Rock Radio 50 Years Ago ♪ Rockin’ October 1976

Rockin’ a Magical October with a Devilish Smile  

Updated ~ 10/12/26: Never have I ever … been THIS late with my articles. So sorry. But for a while now, Life has had a funny (not haha) way of getting in the way of my plans and schedules. I was determined to complete October’s Magic and just hope you’ll forgive the interruption. It’s finally here!  

I’ve been working the Magic of these articles, which take Time and energy … something I’m still in short supply of but trying to amend. For those of you who follow me on X @Irishwriter or @BlastFromPastBk September was also a sparse month for posts. I hope to make it up to you in November and December.

October and Halloween is my favorite time of the year and I welcome it with our spooky Song of Note. It’s perfect for the occasion! “Devil Woman” is currently—in October 1976—at #5 on the WPEZ/Pittsburgh music chart. Do you think you know its history? So, you heard about the jinx from a cat with evil eyes …  

º October 1976 Radio News & Muse ♪ 
What was your fave DJ playing when you turned on your tinny transistor radio in the Psychedelic Seventies™? Enjoy the memories of what and who you were listening to … 50 Years Ago this Month! 

We’re visiting Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this month. So what’s spooky about their Featured Radio Survey from WPEZ for October? Well … I recently picked this month’s vintage chart off eBay for you, but the poltergeists have had their way with it. (I added the Halloween figures.)
       What might make it worth a tad more than I paid for it, is the chart anomaly of skipping what would be the 15^th tune, jumping from #14 “You Are My Starship” (Norman Connors) to #16 “Tonight’s The Night” (Rod Stewart). Typos can often be a good thing 50 Years later.

       The second irregularity though, may be a seller error of not presenting a full survey description (or an intentional slight-of-hand) … the chart is printed on both sides of the paper—no “cover,” as other WPEZ surveys have. Now, if that is a 50 Year Old error, that’s one thing—and even makes it more collectible. If it is a “copy” (it wasn’t sold as that) it certainly isn’t worth what I paid for it. Will be checking shortly with the seller … wish me luck. 
       Either way, it’s still weird that while other radio station surveys for October reflect Fall images and celebrate Halloween, WPEZ October 29, 1976, still broadcast that same ol’ tired beach babe and cartoon caricatures. Ah well, it’s the music that counts. They gave #7 on the chart a spotlight, with “Magic Man” (Heart) lyrics, which is a great counter-act to our Song of Note, “Devil Woman” (Cliff Richard) at #5  ♪ … Try to understand | Try to understand | He’s a Magic Man, Mama …  ♪ 

There isn’t much in vintage music news for this month, but I found a couple …

October 20^th: Were you there? This was a premiere night in 1976 at New York’s Cinema I when the wildly popular Led Zeppelin debuted their concert film, The Song Remains the Same. It was shot over three nights of concerts, Summer 1973, from New York City to England’s Surrey. If you weren’t at premiere night, how about the next evening at posh Beverly Hills’ Fox Wilshire Theater? Out of 25 scenes, we had to wait ‘til #20 for “Stairway to Heaven,” but they appropriately ended the film with “Whole Lotta Love,” with all their best in between. https://www.ledzeppelin.com/ 

October 31^st: As if we weren’t psychedelic enough by 1976, some bands, perhaps to out-funk Disco, set up wild-‘n’-crazy stage acts that defied even KISS and Jimi Hendrix to top them. On this Halloween night, George Clinton, considered by some to be the master of funk and progressive soul, gathered a crew of like-minded musicians, to form Parliament-Funkadelic and begin “The P-Funk/Rubber Band Earth Tour.” Stirring a cauldron of eclectic music with surreal humor was truly history in the making, but not for the faint of heart.  

