CLUB HANGOVER BROADCASTS

Club Hangover was the place to be in San Francisco for Dixieland and New Orleans jazz in the 1950s. In that pre-bebop era that's all jazz meant: swing, dixieland and the earliest notions of what we now call traditional jazz. The club opened around 1948 and over the next decade it was home to an unparallelled list of jazz greats: Kid Ory, Cozy Cole, Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Rushing, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Meade Lux Lewis, Muggsy Spanier, Pee Wee Russell, Jack Teagarden and Turk Murphy. Starting in 1955 Hines began a 5 yer stint as the house band for almost 5 years.  The 1958 edition of the Leonard Feather Encyclopedia of Jazz described the venue with the following blurb:

"CLUB HANGOVER, 729 Bush St; GA 1-0743 Open six days a week, closed Sundays. No cover or minimum. Doc Dougherty, manager."

The venue was run by bandleader Charles Alonzo "Doc" Dougherty. Most articles describe him as a bandleader. Jazz was alive on the San Francisco dial in those days. 1400 KRE-AM was airing an all-request jazz program on weekday afternoons. Around 1955 KCBS-AM  began featuring the program "Dixieland Is My Beat" on Saturday nights, plus starting in 1953 they aired a live show from the The Hangover Club each week. The Hangover broadcasts on KCBS were MC'd by Jimmy Lyons. Yes that's the same Lyons that founded the Monterey Jazz Festival. Host Bob Goerner interviewed the musicians from the studio on a dedicated phone line. More here.

So many of these  performances were taped at the hangover Club that most Louis Armstrong Discographies note "probably broadcast" next to tapes known to have come from that venue. KCBS preserved the tapes and DJ Dave Radlauer has cared for a number of these that date to it's heyday from 1954-58. The original host Goerner had been taping them as had Doughtery. But some of those tapes have gone on to have a second life. Goerner began loaning them out for small record labels pressings.

But then in the 1990s Goerner allowed DJ Dave Radlauer to rebroadcast many of them on KALW-FM. After Goerner died his tapes were acquired by the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation and they are now safely in the possession of the Stanford University Braun Music archive.The small club at 729 Bush Street still stands but it's now a gay bar. More here and here. 

Steamrolling Cat Stevens

 

Vinyl records have a reputation of being "unbreakable." When they were first manufactured this was actually advertised on several brands. In reality they're not impervious to damage, they scratch easily, and scuff but they don't crack or shatter without significant effort. Compared to shellac they're quite durable. It's no surprise then that destroying records has long been a radio stunt. The greatest of these was the infamous Disco Demolition Derby of 1979. But there have been some much more recent LP-destroying radio events. My favorite of these was Steamrolling Cat Stevens LPs at KFI-AM.Images of the event are hard to find. Here is one.

In 1989 radio show host, Tom Leykis drove a steamroller over a pile of about 200 records, tapes and CD by the recording artist known as Cat Stevens. Born Steven Demetre Georgiou, he began using the stage name Cat Stevens in 1966, at age 18. After his conversion to Islam in 1977 he adopted the name Yusuf Islam. Stevens attracted a bit of attention for himself  for made remarks that were deemed to be supporting the fatwa (death penalty) imposed on the author Salman Rushdie for his book The Satanic Verses, first published in 1988.

If you don't remember, Stevens wasn't alone in condemning the book or the author... there were large-scale riots in several countries. On February 21st 1989,  in an address to students at Kingston University in London he said about Rushdie "He must be killed. The Koran makes it clear - if someone defames the prophet, then he must die." In America this went over like a lead brick and Stevens became a target of criticism. He tried to walk it back a bit but he was on the hook. More here.

Radio stations removed Cat Stevens records from their playlists some even announcing a "ban." But Tom Leykis, at KFI-AM went a step further. He put on a hardhat, and drove a steam roller over a pile of a couple hundred Cat Stevens albums. But Leykis isn't stupid, he was afraid of repercussions. He wore a bullet-proof vest and instead of staging a public event, he staged his record destruction privately at an "undisclosed site" in Compton, CA.  More here.

The event was presaged by  the departure of another KFI morning talk show host, Geoff Edwards who quit over the event which he said smacked of fascism. In the fall out Leykis admitted that it was just for attention, just another stupid DJ trick. He defended himself  with the explanation: "It's not the same as censorship at all. We don't say they should take the records off the shelves..." In 1992 The Los Angeles Times gave him a Hypocrite-of-the-Month award for his umbrage at censorship of the recording artist Ice T.

Transcription Mystery Disc #191

This is a 6.5-inch Wilcox-Gay Recordio. It's blank on one side and true to form it had no markings of any kind that would help us identify it's origin. There appears to be a couple drips of sealing sax ground into the grooves. Despite that, the fidelity is good and the disc is quite level making for an easy and highly listenable rip.

The Mystery Pianist with no Friends


The recording is of solo piano, no vocals, no accompaniment. The song is slow and plodding but in all major keys vaguely making me think of a square dance or a very unexciting bar two centuries ago. It was probably parlor music of some excruciating wholesome origin. Lacking artists, song titles or markings this one is truly a mystery.

