Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is a federally recognized, state chartered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization serving the Philadelphia Broadcast Community since January of 1962.

April Afternoon Luncheon The Bala Golf Club, Philadelphia Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Meet and Greet at 12 noon! Lunch served at 12:30 pm Ratecard: $28 per person

Please reserve now! Call (856) 365-5600 rsvp@broadcastpioneers.com

Another Third Wednesday Luncheon! Wednesday, April 18th, 2018! Good Food - Great Programs - Wonderful Times Lunch is only $28 per person!

(Left to right) President Jerry Klein, Member Harry Hurley and Chairman Gerry Wilkinson Broadcast Pioneers Annual Banquet Hilton City Avenue, Philadelphia Friday, November 22, 2013 (Harry was inducted into our Hall of Fame on that date) DON'T MISS THIS ONE!

Make Plans to Be There! Hit After Hit, Smash After Smash, Blockbuster After Blockbuster... Here's another "monster" lunch where the "stars" don't wait to come out at night. They're there at lunchtime! You should be there too. Our next Broadcast Pioneers luncheon is our "Spring Potpourri of Speakers!" It will be held at the Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue in Philadelphia. Meet and greet at 12 noon. Lunch will be served at 12:30 pm. The date is Wednesday, April 18, 2018. Our MC for the afternoon is member Harry Hurley. Harry is a nationally recognized talk show host based here in our area. Harry's charitable work with his annual golf tournament underwrites one of our scholarships each year. Hurley has been described as the Rush Limbaugh of the Jersey Shore. Our scheduled speakers are all members of Broadcast Pioneers, and they are (in alphabetical order): Ryan Fleur, interim co-president of the fabulous Philadelphia Orchestra Tony Scafide, a television director for WTXF-TV, Fox 29 here in Philly Marlin Taylor, father of Beautiful Music radio & Station Manager of WDVR Dawn Timmeney, Fox 29, WTXF-TV News anchor and also reporter Caroline Welch, Channel 6's Vice-President of Programming (3rd from left)  with our five scholarship winners Bala Golf Club, Philadelphia Wednesday, April 19, 2006 (Note: Fox 29 Director Anthony Scafide was one of our scholarship winners in 2006) (He is in the center with the red tie) This takes place at the beautiful and historic Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue (across the street from the state police) in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. Only minutes away from Channels 6, 10 and 17 and the radio stations in Bala Cynwyd. Call now for reservations. (856) 365-5600! Don't miss this one! Plenty of FREE parking. Our luncheons are open to all our members, their guests and any person in the industry or associated fields, whether active or retired. You do NOT have to be a member to attend. There is no reserved seating at our luncheons. Feel free to sit anywhere. Well, okay--the three people on the camera crew sit near the cameras, but that's in the back of the room. The cost is only a donation of $28 (or more) per person! In order to speed up check-in at the luncheon, it would help if you had exact change or your check already written. Checks can be made payable to the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. If you would like to add a few dollars extra, we would appreciate it. It would help us with all the important work we are doing. Thanks

WE WANNA SEE YOUR FACE IN THAT PLACE!

Visit Our Website Often - http://www.broadcastpioneers.com
You should check the front page of our website often (link above) for important information!

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The Broadcast Pioneers Twitter Account has info and stuff not available elsewhere!

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Here's another one of our social media sections. Visit it as often as you wish!

DIGITAL ARCHIVAL PROJECT NEWS:

A LITTLE BIT OF BROADCAST HISTORY!

The Al Alberts TV Family
WPVI-TV, Channel 6
1974

Our special thanks go to TUTV - Temple University Television and The Kal & Lucille Rudman Media Production Center. They have again underwritten a grant to be used to fund an entire year of all our newsletters for calendar year 2018. We thank them so much for their continued support!

