Variety (October 1957)

Wednesday, October '30, 1957 TBusic to Brush Your Teeth By San . Francisco, Oct. 29. American radio music is "music to brush your teeth by,” ac¬ cording to the music program director of Kol Israel, the Israeli broadcasting system. Shabtai Petrushka, currently touring the U.S.* has a lew opinion of U.S. musical programming, though he tries hard to be courteous. ' When prodded, however, Petrushka says; "In my opinion, the sponsors are the ones who determine what Is programmed on American radio.” - He doesn’t think this is beneficial^ to ra£io. „■ He scoffs at most of the programming on AM stations as "cheap music,” feels there are “only a few good FM stations” in the U.S, Kol Israel’s 90 hours of weekly programming, says Petrushka, include only about 20% pops—"most consists of pieces with* Latin-American rhythms and good, genuine American jazz in the Count Basie-Duke Ellington-Woody Herman vein.” TJhe other 80% of the time is devoted to longhair music and the playing of new works by contemporary Israeli composers. Petrushka says Israel’s tv blueprints have already been drawn up and have a 1960 deadline. He^xplains: . "The cqst is high and I am afra id we will have to go commercial.” t Lanny Ross’ 25 Years Continued from, page 2 RADIO-TELEVISION and the home-base, Boss is able n 1) J p - • _• Segal s rops r ormat in Bigtime still has gotten a chance to hit ** * such boites as the Cotillion, the IT’AM/ A ff 1 11 T* •* A 1* IT KUdY rayofi; AH rnsco Radio Up where the heart is, and that’s be- * fore a microphone. Twenty five San Francisco, Oct. 29. trained execs say their business is years is a long time, but Boss sees Radio, following the national U P as much as 50% over a year no reason why he and radio can’t o . , . pnmo . . ago. Their format is, basically, mu- swing through another 25 with the trend has made a comeback in sic and newS| too< but t j, ey ten( j ease of an engineer flickering a the Frisco area, with all eight fo promote their personalities, switch. - • major Stations in Frisco reporting such as Don Sherwood, Del Court- _____ _ “ “ : ~ business up anywhere from 10 to tte y. Bob Colvig and Dick Cook, to WBC Setting Aside took,. ^ greatcr dcgree t!ran docs Prim* Fvomntr TimA A \‘1 st T ^ KSFO has the addilional advaut- lrune cveiung Iinie comeback has been the. sky-rock- age of a very str0ng dial .portion, fl • TV Qlinur eting ratings of kd. independent, 560, way over on the left side, and rur EuuG 1 I » DHOW semi-rock 4 n’ roll Station, Dave has maintained a ratings spot close Oft-debated question of how well Segal’s KOBY, which culminated be h ind KOBY and the t\vo strong- cuitural-educational television will wit u jf 0 BY edging out the area’s ? st network stations. K_FO s bill- do in Prime evening time is due to W1UI Jvua ■ ea &mg ouc ine area s mgs are very c i ose if no t above, be put to the test by Westinghouse longtime 50,000-watt_champ, KCBS, $100,000 a month. Broadcasting Co. The Westing- in the July-August Pulse. . KCBS, the CBS flagship which house stations are assigning prime Segal, who operates indies in Arthur Hill Hayes manned until evening slots to WBC's new filmed Denver and Greenvillei Miss pur . jumping to presidency of CBS half-hour kiddie-slanted series.on . , _ Radio, is almost surely doing the mathematics, "Adventures in Num- ckased KDBY a year ago from s - biggest business of any Frisco area ber and Space.” A^CisIer. The 10,000-watter at that outlet, probably well in excess of Series, Aimed in New York by time was known as KEAB, “the $1,000,000 a year. ! ratl0 . n good music station”—that is, Cisler Henry Untermeyer, current sta- College department of mathematics t d longhair-music Won manager, says business is up at Columbia U., stims BiT Baird op^ted with a longhair music « more than 10% » over a year a *d h is pu . ppe ?* ^ as cleared Policy. says national spot sales have been the following time slots for the en- Segal changed the call letters, c i imb ing steadily since a dip in tv St’ Called a “Top 40” pops format, early 1954 and says local sales show urdays, e to 6:30* W pittsbm-gh used disc jockeys with house names an “ever-increasing curve upward.” KDKA’ Thursdays,* 8* to 8:30; San and, after weathering a NABET Possibly in reaction to KOBY’s Francisco, KPIX,- Thursdays, 6:30 strike last October through Decern- tn 7- -and "Baltimore WJZ-TV , , ^ . “ last month started urging listeners Saturdays, 7:30 to-8. Show kicks ber, has steadll y beefed up the rat- to write in their opinions on rock off the week of Nov 12. ings of his music-and-news outlet ‘n’ roll. Westinghouse, in order to give Result has been a steady increase Singer-deejay Guy Cherney be- the show the biggest possible com- In business—and time rates. gan it on his morning show and in petitive push, is setting up an in- Last j