♪ October 1976 Song of Note ♪
Though I generally manage to find a song or two on the month’s Featured Radio Survey to coincide or loosely apply to the current season, I was surprised to find two tunes on the WPEZ chart that fit right in with October’s Halloween spooks.
       While women are often referred to as “bewitching,” men are just as haunting, when paired with magically seductive. Heart’s “Magic Man” fits the description and hits home for many, but I passed it over here, to make it 39 And Holding Club’s Song of Note. Check it out.
       BFYP’s Song of Note is the beguiling “Devil Woman,” by Cliff Richard. The haunting tune was written by popular songwriter, Terry Britten and The Family Dogg’s singer, Christine Authors (Holmes). What makes it interesting, is the male/female duo wrote it from the viewpoint of a guy believing he’s jinxed by the wicked green eyes of a stray cat—with a mysterious plot twist.
       Singer, Cliff Richard, often used the tune in his gospel events as a warning about the evils of temptation. Um, like wanting stardom sooooo bad … after years as a popular British artist, he desperately wanted to “fit in” to the American music scene. He startled everyone with this spellbinding song of bewitchery, which not only belied his devout Christian faith, but indeed, captured American radio listeners and cast a spell up the US Pop charts with a catchy tune and enticing lyrics.
       So what of that mysterious lyric plot twist? Hoping to break the curse, the poor fellow consulted with a fortune teller, only to learn she was the witch who cast the spell. One major problem with this intriguing story … we aren’t privy to know exactly what the curse entailed! Britten and Authors never divulged the ultimate wickedness ♪ … Crystal ball on the table | Showing the future, the past | Same cat with them evil eyes | And I knew it was a spell she cast … ♪    

♪ October 2026 Music Events & More ♪    

I know we’re talkin’ Rock & Roll here, but remembering our cauldron of musical roots, we’re also celebrating Country Music Month! Will you be boot-scootin’ on Halloween? This year, the Senate declared it officially, National Country Music Month, with special dedications to the beloved Dolly Parton. Her passing in August was a blow to the whole music industry and her legion of fans. Time for some hootin’ and hollerin’ with a little bit o’ Rock & Roll, m’friends!

October 8^th: It was with great pride that all of San Diego cheered on favorite son and famed Radio DJ, Shotgun Tom Kelly (aka Tom Irwin) this day, as he was officially inducted into the esteemed Radio Hall of Fame. Of course, he’s known on a much wider scale with a plethora of accolades in several fields of broadcast. But he’ll always be “our” pioneering Rock Radio Disc Jockey! 

October 31^st: Don’t forget to listen to or watch the video of “Monster Mash” with Bobby (Boris) Pickett! One of Wolfman Jack’s faves, it’s a howling Halloween joy in any decade.

♪♪ BFYP Featured Radio Survey ♪♪   
October 29, 1976 ~ WPEZ/Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, and obviously not a fan of Halloween, with their beach and caricatures of two years plus, splattered again on the survey. With Disco Duck still hanging in at #3, their only redeeming feature for a spooky October are “Devil Woman” (#5) and “Magic Man” (#7) thankfully making their Top Ten. Check it out … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played … 

It’s ROCK-TOBER 1976 and … we’re stirring up a Rockin’ spell!  

BFYP Book 1 (1954-1959) on Amazon        
BFYP Book 2 (Swinging ‘60s) on Amazon 
Share your Golden Oldies R&R fun on X: @BlastFromPastBk 

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LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and author by way of Rock & Roll. Two books (of three planned) are published in her Blast from Your Past^TM series, available on Amazon: Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959^TM (eBook only; coming soon in updated print edition) and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties^TM (eBook & print). Coming soon-ish … Book 3 – The Psychedelic Seventies!^TM 

Note: FYI – All links in the BFYP site are personally visited, verified, and vetted. Most are linked to commonly accessed sites of reputable note. Occasionally, since I often feature real people and/or singular sources there may be an unsecured link. As with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion and risk. This site is wholly owned by LinDee Rochelle & sponsored by PenchantForPenning.com^TM. No compensation is received for any mentions of businesses, products, or other commercial interests. *All holiday and special event days are found at Brownielocks.com’s calendar site. Enjoy! 
            RE: AI – The Blast from Your Past site has never and will never (knowingly) be written or assisted, by Artificial Intelligence. It’s just stupid ol’ “I” and I enjoy writing these articles. They soothe my soul. So why would I hand that indulgence over to an artificial, soulless entity that can’t feel pleasure?!

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Rock Radio 50 Years Ago ♪ September 1976

Summer’s End: Let’s Kiss & Say Goodbye …

Ah yes, Summer love often ends with a kiss of your fingertips and a wistful wave across a sandy beach. Movies and their soundtracks have memorialized the image for decades. Who remembers the inimitable Blue Hawaii—where it’s always Summer. Elvis’s comeback film from his stint in the Army glorified Hawaii in its title song of the same name, and continued to personify Summer with its, “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (1961).

For the “younger” 39ers, other Summer standouts are Grease and its “Hopelessly Devoted to You” (1978 set in 1959) and Dirty Dancing with “The Time of My Life” (1987; set in 1963). Yep, melodious melancholy typifies our Endless Summers.

