CKLG Happy Difference

[radiofan]

From PAMS series 25, a few CKLG "Happy Difference" jingles ..

CKLG Happy Difference

[cart_machine]

From PAMS series 25, a few CKLG "Happy Difference" jingles ..

RF, when were these done; mid 60s?

cArtie.

[Jack Bennest]

my guess would be 1963

http://www.pams.com/series.html

[jon]

As others have reminded me, jingles from this era were often introduced as New on stations up to 2-3 years later than when they were first developed. I remember, in those early years, having a deja vu experience when a station would introduce a jingle package that I knew I had heard 1-2 years earlier on another station.

In LG's case, they were definitely aired after CKLG went Top 40. And it is extremely unlikely that the station would have aired any of the jingles they used in their pre-Top 40 era, because they would be trying so hard to distance themselves from their past.

The change to Top 40 at CKLG came after the death of Lloyd Moffat in Spring 1964. As I understand, the format switch coincided with the Beatles concert in Vancouver in August 1964. So that makes it the earliest possible date for these.

[Jack Bennest]

Nothing in those jingles that indicates rock or top 40

definitely the 'jazzy' sixties

[radiofan]

This was the first package of jingles CKLG used after going rock on August 22nd, 1964. CKLG's first top 40 PD Sam Holman was likely reponsible for getting this package. It was used from 1964 to 1965.
Prior to CKLG, Holman worked at WKNR in Detroit and WABC in New York. Both those stations were big PAMS customers, so I'm sure he was familiar with the package. KJR in Seattle and KGW in Portland also used it.

The next package was an adaptation of PAMS "All American" package and used the Lion Radio theme. If the memory is working, the top of the hour jingle was "Here's A Lion Radio Top Cat, Ready To Rock Cat".

[jon]

Good point, TD, about these jingles not using Top 40 style music in them. For whatever reason, Top 40 jingles of this era and earlier, leaned heavily to a Big Band feel.

I cannot think of any non-Top 40 station that used "Station with the Happy Difference" jingles. Can anyone else?

[albertaboy4life]

I'm only going by a list of PAMS series on Steven M. Geisler's www.560.com tribute site to WQAM Miami and also a list at NormanB.net.

PAMS 25 was produced for -

KLIF
WQAM
WKNR
WABC
WGR
CKY
WAVZ
WIFE
KJR
KGW
WHB
WGAR
WPOP
KXOK
KOIL
CHUM
CFCF

Don't know if all of the above were in their Top 40 years at the time.

In the I learned something today category -

I didn't know CKLG used other PAMS packages in addition to 25 (Happy Difference), 46 (For You) and Windy. Would be cool to hear the "All American" package for Radio 73.

CFUN appears to have purchased PAMS packages on either side of CKLG's 25. The list shows CFUN having Series 22 and 27 produced for them.

[Jack Bennest]

good discussion in which I have learned as well.

the big band that jon refers to and "jazzy" as mentioned by me
are in deed not rock and I can see some stations in that long
list that were more MOR than rock in 63-64

but thats a stab in the dark

a better memory is that any jingle sounded great and 'big town' compared
to lil interior stations with nothing

Leader of the pack
She Loves You
House of the Rising Sun
I get around
Suspicion

but if you were playing a catchy rock tune in 64 and had a big band jazzy jingle - that would be so - uncool

[cart_machine]

I'm only going by a list of PAMS series on Steven M. Geisler's www.560.com

AB, I had no idea this site was out there. These jingles are fantastic. Thanks for the link.

cArtie.

[jon]

Jingle producer Ken R. wrote what are basically two versions of the same book. I have the second, named simply "The Second Jingle Book". Each includes a CD of samples, plus a "Wonderful WORM Radio" parody.

He talks about the fact that Top 40 jingles in the early years, mid-50s to mid-60s, were basically all Big Band sound because that genre was what the original creators of radio jingles understood.