[78-L] Mainstream radio in the '60s

[David Lennick]

The odd thing is that I can hear a better variety of oldies in my local 
supermarket. A few months back I managed to hear Nancy Sinatra's "Happy" two or 
three times. That was on the charts for a whopping four weeks, peaking at 74. 
Go figure! Incidentally, this past Christmas season is the first where I never 
heard The Chipmunk Song ONCE. Anywhere.

dl

Cary Ginell wrote:
> I've never met a radio consultant that knows a damn thing about music history. When "oldies" formats started popping up in the 1970s, they created an extremely restrictive playlist: only songs that made it to #1 or #2 would be programmed, no novelties, no instrumentals, and a tight playlist. Kids are growing up thinking the Four Tops had two songs: "Reach Out, I'll Be There" and "I Can't Help Myself." They know all the words to these, but have no clue that they did anything else. These songs were made to last 7 weeks and then get replaced by something else. They were short (anything over 2:30 was considered a marathon song), had catchy hooks, three chords, and fade-out endings so they could overlap with other songs in segues, making more time for more songs. They weren't made to last 40 years, but the oldies stations are still playing the same songs, over and over and over and burning them out. 
> 
>  
> 
> When I was growing up, radio stations played hits as well as stiffs, because nobody knew what was going to be a hit. Now that all you hear are hits, the "bubbling under" songs are gone - great stuff like "Abergavenny" by Shannon, "Roosevelt and Ira Lee" by Tony Joe White, and all those quirky songs by Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood. That's what made radio so much fun when I was growing up. 
> 
>  
> 
> I know this has nothing to do with 78s, but this was the era I grew up in, and the era which spurned my love for older musical styles. How anyone becomes a fan of older music these days is beyond me. 
> 
>  
> 
> Cary (didn't know I was becoming an old fart) Ginell
>  
>> Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:38:02 -0500
>> From: dlennick at sympatico.ca
>> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
>> Subject: Re: [78-L] MOR in the '50s
>>
>> Two Toronto area radio stations have reinvented themselves as playing "all the 
>> best" and "all the hits" and "vinyl 95.3". You will look in vain for anything 
>> by Bobbie Gentry, John Denver, Barry Manilow and so forth..never mind what you 
>> think of these artists, they all had number one records. They're also totally 
>> ignoring most 50s and 60s R&B. Every time one consultant comes up with a 
>> brilliant concept (ha!), everybody else is doing it the following week. 
>> Remember when every program director went to see "The Big Chill"? Most of them 
>> hadn't touched Motown material up to that point.
>>
>> dl
>>
>> Cary Ginell wrote:
>>> It is interesting, indeed, to note that as far as most radio stations are concerned, the MOR era lasted until the Beatles broke down all the barriers in 1964. Rockabilly and R&B were still niche programming, despite Elvis, "Blue Suede Shoes," and even "Rock Around the Clock." Mainstream pop music was still Tony Bennett, Doris Day, Sing Along with Mitch, Percy Faith, and Frank Sinatra. I think the folk revival became more mainstream than rock in the late 1950s, with songs like "Tom Dooley" and "Banana Boat (Day-O)" climbing the charts. How many true rock 'n' roll records WERE hits until the Beatles? Look at 1958, for example. Here are the top 10 charting songs, according to Whitburn:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> At the Hop - Danny & the Juniors (rock 'n' roll)
>>>
>>> It's All in the Game - Tommy Edwards (ballad)
>>>
>>> The Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley (novelty)
>>>
>>> All I Have to Do Is Dream - Everly Brothers (ballad)
>>>
>>> Tequila - The Champs (instrumental novelty)
>>>
>>> Don't - Elvis Presley (ballad)
>>>
>>> Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare) - Domenico Modungo (Italian ballad)
>>>
>>> Sugartime - McGuire Sisters (pop vocals)
>>>
>>> He's Got the Whole World in His Hands - Laurie London (British boy singer/spiritual)
>>>
>>> The Chipmunk Song - David Seville (Xmas novelty)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 1959 is no better:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin (hopped-up showtune)
>>>
>>> The Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton (country)
>>>
>>> Venus - Frankie Avalon (smarmy teen pop)
>>>
>>> Stagger Lee - Lloyd Price (R&B)
>>>
>>> The Three Bells - The Browns (Nashville country pop)
>>>
>>> Lonely Boy - Paul Anka (smarmy teen pop)
>>>
>>> Come Softly to Me - Fleetwoods (soft MOR pop)
>>>
>>> Smoke Gets in Your Eyes - Platters (Doo-wop pop)
>>>
>>> Heartaches By the Number - Guy Mitchell (pop cover of country song)
>>>
>>> Sleep Walk - Santo & Johnny (instrumental)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> That makes one bonafide rock 'n' roll song to make #1 in two years. I think that the strides rock made in 1956-57 were defused due to the absolutely unbelieavble run of bad luck its leaders had in the next two years: Elvis (drafted), Jerry Lee Lewis (ostracized due to marrying his 13-year old cousin), Carl Perkins (debilitated by a near-fatal auto accident that killed his brother), Chuck Berry (guilty of violating the Mann Act), and Buddy Holly (dead in Iowa).
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will have you believe there was a tidal wave of rock hitting the world in the late 1950s, but as far as radio and record sales went, music went sleepily on its way. The influence was churning beneath the surface - Elvis and Chuck Berry had marked effect on the Beatles as they were growing up - but the initial stages of rock 'n' roll were really just a blip on the screen compared to what the Beatles did.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Cary Ginell
>>>