Rock Radio 50 Years Ago ~ JUNE 1975

Ready for a Summer Sing-Along Game?    

Finally—Summer is here and we’re slathering our skin with SPF50 sunscreen—well, those of us who remember June 1975, anyway! Are you ready? Even if you don’t live near water, take a few minutes to read through our sizzling first Summer month of Oldies memories, picturing balmy breezes with sun, song and surf 50 Years Ago this Month …   

º JUNE 1975 Radio News & Muse ♪    

We’re reminiscing through the Summer with an obscure radio station, a short shark story, and The Eagles flying high … turn the volume up and let’s dance!

♪ On Your Tinny Transistor Radio ♪ 
This month, I’m devoting this section to our Featured Radio Survey station that enjoyed a rather short, convoluted existence, but they followed the ‘70s trend for fun music charts with flair. Were you welcoming Summer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 1975? Here’s a sample of what and who you were listening to … 

 WPEZ-FM was then, an obscure station, even to folks in Pennsylvania radio. That didn’t deter them from playing the Top 25 hits and listing them for fans with bold, cheeky art. Tongue-in-cheek, WPEZ published their June 13, 1975, issue #24, Vol. 2, listing “Magic” by Pilot in the top spot.
       You don’t need to be 60+ years old to know of this once simple, upbeat song … at least the intro … we ALL know it. When I checked with my magic radio historian, DJ emeritus, Bill Gardner, he spotted #1 on the chart and said, “Ah yes, the now nauseating, overplayed song it’s become for Ozempic!” Think of the Ozempic ad, then sing, Ho, ho, ho, it’s Magic! Yep, it’s that song. Then he mused about the chart’s full list of iconic tunes, “

I was playing them all on KVIL-FM & AM/Dallas Ft.Worth! I remember KQV in Pittsburgh and a couple others, but not WPEZ …” Like I said … obscure …
       With some deep-dive research I learned that WPEZ fought its simulcast partner, WWSW, for Top 40 success, late 1973. This month’s chart listing includes a pic of overnight DJ, Brother Al, but that wasn’t much to go on for research—if anyone knows his history, feel free to send it over!
       The station played the top tunes for a short six-to-seven years; music charts* are found from February 1974-April 1980, before disappearing altogether. Its final #1 song was, ironically, “Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall (Part II).”
       Apparently, it was magic that helped it last that long … ♪ … Ho, ho, ho | It's magic | you know, never believe it's not so | Lazy day in bed | Music in my head | Crazy music playing in the morning light … ♪    
*Not a secure site, but great music chart archives, if you choose to visit at your own risk.

June 10^th: Any Eagles fans out there?! Emulating my favorite bird and in my top ten pioneering bands, The Eagles released their fourth studio album, One of These Nights, on this date in 1975. It’s the one that launched them into the stratosphere as a musical force to be reckoned with. A founding member, Glen Frey (1948-2016), is reported as saying the second single released from the album, “Lyin’ Eyes” (released in August) was his all-time favorite (and mine). Of course, it prob’ly helped that it was the only song from the album on which he sang lead.
       But read the lyrics … it’s also one of the few Rock tunes that tells the story in a long song without repeating other than the chorus. ♪ … And your smile is a thin disguise | I thought by now you'd realize | There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes … ♪     
       Still jammin’ in one form or another, you can see The Eagles next at Sphere, Las Vegas, where they added eight new shows due to high demand, starting October 3, 2025.

What other fun did DJ Bill Gardner run into as we listened to a tune destined to be a household melody? “I recall taking a June '75 vacation,” said Bill, “with my new girlfriend ‘Mike’ (Michaeletta, now the long-suffering Mrs. Gardner) for my first ever trip to her beautiful homeland, Hawaii! … So, how to kill a few hours in Honolulu while I wait to dive the seas off Mākaha on Oahu's western shores? ‘I know,’ I exclaimed to Mike, ‘let's go see that new movie Jaws that just opened!’ One of my dumber moves, since a few hours later while diving, I'd be terrified by every fish larger than my arm that we came upon!” Well, ya know, Bill, that Mākaha translates to “fierce” or “savage” in Hawaiian. Gotta love a great Summer shark story! (Image: Bill Gardner & “Mike” on their wedding day four years later!) 

