Posts tagged radio
Dick Clark 1929-2012
Apr 19th
TV and music pioneer Dick Clark dies at age 82
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer. The show featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music introduced by Clark; at least one popular musical act—over the decades, running the gamut from Jerry Lee Lewis to Run DMC—would usually appear in person to lip-sync one of their latest singles. Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon holds the record for most appearances at 110.
The show’s popularity helped Dick Clark become an American media mogul and inspired similar long-running music programs, such as Soul Train and Top of the Pops. Clark eventually assumed ownership of the program through his Dick Clark Productions company.
It premiered locally in late September 1952 as Bandstand on Philadelphia television station WFIL-TV Channel 6 (now WPVI-TV), as a replacement for a weekday movie that had shown predominantly British movies. Hosted by Bob Horn as a television adjunct to his radio show of the same name on WFIL radio, Bandstand mainly featured short musical films produced by Snader Telescriptions and Official Films, with occasional studio guests. This incarnation was an early predecessor of sorts of the music video shows that became popular in the 1980s, featuring films that are themselves the ancestors of music videos.
Historic marker at WFIL studiosHorn, however, was disenchanted with the program, so he sought to have the show changed to a dance program, with teenagers dancing along on camera as the records played, based on an idea that came from a radio show on WPEN, The 950 Club, hosted by Joe Grady and Ed Hurst. This more-familiar version of Bandstand debuted on October 7, 1952 in “Studio ‘B’,” which was located in their just-completed addition to the original 1947 building (4548 Market Street), and was hosted by Horn, with Lee Stewart as co-host until 1955. Tony Mammarella was the original producer with Ed Yates as director. The short Snader and Official music films continued in the short term, mainly to fill gaps as they changed dancers during the show—a necessity, as the studio could not fit more than 200 teenagers.
On July 9, 1956, Horn was fired after a drunk-driving arrest, as WFIL and dual owner Walter Annenberg’s The Philadelphia Inquirer at the time were doing a series on drunken driving. He was also involved in a prostitution ring and brought up on morals charges. Horn was temporarily replaced by producer Tony Mammarella before the job went to Dick Clark permanently.
In late spring of 1957, the ABC television network asked their O&O’s and affiliates for programming suggestions to fill their 3:30 p.m. (ET) time slot (WFIL-TV had been pre-empting the ABC program with ‘Bandstand’). Clark decided to pitch the show to ABC brass, and after some badgering the show was picked up nationally, becoming American Bandstand on August 5, 1957.
“Studio ‘B'” measured 80’x42’x24’, but appeared smaller due to the number of props, television cameras, and risers that were used for the show. It was briefly shot in color in 1958 when WFIL-TV began experimenting with the then-new technology. Due to a combination of factors that included the size of the studio, the need to have as much space available for the teenagers to dance, and the size of the color camera compared to the black-and-white models, it was only possible to have one RCA TK-41 where three RCA TK-10s[1] had been used before. WFIL-TV went back to the TK-10s two weeks later when ABC-TV refused to carry the color signal and management realized that the show lost something without the extra cameras.
Clark would often interview the teenagers about their opinions of the songs being played, most memorably through the “Rate-a-Record” segment. During the segment, two audience members each ranked two records on a scale of 35 to 98, after which the two opinions were averaged by Clark, who then asked the audience members to justify their scores. The segment gave rise, perhaps apocryphally, to the phrase “It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it.” In one humorous segment broadcast for years on retrospective shows, comedians Cheech and Chong appeared as the record raters.
Featured artists typically performed their current hits by lip-synching to the released version of the song.
The only person to ever co-host the show with Dick Clark was Donna Summer, who joined him to present a special episode dedicated to the release of the Casablanca film Thank God It’s Friday. Throughout the late `50s and most of the `60s, Clark’s on-camera sidekick was announcer Charlie O’Donnell, who later went on to announce Wheel of Fortune and other programs hosted or produced by Clark, such as The $100,000 Pyramid.
by the BacMaster youtube
Get free music downloads at BPL
Apr 18th
For everyone who’s ever heard a song on the radio and wanted to add it their collection, wanted a hit single off an album, or just wanted to explore the work of new musical artists, Boulder Public Library offers a new, free online music download service. Freegal Music, a downloadable music service designed for libraries, is now available through the library’s website at: http://boulderlibrary.freegalmusic.com/.
Freegal is free for all Boulder Public Library (BPL) cardholders who live in Boulder County, and all downloads may be kept permanently. Each library cardholder may download up to three songs per week (156 per year) and keep the songs forever. All that is needed to access this service is a Boulder Public Library card number in good standing.
