Keener 13

For someone who grew up listening to J.P. McCarthy on WJR, tuning into Wally Phillips‘ shtick on Chicago’s WGN probably felt like entering an alternate universe. Whereas J.P. Was always urbane and on the level, it was anybody’s guess where Wally might take the listener. Whether it was breaking news or pranking Pavarotti, anything could happen when Walter Richard Aloysius Phillips was on the air. The Chicago radio legend was number one, almost from the moment he came to town and regularly pulled in a record share of the potential listening audience for the next two decades. He’s credited by many as a pioneer who helped define talk radio. Listening to a montage of his air work may seem tame by today’s standards, but his ability to tiptoe toward the edge of the envelope without going past it made his show a must-do for stars like Lucille Ball, Sophia Loren and hundreds of others. Phillips passed away on March 20. He was 82.

Let’s face it. It’s nearly impossible to create great radio in the age of homogenization. But if anybody can come close, its Detroits best consultant, Gary Berkowitz. Take a listen to Oldies 92.5 to see how he works his magic on the Florida Gulf Coast.

Murray the K often got the moniker, but it was a former accountant turned road manager that truely became?”the 5th Beatle”. Niel Aspinall, who died on March 23rd, pre-dated Ringo in his relationship with the band became one of the Beatles’ most powerful behind the scenes forces. He is credited with collating?the celebrity pictures for the cover of the Sgt. Pepper album and even took a turn behind the microphone, helping sing the?chorus of “Yellow Submarine”. His biggest achievement: Pulling together the often fractious surviving Beatles for the production of the multi-media “Beatles Anthology.” He was 66.

A 1962 recording, purported to be the first of the fab four with Ringo at the drums, has the Beatles at odds with a Miami record company.

In March of 1971, we were still in Vietnam.?Radio Hanoi sought to tweak US public opinion by having Hanoi Hannah play The Star Spangled Banner as performed by Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. Their hope of angering Amrerica backfired and Jimi’s version became a hit on?underground radio stations across the country including WKNR-FM. Down I-94 in Ann Arbor, WPAG-FM had just launched a nighttime progressive rock format to try and attract listeners to the stations struggling 3,000 watt monaural signal. The format itself was a bit of a stretch for conservative owner Ted Baughn and Program Director Charlie Bross thought he was definitely pushing the edge of the envelope when authorized a new sign-off, featuring the Hendrix version of the National Anthem.

Jack Benny stopped counting his birthdays at age 39 and seemed to remain locked in time at that magic number. When the Monkees‘ Mickey Dolenz turned 63 on March 8, it was another reminder that, while the music of the Keener era stays the same, time marches on. Mickey was the only one of the four with previous television experience, starring in the Circus Boy series from 1956-58 under the name Mickey Braddock. He auditioned for the part of the drummer and had to learn how to play the instrument before the Monkees debuted in September, 1966. That’s his voice singing lead on many of the group’s hits, starting with the “Last Train to Clarksville”. Penned by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, the tune is purportedly an anti-war song about a draftee who is headed for his army base and fears he may die in Vietnam.?Four decades later, it still resonates with a new generation of soldiers. In later years, Mickey found success behind the camera as a director for the BBC, Disney and ABC.

6 icons of the airwaves are on display at the Detroit Historical Museum, including WKNR alum Dick Purtan. DP is honored, along with Bob Allison, Sonny Eliot, Ernie Harwell, JP McCarthy and Martha Jean “The Queen” Steinberg in a display of sight and sound entitled “Detroits Classic Radio Voices”. Here’s more from Susan Whitall at DetNews.com

He was a one hit wonder as a singer in 1973, but Norm “Hurricane” Smith had a subtle but powerful influence on the Keener sound as the guy who turned the dials for 180 Beatle recordings. As an engineer at EMI, he worked closely with George Martin to create the unique sound that launched Liverpool Lads on the international stage. After completing Rubber Soul in 1965, Smith was promoted to producer and crafted three Pink Floyd albums, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn”, “A Saucerful of Secrets”, and “Ummagumma”. 8 years later, he sang a demo of a self-penned song called “Oh Babe, What Would You Say“ hoping to convince another artist to record it. As the story goes, fellow producer Mickie Most convinced Smith to release the track himself. 1973 was a year when unique voices like Dr. John, David Bowie and Al Green were first resonating with the public and Smith’s scratchy tenor sold well enough to make it to number 58 on Billboards year end hot 100. His yet-to-be released autobiography is titled “John Lennon Called Me Normal”?and a 2004 retrospective CD featured liner notes from Paul McCartney and members of Pink Floyd. Smith passed away on March 3rd at the age of 85.

Frank Hartge is one of our most dedicated Keenerfans. He’s my Ebay agent, with an eye out for anything on that site connected to WKNR. And he’s probably the only person in the state of Ohio with his own personal Keener license plates. “The DMV wouldn’t let me use the actual call letters, so I opted for this, which is probably better anyway,” he says. “Not that anyone in central Ohio will know what it means!”

Update: Frank’s not the only one to immortalize Keener with license plateage. The “Reel” Tom Ryan, legendary CKLW board-op and a major contributor of WKNR history to this site, has the Michigan version. “I also have (from the past) a non-vanity Michigan plate ‘KLW 800’ and also a non-vanity Ontario plate ‘KLW 800′”, he writes. ” Both of those plates were regular issues. I had to wait in line in two different countries to obtain those plates in my name. That happened when I moved back to Michigan from Windsor in 1978.” Now that’s dedication!

Mike Smith, the lead singer of the Dave Clark 5, passed away on February 28th, less than two weeks before the group was scheduled to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Smith’s supercharged vocals were part of the mix that brought the DC5 to the front lines of the British Invasion. The band charted 18 times on Keener beginning with “Bits and Pieces”, which peaked at number 2 on the WKNR Music Guide in April of 1964, and ending with “Everybody Knows” which had a?two week run in November of 1967. After the?DC5 broke up,?Smith?fronted his own band?until a freak accident in 2003 left him paralyzed below the ribcage. He was 64.?Smith was the second band member to pass, preceded by saxophone player Denis Payton, who succumbed to cancer in December of 2006.

More Links:
USA Today Appreciation?- AP London?- Rare Film Footage?- Susan Whitall’s Blog?-? Pat St. John Remembers?- Official Mike Smith Website?- DC5 Discography?- USA Today: Accolades finally arrive

I can’t confirm the count, but it seems to us that WKNR has been one of the most popular topics of Terry Young’s Sonic Sound Salute over at XM Radio’s 60s on 6. Terry’s back on the case on Friday, February 22nd, from 4-9PM Eastern time. You’ll hear airchecks from the Bob Green collection along with Keener’s unique mix of personality, audience involvement and great 60s rock n roll. Here’s how DetNews.com’s Susan Whitall covers the story, including a shout-out to Keener13.com.

Mike Austerman, the venerable webmaster over at Michiguide, shares the radio column beat with Art Vuolo over at the Oakland Press. He’s always worth reading, but especially so with this candid assessment of the state of the art in the Motor City. Scroll down to the comment section for some succinct analysis from Keener’s magic maker Bob Green.