We’re Rockin’ Strawberry Ornaments
Of course, you don’t need to be old enough to remember December 1973 tunes on the radio to enjoy our monthly tribute to Oldies Rock & Roll and the fun and zany DJs who brought it to you. All you need is a love for pioneering Rock music and a curiosity of its amazing, enduring history on the radio. Let’s get Rockin’ …
DECEMBER 1973 Radio Muse & News ♪
What was happening in Rock music as we decorated our trees this month 50 Years Ago? Well, let me tell you …
December 31st: Of course, it’s New Year’s Eve 1973! Likely one of the most memorable nights of the decade for Young brothers, Malcolm and Angus as they debut AC/DC on the New Year’s Eve stage for former Syndney, Australia’s, Chequers nightclub. Although purportedly closed in 1970, the once-popular venue obviously limped on for a few more years. From the outset, AC/DC band members displayed a glam penchant for flashy costumes. Angus even tried out Zorro and lampooned a Superman costume. Known for their hard rock/heavy metal/blues-rock music, they began their career covering tunes of the Beatles, Chuck Berry and some of the old blues. Fun place and night to begin anew …
On Your
Tinny Transistor Radio ♪
Where were you celebrating the holidays December 1973? New
York, Houston, or Cocoa Beach, Florida? Here’s a sample of what and who you
were listening to …
WKKO/Cocoa Beach, Florida’s, radio survey for week ending December 23, 1973, like the state itself, is a little different. It’s comprised of a Top 35 music chart … yep, you read it right—not Top 20 or Top 40—eccentric or creative, your choice.
It wasn’t easy to find history on the station, for all its apparent historical popularity. A surf community favorite, the station served it well, with afternoon wave forecasts by champion surfer, Bob Freeman. His job at Canaveral Pier’s Ron Jon Surf Shop gave Bob the perfect view with a penchant for the waves. A Florida Today site recalls a 2019 conversation with Freeman, "The disc jockeys still remember they were outrageous," Freeman said. "All the guys would come into the shop and I'd be doing this live feed, and they'd all be yelling in the background, like, 'Hey, Miami boys, go home, we got no waves here,' or, 'Stay away, this guy knows nothing,' but I'd be looking out the window of the shop at the wave breaks."
DJ Bryan Norcross recalls living on the Florida coast as a kid during WKKO’s heyday, “… KO-860 was a daytimer. When the sun went down, they went off the air, and the AM radio dial exploded with the royalty of radio. Fifty-thousand-watt radio stations from big cities in the North and Midwest came booming in … the big one, WABC, lit up my radio from New York City …”
Speaking of
WABC … in its legendary 1970s era the New York City radio station
compiled a year-end Top 100 music chart. I’ve
always felt bad for the songs that debuted on the radio in November and
December … aren’t
they kinda getting the short end of the year-end survey
stick? You can probably argue that they may have made the top of the next
year’s list … but did anyone even check? Prob’ly not.
But did “Time In a Bottle” by Jim Croce truly deserve the year’s third-to-last spot at #97, while WABC’s own surveys shot him up from #28 on 12/03 to #5 by month’s end? Luck of the draw, I suppose. “Time” finally landed at #1 on their January 14, 1974, survey. Sadly, the song was released posthumously. Jim died in a plane crash on September 20, 1973.
Monthly Song of Note ♪
Have you sung along to any of the songs mentioned so
far? If none of the above struck your year-end fancy for December 1973, let’s
have a showdown for the Song of Note.
Contender: “Show and Tell” by Al Wilson is not your science project or day-after-Christmas kinda show-and-tell … he’s in loooove at #10 on WKKO’s music chart ladder, leaping seven rungs up from the previous week. Go ahead, I won’t watch while you warble ♪ … Just a game I play | When I wanna say "I love you" | Girl, so show me and tell me |That you feel the same way too … ♪
And why was it chosen as our December song? Because strawberries are the perfect bright red December ornament for a green Christmas tree!
Quirky Band Names ♪
I looked at El Chicano for this category and found the Los Angeles brown-eyed soul group had a great varietal style with “Tell Her She’s Lovely,” jumping quickly from #33 on WKKO’s chart to #23 this month. However, it was a beacon of light from Canada that caught my full Quirky Band Names attention …
How could I pass it by with a name like Lighthouse? And, their lighthearted tribute to the ladies, “Pretty Lady,” also jumped ten spots on the chart in a week, up from #21 to #11. According to reports, the auspicious rise of the original 13-member band began in 1969 in Toronto, Ontario. It came with a performance introduction by none other than the illustrious Duke Ellington, “I'm beginning to see the Light...house." Unfortunately, by 1976, their light began to dim and the members disbanded. Reunited in 1992, a version of Lighthouse has remained on stage, since.
December 2023 Music Events & More ♪
December 21st: Looking for a way to honor 1973 during Christmas? Go Caroling Day doesn’t have an official link, but it’s a great time to remember and/or learn the many great Rockin’ Christmas tunes of the 1970s. Why not take the ‘70s songs caroling with you?
Beyond the 1970s there is a full 50-tune list for the past 50 years, but according to popularity, these ten 1970s songs were the best of the best December 2020:
“This
Christmas” (1970) – Donny Hathaway
“Feliz
Navidad” (1970) - José Feliciano
“River”
(1971) – Joni Mitchell
“If
We Make It Through December” (1973) – Merle Haggard
“Peace
on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” (1977) – Bing Crosby & David Bowie
“Pretty
Paper” (1979) – Willie Nelson
“Aires
de Navidad” (“Christmas Spirit”) (1970) - Willie Colón
“I
Want to Come Home for Christmas” (1972) – Marvin Gaye
“Christmas
in Prison” (1973) – John Prine
“Christmas
Eve Can Kill You” (1972) – The Everly Brothers
BFYP Featured Radio Survey ♪♪
DECEMBER 16-23, 1973 ~ WKKO/Cocoa Beach, Florida’s “860
Radio Hot Rocks” survey is pure psychedelic ‘70s. From its oversized,
expressive artwork to its hip text style, there’s no doubt of its origin. Although
WABC published a commendable 1973 year-end list, I had to give
the FRS to WKKO. “Brevard County’s coverage giant wishes you a
good day” … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played …
Let’s Celebrate DECEMBER 1973 and … Cheers to Your Holiday Happiness!
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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 series, available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … Book 3 – The Psychedelic Seventies!
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