But in September 1976 we didn’t stay sad for long, as a silly song, written by an equally silly Disc Jockey began its silly slide up the charts. Like with most novelty tunes, at first, we couldn’t stop laughing every time we heard the quirky quackery in Rick Dees’ “Disco Duck.” It all happened … 50 Years Ago this Month …   

º SEPTEMBER 1976 Radio News & Muse ♪  
What was your fave DJ playing when you turned on your tinny transistor radio 50 Years Ago? Enjoy the memories of what and who you were listening to … September 1976!

This is our final promotion for B-100/San Diego, California (for a while), I promise. But how can you not chuckle when you see their cover image of the happy Disco Duck? Listed as “The B-100 Disco Duck,” the music chart’s cover is a classic … "I'm Da Disco Duck ... It'll quack you up ... You'll go quackers!" DJ Rick Dees’ tune was on its way up at #13 on “San Diego’s Stereo Favorites, Volume Two/Number Ten” for September 24, 1976, but it doesn’t even get a mention on our Featured Radio Survey, WPEZ-FM/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Since its survey is at the top of the month (09/03), perhaps next month?
       Rick was an enterprising young broadcaster with a comedic flair and popular on air at WMPS AM/Memphis, Tennessee, when he conceived and recorded the infamous Duck tune. It became a nationwide hit—everywhere except Memphis. His station wouldn’t let him play it, considering it a conflict of interest. Other local stations refused to promote a rival station. It hit the top without them.   

WPEZ-FM/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, however, was still listing Summer hits of dancing and love. Their standard hippie cover art image, promoted their Gumball Rally, while the music chart—Vol. 3 #32, September 3, 1976” was combined with lyrics for “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” currently #2, by Elton John and Kiki Dee. What rounded out the top three tunes? “Play That Funky Music” (Wild Cherry) scored #1, while Lou Rawls lamented in #3, “You’ll Never Find Another Love.” No dingy Disco Duck on that chart!

September 1976 brought a number of changes to restless Radio stations. Sometime during the month, Fairchild Industries split Minneapolis, Minnesota’s, WYOO station frequencies to create WAYL with the AM sector while the FM station happily began a simulcast of the venerable KDWB’s Top 40 format (since 1959; the station launched in 1951).

September 6^th: Expanding Rock & Roll’s worldwide presence, DWRT-FM/Manila, Philippines, signed on the air making 99.5 RT that country’s first Top 40 Radio station; meanwhile, KXOL/Dallas, Texas, got tired of Rock and flipped to Country. Fast-forward 50 Years and it’s now a Spanish-language Christian radio format.

September 17^th: When your band is just a year old, it’s always satisfying to wow your audience … well, it is easier with a captive audience … literally. On this date, the Sex Pistols British punk rock band captivated their fans in England’s Chelmsford Prison, Essex. That’s one way to get a standing ovation. Then again, it’s easier in that venue, when your top song in the setlist is “Anarchy in the U.K.”

September 18^th: On the other hand, another Brit band in Queen style made U.K. headlines and likely impressed the royals with a jolly big free concert in London’s Hyde Park that featured “Bohemian Rhapsody.” 150,000 thrilled fans attended.

September 18^th: What else happened on this day? Trying to combat the rise of Disco in a Rock-oriented music landscape, the short-lived (1975-1978) Rock Music Awards presented its second annual show on CBS. Peter Frampton snagged Rock Personality of the Year and the venerable Fleetwood Mac aced everyone else out of the Best Group and Best Album categories. 

September 20^th: Back in the ‘70s, we loved seeing our fave music artists on TV. The Captain and Tennille knew that when they collaborated with ABC for their self-titled musical-variety show. Premiering on this date, it barely made six months before cancellation in March 1977. Maybe TV wasn’t all they thought it would be …

September 25^th: What were Bono, The Edge, English-Irish musician Adam Clayton, and Irish music artist, Larry Mullen Jr., doing on this date? They hung out playing music together in Dublin and tagged themselves Feedback. You came to know them as U2. It would be a few years (1980) before they caught the attention of US music lovers with “I Will Follow.”

September 29^th: About this time, pioneering Rocker, singer Jerry Lee Lewis, would have liked to stay out of the news … Lewis, known most of his life not only for great music, but much-reported public drunkenness, nearly killed his own bass player. That would have been a sad situation for commonly known wild man, “The Killer.” While drinking, he fired a very big gun at a very small Coke bottle. The bullet missed the bottle and hit Norman (Butch) Owens in the chest. Apparently 1976 (as recorded by a 2022 report) was a less than stellar year for Lewis who had more than one police run-in.

