Vintage Publication Spotlight #7

The latest entry in an ongoing series devoted to magazines of the past.

I was 14 years old in 1967 when I heard an ad on WLS saying the AM radio powerhouse was publishing its own Personality Album magazine, filled with photos, stories, and profiles of the on-air personalities.

I loved listening to the station, particularly night-time disc jockeys Ron Riley and Art Roberts, so I knew I had to have the magazine.

I wasn’t fluent in marketing jargon, so when the ad said Personality Parade would be available at news stands, I thought I could only buy one from an actual news stand. The nearest one was miles from our house, so I begged my Dad to drive me there. I soon learned I could have picked up a copy at any of the drug stores in my neighborhood. As much as I treasured that WLS Personality Album, it didn’t keep me from eventually losing track of it. The one in my collection now was purchased years later off eBay for considerably more than the original 50 cent asking price.

There wasn’t any advertising in the WLS Personality Album other than for the station itself. There were extensive bios for dee jays Clark Weber, Bernie Allen, Dex Card, Ron Riley, Art Roberts, and Don Phillips. Judging from the numerous pictures, these guys had a ball hanging out with all the big pop stars of the day. There are shots of Clark with Dave Clark of The Dave Clark Five; Allen with Paul Revere & The Raiders and Tony Bennett; Card with The Supremes and The Cryan Shames; Riley with Chad & Jeremy and The Hollies; Roberts with The Byrds, The Yardbirds, and The Lovin’ Spoonful; and Phillips with The Shangri-Las and The Turtles.

Often these bands would come into the studio for interviews. I remember Riley’s interview with The Hollies in particular. He was a funny guy who came across like he was friends with the band members, even though he claimed their British accents made them sound like they were calling their latest album Booterfly instead of Butterfly. One of The Hollies then pronounced the name Buttahfly, like an American southerner. Riley loved the Batman TV series and even managed to snag a cameo on it.

In addition to playing the Top 40 hits, Roberts featured comedy bits on his show, including his own Hip Fables and a spy spoof called Peter Fugitive that was created and voiced by Ray Van Steen. That’s probably what triggered my own fascination with making people laugh. I already had the writing bug at that point, unaware of how it would eventually lead me down such a frustrating and penniless career path.

WLS would later switch to an all-talk format. Back in 1967, it showcased an incredibly exciting time on the Chicago rock scene, when bands like The Cryan Shames, The Buckinghams, The Shadows Of Knight, The Mauds, and several others had hit songs. This era was captured on the 2131 South Michigan Avenue 2-CD set (See Vintage Rock, Chicago Style post in Archives, under November, 2009). The book Chicago Top 40 Charts 1960-1969, compiled by Ron Smith, is another helpful resource.

Vintage Garage Rock, Chicago Style

Following up on my post last Friday suggesting that Ellen Degeneres join forces with Little Steven Van Zandt to promote power pop and garage rock music, I have started a Fans Of Power Pop And Garage Rock Music Who Watch Ellen group on The Ellen Degeneres Show Community page. Please feel free to join. I also sent e-mails to Ellen and Little Steven, explaining my plan.

In the meantime, here’s a review I wrote for the Illinois Entertainer a few months back, on the 2131 South Michigan Avenue 2-CD set. It’s being shown here with the magazine’s permission.

2131 South Michigan Avenue - 60’s Garage & Psychedelia from U.S.A. and Destination Records is a two CD set that serves as a sort of Windy City version of Nuggets in the way it digs up long-lost treasures. It harks back to the days when WLS fueled a thriving local music scene by playing bands who were signed to Chicago-based indie labels. U.S.A. Records, which initially concentrated on R&B, eventually signed so many garage rock acts, it needed to create a second label, Destination to handle the load.

Comprised of 40 tracks (from 22 bands) recorded on those two labels between 1966 and 1968, 2131 South Michigan Avenue proves how much Midwestern musicians were in tune with international pop music. The Foggy Notions, The Boyz, and The Ricochettes were obviously inspired by the British Invasion. The CD offers a demo of The Cryan’ Shames performing The Beatles’ “You’re Gonna Lose That Girl” and Trafalgar Square romping through The Kinks’ “Til The End Of The Day.” The Messengers’ hit “Midnight Hour” is included here as well as its B-side, a cover of The Hollies’ “Hard Hard Year.” The Daughters of Eve, the only all female act included on the set, flip the gender on an Animals song for “Help Me Boy.”

Oscar Hamod & The Majestics create an infectious R&B groove for “Soul Finger” and Gary and The Knight Lites (later to become The American Breed) sound like a Motown act on “I Don’t Need Your Help.” The chiming guitars on The Sheffields’ “Do You Still Love Me” evoke The Byrds, while Lord and the Flies and The Cherry Slush experiment with more psychedelic sounds. Several tracks, like “Come With Me” by The Boyz, “Time To Dream” by The Lost Agency, and “I’ll Make You Pay” by The Shady Daze, exhibit the unbridled energy of classic garage rock that acts like The Chesterfield Kings and The Urges still champion today.

2131 South Michigan Avenue is also an archive of Chicago bands who went on to longer lasting, national success. There’s a track by The Cryan Shames called “Ben Franklin’s Almanac,” while The Buckinghams’ cover of the blues classic “I’m A Man” is considerably rougher than their Top 40 hits. The Flock, who would record more progressive albums on the Columbia label, are represented with the pop-oriented “Are You The Kind.” Amazingly, not a single track on this compilation is a clunker. That’s either a testament to Chicago area bands of the mid-1960s or the folks who put *2131 South Michigan Avenue* together. Or both.