For Your Information

Broadcast Pioneers uses an e-mail company to send our bulk e-mails. Why? Because they know how to code it so that the e-mail is delivered to you. By using this company, we are required by federal law to have an "unsubscribe" link that will remove your name from our e-mail list. We have only one list. The same list is used for our monthly electronic newsletters, notices about our luncheons and other events and for other informational purposes.

If you "unsubscribe" to an e-mail about our luncheons, it also prevents you from getting our newsletter. If you forward our e-mail to someone and THEY "unsubscribe," they are unsubscribing for you and not themselves.

Under federal law, putting you back on the list is not an easy task. We cannot add you to a list you "unsubscribed" from. This law is to prevent spammers from just returning you to their list. In order to get you back on the list, we must contact the e-mail company and they, not us, will contact you asking if you wish to resubscribe. If you don't respond to them, you can't be placed back on the list.

We thought we would clarify this issue. We have only one list. It is used for everything including this newsletter. During the first month of this newsletter's existence, it is available only to members. After all, it is available to the general public. Over 300 of this organization's previous newsletters are currently available. For can see them by clicking on this link: http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/newsletter/archive.html

MORE DIGITAL ARCHIVAL PROJECT NEWS:

VIDEO:

AUDIO:

Here's a very short piece of audio that you probably haven't heard before. He features the late, great Hy Lit, who was a member of our organization and was inducted into our Hall of Fame in 2003.

We heard from member Eddie Collins. He was music director for The Drifters at one time. Well, let's let Eddie tell the story. Here's the e-mail he sent. He says:

In 1991, when I was doing PM drive at WSPI-FM, (SPI-95.3) in Shamokin and hosting "Saturday Night At The Oldies With Mr.Ed" on HGF Media sister station WMGH-FM (Magic 105.5) in Tamaqua, I did a retrospective feature on "The Jordan Brothers," and reached out to a few people for some short voicers to tie in with the records etc.

Lo and behold, I'm on the air earlier in the week, and the secretary says "I think there's some record rep from
Philly on the phone for you." I pick it up, a voice says,"Eddie, it's Hy Lit, what can I do for you?"

So funny, I put him on hold, ran into the AM control room, threw up a reel of tape and Hyski did 3 takes talking about The Jordan Brothers! Thought you'd enjoy hearing it.

By the way, in case you missed it, Frank Jordan of the Jordan Brothers was with us at last week's Rock & Roll luncheon which had been postponed from the snowstorm of the week before.

Listen in Real Audio!
Listen in Windows Media Format!

Finally, we have an hour radio broadcast from WSNJ. It's the Jonathan P. Casey program. His guests that day were Frank X. Feller (on the phone) and live in the studio, Tom Moran. All were members of the Broadcast Pioneers. Moran and Feller spent a good part of the show talking about trains. The date was Tuesday, April 25, 2006.

We ran this in our newsletter awhile ago, but because of the recent passing of Frank X. Feller, we thought you might enjoy hearing it again. Feller was president of this organization during 1981 and 1982 and then became our chairman of the board for a year.

Listen in Real Audio!
Listen in Windows Media Format!

Remember, History is ONLY What Gets Saved!
(If there were no portraits of George Washington, how would we know what he looked like?)

A LITTLE BIT OF BROADCAST HISTORY!

WIBG Good Guy Jerry Stevens Official WIBG Photo Afternoon Drive (3 pm to 8 pm) 1960		WIBG Good Guy Harvey Miller Official WIBG Photo Nights (8 pm to 1 am) 1960

In 1960, Jerry Stevens had records hops every Wednesday and Friday at Willow Grove Park in Willow Grove (daytime) and Harvey Miller had record hops on Fridays at the Sunset Beach Ballroom (Almonesson, NJ) and Saturdays at The Fabulous Ice House (Haddonfield, NJ).

IN TOUCH WITH THE INDUSTRY:

Bala Cynwyd based Entercom is moving. They are going to 24th and Market Streets in Center City Philadelphia. The company is planning to rent 60,000 square feet. Why does the name Entercom sound so familiar? They're the company that bought CBS Radio and all of its O&O radio stations.