anuarv savs KOBY sales 10 days received 683 letters, of tensive advertising-promotion cam- ^ /T “ which 648 were anti-rock ’n’ roll, paign in each city. Apart from at manager John MCRae, the station Bill weaver, a sort of local Arthur least one national magazine ad, had “only five or six accounts.” Godfrey, picked it up and got al- WBC is packaging on-the-air pro- Today it has about 80, half of them most as many letters, overwhelm- motional kits with slidesland1 films. nat i ona i. p rlnie time rates for a ingly against rock V roll, and and will even use its radio stations . . _ . Wanda Ramey, who runs an after- to promote the series. Stations are riogl* 60-second commercial have noon s how under the house name tieing the series in with ‘junior January to 0 f Jane Todd, got a couple of hun- high schools and high schools in as °f pet. 1. dred letters expressing the same each area and are setting up press Competitors estimate KOBY’s sentiments. KCBS Is now in pro¬ conferences and previews in each billings are running between $35,- cess of polling the. letter-writers city, with Bil & Cora Baird and 000 and $75,000 a month now, and to get data on their purchasing program. consultant Prof. Howard optimistic KOBY execs hint bill- power-r-station time salesmen pre- Fehr making personal appearances, ihgs are closer to $100,000 a month, sumably will use the data to count- ' ■ ■ ■ In addition, Segal’s known to have eract the effect of KOBY’s upsurge turned down an offer of $1,000,- to the top Pulse ratings, for KCBS fiMlftr 000 for the station several months (and KNBC) rates are the highest wOllvl ago. in the area ($50 for a single 60- - ■ ■ Continued from paxre M -■ One result of KOBY’s success is second Spot). WBC Setting Aside Prime Evening Time For Ednc’l TV Show riod through which all radio’s great stars went through hut only a few survived. This is the day of the “personality salesman,” and Ross had a tough inner battle before he could accept the fact ""Imagine Jessica Dragonette doing commer¬ cials today,” he aays, "and that will give you an idea of my feelings “When I realized the changes that were taking place in the business. RUt I love radio, I’ve got a great affinity for the microphone and for the people I reach, and J made the adjustment” Ross feels he hasn’t suffered any from his modern-day role as a salesman-performer. "Sometimes I think it’s piade ige realize that I’m a better all-round person because of it. I rerriemher_nearly four years ago when I came to WCBS IN. Y.) to talk about the show I’m doing now. T sat down with Sam Slate, the program manager (now general manager) and for 4 four hours we didn’t mention show business or advertising or my background. We just talked about me, and I guess Sam was sizing me up as a person rather-than just as a singer. Well, the shew has been going along for all that time now, and I think it's a source of satisfaction to me that I rate as a person with my lis¬ teners. ) Public Expects The Pitch "Actually, today’s.audiences ex¬ pect the performer to sell. I re¬ member when I first started and I bad only 15 commercials a week— I’ve got 6<r now—and a cabdriver asked me how the sponsors were coming in. I was a little surprised, and asked him how he knew about sponsors. ’That’s the way you get your salary, isn’t it?’ he-said. I think people know you’re doing a job, and if they believe in you, in your sincerity, they’ll buy the prod¬ uct. I think I can sincerely reeom- • mend the products that I sell and I don’t think I’m steering any of my public wrong when I recom¬ mend one of them,” Radio wasn’t always that way, of course, and Ross likes equally to hark back to the days when, as one of the country’s top singers, he carved out a permanent niche for himself in show biz annals. Or to the -earlier days when radio was finding itself as an advertising and' entertainment medium.-He remem¬ bers when he was doing the Hell- man’s show, and at the same time was studying voice on Park Avenue: An advertising executive whose hobby was singing heard him and brought him to Marion Harper Sr., father of the present McGann- Erickson prexy and advertising - inanager for Maxwell House Cof¬ fee, Harper was impressed witli his voice, wanted to use him for the "Show Boat” cast, but stopped short when he discovered Ross was a Yale man. Harper, he retails, hemmed and hawed and Ross was ready to give it up as a bad deal, since the ad - fraternity was making- a big thing about the grassroots approach. Finally, Harper said, "Well, young man, Yale is fine, but have you evqr been out west?” Ross had the day won, for he told Harper he’d been born in Seattle, "and you can’t get much further west than that without getting your toes wet, sir.” (Pix, Niteries, War, TV, More Radiol In October of 1932, Ross found himself among the regulars on "Show