Tuesday, August 19, 2014

August 19th

Here is a special mid-week chart sent into us by Clark Besch which features commentary from Dick Bartley, nationally known broadcaster (and oldies guru).  

We'll still run our usual Saturday Surveys feature this weekend ... but since we had such elite commentary available to us, we couldn't resist running THIS chart during the week!  (kk)  

Kent, 
Here is a chart from Dick Bartley from his first full time job in broadcasting in Charlottesville, Va, for our Saturday surveys page in August!   
I asked him about the obscure tunes and about his career that you may wish to print some of it. 
Clark Besch
You betcha, Clark!  Dick Bartley was a radio staple here in Chicago for a good number of years ... and his oldies flashbacks shows on the weekend (with national dedications) were always a treat to listen to in syndication.  (kk)    

CLARK BESCH:  As for the WELK chart, can you give me any details on it?  Were you the programming director?  Was this your first station?    

DICK BARTLEY:  I started out doing weekends at WELK in 1972 - then became the music director and afternoon drive announcer from 1973 to 1975, so this was my first full-time job in radio ... my call-letter credits prior to WELK were:
WCHV, Charlottesville (night-time announcer) 1972
WLLL, Lynchburg (weekends) 1971
WUVA, University of Virginia (announcer, music director) 1969 to 1973
WWOD, Lynchburg (weekends) 1969-1970
After WELK, I was at WBBM-FM, Chicago, from 1975 to 1978 (music director and afternoon announcer, then program director) ... WFYR-FM, Chicago, from 1978 to 1984 (mid-day announcer, Saturday night host, then program director) ... and then WNSR-FM, New York, (morning drive announcer), 1986.  

CB:  It looks like a huge fire attacked the station.  The art work covers all eras of radio and a weekly trivia question called "Disco Test" before "disco" was a music explosion!
Tom Fogerty's "Joyful Ressurrection" is a great CCR sound at #29!  Several oddities listed here, which is very cool!  Looks like you got songs up and down the charts as if it were the 60's.  My personal charts had Chicago's "Feelin Stronger Every Day" at #1, while it is a no show on yours.  I am guessing it was already up and gone on yours, as you have many songs charting that would hit MY personal charts weeks later!  

DB:  We had Feeling Stronger Every Day as a Top 5 hit at some point that summer - my guess is that the record had just lost its number and gone to recurrent ... that was the summer Cynthia and I got married, so I remember that record with great fondness.  

CB:  Lots of cool stuff here.  Any comments on your days there or where you went from there?  

DB:  Making the jump from Charlottesville to Chicago was a huge step for me, a dream-come-true really - I had idolized WLS and WCFL for years. 

HERE'S A COPY OF THAT SPECIAL CHART FROM WELK, Dated August 19th, 1973!
And here are some of my Forgotten Hits Favorites from this chart ...
"Tell Her She's Lovely" by El Chicano ...
In The Midnight Hour by Cross Country ...
And check out America in the Top Ten with their version of "Muskrat Love", a record that would be a MUCH bigger hit for The Captain and Tennille a few years later.
You'll find plenty of obscurities here as well ... records that barely saw the light of day are all over this Top 50 listing!