They own six here in Philadelphia including KYW Newsradio, WIP-FM, WOGL, Talk Radio WPHT, WTDY-FM and WXTU. All the O&Os will be eventually be moving into the new space. Sports WIP is still on Market between 4th and 5th Streets. KYW Newsradio is with its former TV sister, KYW-TV at 16th and Spring Garden. The other four are on City Avenue on the Bala Cynwyd side. The new location makes it right by 30th Street Station for an easy visit to the Big Apple or DC.

As we mentioned in our February newsletter, Independence Public Media of Philadelphia, owner of WYBE, Channel 35, announced that it was relinquishing its broadcast license to the FCC in return for cash They will broadcast from an antenna in Bethlehem as a sub-channel. WYBE is still accessible via cable, but its over-the-air broadcasts in the Philadelphia market have ceased.

Now the new info... Technicians there are telling us that they are working on getting low-power over the air facilities here in Philly. WYBE will now be known as Pennsylvania Public Television, WPPT.

Telemundo62 Philadelphia / WWSI announced the addition of weekday newscasts Primera Edición at 6 AM, a 60 minute morning newscast, and Telemundo62 al Mediodía at Noon, a 30 minute mid-day newscast. Both newscasts will launch Monday, April 2, and feature Telemundo62 anchor Syrmarie Villalobos who joined the station on March 5, and weather anchor Alondra Anaya who started on March 26th.

Over-the-air antenna viewers must rescan TVs after April 22nd to avoid signal interruption so says our friends over at Telemundo62 Philadelphia / WWSI. They are preparing to move its local broadcast signal to a new transmitter later this month. Local viewers using an over-the-air antenna are reminded to rescan their televisions and secure the new frequency after April 22 to continue receiving Telemundo62 and Telexitos over-the-air programming without any interruptions. Viewers will continue to find WWSI on 62. This impending change will not impact viewers using cable, satellite or on-line digital platforms such as the Telemundo62 mobile app. Telemundo62 is sister station to WCAU-TV, NBC 10. This is all part of the FCC's TV repacking.

CBS 3 and The CW Philly’s ninth annual Ronald McDonald House Charities Telethon, a 14-hour on-air fundraiser that aired live across both television stations, raised more than $1 million last month. Since its first broadcast in 2010, the telethon has raised more than $8.4 million.

CBS 3’s Ukee Washington, Jessica Dean, Kate Bilo, Don Bell, Rahel Solomon, Meisha Johnson, Katie Fehlinger, Natasha Brown, Nicole Brewer and Tori Woodill hosted the event with special guests Swoop, the Eagles Cheerleaders, the 76ers Dunk Team, and Sixers Dancers. Also involved were members Stephanie Stahl and Jim Donovan.

Philadelphia radio personalities Marilyn Russell of 98.1 WOGL’s Breakfast Club, Broadcast Pioneers member Rich Zeoli from Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, Joe Giglio of SportsRadio 94 WIP, Bennett of Today’s Hits 96.5 TDY, Andie Summers and Frank Lario of 92.5XTU and Melony Roy of KYW Newsradio were also on site taking pledges on the phone from viewers who wanted to support the cause. These radio stations are now owned by Bala Cynwyd group, Entercom. They were formerly part of CBS.

WE REMEMBER:

Member Vince Leonard holding his cake (and probably eating it too)
on the occasion of Vince's 91st birthday
Las Vegas, Nevada
Thursday, May 19, 2016

Breaking News! Just at press time! Former Channel 3 anchor Vince Leonard passed away on Friday evening. Vince had been ill because of liver cancer. He was 92. No other details are available yet. His wife, Frankie, said that Vince did not suffer at the end.

