Automated oldies formats of the 1960s and 1970s

[Jody-Thornton]

ALL the music, according to the engineer, was from masters, and none from vinyl.  It was clean enough that I believed him, but now,
I think maybe that might not have been true.  It certainly was a different presentation.

I know that the Drake-Chenault formats were all using vinyl as originals for songs.  And I HIGHLY suspect that TM Stereo Rock was as well.  D-C did not use singles though, and I would also suspect that neither did TM.  There are some hints if you had listened REALLY carefully.

Hall and Oates songs from Private Eyes, "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" and "Your Imagination" were like the single remixes, however those were adapted from 12" extended remixes.  TM could have just spliced those to single length.  Denice Williams' "Let's Hear it For the Boy" was edited from a 12" remix version to sound much like the single (though here I'm surprised they didn't just use the LP - it was more common, but the 12" had an edge to it).  Rod Stewart's "Passion", Blondie's "Rapture", and Prince's "Little Red Corvette" were all custom LP edits, and they did not use the 45 edits for these.

There is one other possible hint.  When I was working in radio still, we had TM's GoldDisc service.  Did you ever notice that many of the supposed "single edits" were actually LP edits cut to length?  Steve Winwood's "Finer Things", and "While You See a Chance" stick out in my mind, as does Simply Red's "Holding Back the Years".  Also, a hint for the use of vinyl; on George Benson's "Give Me the Night", there is some slight surface noise at the end of the fade, and you can hear that a noise gate was used, because of the severe high-frequency roll-off at the end of the fade.

I would assume that the avoidance of using 45s was because of the higher VU level, end-of-side distortion, and other anomolies that arise from tracking records at the most inner dimensions of the disc.  Whereas LPs are more flexible, so the wear is less, as is the noise.  Some, or should I say many LPs can sound astonishing on even modest tables.

Cheers,
Jody Thornton
(sorry to babble)

[Johnf]

>I think, what was amazing was that the machines took up so much space.  Eight feet high and about fifteen feet long and at least two feet wide.  I saw the machines at WCAU-FM, KOL-FM and at least a half dozen other stations. 

Yes!  I had forgotten that KOL-FM had an automated contemporary rock music format (which was simulcast part-time on KOL-AM at night) in the mid-1970s, around 1975, when I was in college in Seattle.  Was that the TM Stereo Rock format?  I never knew what it was, because I don't remember it having regular IDs that announced the format, like Drake-Chenault's did....

[Jinglefreak]

> 

Yes!  I had forgotten that KOL-FM had an automated contemporary rock music format (which was simulcast part-time on KOL-AM at night) in the mid-1970s, around 1975, when I was in college in Seattle.  Was that the TM Stereo Rock format?  I never knew what it was, because I don't remember it having regular IDs that announced the format, like Drake-Chenault's did....

KOL-FM was indeed TM Stereo Rock during that period.  Somewhere I have an aircheck clip that I will post.  They chose to use TM's "Pacific & Southern" jingles (the ones used on KIMN in Denver) instead of the traditional TM Stereo Rock jingle package.  They carried it until approx. 1976 when a Bellingham station at 104.3 picked it up. (I forget the calls)

[Lane Lindstrom]

I just happened to find this thread, as an automation collector....and tapes as well you may want to take a look at  http://www.drakechenault.org/  It tells about how the formats were produced and shipped to stations.  I only have Hitparade and Solid-Gold reels, and they are not only fun to listen to, but also fun to watch as the system plays along.  The late Billy Moore did the time announce and voice track for Hitparade and Solid Gold, Bob Kingsley did the Great America Country format.

Lane

[Johnf]

>KOL-FM was indeed TM Stereo Rock during that period.  Somewhere I have an aircheck clip that I will post. 


I would very much appreciate you posting that!  Thanks .. it would bring back some memories!


>They carried it until approx. 1976 when a Bellingham station at 104.3 picked it up. (I forget the calls)

I don't remember when 104.3 became KNWR "Northwest Rock", but it may have been in the late 1970s.  I know those were definitely the call letters in the early 1980s (I lived then in nearby Anacortes, Wash.)
 
 
 

[Johnf]

>I only have Hitparade and Solid-Gold reels, and they are not only fun to listen to, but also fun to watch as the system plays along.  The late Billy Moore did the time announce and voice track for Hitparade and Solid Gold,

If you are at all inclined to post those airchecks on the web, we could enjoy the fun along with you! :-)  (Thanks in advance if you are able to do this)

[Lane Lindstrom]

Have never made any airchecks of the format playing. I do occasionally do a private stream of it to listen at work.

Lane