Here we go, Rock & Roll fans … slippin’ ‘n’ slidin’ into September, making it just a hop-skip-and-jump to the Holidays! Okay, okay, but slippery slope aside, let’s enjoy this month first, and all the amazing, iconic Rock & Roll that came with it … 50 Years Ago this Month …
º SEPTEMBER 1975 Radio News & Muse ♪
Rockin’
news that was the news … as best I can. Still laboring this Labor Day with the
aftereffects of the Summer broken toe. Sheesh. When will it be done?! Good
question. Unfortunately, it is still usurping time and energy, making this
another herky-jerky issue with not much done quite yet. I’m workin’ on it! Will
post as much as possible now … images soon, and more fill-in news as we go.
Thanks for your understanding. September 1, 1975, began with …
September 1st: KOL-AM/Seattle, Washington, has had a long history of flipping and flopping and buying and selling, both before and after this date, when it slipped from progressive Rock to Country as KMPS. “Kountry Music Puget Sound” didn’t last either, as another (final?) sale prompted their call sign to eventually return as KKOL in 1997, and on-and-on-and on … the most comprehensive (and long) history of the station I found, is in the link in the first line. It is NOT however, a “secure” link. Use at your own risk.
September 10th: Were you alive when the raucous KISS released their first live album, Alive? They certainly added to the excitement of 1975. Recorded May through July in four concerts during their Dressed To Kill Tour, it is their fourth album overall. But Alive churned the Rock & Roll waters eventually—after much overdubbing, according to some sources—capturing the essence of KISS that had been missing in previous studio albums. When released, Alive was panned, but time has been kind. Some suggest it heavily influenced Metal and Punk music and launched KISS into the big time.
September 12th: A busy month for album releases as the incomparable Pink Floyd were nostalgic for their co-founder, Syd Barrett, peddling their 9th album, Wish You Were Here. Again, time appears to be a factor in the album’s reception. At first considered unremarkable, it is now hailed as one of Rolling Stone’s listed 500 greatest albums ever. By September 25th it had reached #1 in the US and certified gold in both UK and US by year’s end.
♪ On Your Tinny Transistor Radio ♪
Where were you listening to September songs to
remember in 1975? San Diego or Bakersfield, California? Whether West Coast or hearing the
radio airwaves of the future echo across the country, here’s a sample of what
and who you were listening to …
Along
with WIBG/Philadelphia and WCFL/Chicago, I likely have more KCBQ/San
Diego, California, vintage surveys than all the others combined. After all, I
am a “California Girl” as the Beach Boys, once warbled. Point is, ya get
another KCBQ “Q Hits” for September 1975.
About this time, KCBQ
seemed to be slowing down on the pop music. Their “plain” survey for September
8, 1975, “Card #231,” may be a precursor to their 1978 flip from Top 40 to
adult contemporary … they never again quite reached their earlier fame. But the
station is still revered by Rock & Roll Radio buffs and “the locals,” largely
thanks to perennial local pop DJ, Shotgun
Tom Kelly.
The “Q Hits” survey still lists “The
Top Selling Songs in San Diego,” along with top albums and a print-out of
lyrics for the #1 hit, Bee Gee’s “Jive Talkin,” though no promos for station
DJs, local concerts, or unique era art. Pretty boring, compared to …
KERN Radio was hoppin’ in Bakersfield, California, with their September 12, 1975, with their hit music list and super-Psychedelic Seventies “Super Comics”! This week their artistic story follows KERN’s DJ Jay J. Jackson as he toodles around the studio answering listeners’ calls and spinning the vinyls, with a little intrigue thrown in for fun … MORE KERN history coming soon!
♪ September ’75 Song of Note ♪
Bowie was so distraught about fame’s true status in life that he did what all songwriters do when the emotion of reality becomes overwhelming … he wrote a song about it. ♪ … Fame, it's not your brain, it's just the flame | That burns your change to keep you in... sane … ♪
Of course, our celebs today aren’t so subtle about the downfalls of fame … thanks to social media, barely a twinkle in a handful of tech wizards’ eyes in 1975, high-profile people now have a platform to cry openly about the vagaries of their rich, but lacking lives.
For Bowie, he disguised displeasure with his business manager in song. Worded so we could all lament with him, it was still a bitter pill to swallow as he lost significant income on a doomed off-Broadway show his manager conceived, with the same title. That “Fame” closed after the first night.
No less cynical in a 1990 interview, Bowie said of fame, “I've left all that behind me, now... I think fame itself is not a rewarding thing. The most you can say is that it gets you a seat in restaurants." I would say, chalk it up to a learning experience. Celeb or not, people are duped every day (now, moreso than ever!). For now, let's just sing along with the song …
Rock SEPTEMBER 1975 and … and Dance With Me!
BFYP Book 1 (1954-1959)
on Amazon
BFYP Book 2 (Swinging
‘60s) on Amazon
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