Keener 13

By Steve Schram & Scott Westerman

When term “Secret Sauce” was first used is hard to pinpoint. It became prominent in the 70s when  Jack in the Box and McDonald’s were battling for market share. Some us can probably sing, “Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun,” from memory. It’s harder to recall Jack In the Box’s response: “two burger patties, American cheese, Jack’s Secret Sauce, shredded lettuce, and two pickle slices on a three-piece bun.”

However it may have originated, Secret Sauce has come to be associated with success.

When radio people congregate, there is always discussion about what made 60s Top 40 radio rock. The buzz around the on-air reunions attests to the continuing connection listeners have with the radio stations they grew up with. That’s something that’s clearly not the case today. Our kids’ generation listens to music on their smart devices and work through their adolescent adventures on social media and messaging applications. And, aside from the morning shifts, there is a distinct absence of power talent in other radio day-parts.

Being on the fringe of the biz, we at keener13.com get back-channeled on some of the memos that are coming out of the programming departments at the companies that control our broadcast media. They are thoughtful, methodical, and take into account the latest research methodology. But something seems to be missing. Reading them prompted us to ask our Keener mentors, “what things contributed to the WKNR success formula on the air?”

Bob Green was there when the station struggled as WKMH. He was there at the height of the Keener phenomenon and witnessed the changes that lead to its ultimate demise. He was a major contributor to WKNR’s success. Here’s his take:

“Taking into account the differences in the way we were 40 years ago and the faith I had in the professionalism of the on air staff, there are still a few universal truths that apply to good programming.

“It still comes down to putting content into: a. The Product, and b. The Presentation… The journey and the destination or whatever metaphor works for you. I always referred to the elements and their balance. All the elements, music, Jock talk, telephone bits, jingles, commercials, promos, contests/promotions, news…they were all programmed. That was all outlined and constantly referred to at jock meetings and was usually both understood and practiced.

“Only thing I recall having to point out to guys who got lazy, was not to play the same jingle 2 or 3 times in a row (as they left the cart in the machine) or to play a jingle that was inappropriate for the moment.

“The music rotation was fairly simple at Keener, with 31 songs- 3 lps and a Key song (and an oldie or 2 depending on when we made a few changes in the clock). The placement of “heavy” top 13s out of the news and at the top of the hour were never something that had to be brought up..it just happened.

“At the time, it was verboten to play 2 females in a row, or 2 instrumentals in a row, (those were the times). There were a few occasions where a jock determined that the Key Song was a stiff and didn’t play it. (I think I can count myself in there in 1964).

“My criteria for determining music play back then was ‘P.O.P’. Popularity (in terms of chart position and requests), Orientation (the demographic most served by a song) and Pace. We kind of undulated in that last area, with 2 slow songs in a row being avoided. Daypart pacing considerations were basically the obvious difference between 7-Midnight and all other dayparts.

“My main concern was always with the presentation. There were the creative elements of presentation, unique to each personality. And there were fundamental technical aspects like obviously sloppy segues, sloppy levels (beyond what the uni-level could handle) and, God forbid, dead air were absolutely not acceptable. But more importantly, it was all about flow. Flow that, if executed correctly, happened flawlessly without the listener being aware of it. For example, there was only ONE perfect moment to start talking out of a record; Not before the fade begins (or if a cold ending, the last remnants of the note or echo) and not after the fade has fully established. And of course backsell was plat du jour in 1966.

“Its interesting how some programmers today distill things down to the year. Having a different perspective on decades these days than in the 40s – 80s, I recall that years by themselves didn’t define a particular decade. Music reflects cultural changes and its the events, not the years that determine the start and end of an era. Giselle Mackensie & Patti Page reflected the polite adult (if not Stepford Wives) presentation, sans Glenn Miller, of the late 40s. The 50s didn’t REALLY become “the 50s” until Bill Haley & The Comets. The Sixties didn’t REALLY begin until the Death of John F. Kennedy…and so on. (Of course there are timeless anomalies like Tony Bennett – Allright Tone!) I can’t say I’m really aware of 1989 being apart from 1990, but then I may not have been paying attention.

“In ALL areas of the content and its presentation, we always addressed the ‘perception’ card. The same elements differently ordered or concentrated on could easily alter the way the station was perceived. We did talk about CONNECTION, although the C word was not yet in vogue. But the concept certainly was. And the idea of ‘being UP’, the mantra of most top 40s back then, was something I altered and felt strongly about. I said..’Be APPROPRIATE’.

“If its funny- laugh; if its exciting- get excited; if its sad or thoughtful- be warm. That part of how we were perceived made us both real and human. Sure, we stressed making people feel good, enjoying what we were doing and letting it be obvious, but doing a PSA for Cancer and treating it like a pile of frivolous fun was pretty silly . (I heard it often elsewhere).