Freegal Music provides access to the Sony Music Entertainment catalog, which includes hundreds of thousands of songs, more than 100 genres of music, and more than 50 record labels. No special software is needed to use the service, and there are no digital rights management restrictions. Downloading of songs is completely free and legal for library cardholders. Songs are downloaded in a universally compatible MP3 format, so they can be saved to any computer, mobile device or MP3 player, including an iPod. Songs can be downloaded at home or at computer stations in libraries via a USB device, such as a flash drive or MP3 player. One click and you can save the songs to your iTunes or Windows Media Player.
“We are excited to be able to offer this free music download service to Boulder Public Library cardholders,” said Valerie Maginnis, library director. “It gives our patrons access to more of the materials they want, in a convenient, accessible format, while also being highly efficient for the library. We anticipate that this will be a very popular new service.”
More information and answers to frequently asked questions about Freegal are available on the BPL website, www.boulderlibrary.org. Music can also be found in the library’s catalog by searching for “Freegal.” BPL offers other music and film streaming services, such as Alexander Street, which offers 30,000 albums for streaming, at: http://research.boulderlibrary.org/music_film.
Boulder flood season a-comin' and it could be a bad mofo
Apr 13th
Colorado Severe Weather Week reminds community to be Flood Aware
Colorado Severe Weather Awareness Week is April 15 to April 22, and the City of Boulder, Boulder County and the University of Colorado would like to remind community members that along with severe weather comes flash floods. Flash floods in Boulder can happen at any time throughout the year.
Boulder is the number one flash flood risk community in Colorado due to its location at the mouth of Boulder Canyon, the number of people who live and work within the Boulder Creek floodplain, and the numerous other drainage basins running through the city. Therefore, flood safety and preparation is always a high priority for the community.
Since the Fourmile Canyon Fire occurred in 2010, the flood risk to Boulder Creek and Fourmile Canyon Creek has increased due to a lack of vegetation and permeable soil in the burn area. If a severe storm were to occur over the burn area, rain runoff and flooding would be greater than in the past. This increased flood potential could last anywhere from 2 to 10 years until the landscape starts to recover.
The City of Boulder and its partners are working together to prepare for the season and to educate community members on how to prepare.
What can you do?
Be alert. It can be raining in the mountains and burn area but be dry in Boulder. Rainfall in the burn area could result in:
- Muddy or murky creek water downstream.
- Creek levels rising more quickly.
- Higher frequency of flooded underpasses.
- Increased possibility of flash flooding.
If it is raining, avoid seeking shelter in underpasses. Many of Boulder’s underpasses serve the double purpose of conveying flood waters and will flood when creeks overflow.
Remember, flash floods can literally occur IN A FLASH during a severe storm. In 2011, several people went to Boulder Creek to try to witness flooding as it was occurring. This is unwise and dangerous. People should NOT go to the creek when flood waters are rising. Flash floods are not like floods in other parts of the country that rise gradually. A significant flash flood could sweep down a creek in a matter of minutes, leaving little time to get to safety.
It’s important that residents and people who work in Boulder keep track of the weather and know the dangers. Here are some steps residents and employees can take to increase their safety if a flood event should occur in Boulder:
Before a flood – Be ready:
- Have a plan for where to meet in an emergency and make sure children know where to go when they are at school or away from home.
- Keep an emergency kit accessible. Include a battery-powered radio, extra batteries, flashlights, rubber boots and gloves, first-aid supplies, medicines, water stored in tightly-sealed containers and food that requires no cooking or refrigeration.
- If you’re concerned about your property being flooded or are in a floodplain, purchase flood insurance. A homeowner’s insurance policy will NOT cover flood damage. There is a 30-day waiting period before new coverage goes into effect.
- Fill out a Family Flood Action Plan and post it in your home. Visit www.boulderfloodinfo.net to print one or pick one up at one of the Boulder Public Library or at the city’s Municipal Building at 1777 Broadway.
- Sign up to get emergency alerts sent to you on your phone, email or Twitter account atwww.BoCo911Alert.com. CU students, faculty and staff can sign up for CU Alerts athttp://www.colorado.edu/alerts.
During a flood:
- Move to higher ground immediately.
- Stay out of flowing waters. Swift moving waters may sweep people away.
- Avoid driving through flooded areas. Cars float in 18 inches of water, and half of all flood fatalities are auto related.
- Stay away from power lines and electrical wires. Electrocution is the number two killer in floods.
- If time allows, turn off electricity and gas.
- When an emergency warning is issued by sirens, radio or other media, seek information immediately. Tune radios and televisions to local news stations.
There is no way to predict whether flooding will occur. It is dependent on many variables including intensity, duration and location of storms as well as existing soil conditions. The best course of action is to be alert and be prepared. The city maintains a flood information website that can help residents prepare before, during and after a flood event. For more information about personal preparedness, visit www.boulderfloodinfo.net.