Vince Leonard made the decision to retire in 1980. Broadcast Pioneers member Al Primo, creator of the "Eyewitness News" format said, "Vince always had a plan to retire with his beloved wife while they were both young enough to enjoy themselves. He did that in Phoenix but was tempted back to broadcasting by the station out there. He ended his career there joyfully."

Vince Leonard was an air name. His given name, the name his paycheck came made out to, was Homer Venske. Leonard's last day on Channel 3 was May 30, 1980. During his time at Channel 3, Vince Leonard had anchored over 2,000 newscasts.

Leonard in February of 1980 said, "I guess there are positives and negatives about growing so big. When I first came to town (1958), we had 12 full timers, and no reporters as such. I got to spend part of the day in City Hall or on the streets or whatever. Today, everyone is a specialist, and I guess it has to be that way. But then I guess things had to get bigger. I would have done a few things differently over the years, but overall, management has done okay by me. There are probably not more than a handful of people in my position around the country who can say that."

Vince Leonard, a Navy pilot in World War II, came to Philadelphia in April of 1958 from Indianapolis, Indiana. Settling in Malvern, he replaced Broadcast Pioneers member Taylor Grant at Channel 3, which was WRCV-TV at the time. They operated out of a small television studio at 1619 Walnut Street in Center City Philadelphia. When starting in 1958, the newscast was only 15 minutes long and five of that went to Wally Kinnan, "The Weather Man." Shortly thereafter, Jim Leaming joined the team doing sports. In those early days, when they ran film (usually shot the day before), they ran music in the background. Leonard was there in August of 1965 when KYW-TV News Director Al Primo instituted "Eyewitness News" and Vince stayed as anchor. Leonard and Channel 3 stayed on the top of the rating heap until 1971.

Speaking about Vince, Legendary Sportscaster and Broadcast Pioneers member Al Meltzer said, "He was super to work with. No ego, no temper, no nothin'. As a newsman, he was in a class with Broadcast Pioneers member John Facenda, without question. Personality-wise, Vince probably was the lowest-key person on the air I've ever worked with. He did it the way the textbook said you should do it. No one did it any better than he did in this market, that's for sure. You had confidence in this dude. When he said something, it was "The Word." Off camera, Vince Leonard was "was one of the funniest dudes I've ever known," Meltzer adds. "He had a great sense of humor. He loved to play cards all night. He liked to gamble and hoist one with the boys."

Here's a little about Vince written by the person who knew him best, Vince Leonard himself. He told us in an e-mail during 2002:

Always good to hear from members of the Broadcast Pioneers. It surprises me that my name comes up from time to time since I left the Philadelphia area more than 22 years ago. But it's nice to know there are a few out there who recall the days that I enjoyed so very much.

I was hired as the Esso reporter in April of 1958. That was the 11 o'clock news which, at the time, was only a 10 minute program followed by Judy Lee and the weather. As I recall Esso stayed with us for several years.

Pulse of the News was on at 6:40, if my memory serves me correctly, and was only a five-minute newscast, often featuring interviews with city officials. That, of course, was not sponsored by Esso.

Having just one sponsor in those days was interesting because often I had to speak at Esso dealership meetings and attend other functions in New York with the ad agency people.

My wife and I are really enjoying our retirement even after more than 12 years of taking it easy. Only one bad thing about retirement......one never gets a day off! We have done quite a bit of traveling during those years and my hobbies are golf, reading, the computer and keeping active and doing everything to try to stay in shape.

We have visited with Mort Crim and his wife and they have been coming ... a couple of times a year when he has speaking engage- at one of the conventions. Recently, we were in Colorado visiting with old friends Bill and Dottie Kuster. He retired a couple of years ago from KUSA TV in Denver. We stay in touch with Malcolm Poindexter by letter and e-mail as well as with others outside of broadcasting who are friends from 35 and 40 years ago.

So, to sum up, we are not bored. We've always loved the desert and sunshine and we have plenty of both here.... Now that I've told you more than your cared to know about me, my best wishes to you and the Broadcast Pioneers. It's an organization of which I'm proud to be a member.

