Keener 13

Like him or not, there’s no question that Elvis Presley still is a phenomenon. New generations, born long after he “left the building” are fascinated with his life and career, his recordings still sell at a brisk pace, and Elvis impersonators represent a measurable showbiz segment, wherever gamblers congregate, from the pueblos of New Mexico to the glitter of Las Vegas. August 16th marks 30 years since the King’s death. From the Freep, here is Terry Lawson’s Essential Elvis.

For those of us who grew up listening to WKNR in the 60s, Faygo was as much a part of the culture as Ballpark Franks, Strohs Beer and the Ernie Harwell. What you might not know is that it was Faygo?that coined the term “pop” after the sound made when you open a Faygo bottle. Or that Faygo’s national popularity happened after they started advertising on Detroit Tiger radio broadcasts. Or that Harold Peary, the frustrated store owner who repeated the long list of Faygo flavors only to have the kid select “Red Pop”, was best known as radio’s Great Gildersleeve. Faygo TV ads are some of the most memorable of the Keener era. Here’s a link to the original Faygo Kid spot, along with a YouTube connection to the “remember when you were a kid” ad that was shot on the BobLo boat, celebrating some of the best of Detroits cultural magic.

He was best known as the writer/producer of Nancy Sinatra’s 1966 break through “These Boots Are Made For Walking”, but Lee Hazlewood, who died this week at age 78, put his imprint on a number of Keener hits. The former Arizona disk jockey charted twice as a singer. A pair of duets with Sinatra, “Jackson” and “Some Velvet Morning”, made their way to the WKNR Music Guide in 1967. But his work behind the scenes had a longer reach. He co-wrote Duane Eddy’s smash “Rebel Rouser”, worked as producer for Dean Martin, Dusty Springfield, Dino, Desi & Billy and Petula Clark and handled the controls when?Sinatra Senior asked him to?produce?the?Frank and Nancy top 5 classic “Something Stupid”. The songs he wrote provided a lifetime of financial security that allowed Hazlewood to thumb his nose at the record company establishment. Yet he kept recording until the end. His?final collection “Cake or Death” was released last year. Here’s how NPR showcased his life and career.

Pattie Boyd, the woman every hardcore Beatle fan knows as the British model who married George Harrison, leaving him for Eric Clapton, is releasing a juicy autobiography. What was her connection to the film “Hard Day’s Night”? Was Pattie the cause of Clapton’s heroin addiction? Is she the woman Harrison was thinking about when he wrote the smash “Something”? Were there other affairs involving Beatle spouses? And why release the book now? Susan Whitall tells the tale along with sound bytes and music clips in the Detroit News. Here’s Claptons take from the Times of London

“I’m not braggin babe so don’t put me down, but I’ve got the fastest set of wheels in town.” With that sentence, Brian Wilson and Roger Christian kicked off one of the most popular car songs of all time. Little Deuce Coupe was actually a B-Side, released on the flip of Surfer Girl in July of 1963, three months before WKMH became WKNR. Along with the album of the same name, Little Deuce Coupe cemented the Beach Boys’ reputation as THE hot rod band of the 60s. But none of this would have happened if Capitol Records had not tweaked Brian Wilson’s ire. That same summer, the Beach Boys’ label released a car compilation entitled “Shut Down” that featured the Boys’ single of the same name along with 409 and a host of other non-Beach Boy material. It happend without Brian Wilson’s involvement or approval and he immediately decided that the band should fire back with a hot rod album of their own. Brian, along with DJ Christian, polished the lyrics of a half dozen new car songs and the band rushed into the studio in September, recording 8 new automotive tinged tracks, tacking on the previously released Deuce Coupe, Our Car Club and Shut Down and topping off the production with Be True To Your School. The album was released in October, only 12 weeks after the Surfer Girl collection (with Little Deuce Coupe on board) hit the record stores. The single peaked nationally at number 4. Little Deuce Coupe, the LP, eventually went platinum and is still available today on CD, coupled with All Summer Long. The album is also notable as the last time we hear David Marks’ rhythm guitar. Al Jardine had returned during the Deuce Coupe sessions becoming Marks’ permanent replacement. It’s one of those Keener anomalies that while the Beach Boys charted 21 times on the station, “Be True To Your School” was the only tune from Deuce Coupe that made it to the WKNR Music Guide. There’s a Detroit connection to the iconic blue and white Deuce Coupe that’s featured on the album cover. Read Susan Whitall’s fascinating story for the details.

In April of 1968, Stephen Stills was fresh from the breakup of Buffalo Springfield and in the final throws of a romance with Judy Collins. After a late night session helping her record the sound track for “The Subject Was Roses”, Stills paid the studio engineer to hang around and unpacked his guitar. Keener13.com curator Scott Westerman tells what happened next.

He wrote musicals and hits for an eclectic mix of artists. His most popular, “For Once In My Life” was recorded over 270 times. Here’s the AP obit from the Detroit News.

In the summer of 1967 chaos broke out in the streets of Detroit. After five days of violence 43 were dead, thousands were injured and over 4000 people had been arrested. WKNR Contact News covered it all and chronicled the events in an album of news highlights released early in 1968. This summer, forty years later, Michigan Radio takes an in-depth look at the deadliest riot of the 1960s. Why did the riots begin? What fueled them? And, have we ever really recovered? Ashes to Hope: Overcoming the Detroit Riots will explore how the riots affected people, neighborhoods and even music. And will address questions such as: Whether it was truly a riot? Or, a rebellion? Is the white-flight that we see today in Detroit a consequence of the riots? Did the riots cripple the relationship between the state of Michigan and Detroit? And, could rioting happen again? In addition to Michigan Radio reporters, WKNR’s News Director Philip Nye contributes context to the story, along with Contact News air checks from the center of the storm. The program begins Tuesday evening, July 17th at 9:00 PM with an encore July 23rd at 3:00 PM. For more information, visit MichiganRadio.org

On July 3rd, The Frost’s Dick Wagner suffered what his website describes as a “massive heart attack”. Here’s more information, along with a blog post about his involvement with AliceCooper. The Frost Music?LP?spent seven weeks on the Keener album charts in May of 1969. Their superb single, Mystery Man, had a one week chart run on the AM side, but was an oft requested album cut on WKNR-FM. Hear it here.

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!