occasionally played what they called "Perfect Album Sides."
 
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