Boat,” and a nationwide star of the first magnitude. Then came more radio, pictures, night clubs, the war, television, more radio and still more radio. There was Packard’s "Mardi Gras” show, the Lucky Strike "Hit Parade,” the Franco - American program, the “Camel Caravan” and then three years of wartime service as a major on General Douglas MacArthur’s staff. In between, in, the latter ’30s, there were pictures, "Melody- in Spring” and "College Rhythm” for Paramount and "The Lady Objects” for Columbia, But why always back to radio? Why didn’t Ross, with a major reputation and a fine boxoffice po¬ tential, stay in Hollywood. “Well,” he says, I guess I was in a little bit of a hurry then. I made three pic¬ tures, hut I wanted to work with my voice, and I didn’t get much opportunity out there. I realize to¬ day that I would have eventually made It big if I had stufck around for a few more years and kept my nose dean. But when the first radio offer came, I grabbed it, and I’ve never really been sorry.” Aftei* the war, came television, , but before video had its major im¬ pact, Ross was going full-steam again on AM with a show for Iv¬ ory Soap. In 1947, when Procter & Gamble notified CBS and. Ross that they were rebudgeting tfieit advertising for television and that the Ivory show was cancelled, a lot of people,.including Ross, saw ‘ what looked like the handwriting on the yalL . . 1 A TV Pioneer Also | Ross had done a dosed-circuit test show on television back in 1937, so he wasn’t a complete stranger to the medium, and be¬ fore the year was out, he was star¬ ring on NBC-TV or Swift in one of the first musical variety shows on tele. In 1949, as sponsors do, Swift cancelled, /md Ross again found himself back in radio, this ‘ time for Gulf Oil on Mutual. In 1950 to 1953, ,when radio was facing its darkest' days, Ross was on Mutual for Artcarve-Rings, a Boston jewelry concern which had been - a longtime major magazine advertiser but was trying radio. Arfcarve finally cancelled, not be¬ cause of any ■ dissatisfaction with the show* but because it insisted its distributors preferred maga¬ zine advertising so that they could distribute placards and other point- of-scale material to dealers, : Ross then took off on a long classical concert four, and it was on thi? tour that the tough adjust¬ ment to the new look of radio be¬ gan to take place. In the smaller western towns, Ross would drop in on jewelers and distributors, talking about the radio show and their advertising and selling prob¬ lems, learning their point of view and imparting his. When he re-, turned to N.Y., he had another go- round with the Artcarve people, who told him of the wonderful re¬ action of the dealers and distribs with whom he’d met, but in the end said they were sorry hut they’d decided on magazines and would stick with it, 1 Also. Supermarket Personals | Ross didn’t get his sponsor back, but he learned one of the hard les¬ sons of the new radio business. Since then, he’s found it easy to- tr£at radio as a business and thinks nothing of doing the mod¬ ern-day supermarket personal ap¬ pearance rounds, a must for the radio “salesman” but unthinkable back in those halcyon Jessica Dra¬ gonette days. He’s richer for the experience, he feels, and he’s ‘not necassarily talking about the coin of the realm. With radio still the first-love* ir, nas steadily neeied up tne rat- to write in their opinions on rock gs of his music-and-news outlet ‘n’ roll. Result has been a steady increase Singer-deejay Guy Cherney be- business—and time rates. S an it °u hi? morning show and in Last Januarv savs KOBY sales 10 days received 683 letters, of i*ast January says koby sales which 648 were anti _ rock - n * rolI . Caller i Continued from pare M ; pressed the belief that "no court several other indies have -KFRC, the Don Lee-Mufoal out- in the land” could rule toll-tv con- ad °Pted a chart formula. let, is up around 20% over a year stitutidnal under the present law. KYA, the McCaw-Keating sta- ago* according to sales manager Porter, opening the debate in de-'tion here, has gone all-out for the Bill Nichols. KFRC is one of Fris- fense of toll-tV, listed six -"indis- kid listeners, with a ‘Top 30” based go’s oldest and best-entrenched sta- putable characteristics” of the 011 actual phone calls to the sta- tions, and the only Frisco outlet present free broadcast system: tion. Station manager Irv Philips still originating (Pacific) network A limited video service to the says KYA has been getting about shows. a public. Responsible charges of 500 calls a day with its “Voice "Our basic sound Is talk.” says monopoly and dominance against Your Choice” gimmick. The record Nichols, "for people who like to the principal networks from* Con- preferences are tabulated and this listen.” gress and the Barrow Committee, tabulation forms