Tag: PAMS

If You Ain’t Heard Your Name By This Time, It’s Probably Cause It Just Don’t Rhyme!

My messy office at home

Helaine has declared it spring cleaning time. There’s no excuse for me to be a slacker. After 23 years in this house we’ve accumulated a lot of crap. Everything must go!

OK–not everything, but if I haven’t looked at it over the last decade (or possibly two) it needs to be tossed. Fair enough.

The anti-intuitive part of cleaning and straightening is the first step is to make things messier! I have two wall units. I pulled most everything to the floor.

That’s tough love cleaning. It becomes easier to toss than return!

From time-to-time a discovery is made. Like most archaeological digs, most of what was unearthed in my room was worthless. Not everything!

I have audio tapes. Reel-to-reel. No player. I couldn’t toss them. OK–I tossed a few unlabeled boxes.

There were audio cassettes too. That’s where this afternoon’s KGB aircheck came from.

Tonight there are audio CDs and three gems I have to share. Indulge me.

Part of what made radio so special was the production of it all. The premier production element was (and is) the jingle.

I’ve written about and linked to the work of Jon Wolfert. He is the King of Jingles. Irrefutable. He is the keeper of the flame.

Alas, none of what I’m posting is his. I hope he doesn’t think I’m cheating.

First up the PAMS copyright notice. A jingle company could have printed its copyright notice on the label. Not PAMS. They chose to sing theirs!

Second, the iconic news opening from the Johnny Mann produced package that ran on stations consulted by Bill Drake (and a few others). After the third note, just say (in your ballsiest voice), “It’s twenty minutes before three. I’m Byron MacGregor, CKLW 20-20 News.”

Finally, a jingle company’s tribute to itself and its clients. This is the TM Song. This blog entry’s title, “If You Ain’t Heard Your Name By This Time, It’s Probably Cause It Just Don’t Rhyme!” is included in the lyrics!

I love this stuff. Radio and I were very close.

My Favorite Jingle, Version 3.0

When you’re a kid and not feeling well you’re likely to get gifts. Hey kids, adults are guilt ridden!

Actually, when you’re a grown-up you get get well gifts as well. We just got a delivery of amazing brownies. Earlier last week I got a beautiful fruit/goodies basket from the folks at work. And then there’s the jingle.

A jingle isn’t a traditional get well gift. In fact this jingle probably wasn’t even meant as a get well gift. It is one anyway.

When you’re a kid and not feeling well you’re likely to get gifts. Hey kids, adults are guilt ridden!

Actually, when you’re a grown-up you get get well gifts as well. We just got a delivery of amazing brownies. Earlier last week I got a beautiful fruit/goodies basket from the folks at work. And then there’s the jingle.

A jingle isn’t a traditional get well gift. In fact this jingle probably wasn’t even meant as a get well gift. It is one anyway.

My jingle comes from JAM Creative Productions in Dallas. JAM makes the jingles radio stations play between songs.

We use the finest team of vocalists, musicians, writers and producers, and our custom-built facilities, to create musical images heard around the world. – JAM website

JAM stands for Jon and Mary Lyn. I have known them since the 70s.

This jingle started its life before JAM existed! It was originally PAMS Series 29 Cut 6 and was customized for morning drive at WABC. I played it when I did nights on 1100 WBT Charlotte. Back then the lyrics were:

From Canada to Florida, Carolina and the USA. 11-10. Double-youuuuuu Beeee Teeee

When I worked in New Haven, Jon cut a custom version for me. Now at FoxCT it’s been sung again. Each version has become my all time favorite jingle! How could it not?

I love this jingle on a variety of levels. Yes, I worked on a 50,000 watt station heard from Canada to Florida… and we bragged about it! Yes, it’s very cool to know singers have sung your name.

This must be a get well gift because I can’t play it on-the-air until I get well. I’m hoping one more week will do it.

Thanks Jon and Mary Lyn. It’s even cooler than you think.

Go ahead, play the jingle!

PAMS Series 29 Cut 6 / Canada-to-Florida custom! by Geoff Fox 1

They Fired Joey Reynolds

Whereas most radio stations and disk jockeys had jingles cut in Dallas by Pams or TM (or now by my friend Jon Wolfert at Jam) Joey had a jingle sung by the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons!

Word came last night WOR radio let Joey Reynolds go. I can’t help but feel bad because Joey is one of the reasons radio attracted me so much and why I made it my career for 11 years. Though I lived in Queens and had both WMCA and WABC at my beck and call I gravitated to WKBW in Buffalo, a station I could only hear after dark.

Joey was having a party in the studio and I was invited night-after-night. As good as Dan Ingram, Cousin Brucie and Gary Stevens were they were never as approachable as Joey seemed. I sent my self addressed stamped envelope off to Buffalo to get my purple membership card in the Royal Order of the Night People. I wanted in!

I remember hearing about Joey at other stations as his career bounced up-and-down after ‘KB. At one point he was selling jingles (or so I remember) made to be sung over the intro to records. There are some songs I can’t hear today without hearing some now defunct station’s call letters sung over the front!

A few years ago Joey went to WOR New York where he held down the free form all-night talk show. He’s still that party guy I remember with an infectious laugh that’s instantly recognizable.

Even in the best of times you don’t make money keeping a radio station on-the-air 24/7. Nowadays all-nights are a liability in an otherwise awful economic time for radio. Joey was replaced by a syndicated show–one host for scores of stations across the entire country.

Among the things I remember most about Joey is a jingle from his show. Whereas most radio stations and disk jockeys had jingles cut in Dallas by Pams or TM (or now by my friend Jon Wolfert at Jam) Joey had a jingle sung by the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons!

I’ll bet you I haven’t heard this in 40+ years–until now.

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