JIM ROSE REMEMBERS RADIO Issue #539
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August 06, 2008 [Wednesday]
Issue #539
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ALL THE NEWS THAT IS NEWS
OPRY HONORS THE CLASSICS
Lately, we hear heated discussions that concern vintage Country stars who appear to be pushed aside in place of newer and younger recording artists at the Grand Ole Opry. Not only old-time Country artists rebel but fans join them in protest. One well-known Country Classics artist who comes to mind is Stonewall Jackson. He has a lawsuit against the Opry because he no longer has a prime time spot on stage. These are the recording artists who make the 83 year old Grand Ole Opry an American icon. Of course the Opry denies this shun happens but seems like the facts outweigh their words. Guess the Opry wants to put a kind of hush to these rumors about Classic Country artists because the Grand Ole Opry adds a fourth show to its normal weekly schedule with the name Opry Country Classics that spotlights those Oldies which definitely are the Goodies. Steve Buchanan, President of Gaylord Entertainment's Grand Ole Opry Group, refers to these as the standards of Country music. Beginning in 2009 Thursday nights become known as Opry Country Classics with Classic Country stars picking and singing the tunes that make them and the Opry famous as institutions. Probably another factor is that Country radio no longer plays Classic Country hits that go back to the 1950s to the 1980s. John Conlee, an Opry member since 1981, who has one of Country music's great hit standards Rose Colored Glasses. In 1978, while I am a DJ on KNUZ-1230 here in Houston we play that song when it is brand new. A great tune like that really sticks in our minds but we never hear them anymore. Conlee performs at least 80 shows each year. His fans yearn for Classic Country tunes, What I've found in the last few years is there is a hunger for Classic Country like never before. I think part of the hunger is they don't hear us as much on new Country radio. So the best way for them to hear us is to come to a live show. I think this new Opry night will give yet another opportunity for that. I think this is going to bring some of those standards back into play. I think you'll hear a lot of us do those songs again, and that's great because when you stop to think about many of the folks who did those songs are no longer here to do them. Cannot express it any better myself because I, too, miss playing those Country Classics on the radio because I remember them as brand new tunes. Like present Grand Ole Opry broadcasts we get to hear Thursday night Classic Country on Nashville, TN's legendary WSM-650 which shoots out its signal all over America at night. Bring on the Classics! Salute!
TRIVIA QUESTION: Who is the backup singer on Carly Simon's hit You're So Vain? The answer appears below.
COUNTRY CLASSICS BIRTHDAY
One of Nashville, TN's finest songwriters, singers and pianists Bobby Braddock is 68 years young this week. Bobby comes to life on August 5, 1940 in Lakeland, FL. He goes on to write timeless Classics like one of my absolute favorite George Jones' tunes He Stopped Loving Her Today and countless other hits. The song reaches #1 in 1980. If you never hear that song before, it's well worth your time to find it and listen closely to the words. The first time that I ever play the song on the radio, the last line nearly knocks me off the chair. Guarantee that you cannot wait to listen to the tune again and a little closer the next time. The song tells a story that captures our heart. Sometimes it seems like songwriters are overnight sensations but Bobby says he writes maybe 150 songs before he gets his first writing deal that pays money. Braddock claims that it takes another two years and 100 songs before his first Top 10 hit. Then a few months later comes his first #1 hit tune. Bobby says after his first big hit by Tammy Wynette, D-I-V-I-O-R-C-E, he splurges and buys a swimming pool. Bobby is a member of the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame with 13 #1 hits and 29 BMI performance awards. Sony/Tree publishes Bobby's hit songs for over 38 years! Salute!
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
•DEENA BLAKE formerly night DJ/MD on WMZQ FM (98.7) Washington, D.C. joins CBS Radio WUSN FM (US 99) Chicago. IL. We Texans remember her on KRYS FM (99.1) Corpus Christi and KASE FM (101.7) Austin. •KRIS RICHARDS moves on up from PD/AM Drive DJ on East Carolina Radio WRSF FM (105.7) Columbia, NC to OM/PD at Two Rivers Communications at AC WKWI FM (101.7) Kilmarnock, VA & Country WIGO FM (104.9) White Stone, VA. •JENNY does Omaha, NB middays on NRG Hot AC KQKQ FM (Q98-5). •MATT PRICE is new afternoon DJ on KOOO FM (101.9) Omaha-Lincoln, NB.
ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS MILESTONES
•1958 NEAL MCCOY singer/showman (No Doubt About It #1-1994 & Wink #1-1994) born on July 30th in Jacksonville, TX. •1967 OTIS REDDING R&B singer dies in a Plane Crash in Lake Monona in Madison, WI on December 10th. •1974 MARTY ROBBINS finishes 15th in the NASCAR Winston 500 at Talladega, AL on May 5th. •1984 PHILLIPPÉ WYNNE tenor singer with The Spinners dies of a heart attack on July 14th. •1992 BROOKS & DUNN's Boot Scootin' Boogie begins a four-week stay at #1 on the charts on August 1st. •2003 BILL DEAL singer/organ with the The Rhondels (May I #39-1969) dies from a heart attack on December 10th.
EMAILS YES WE HAVE EMAIL
DERRILL E. HOLLY (Arlington, VA) Subject: The KIKK and Elvis item. Chris Collier, that is a name I hadn't heard in years. The old South Shaver studios in Pasadena were a fun little ole radio factory back then. You'll recall that the sales, accounting and business departments had moved over to Gulfton in late spring. You, me and Charlie Ochs were hired within a matter of weeks of each other (Think I got there first and joined the news department under Buddy Sadler). Bottom line was that with no one there but the promotions crew, half the engineering staff and the air staff, the inmates really had a summer to run the asylum. It was a good time. Still remember the day Elvis died, we went to the walls on the news side while Collier, Ochs, Joe Ladd and others put together a huge tribute vigil special. It was good radio, KIKK was number one, and to paraphrase Barbara Mandrell, Country was so darn cool. Derrill E. Holly
DAVE LANE (Atlanta, GA) forgot to mention, today 5/5/08, is Bobby Braddock's birthday (Hall of fame song writer: He stopped loving her today - George Jones, D-I-V-O-R-C-E - Tammy Wynnette & hundreds more) ... I think bobby is a year older than me (would make him 68 today). Dave Lane, Cashbox Radio Program Director
RAY WHITWORTH (D/FW-Arlington, TX) Hi Jim: Well the Texas Radio Hall of Fame balloting is in and the new inductees were announced. I congratulate them all, however I believe some reform is really needed in the election process. I don't ever to be inducted myself, and I am okay with that really, but there are so many that deserve to be, that (under the current ballot form) most likely will never be either. I have spoken in the past about this, and received a cool reception. There are several "inductees" who ar in agreement with me whom I also spoke with about the way the ballot is composed. The first year of balloting it was broken down according to market size and I believe position. Now it's a single one size fits all. The well known names over shadows the others who literally worked their b***s off and contributed significantly to broadcasting in Texas. They are the small to medium market guys, producers, etc. The ballot needs to go back to market size and position, second the vote tallys should become available at the Texas Radio Hall of Fame site. After all if elected offices in government can show vote tallys, why not the TROF? A change is needed. Ray Whitworth
BEN LAURIE (Dallas, TX) Subject: 250 watt blowtorches. Jim, Bill Laurie was my dad and mentor. He built KEBE in Jacksonville as he was selling KNET in Palestine to a young Navy veteran just out of the war. His name was Gordon McLendon, who had filed for a CP for a station in Dallas, but wanted some practical broadcast experience before taking on a larger market. Four years later, Dad bought KNET back for just what Gordon had paid for it and had two stations for awhile. I was 9 years old when I first met Tom Perryman. I later got my own start at KEBE working all through high school in the afternoons and on weekends. Many of your KTER stories I can readily identify with. BTW, The station in Dallas was the famous KLIF, getting its name by being in the Cliff Towers Hotel basement in Oak Cliff, Texas.
LESLIE WAYNE HODGES (Marshall, Texas) Subject: KTER Terrell, Texas. Hi Jim, wow!!! to your experience in Terrell. While I was with the Texas Travel Information Center in Waskom Texas about March 2007 I think a retired banker tells me at my information desk that he is going to Terrell to meet his friend on buying a radio station in Terrell. May I have some of your WFAA air checks. WFAA sounded great during this time of the 1960's through 1979. I wonder if the owners and investors at Belo knew this. Leslie
TRIVIA ANSWER: Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones sings backup with Carly Simon on her #1 Christmas 1972 hit You're So Vain.
JIMMY RABBITT (Grand Junction, CO) 'The Rabbitt Report' is Saturday & Sunday 2-5 pm CDT on
JOSH BILLINGS (1818-1885) A puppy plays with every pup he meets, but an old dog has few associates.
Jim Rose and Tejas
Houston, Texas États-Unis
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