60s Radio: New Year’s Eve

1961 – New Years Leave Dance Parties
Network pickups of dance-band music across the country: KING 8:05 PM; KIRO 8:30 p.m.; KOMO 11 PM.

1962 – Dance Time 10 PM on 1590 KETO “Your key to better listening.”
Music of the past 62 years is aired continuously until sign-off on KXA.

1963 – Guy Lombardo, Count Basie, Les Brown, Lionel Hampton and others are heard on KIRO AM and FM from 8-10 PM, and from 11 PM to 1 AM.
The Jerry Rowan Quintet ushers in 1964 with the program of dance music, beginning at 11:55 PM on KETO AM and FM.
Mori Simon’s orchestra, playing in The Olympic Grand Ballroom, is heard at 11:15 p.m., and music from San Francisco’s Gold Street is aired at 11:45 PM on KOMO.
Tomorrow — Orson Welles “War of the Worlds,” considered by many to be the most famous radio broadcast of the century, will be aired at 10 AM on KXA as a part of the stations “Sounds of the Century,” a musical – history marathon which will end at 5:30 p.m.
Cotton Bowl: Texas University will play Navy at 10:45 AM on KIRO AM and FM.
Orange Bowl: Auburn and Nebraska will meet at 10:45 AM on KOMO.
Rose Bowl: The University of Washington Huskies will face Illinois at 1:45 PM on KING-AM and FM.
Arthur Godfrey and Betty White narrate the Rose Bowl parade on NBC TV New Year’s Day.

1964 – While the rock stations counted down the top hits of the year, KING-FM presented an informal evening of music including jazz, folk music, show tunes and humor.
Lorne Greene and Betty White narrate the Rose Bowl parade on NBC-TV on New Year’s Day.

1965 – New Year’s resolutions for Seattle media offered by C. J. Skreen, Seattle Times TV editor: J. P. Patches-keep those mothers happy with more of those action-packed educational cartoons. Irving Clark-keeping blab-off handy for those unruly telephone callers. KAYO-maintain an ample supply of picketing signs the next time The Times’ John Hinterberger reviews a Country KAYO Western stage show. Pat O’Day and Jack Roberts-trading your worn-out toupees for 1966 models. KOL and KJR-shake hands and come out swinging with rock ‘n roll discs. Perry Allen-go berserk and break up every one of and boss Gene Autry’s “Rudolph the red nosed reindeer” platters. (Goodbye, Perry, hate to see you go.). Bob Hardwick-more whales to conquer. KRAB FM and Lorenzo Milam-continue presenting such diversified programming (who cares about Big Daddy Nielsen?) As “Music of the Ituri Forest” (recorded in The Congo), “Research in Consciousness Expansion,” “Music Directors Sporadic Report on the State of the Musical Onion” and “Amharic and Somali Music of Ethiopia” (with titles that defy even the station manager).

1966 – 10 PM, Jim Wilke [KING FM] hosts a potpourri of dance music, humor, jazz, folk, and nonsense. Live-remote broadcasts of Cannonball Adderley live from Chicago, Count Basie from New York and Don Scaletta and Ray Charles from Seattle will last until 2 AM.

Stredicke 1967 – The party is in full swing, but somebody forgot to invite Jan Garber!
The CBS Radio Network will present its 40th annual coast-to-coast New Year’s eve Dancing Party– but it’s the only one. KIRO AM will open network lines for the event, including remote broadcasts of 12 big-name bands (Guy Lombardo, Count Basie and Russ Morgan) from eight o’clock Monday evening to midnight.
But right at the stroke of midnight, automation takes over and the regularly-scheduled soft, up-tempo music sponsored by Holiday Inn takes over just like any other night.
Neither ABC nor NBC features will be offered in Seattle. “We will present clusters of dance music of our own choosing,” KING-FM explains.
In pursuit of the young audience, neither KING or KOMO will dare permit a night of nostalgia for the older folk.
KERI FM in Bellingham will have the closest thing to it with a syndicated feature called “12 Hours of New Years.”
KJR continues “Flashback” Monday, including a segment beginning at 6 PM which will play, in reverse order, the top 100 of the stations all-time hits.
And if past performance is any guide, at the stroke of midnight, New Year’s Eve, the most likely song to be played will be – “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.”