♪ JUNE ’75 Song of Note ♪
Hey karaoke fans, how long has it been since you regaled your fans with “Pinball Wizard”? The catchy tune is officially half-a-century old in its Elton John hit version, and has weathered the test of time to become a fun Saturday night sing-along song! 
       As our first Summer Song of Note, I delved into a little history and was reminded that the wildly popular Elton John hit tune had been around since 1969, when The Who featured it in their pioneering rock opera album, Tommy.
       The film version of Tommy was released in March 1975 and Elton John sang it into super-stardom to the top of the music charts by June, helping to make it a bona fide icon. This month in 1975, it’s #2 with fans at WPEZ/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
       Grab some friends, set up a karaoke game for a little friendly competition and SING ♪ … He's a pinball wizard, there has to be a twist | A pinball wizard got such a supple wrist … ♪  

♪ Quirky Song Title Award ♪  
If I hadn’t looked it up, I wouldn’t have known … do you? … “Only Women Bleed,” the pick for our June Quirky Song Title Award, hails from Alice Cooper’s first album. However, the vinyl record single release debuted its title as “Only Women.” Do you know why? While the dual inference is unfortunate, its original title nearly doomed it from the beginning, recalls Alice’s co-writer, Dick Wagner. Many fans and radio station execs (especially women) mistook the “only women bleed” words as a reference to menstruation, which limited its airplay. In fact, the scrappy Rock ballad refers to an abusive marriage. Huh.
       Alice Cooper’s “bad boy” reputation likely contributed to the confusion; but do you think those fans who voted it all the way up to #5 at WPEZ/Pittsburgh knew its meaning? The progressive station printed its full title and even featured its lyrics (with a couple of typos) ♪ … You know you hate this game | He slaps you once in a while | and you live and love in pain … ♪   
       So what is Alice up to these days? He and the original band members hook up for a 50-year class reunion with a new album, The Revenge of Alice Cooper, to be released July 25^th.   

♪ JUNE 2025 Music Events & More ♪    

Turn up the radio and celebrate National DJ Month! As a writer of books about pioneering Rock & Roll Radio DJs, I applaud the sponsor for establishing a month of honor for Disc Jockey / Radio Broadcasters, however, in visiting their site, you’ll find it’s predominantly about the music industry and artists—not broadcasters. C’est la vie! You know where to find your historical DJ info. 😊
       And my personal thanks to all the great West Coast DJs I’ve listened to for 50 Years! Recognize any names? Dr. Don Rose, my DJ history mentor, Bill Gardner, Shotgun Tom Kelly, Tom & Raechel Donahue, Dave Mason, the one and only Wolfman Jack and so many more! How about you? Did you hang on every word from Cousin Bruce Morrow, Joey Reynolds, Jim Higgs, or other great DJs across the country? Give your fave radio broadcaster a thought or two as you go about your month of memories. John R. told me, you don’t work for the radio station. You work for the people out there. ~ Wolfman Jack    

♪♪ JUNE ‘75 Featured Radio Survey ♪♪   
June 13, 1975 ~ WPEZ-FM/Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Volume 2 #24 ~ this month’s survey has it all! A sexy babe in her Summer bikini (don’t get excited, it’s a caricature), lyrics to a controversial hit song, a denim-clad hippie dude, and hip DJ “Brother Al” touting his overnight 2:00-6:00a.m. gig.

       But it doesn’t stop there—for whatever reason, the artist went wild with parodies of Sherlock Holmes, an Indian snake-charmer, a superhero named Z-Man, a motorcycle dude, and a bespectacled hamburger named “Steve”! Can’t get much more ‘70s psychedelic than that. Oh, and of course, the Top 25 hottest Summer tunes in Pittsburgh! Rock On … 50 Years Ago this Month in Rock & Roll Radio! Where were you that groovy day when your radio played … 

Let’s Enjoy JUNE 1975 and … Rockin’ Hot Memories!  

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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 

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