♪ September 1976 Song of Note ♪  

Summer’s end invokes musical nostalgia and meaningful memories from throughout life. I don’t know if it’s the searing heat or relaxed attitude, or a lot of margaritas, but Summers are often profound and memorable. I asked three other Boomers who were “there” in 1976 to choose three song title options from our September Featured Radio Survey that “speak” to them, for our September Song of Note.
       One was unanimous. As the songwriter describes it, “… it’s the love triangle situation we’ve all been through …” especially if you’ve experienced a Summer Love. The Manhattans’ “Kiss and Say Goodbye” is the quintessential end-of-Summer song.  
       As bass singer and songwriter, Winfred Lovett, said in his lyrics ♪ … When you turn and walk away | don't look back | I wanna remember you just like this | Let's just kiss and say goodbye … ♪   
       With a deep, lovesick sigh, the tune ranked #15 on the WPEZ Top 30 chart and was the group’s only #1 Pop hit. It even topped their first popular hit from eleven years prior (1965), “I Wanna Be (Your Everything).”
       The other two contenders were close! “Moonlight Feels Right” by Starbuck, was sitting at #24 on WPEZ  ♪ … And watch the moon smiling bright | I'll play the radio on southern stations | 'cause southern belles are hell at night  ♪ … and a bouncy Bee Gees Disco tune that belied its risqué lyrics, at #6, “You Should Be Dancing” ♪ … What you doin on your back aah | You should be dancing, yeah | Dancing, yeah ♪ … instead of … ???

♪ September 2026 Music Events & More ♪    
Enjoy National Piano Month (not to be confused with World Piano Day, March 29^th) Piano Month is listed on all the calendar sites, but there is no official link. However, we found a site that urges you to learn or renew your interest in playing the piano. If that isn’t a desire—set your playlist with a day of piano-driven Oldies! Either way, have fun …  

September 15^th: Raise your hand—how many still have or at any age, collected (or even heard of) old 8-track tape players? Dust it off! It’s National 8-Track Tape Day! (Note: others think it’s on April 11^th; we respectfully disagree.) And dang! We often can’t even get 1 official link, but this day is so popular, it has 2! They both feature great history, with the first is on its Day and the second is right here … Enjoy!

September 25^th: Our Song of Note is one to celebrate … on National One-Hit Wonder Day! Not an official link in sight, but … let’s take a nostalgic trip with Blast From Your Past to its September 1, 2020 article when I featured three one-hit wonders from the KPOI/Hawaii Featured Radio Survey.

♪♪ BFYP Featured Radio Survey ♪♪   
September  3, 1976 ~ WPEZ/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania … the  station prided themselves on “The Station That Brings You The Concerts” and a Top Twenty list of exciting albums, like the top 3: #1, Frampton Comes Alive (Peter Frampton), #2, Wild Cherry (Wild Cherry) and #3, Average White Band’s Soul Searchin’. Were they your faves too? … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played … 

Rock SEPTEMBER 1976 and … Rockin’ into Fall!  

BFYP Book 1 (1954-1959) on Amazon         
BFYP Book 2 (Swinging ‘60s) on Amazon 
Share your Golden Oldies R&R fun on X: @BlastFromPastBk 

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ 

LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and author by way of Rock & Roll. Two books (of three planned) are published in her Blast from Your Past^TM series, available on Amazon: Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959^TM (eBook only; coming soon in updated print edition) and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties^TM (eBook & print). Coming soon-ish … Book 3 – The Psychedelic Seventies!^TM 

Note: FYI – All links in the BFYP site are personally visited, verified, and vetted. Most are linked to commonly accessed sites of reputable note. Occasionally, since I often feature real people and/or singular sources there may be an unsecured link. As with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion and risk. This site is wholly owned by LinDee Rochelle & sponsored by PenchantForPenning.com^TM. No compensation is received for any mentions of businesses, products, or other commercial interests. *All holiday and special event days are found at Brownielocks.com’s calendar site. Enjoy! 
            RE: AI – The Blast from Your Past site has never and will never (knowingly) be written or assisted, by Artificial Intelligence. It’s just stupid ol’ “I” and I enjoy writing these articles. They soothe my soul. So why would I hand that indulgence over to an artificial, soulless entity that can’t feel pleasure?!

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