1968 – 7 PM KVI, JJ Valley presents the “very best in dance music” and JJ’s “best one-liners of the year” steel you for facing the new year reasonably sober.
KOMO – Larry Nelson, KOMO Country’s newest announcer, and some of the worlds oldest pop standards.
KING-AM – Record Party, contemporary music for a contemporary New Year’s Eve party.
KBBX – Dance Party, up-tempo music to greet the new year.
Country Music KAYO, good old Dan Williams plays good old country music, right up to the new year.
Dance Party, KIXI-lots of up-tempo music in the KIXI fashion.
12:00 Auld Lang Syne – KING- Dick Roth will sing along with Carmen Lombardo if thousands of listeners request him to do so.
Tomorrow, 10 AM, KBIQ-Music to Recover By… Pop standards-just remember to keep it down when that jet station identification comes swooping through the room in stereo.

1969 – a live broadcast of Woody Herman and his band, performing in Seattle, will be aired over the NBC Radio Network, as part of an across-the-country New Year’s Eve celebration.
Jim Wilke, KING-FM program director, said NBC asked the FM station to feed the broadcast to the network as part of NBC’s All-Star Cavalcade of Bands. In 1966, Wilke supervised a similar New Year’s broadcast by Ray Charles.
Portions of the network program to be heard on KING-FM, will include tape-delays or live broadcasts of Lionel Hampton in New York, Duke Ellington in Las Vegas, Count Basie in Miami and Dizzy Gillespie in Chicago.
Wilke said the music would be included in the stations nightly jazz show, which begins at 11 PM. The program will conclude at 1 AM rather than at the normal midnight sign off time. The 25 min. Herman segment will be aired to the nation at 12:30 AM.
Herman and his 15-piece band are performing at the Westlake Room of the Washington Plaza.
“There is so little live music on the radio.” Wilke said. “This is the one time of the year when it is so important, so logical.
“And Herman is the ideal musician to offer radio listeners.
“He has a trunk load of standards, for which he is justly famous,” Wilke said. “But his musical tastes also include the most contemporary ‘college-age’ current tunes.”
Wilke said Herman has a young band, all good musicians.
The live broadcast clearly will be the highlight of the night on Seattle radio.
Meanwhile – the station which historically should be carrying the NBC band extravaganza, will give it short shrift – as it did last year.
Buzz Barr, program director, was still skimming the list of musical remotes, crossing them out as not fitting the “KING image.”
He crossed out guy Lombardo and Lawrence Welk remotes immediately.
“Dizzy Gillespie? Barr said. “Our listeners don’t have any idea who that is.”
One or two of the more contemporary bands will be picked up on KING-AM, for 5 min. or so, said Barr, the fellow who introduced “Sugar, Sugar” to KING radio.
“Sugar, Sugar?” Who’s that?

5 PM Countdown, KOL AM-top hits of the year (or as KOL calls ‘em, 1969 grabbers, “the sounds that made it”) climaxing with KOL’s selection of the top song of the year just before midnight.
6 PM Countdown KJR-”Fabulous 50″ for the fading ’60s -top hits of 1969, climaxing just before midnight, with what KJR proclaims the top song of the year in Seattle.
New Year’s Eve Dance Party, KBBX-familiar dance music instrumentals to salute the years end.
8 PM New Year’s Eve Dance Party, KIXI-familiar dance music until 3 AM.
Midnight New Year Salute (just about every station): A hoot, a holler and best wishes from your favorite disc jockey – and from us, too.

Victor Stredicke

Former radio columnist for the Seattle Times (1964-1989).
— View other articles by Victor Stredicke