Tuesday, January 1, 2019

January 1st - We're Kicking Off A Brand New Year!

Welcome to 2019!

As we continue to celebrate our 20th year of producing Forgotten Hits, we'll also continue our Fifty Year Flashback throughout the year with looks back at some of the biggest events of 1969 ... not the least of which will include the music!

And be sure to check the site every Sunday when we'll be running the corresponding WLS Hit Parade Survey for that week showing the biggest songs in Chicago exactly fifty years ago today.  (Special thanks again to Jack Levin for providing all of these survey scans.)

And, since our 1969 tribute is a bit WLS-centric this year ... and since we've got a few of the jocks on our list who were there and part of this exciting time in Chicago radio ... we hope to share some of their memories along the way ...

Starting off with this one from Chuck Buell ... who shows us that WLS had quite a bit to celebrate and be proud of as 1968 turned into 1969 ...




According to a Press Release:  "WLS was named "Radio Station of the Year" by Bill Gavin in 1968.  During that period of time, no Chicago radio station out-rated WLS.  The station was Number One in all Pulse and Arbitron books with a total audience of 4.2 million listeners each week."
-- Chuck Buell
(Chuck Dah-Buell-Ell-Ess)  

Wow!!!  Who’s posting those kind of numbers today???

Sit back and enjoy the ride … as we look back at the events of 1969 … and, of course, the music!!!  It all kicks off on January 6th!  (kk)

A QUICK THANK YOU:
John Rook passed away a couple of years ago ... he was a big supporter of our efforts here in Forgotten Hits and it was much appreciated.  I can't even begin to count the number of contacts he sent my way, most of whom are still Forgotten Hits readers and contributors today.

It was impossible to have less than a one hour conversation with this guy ... but every call was entertaining and always featured a sprinkling of constructive criticism, encouragement and advice.  This guy really knew radio ... and how to be successful at it ... and he wanted to share that success with those he cared about.  I always felt at the end of each phone call like his primary objective was for some of his vast knowledge to have brushed off on me ... and that it was then up to me as to what to do with it.  He has genuinely been missed.  (kk)