The Doc Searls Weblog : Thursday, July 29, 2004

Thursday, July 29, 2004

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Thursday, July 29, 2004
started 7/29/2004; 1:59:17 PM - last post 7/30/2004; 12:56:56 AM

Doc Searls - Thursday, July 29, 2004

7/29/2004; 5:59:17 PM (reads: 7601, responses: 8)

Live from Earth

I'm at a pay phone at OSCon in Portland, in IT Conversation with the rest of the Gillmor Gang, enlarged substantially this week by Dave, talking live from inside the Fleet Center.

One of the guys just said that the convention bloggers "could have used an assignment editor" on Monday when the convention started. Somehow tennis came to mind. In tennis you serve and volley. I realized that starting a conversation-worthy topic is like serving into a volley. Is it a coincidence we use "servers?" Just a thought.

Uh oh. I know too many answers

Geek Standard Aptitude Test (GSAT).

Fabulous 57

When I was a kid, my favorite radio station was WMCA, "Fabulous 57" in New York. WMCA was a pioneering Top 40 station, and something of an underdog. Allan Sniffen explains:

WMCA became one of New York's highest rated radio stations. In 1961, its chief competitors were WINS, WMGM and WABC. It regularly beat WMGM which eventually shifted to a "Beautiful Music" format. In 1965 WINS became an all news station which left just WMCA and WABC in the Top 40 race. It's important to point out that WMCA was only a five thousand watt radio station where WABC was a fifty thousand watt station. As a result, WABC had a much greater reach into the suburbs of New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island. But, WMCA did extremely well in New York City where it had a great signal. It was the number one station in Brooklyn and was also a favorite station in the black neighborhoods of Harlem since it played a wider range of music than WABC. The radio ratings of WABC vs. WMCA have been described as a donut where the center hole of the donut represents the areas where WMCA was the champ and the the outer ring of the donut represents the area where WABC won.

(More about signals here, and about WMCA's transmitter here.)

I started listening because my big cousin Ron, who drove a hot red '60 Chevy convertible and had a girlfriend named Barbara Ann (to match the Regents song), told me WMCA was cool. But the main attraction was the music, which was much newer on WMCA than on the competition. Allan again:

WMCA was a top 40 radio station that broke new records. Unlike its chief competitor WABC which refused to play anything that had not yet demonstrated record sales, WMCA would pick its "Sure Shots" and was frequently the first station in New York to play new records. Naturally, this included The Beatles. The level of competition was so great for new Beatles records that WMCA actually had people in London who obtained records for the station before their official release date. But, WMCA's commitment to new records was not just limited to The Beatles. WMCA air personality Ed Baer tells a great story of how he had a friend who worked at the Columbia Record Company pressing plant. Ed was able to get new releases from people like Dion, Bobby Vinton and Steve Lawrence before they were officially distributed and so, WMCA would be the first to play them.

WMCA also pioneered schwag as a fashion statement. Over the years the station gave away thousands of wmca good guy t-shirts, one at a time, to contest winners. I always wanted one of those things, because they were rare and in high demand.

In spite of its signal limitations, WMCA came in well down at Da Shaw, where our family went every summer. I remember walking through the crowds at Mantaloking Beach, listening to Connie Francis sing "Lipstick on Your Collar" through dozens of transistor radios on blankets under umbrellas.

So 57 became a magical number for me, although I could hardly imagine being 57. That was older than my father, even.

Well, today I find out.

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lou josephs - XM gets its first "star"

7/29/2004; 6:06:55 PM (reads: 671, responses: 0)

Bob Edwards will be leaving DC-based National Public Radio to host a program for DC-based XM Satellite Radio. On Thursday, the DC Post confirmed that Edwards, who was "unceremoniously dumped" as anchor of NPR's "Morning Edition" in March, will do an 8 AM program for XM starting in October. The "Bob Edwards Show" will be heard on XM channel 133, a public radio-type service to debut in September. Suits everywhere are getting very nervous..

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Mark Turner - Happy Birthday!

7/29/2004; 7:53:24 PM (reads: 740, responses: 0)

Happy birthday, Doc!

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steven vore - hippo birdy two ewe

7/29/2004; 8:29:13 PM (reads: 821, responses: 1)

"...just one more candle and a trip around the sun..." -Jimmy Buffett

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lou josephs - wmca...

7/29/2004; 11:17:47 PM (reads: 675, responses: 0)

fortunately unlike BMR and Jack Spector you're still alive and kicking.. The only person from WMCA whos still sort of in radio is Gary Stevens. Happy Birthday..I know there was a WMCA happy birthday jingle..it's on one of the many tapes in my basement..Those were the same singers btw that later brought you the "Drake Era"..Johnny Mann.

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Dean Landsman - Re: Thursday, July 29, 2004

7/30/2004; 1:35:28 AM (reads: 1016, responses: 1)

HB2U, Doc!

I used to have two WMCA Good guy Sweathsirts.

Sadly, one of them walked out of my apartment one morning about 30 years ago, worn by a girl I chose never to call again. The only reason to call her would have been to retrieve the sweatshirt. Back then it just didn't seem worth it.

The other one remains in perfect mint condition. I always thought it would be nice to have an unworn totally new WMCA Good Guy Sweatshirt.

Now that it is but one year until I have two kids in college, I may just sell that other one to cover the costs of their education!

Growing up in the same area, I, too, appreciate the association with 57 and Fabulous 57, the Good Guys and WMCA. But as a radio guy, you will understand (and recall all the stories we've shared about it), the 57 that comes to mind for me is the station where I did one shift back in the early 1970s, 57-WLLE.

The fact that I did that shift impersonating a friend (the guy who was supposed to be on the air) who'd taken ill, and that I even fooled the jock who relieved him (and who asked if I could do his voice, and if I could, would I do his shift, too?) was supposed to be a big secret. And yet it remains one of the most vivid memories of my years working in Raleigh, NC. And a favorite story to recount.

So, from a guy who remembers "putting on some deebs" as how we referred to your station from those days, BIG PHAT HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES from another veteran of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill radio, the BP Forum, and the blogosphere!!

--Dean

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lou josephs - Could this be sat radio's killer ap.,.

7/30/2004; 4:56:56 AM (reads: 656, responses: 0)

XM creates an entire "public radio channel" to surround newly-hired Bob Edwards. They're using content from established pubcasters like Minnesota-based PRI and American Public Media, and WBUR, Boston - but not from D.C.-based National Public Radio. XM's "public radio" channel will offer familiar shows like Ira Glass' "This American Life" and Michael Feldman's "Whad'Ya Know?" and hourly news from the BBC. Launch date: September 1 for the channel itself, with Bob Edwards adding his new one-hour morning interview show on October 4.

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lou josephs - Re: Thursday, July 29, 2004

7/30/2004; 4:58:32 AM (reads: 812, responses: 0)

I had those re-done at WROR in 85 with the Rock and Roll Reunion that I did. They looked great still have one... WMCA YEAH YEAH>>>>

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Doc Searls - Re: hippo birdy two ewe

8/1/2004; 11:57:06 AM (reads: 965, responses: 0)

That's a great line. Hope I get a few more trips. :-)

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