Radio Remains The Greatest Influence On Music Listening & "WRKO...The Launch"...

A new music study shows that 82% of those polled identified radio as having the greatest single influence on their music listening. This good news will be welcomed by an industry labeled as part of the "old media" that's losing its influence. The respondents in this study also gave the music industry an 82% rating but on the negative side. Eighty-two percent feel that the music industry is doing an average to poor job in their ability to identify good music. The results of the new Orpheus Media Research study aren't all favorable for radio though...

While the study showed radio's influence on music listening as high as 82%, other results were a mixed bag. Forty percent of respondents are interested in finding new ways to discover new music. Fifty-seven percent indicated that they most often relied on radio or word of mouth to learn about new music. Fourteen percent indicated that they relied on mainstream media, while 44% rate their friends as good or excellent at identifying good music. In its study, Orpheus polled 500 U.S. consumers, aged 18 years and above, identifying respondents' current music habits and the role music plays in their lives. Forty percent of the respondents listen to music more than 3 hours per day. Less than half of the study were not active music listeners, if you define "active" as 3 hours or more per day. Given my above average research study experience, this was a fairly reliable study...

While radio can put a positive spin on the Orpheus results, there's nothing positive coming out of a recent Pew analysis which indicates that adults tend to use mobile devices to get local news and information that serve an immediate need. The medium has failed consumers who obviously feel that radio is not serving them with the things that it used to do best, so they go elsewhere...

10 Timeline Memories:
1.1900] The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down: New York City Mayor Robert Van Wyck breaks ground for the New York subway tunnel that will link Manhattan and Brooklyn…
2.1955] Who’s your Big Daddy?: Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” opens on Broadway. The play stars Ben Gazzara and Barbara Bel Geddes. In 1958, it's made into a movie starring Elizabeth Taylor...
3.1956] Don Russell: Senior Bill Russell leads the University of San Francisco to its second straight NCAA title with a 83-71 win over Iowa as the Dons win their 55th straight game - a record at the time…
4.1958] Elvis has left the draft board: Elvis Presley is inducted into the Army. Although he was drafted the previous December, the Army allowed Elvis to finish filming “King Creole“…
5.1962] Death visits the ring: Emile Griffith beats Benny “The Kid” Paret senseless in a welterweight title fight at Madison Square Garden. Ten days later Paret dies from his injuries…
6.1964] JFK in silver: The Kennedy half-dollar is issued by the Treasury…
7.1980] Debuted on this date: “Nightline” debuts with Ted Koppel. In 1979 the news show debuted with coverage of the Iran crisis. Koppel left the show in November of 2005 but the show continues to air with new hosts…
8.1988] Guilty as charged: Former national security aides Oliver L. North and John M. Poindexter plead innocent to Iran-Contra charges…
9.1989] Oil slick for the ages: The Exxon Valdez spills 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound after running aground…
10.2010] Doo Wop Death: Johnny Maestro, lead singer of the Crests and Brooklyn Bridge, dies from cancer at the age of 70...

Music Memories:

• 1973] Bum-mer: Lou Reed is bitten on the tucus by a male fan at a concert in Buffalo. Both Reed and the fan get tetanus shots...
• 1973] Released on this date: "Dark Side of the Moon" LP - Pink Floyd, which stays on the charts for a record-breaking 741 weeks...1978] "With a Little Luck" - Paul McCartney & Wings...
• 1975] Number One on this date: "Lady Marmalade" - LaBelle...1985] "One More Night" - Phil Collins...

(WRKO...The Launch (Part 18) (March marks the 44th anniversary of WRKO Boston. All month long, I will be serializing the story behind the actual launch of what would become one of the country's legendary Top 40 radio stations and today continues to be a mainstay in New England with a N/T format)...

When I left Tampa for Boston in the summer of '66, I thought my disc jockey days were behind me forever. Although I liked being a jock, I had gotten tired of saying the same things and playing the same music every day, 6 days a week. Goodbye jockdom, hello programming. I wasn't expecting to go back on the air but when the technicians walked out, followed by the on-air staff in March, 1967, guess who was the next morning drive guy for the next few weeks? You're looking at him...

Since I had last jocked at Big WALT in Tampa less than a year earlier, I was prepared and wasn't a bit nervous. My only fear was that everyone would turn off the radio at the same time when they didn't hear Al Gates & Feathers. Click here for my profile and aircheck at the bottom of the page. When you listen to the aircheck you'll hear a two-voice promo (voiced by Harvey Mednick and I) for the infamous 4am premiere of the James Bond movie, "Casino Royale." This was the promotion that made headlines and was Harvey's ticket to fame. Thousands of fans would show up at the theater for the premiere and riots broke out. The out-of-control event not only made the front page of the Boston Globe, it was also front page news in the New York Times. Included on the aircheck is GM Perry Ury coming out of a newscast...

While I was used to running my own board, WRKO had technicians for that. While they were on strike we used some of the brightest college kids in the area. Running my board was Bob Schuman, now known as Charley Roberts. With over 100 colleges and universities in the Boston metro, there was an ample supply of talented students to choose from. Many would make radio a career. I continued to do the morning show, mostly with Bob for several weeks on a Monday-Friday schedule. While I was the only live disc jockey on the air, we segued music the rest of the day and night. News was provided mostly by Bob Henabery and Perry...

(Tomorrow: "WRKO...The Launch" - part 19: WRKO's student body)

"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Lara Flynn Boyle (41), Star Jones (49), Kelly LeBrock (51), Donna Pescow (58), Louie Anderson (58), Tommy Hilfiger (60), Nick Lowe (62) and Bob Mackie (71)...

Timeline Countdown: 7 days until MLB Opening Day, 26 days until Passover & 32 days until Easter...