Monday, September 19, 2022

September 18th - 1972 SURVEYS - From Coast To Coast - This Week: MISSISSIPPI

M-I - Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter - I - Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter - 

I - Hump-Back, Hump-Back - I  

(Did you guys used to sing that song in grade school???)

This week we venture down to Meridian, Mississippi ...

And what a unique approach they've taken here ...

Listing the biggest hits on their FM dial right beside the biggest hits from their AM dial!


Now in all fairness, 21 of The Top 30 Hits appear on both charts ...

But because they list several "extras" on the AM Chart, this allows us a pretty good choice of "extras" of our own to feature this week.

Such as "Sunday Kind Of Love" by Lenny Welch ... a hit on the FM Side (which I find really surprising!)  In fact, you'll find The Carpenters, Johnny Mathis, Helen Reddy and Glen Campbell here as well ... not what one would expect from the traditionally "heavier" play list of an FM station.

Meanwhile, on the AM side, they show "Go All The Way" by The Raspberries at #3 ... but it's nowhere to be found on their FM chart, despite the fact that The Raspberries' album is ranked as the most popular LP on their chart!

Other AM Hits that one would expect to cross-over to the FM side would have to be "Honky Cat" by Elton John, "Join Together" by The Who, "You Wear It Well" by Rod Stewart, "Easy Livin'" by Uriah Heep, "America" by Yes, "Tight Rope" by Leon Russell, "Witchy Woman" by The Eagles and "Spaceman" by Nilsson.

It looks like about three hours a day are simulcast between both bands ... while poor Bud Wilson has to pull a double shift, starting at noon on the AM side, working for three hours and then at 3 pm, switching over to the FM dial for a couple more! 

FM Radio was really just coming into its own at this time so I'm sure many stations (who had the option to broadcast on both bands) were kind of feeling their way.  But that still makes this WDAL Chart quite unique ... and not something you see every day.  (kk)