the basis of mu- Top-rated at KNBC is Doug A limited television service at pres- sic programming, just as KOBY’s pledger a deejay addicted to eht for public consumption. Alle- tabulation of record sales and juke- polkas ^ ho ^ on the NBC 50 000- .gations of mediocrity in program- hox-statistics from about 80 Frisco watter mor€ than 25 hours a week, ■ming because of the cost-per-1,000 area stores forms the basis of its _ concept along Madison Ai«7 The "Top 40“ , K iP C s ! atl0n man ? g l r Georga necessity of map appeal and other KYA’a additional gimmick, start- My rS h^ 5 mSch e tetter' excert° n to factors Complaints hy local and e d in mid-August and not yet fully Mtat ™thTSet's 40 oIus^ j P QmD regional advertisers that they lack reflected in Pulse, is to phone back 1° tne . 3 40 plus '° jump * access to the market-place because 50 to 100 callers daily and let them m . aj T °^°' an ^ network of cost. "Last but worst,” the lack' tape their choices for rebroadcast* ou “ e ^ kere iS KGO, which has had of community identification and a week later. Each caller whose a thorough managerial shakeup at local outlets of self-expression taped choice is aired gets $1 and tbe bands of its new boss, ABC which are inveighed against by po- philips says the station’s already vice-president John Mitchell, in C £?, C leaders and “ by given , away more than $2,500 in the last eight months. ‘V the FCC itself.” $1 chunks KGO has been running behind in "I contend,” the lawyer said, tt-toc w . ... the ratings and last March even "that pay-tv has the potential to dropped Pulse, according to radio liberate at least the source of these ^sales manager Dave Lundy, "be- crlticisms and attacks on the status ,fm ® r lrt« r says, T k( ? wa y er * , tha ^ cause we knew we were coming up I quo. Without obsoleting present „ 3 p n 50 simply ls cased on w jth a new format.” The changes consumer investment, closed-circuit survey of s ° n ff ™° st '-seem to be in the direction of systems can add three new chan- 0 5:f p P laye d_ on radio and that the mor e live shows, more shows aimed nels of audio and visual communi- • 3 bas ^ c mu sic-and-news pol- at women, and more shows which cations into most of our 40,000,000 iey ttasn 1 changed. dovetail with the net’s shifting pro¬ tv homes. This would relieve the . Even KSAN, S. H. Patterson’s gram concepts. Lundy says the sta-. shortage of communications chan- indie which is beamed primarily tion resumed buying Pulse Oct. 1 nels.” a t foreign-language and Negro and expects so considerable a lift Porter said that presently there groups, has joined in the fun. that it’s having a special 30-day sur- is a serious "question of access, and KSAN deejay “Jumpin’ George” V ey made. I would raise with you the ques- Oxford originated a “Top 10,000,” Despite KGO’s shakeup. Lundy tion of how long two or at the which he plugs to the hilt—face- adds, the station’s sales are 18% most three American enterprises tiously, of course. ahead of a year ago. can control this access to the ma- ' Philips says KYA’s gross for the -- jority of 40,000,000 homes for pe- fiscal year ending July 1 was $770,- __ _ „ . __ ___ riod of three to five hours per day 000 and that at the current rate of MlfrnPII AnlnPC ARf to the exclusion of others who have growth in billings KYA ought to uiiiwicu ramuco nu\j something to offer and desire to do about $850,000 in this fiscal J- Ward (Jack) Mitchell is out compete for the attention, patron- year. as head of the script department ag eand£ 0 °dwm of our people, ^ Breyer says KJBS’s billings have j at American Broadcasting Net- “Pay-tv system proponents are about 25% over a vear 1 work after some 14 years with the basically asking for some access to £5 eased about 23 0 over a jear ; radio hookup. Web, which came the American home. Not equal ac- _ ... . ., i under new management larf cess at the start, but limited ac- Q n f independent has held Off .on | spring, has brought Bill Rafael in cess. And if the public is unwill- ? ock 11 roll. This is KSFO, which j as scr j p t editor, but the adniinis- ing to pay for it, the public will recent years has been probably tration of the department, which at" least have the opportunity to strongest mdie m tiie Frisco : formerly fell to Mitchell along choose.- The technical system for araa jand was purchased by Gene j with the editing aegis, has been the new service is the least import- Autry’s Golden West Broadcasters j turned over to Drex Hines, ant of the underlying considera- for $1 million almost a year ago. j Hines is ABN’s assistant rra¬ tions. Technology will provide new Golden West installed Bill Shaw 'gram director, and he'll merely be and perhaps undreamed answers as station manager and Bert West assimilating the new du’y into his as to how.” 1 as sales manager and the two CBS- \ old ones.