Keener 13

On Memorial Day, 2007, many of the announcers and newsfolk who were part of the WLS dynasty in the late 60s and 70s returned to the Big 89 for a one-day rewind. It was enjoyable listening, ala Keener’s rebirth during the Woodward Dream Cruises of 2002 and 2003, and it made us ponder our perennial questions: What made these legendary Top-40 flame throwers such unique radio stations in their prime and how has the radio vibe changed over the years? Here are two opinions, one from John Rook, who programmed the Big 89 in the late 60s. The second from Jeff Davis who worked there on the air. See if you notice anything that resonates with the Keener formula.

Five years ago, on the eve of the 35th anniversary of the release of the Sgt. Pepper LP, and three decades after WKNR faded into history, Steve Schram and Scott Westerman launched Keener13.com. Here’s the story of how the site that celebrates Detroits greatest rock and roll radio station came to be.

To paraphrase the Cannon, “It was 40 years ago today, Sgt. Pepper blew the world away..” On June 2, 1967 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released in the United States. The collection ranks as number 1 on the Rolling Stone list of all-time great albums. It’s spawned a thousand imitators up to and including the Simpsons, and four decades later, the Beatles classic is still a household word. So why didn’t any of the album tracks ever make it to the WKNR Music Guide? What two Pepper session recordings weren’t included in the LP, but made it to number 2 on Keener before being included in The Magical Mystery Tour? Who ARE all of those people on the album cover? Which Pepper track did Russ Gibb study during his quest to solve the Paul McCartney death mystery? And what role did a famous WKNR personality play in promoting Sgt. Pepper’s release nationwide? We’ve got all the details right here.

From November 8th, 1967 through January 14th, 1970 Grace Potts kept a journal about goings on “Inside Keener”. As Secretary to WKNR General Manger Walter Patterson, Grace collected birthdays, anniversaries and all sorts of Keener trivia, recording it on a weekly mimeographed newsletter. It was the WKNR version of a late 60s employee weblog, tracing the stations history in brief, tantalizing paragraphs. At the 2005 Detroit Radio Reunion, we learned that WKNR Chief Engineer Jerry Martin had saved a complete set and a few weeks later, a thick package arrived in the mail. Thanks to optical character recognition, we bring it to you here.

Some new and extended air check material from three guys who influenced or were influenced by WKNR. Mort Crowley was Keener’s first morning man. Hot off the heels of a succesfull run in the AM drive slot at WLS and just prior to a long career in St. Louis, the Mortacular Morning Show had a short, memorable run on WKNR. It ended suddenly when Mort quit on the air in March of 1964, after Michigan Bell threatened to cut off Keener’s phone service unless the station cut back on call volume. By today’s standards, it feels like Mort was totally justified in his anger, and even as he edges toward the door, his work on the air during his last day in Detroit is stellar.
Hear it here.

In 1967, down the road in Ann Arbor, WOIA was the only commercial FM station in town that played popular music in stereo at night. Art Vuolo, who made a career out of creating radio guides for people who travel, and who is legendary in the industry as broadcasting’s video archivist, earned an on air slot in the late evenings. He was fond of the “drop cart” sound effects that guys like Dick Biondi had perfected over at WCFL and made the most of the station’s stereo signal by featuring an hour of the stuff during his shift. Even more instersting is the guy who reads the news in this ultra rare aircheck. It’s a young John Landecker, practicing his craft as the WOIA news guy. We hear both at the dawn of their long and successful broadcasting careers (and listen closely for the Keener reference).
Hear it here.

Susan Whitall blogs about Sir Paul’s switch from Capitol to Starbucks. According to Billboard, the King B is looking for “the old excitement”. The new one, Memory Almost Full is due out June 5th. A tour is on the drawing board but won’t be the full blown article due to his “well publicized personal issues.” McCartney’s stuff is already available on Rhapsody and is coming soon to ITunes. The Beatles’ library is headed to digital, too. Mac says the deal is “virtually done”.

It’s hard to believe that its been 40 years since Haight Asbury and Monterey Pop. Some who watched it from Detroit were envious, but in reality much of the scene in California was myth. SFGate posted the first installment of a series about the culture and the events of 1967. It’s a terrific retrospective with many voices you’ll remember.

Michigan State University Professor Gary Reid discusses the beginnings of WDBM – Impact 89 FM, the award winning student FM station in East Lansing. Among MSU students, Impact 89 has become the Keener of the current generation, with Gary’s particular brand of “Intelligent Flexibility”. We learn how a decade after the first FCC application, the station nearly died at birth, how podcating is changing the way audio media is being consumed, and Gary’s take on radio’s future in a world of changing paradigms. Hear the Show

Everyone copies Keener. First it was WABC and now WLS has done it, too. The Big 89 brought back the music Memorial Day Weekend for a one day Special. In the spirit of Keener13.com’s Dream Cruise Weekend broadcast, WLS was rockin from 5am to Midnight featuring famous Rock of Chicago names like LARRY LUJACK, FRED WINSTON, JOHN RECORDS LANDECKER, JEFF DAVIS, CHRIS SHEBEL and TOM KENT. Familiar WLS news voices LYLE DEAN, CATHERINE JOHNS and GIL GROSS and sportscaster LES GROBSTEIN were also on hand.

Ahh Socialism. Holland is one of those countries where all you have to do is petition the government and you may just get your documentary project funded. That’s what Wouter van Opdorp did. Last fall Wouter wrote us in search of the Paul McCartney Death Hoax story, and the WKNR-FM jock who amplified the most famous Beatle urban legend to the international stage. Russ Gibb agreed to a rare interview on the subject and thanks to the largesse of the Dutch Government, Wouter and his team descended on Dearborn to get the scoop.

The co-founder of Keener13.com has a three decade love affair with broadcasting and was a key contributor to WNIC’s (Keener’s successor) return to glory in Detroit. He’s now the Director of Michigan Public Media, the umbrella organization that guides the fortunes of University of Michigan WUOM, WVGR and WFUM. In a wide ranging Spartan Podcast interview, he talks about the increasing popularity of public broadcasting, how IPods satellite radio, HD broadcasting and streaming are impacting terrestrial broadcasting, and his formative years in Detroit radio and at Michigan State University.

After more than three years, the Keener Podcast has faded into history. Why? 1) The day jobs that Steve and Scott have are keeping us pretty busy and time has been at a premium. Both of us won’t do anything Keener related unless we’re certain it will live up to Keener standards. 2) It costs us around $1,000.00 per year in copyright fees to ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. While we heartily support the new podcast licensing structures that these visionary agencies have created, we do all of our Keener projects with our lunch money and the women who manage our finances are telling us to get underwriters or “cut it out”. 3) While several groups of music podcasters continue to work with the RIAA on a mechanical license fee scenario and the association has been kind enough to allow our mentors at places like Coverville to continue to podcast while discussions continue, a mechanism does not currently exist to allow us to use the great Keener music effectively. Everything about Keener13.com is above board and legal and we intend to keep it that way. Our hope is that the RIAA will come to understand the value of podcasting as an effective vehicle for promoting and selling the great music of the Keener era. It’s truly timeless and should be exposed to new generations. Thanks again to Jon Wolfert at Jingles.com for allowing us to use the great PAMS Keener jingles. What may become of the Keener Podcast library? Who knows, WKNR is the most featured radio station on XM’s 60s on 6 channel. Maybe you’ll hear them over there some day soon!