Negro Station Profile

I found a 1958 copy of Sponsor magazine that breaks out the programming hours targeted at black people on dozens of stations. Below is a grid that summarizes just a few of the key fields. I have made some corrections where the town was omitted, or a border blaster was assigned to the nearest US city.

However since this data was collected by survey in 1957 it has certain imperfections. Some of their answers are probably guesses or typos. It should also be considered likely that at least some radio station personnel responded to the survey with deliberately inaccurate information. Ex. KWBR and their 66.6% hours of Negro programming. If that one went to print, there are surely others less obvious. Some data is also omitted. Though in some of those cases I was able populate the field by calculation or to use another contemporary source.  I've marked my changes with an asterisk.  You can download my source material here.

CALLS	FREQ	CITY	STATE	%
WAUD	1230	Auburn	AL	20
WEDR	1220	Birmingham	AL	87
WENN	1450	Birmingham	AL	100
WJLD	1400	Birmingham	AL	100
WMSL	1400	Decatur	AL	6
WHOS	800	Decatur	AL	0.5
WOOF	560	Dothan	AL	8.5
WOWL	1240	Florence	AL	5.2
WGYV	1380	Greenville	AL	5
WRMA	950	Montgomery	AL	100
WJAM	1310	Marion	AL	15
WMLS	1290	Sylacauga	AL	6.5
WRBS	790	Tuscaloosa	AL	100
KRVC	1240	Arkadelphia	AR	20
KFFA	1360	Helena	AR	25
KBLO	1470	Hot Springs	AR	1
KOKY	1440	Little Rock	AR	100
KUMA	630	Magnolia	AR	7
KBLA	1500	Burbank	CA	42
KGFJ	1230	Los Angeles	CA	100
KPOP	1020	Los Angeles	CA	25
KWBR	1310	oakland	CA	66.6
KALI	1430	Pasadena	CA	58
XERB	1090	Tijuana*	MX*	??
KSAN	1450	San Francisco	CA	100
KTIM	1510	San Rafael	CA	10
WILM	1450	Wilmington	DE	10
WJBS	1490	Deland	FL	??
WIRA	1400	Ft. Pierce	FL	7
WOBS	1360	Jacksonville	FL	100
WRHC	1400	Jacksonville	FL	45
WFEC	1220	Miami	FL	100
WMBM	800	Miami Beach	FL	100
WBOP	980	Pensacola	FL	100
WTRR	1400	Sanford	FL	15
WTMP	1150	Tampa	FL	100
WDEC	1290	Americus	GA	10
WAOK	1380	Atlanta	GA	100
WAUG	1050	Augusta	GA	50
WHAB	1260	Baxley	GA	7
WCLS	1580	Columbus	GA	100
WDWD	990	Dawson	GA	70
WBHB	1240	Fitzgerald	GA	10
WFPM	1150	Fort Valley	GA	25
WDUN	1240	Gainesville	GA	3
WHE	1320	Griffin	GA	15
WCEH	610	Hawkinsville	GA	10
WLAG	1240	LaGrange	GA	5
WTRP	620	LaGrange	GA	10
WIBB	1280	Macon	GA	90
WYTH	1250	Madison	GA	5
WGOV	950	Valdosta	GA	11
WACL	570	Waycross	GA	9.09
WSBC	1240	Chicago	IL	33.3
WAAF	950	Chicago	IL	19
WBEE	1570	Chicago	IL	70
WGES	1390	Chicago	IL	60
WOPA	1490	Chicago	IL	40
WGRY	1370	Gary	IN	28
WWCA	1270	Gary	IN	16
WJOB	1230	Hammond	IN	20
WGEE	1230	Indianapolis	IN	40
WIMS	1420	Michigan City*	IN	84
KWDM	1150	Des Moines	IA	3.25
WKOA	1480	Hopkinsville	KY	6
WLOU	1350	Louisville	KY	100
WMLF	1230	Pineville	KY	20
KDBS	1410	Alexandria	LA	??
WXOX	1260	Baton Rouge	LA	100
WIKC	1490	Bogalusa	LA	2
KENV	1600	Ferriday	LA	33.3
KLIC	1230	Monroe	LA	15
KNOC	1450	Natchitoches	LA	35
WBOK	800	New Orleans	LA	12
WYLD*	600	New Orleans	LA	100
KRUS	1490	Ruston	LA	5
WANN	1190	Annapolis	MD	??
WSID	1010	Baltimore	MD	100
WEBB	1360	Baltimore	MD	100
WITH	1230	Baltimore	MD	17
WUST	1120	Bethesda	MD	80
WJLB	1400	Detroit	MI	60
WXYZ	1270	Detroit	MI	??