“If I’d had my druthers (or my memory at the time) I’d have approached the idea that “formats” should be there to serve the air people, not the other way around. Boundaries and definition of a format should not be constraints. At Keener the boundaries were agreed upon common sense principals we really chose to live by, and we always found room within those boundaries to be creative. Even with the boundaries, there was always latitude to make Intelligent decisions that, under the stranglehold of programmers who make the air personality serve the format, aren’t possible. The listener is the loser.”

Bob Green’s exceptional talent was not anomaly during Keener’s glory days. People were always at the core of the WKNR programming philosophy. Keener hired pros who understood the vibe and intrinsically knew the definition of “appropriate”. That definition often changed on the fly and the announcers were empowered to re-write it.

Gary Stevens says, “We threw out a lot of what Mike Joseph (the original Keener programming consultant) recommended almost immediately.. it was a group effort.”

Jim Sanders and Bill Bonds totally re-wrote the format the day of the Kennedy assassination and WKNR became a talk station. The late Mort Crowley said that his morning show was in a constant state of reinvention as Keener battled the competition, “like tigers fighting over red meat”. J. Michael Wilson’s Rodney the Rodent character was totally of his own creation, becoming part of the brand as he moved from nights to mornings and ultimately to CHUM in Toronto. Paul Cannon’s sixth sense for hit records lead him to edit a 20 minute album track to 3:05 and In-a-gadda-da-vida became a national top ten single smash. Scott Regen’s show was a study in continuous innovation. The Testifiers, The Burger Club, Stevie Wonder singing along in the Keener control room with the premiere of “Fingertips”, and Scott’s total awareness of what was happening on other Detroit stations co-opted the competition’s notions almost before they happened.

And the Paul McCartney death rumors might never have found international traction without Russ Gibb’s snap decision to turn his Sunday program into an exploration of the supposed clues. Russ remembers that the FM PD called during the show to ask what was causing all the commotion with the only advice being, “whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”

The radio experience at the height of WKNR’s popularity was a sonic roller coaster, a Bob-Lo Island thrill ride that seemed to be constantly evolving daily with new twists and turns. The announcers conducted a symphony, where the formatic elements brought you up or down to the appropriate mood of the music, or in the case of the Kennedy coverage, the tone of the news story.

It was a subtle yet powerful experience that anyone who ever listened to Joel Sebastian’s top of the hour PAMS CLYDE ID jingle won’t ever forget. The anticipation built from the moment you heard the tympani and by the time the singers cried “Motor City Music” you were ready for the hottest up-tempo record on the WKNR Music Guide.

The branding message we used to see on every Keener logo, “The Station that KNOWS Detroit”, was another important dimension. While Keener contributed to the Beatles’ international success, it was also the launching pad for Tim Tam, The Underdogs, ? and the Mysterians, Mitch Ryder, Bob Seger and an entire record label (Motown) that transformed the R&B niche into a mainstream hit machine.

Could something like that happen in a Market today? Like Honey Baked Ham, Silvercup Bread and Stroh’s Beer, Keener was customized specifically for Motor City tastes and the market responded with a loyalty that still resonates decades after the “Spooktacular” heralded the station’s debut on Halloween Night in 1963. In a world where we often distill a product to the point that it loses all flavor, the secret sauce that made Keener great was a distinctly local recipe.

Some of today’s programmers might argue that the considerable fragmentation of media choices in the Internet age makes it impossible to create an entity that can grab the audience shares Keener generated at its height. The quest for scale naturally homogenizes the product, ultimately delivering what Fred Silverman called “The Least Objectionable Alternative.” Those same programmers who take the time to reflect on the impact that Keener made may also come to understand and admire the creativity generated by the the entire team and the loyalty it engendered in young listeners that is as powerful now as it was during WKNR’s prime.

Audiences are fickle. They only pay attention as long as you are adding value to their lives. Part of that value is making them feel like they are the most important persons in the room. At the height its popularity, that was exactly what WKNR was able to do.

In retrospect, it’s an amazing accomplishment. An intensely local focus and true collaborative culture that celebrates innovation within the broad confines of the an ever evolving brand identity is largely absent today. Scott vividly remembers when his privately held company was sold to a publicly traded entity. The new CEO’s message to the team? “Our number one priority is Shareholder Value.” That became defined by continuously cutting expenses to show positive year over year cash flow growth. In a business with few competitors, the goal was finding “just about right”, that sour spot where customers were almost unhappy enough to leave, but didn’t.

Despite the seemingly continuous innovation going on in the technologically driven world today, for many companies, creating a mutually beneficial, personal relationship with the customer no longer the prime directive. Prioritizing cash flow as a “cause” and not an “effect” makes it unlikely that we’ll ever see anything remotely close to the Keener magic ever again.