WBBC	1330	Flint	MI	25
WMRP	1570	Flint	MI	11
WCHB	1440	Inkster	MI	100
WSGW	790	Saginaw	MI	5
WROX	1450	Clarksdale	MS	39
WACR	1050	Columbus	MS	45
WCMA	1230	Corinth	MS	3
WGVM*	1260*	Greenville	MS	55
WNAG	1400	Grenada	MS	7
WMDC	1220	Hazlehurst	MS	8
WCPC	1320	Houston	MS	15
WOKJ	1590	Jackson	MS	100
WQIC	1390	Meridian	MS	91
WSUH	1420	Oxford	MS	10
WHOC	1490	Philadelphia	MS	5
WRJW	120	Picayune	MS	1
WSSO	1230	Starkville	MS	10
WROB	1450	West Point	MS	20
KPRS	1590	Kansas City	MO	100
KATZ	1600	St. Louis	MO	100
KSTL	690	St. Louis	MO	14
KXLW	St. Louis	MO	ST	100
WHBI	1280	Newark	NJ	95
WNJR	1430	Newark	NJ	100
KWEW	1480	Hobbs	NM	5
WOV	1280	New York	NY	50
WLIB	1190	New York	NY	87
WWRL	1600	New York	NY	33
WBBB	930	Burlington	NC	33
WGIV	1600	Charlotte	NC	60
WCKB	780	Dunn	NC	10
WSRC	1410	Durham	NC	100
WFAI	1230	Fayetteville	NC	12
WFMC	730	Goldsboro	NC	12
WHUH	1450	Henderson	NC	17.5
WHPE	1070	High Point	NC	10
WMFR	1230	High Point	NC	1
WELS	1010	Kinston	NC	15
WFTC	960	Kinston	NC	22
WEWD	1080	Laurinburg	NC	15
WLOE	1490	Leaksville	NC	20
WHIT	1450	New Bern	NC	5.5
WRAL	1240	Raleigh	NC	5
WEEB	990	Southern Pines	NC	20
WTYN	1580	Tyron	NC	42
WGTM	590	Wilson	NC	10
WVOT	1420	Wilson	NC	0.9
WAAA	980	Winston-Salem	NC	100
WCIN	1480	Cincinnati	OH	100
WJMO	1540	Cleveland	OH	90
WVKO	1580	Columbus	OH	11
WAVI	1210	Dayton	OH	4
WIZE	1340	Springfield	OH	4
WTOD	1560	Toldeo	OH	5.2
KMUS	1380	Muskogee	OK	18
KHBG	1240	Okmulgee	OK	10
WARD	1490	Johnstown	PA	1
WMCK	1360	McKeesport	PA	5
WDAS	1480	Philadelphia	PA	100
WHAT	1340	Philadelphia	PA	100
WAMO	860	Pittsburgh	PA	50
WBSC	1550	Bennettsville	SC	12.2
WPAL	730	Charleston	SC	100
WCOS	1400	Columbia	SC	25
WOIC	1470	Columbia	SC	92
WECS	660	Greenville	SC	15.5
WEAB	800	Greer	SC	50
WJAY	1280	Mullins	SC	12
WTND	920	Orangeburg	SC	15
WTYC	1150	Rock Hill	SC	7
WBCU	1460	Union	SC	9
WMFS	1260	Chattanooga	TN	100
WJZM	1400	Ckarksville	TN	18
WKRM	1340	Columbia	TN	100
WDIA	1070	Memphis	TN	100
WHEY	1220	Millington	TN	26
WSOK	1470	Nashville	TN	100
KVET	1300	Austin	TX	5
KJET*	1380	Beaumont	TX	100
KRIC	1450	Beaumont	TX	24
KMCO	900	Conroe	TX	11
KNOK	970	Fort Worth	TX	100
KGBC	1540	Galveston	TX	19
KGVL	1400	Greenville	TX	10
KCOH*	1430	Houston	TX	100
KSEL	950	Lubbock	TX	9
KMHT	1450	Marshall	TX	20
KJBC	1150	Midland	TX	40
KSFA	860	Macodoches	TX	12.2
KLVL	1480	Pasadena	TX	20
KTAE	1260	Taylor	ST	??
KTFS	1400	Texarkana	TX	25
KDOK	1330	Tyler	TX	50
WDVA	1250	Danville	VA	10
WSVA	550	Harrisonburg	VA	1
WRAP	850	Norfolk	VA	100
WSSV	1240	Petersburg	VA	10
WANT	990	Richmond	VA	100
WROV	1240	Roanoke	VA	20
KTVV	1250	Seattle	WA	3
WELC	1150	Welch	WV	3

Frozen Peas

This recording officially reached meme status long ago. In some radio circles the phrase "frozen peas" refers to a radio blooper. It's been parodied by SCTV, various cartoons, and even Monty Python. It was supposed to be a radio ad for Findus brand frozen Peas. Orson Welles took umbrage at the weak copy and took the producer to task on the recording.  the tape ends with Welles frustrated, crumples up the script and says " In your depths of your ignorance, what is it you want?"   Now at last it's been made into an animated video. Thank you internet.