Steve Schram is Director of Michigan Radio and served as Market Broadcast Vice President with management responsibility for WNIC, Keener’s successor. Scott Westerman is a former telecom executive and radio program director. They were Michigan State University college roomates and long time radio co-workers, founding keener13.com in 2002.

By Scott Westerman – Keener13.com
After reading John Colapinto’s fascinating New Yorker article, When I’m 64, Paul? McCartney Then and Now, I was inspired to look over my Beatle 45 collection to see what tunes were on the flip sides of their American singles during the Keener era.

1963: I Saw Her Standing There?- 1964: You Can’t Do That, I Should Have Known Better, I’m Happy Just to Dance with You, If I Fell, Slow Down, She’s a Woman -1965: I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party, Yes It Is, I’m Down, Act Naturally?- 1966: What Goes On, Rain?- 1967: Baby You’re a Rich Man, I Am the Walrus?- 1968: The Inner Light, Revolution?- 1969: Old Brown Shoe?- 1970: You Know My Name (Look up the Number), For You Blue

If you discount the stuff from 1969 on as being influenced by those outside of the Beatles’ hit machine (Brian Epstein and George Martin), the 17 B sides are remarkable. With a couple of exceptions, each one was or could have been a smash hit in its own right.

Compare that to the bulk of the other acts of the decade and you’ll find for the most part that B sides were populated with tunes that were meant to be abused by the turntable platter.? The Stones only had a couple of double sided hits: Ruby Tuesday / Lets Spend the Night Together and Honky Tonk Woman / You Can’t Always Get What You Want. Only the Beach Boys come within striking distance. The partial list below doesn’t include the hits with duds on the flip:

1962 Surfin’ Safari/409? -1963 Surfin’ U.S.A./Shut Down, Surfer Girl/Little Deuce Coupe, Be True to Your School/In My Room, Fun, Fun, Fun/Why Do Fools Fall in Love??- 1964 I Get Around/Don’t Worry Baby, Wendy/Little Honda, Dance, Dance, Dance/The Warmth of the Sun??- 1966 Wouldn’t It Be Nice/God Only Knows

I don’t know about you, but I used to love to listen to B sides anyway. It was a way to see if the group was for real, or just a one-trick-pony. And sometimes they would yield a gem that never found its way to the air, but became an underground personal favorite.

As the record industry slowly starts to embrace on-line distribution, singles are coming back as downloadable one-offs on Rhapsody and I-Tunes. We don’t need B sides anymore. But I miss them.

Back in the 60s, putting the Keener brand on multiple platforms included matchbooks, pens and music guides. Today, there are Keenerfans all across the Internet. People are viewing this site from cell phones. Bob Green has an aircheck collection over at ReelRadio.com that brings visitors our way. And now we’ve set up Keener sites on Facebook and Twitter. If you’re members of those virtual communities, check us out!

Over 40 years after WKNR made its debut, people still remember how Keener touched their lives. In the last week alone, we’ve received a dozen Keener inquiries and some fresh fodder for the Keener Memory Page. How did “The Station that Knows Detroit” effect you? What were you doing when you listened to WKNR? What was your favorite Keener hit? And who was your favorite Keener DJ? Send your Keener memories to curator@keener13.org, and we’ll share them with the world.

It was a question of where and when. In 1944, the Germans knew that the allies had massed the greatest armada in modern times on the British isles and that it was only a matter of time until they made the jump to start a second front on the coast of France. But where and when? In the early hours of June 6th, all eyes focused on a small strip of beach along?the Normandy coast and the direction of World War II was irrevocably changed. In those days, it was radio that interpreted events, and each of the four networks, CBS, NBC, ABC and Mutual, had agreed pool their resources to cover the landings. Here at home, one name has become associated with this event: Robert Trout. He helped define the term Anchorman with his marathon D-Day broadcast and set a standard that everyone who followed, including the award winning WKNR Contact News department, tried to emulate. MORE

Another Keener connection closed this week when Paul Christy passed away at age 69. Born Paul Christides, Christy was on air during Top 40 radio’s prime, gaining notoriety at WCFL in Chicago before turning his attention to programming. He put his mark on WCAR, WABX and WMXD in Detroit. But Keenerfans will remember his collaboration with Ed Christian that brought the Keener brand briefly back to the air in the late 70s as WWKR. One of the announcers he hired to work at the reborn Keener 13 was keener13.com co-founder Steve Schram. On the FM side, Christy brought Alan Almond to Keener’s FM successor, WNIC, and helped create the popular Pillow Talk program. He also discovered a young man named John Huzar who was working as Tom Michaels?on WAAM in Ann Arbor. Today we know him as WMGC morning ace Jim Harper. Christy returned to the air, doing mornings at WKSG-FM 102.7 in 1984. He never lost his love for the business, continuing to make personal appearances until health issues started to slow him down.

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”.