(Left to right) Rosina Primo, member Trudy Haynes and member Al Primo
Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame Annual Banquet
(on the occasion of Al being inducted into our Hall of Fame)
Hilton City Avenue, Philadelphia
Friday evening, November 20, 2015
(previously unpublished photo)

Rosina Primo, wife of member Al Primo, passed away last month after a long illness. She worked with Al on his many broadcast projects over the years. She met Al when he worked in Pittsburgh. She was a registered nurse and the nurse of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Pittsburgh Pirates. She then went into real estate where she was a VP at a local firm. Al was the creator of the Eyewitness News format in 1965 here at KYW-TV. Member Kenn Venit said: "She was an amazing person, and whenever she was in the Primo Newservice "world headquarters" in Old Greenwich, the atmosphere was filled with her charm. beauty, positivity, and a lot of nice and memorable comments. I have many wonderful memories of Rosina... she and Al were quite a team."

Barbara Sommers
WFIL Jock

Barbara Sommers passed away last month. She and her husband, Wally Hayman, ran Wallabee Productions. She was a longtime WFIL Jock during both its rock and country eras. She was also on WUSL, known as Power 99. She was voted "Best Female Jock" by Philadelphia Magazine in 1981. He holds a degree from Rowan University. She also worked at WYSP (Quad 94), WMGK, WIOQ and Sunny (WSNI).

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES:

Marlin Taylor and WDVR!

(Left to right) Member Marlin Taylor and his mother, Marian Ivins Taylor
Marlin at age 10 (approx).
probably in Feasterville, PA. (where the family lived at the time)
circa 1945

Broadcast Pioneers member Marlin Taylor has just had his latest book published. It's called, "Radio: My Love, My Passion." You can get his book on Amazon by signing in at http://www.broadcastpioneers.com/amazon. By doing so, Amazon donates money to Broadcast Pioneers.

Taylor is best remembered as the “father” of the instrumentally-based radio format that became known as “Beautiful Music,” which he originated right here in Philadelphia with the sign-on of WDVR, 101 FM in 1963. Here's some of what Marlin wrote:

Having grown up in the suburbs of the city, I was always interested in radio activities in the Philadelphia area. One day in perusing the listings in February of 1963, I noted a new set of call letters, WDVR, with a frequency of 101.1 on FM, and the only name listed under personnel was “David L. Kurtz, President.”

With the possibility that the two principal owners of WHFS would be selling the station and my desire to return to home territory, it was time for action, to search out this possible new opportunity.

It was not difficult to obtain a telephone number for Mr. Kurtz, so on my next trip to visit family in Bucks County, which borders Philadelphia on the north, I made contact with him.

Hearing of my background and that I had played a major role in launching WHFS as a new station, he was most happy to have me come visit him. After we told each other about our backgrounds.

His was as an electronics engineer for the military division of the Philco Corporation. He took me over to see the completely built station, which was ready to broadcast. It only awaited a staff to create programming and man the operation.

Much like WHFS, it was to be a shoestring, boot-strap operation. The biggest difference between the two physically was that WDVR’s setup had four rooms and slightly more square footage.

Before the evening ended, I had been hired as the station manager and program director, based on my experience of playing much the same roles in launching WHFS as a brand-new FM station two years earlier in the Washington, D.C., market.

The only issue left up in the air was what we’d program. Dave had thought it would be a good idea to accept paid religious programming to air during the morning hours to help cover expenses.

While I agreed that there needed to be income generated fairly quickly, I wasn’t enthralled with the thought, as it wouldn’t allow for consistency of content throughout the day, but I had not yet given the matter deep consideration. However, I was visualizing something that was close to where we ended up.

When it came time for Dave to fulfill his dream—after having banked $27,000.00, which was his estimate of the cost to build his station—where else should he seek a construction permit but in greater Philadelphia, since he was already living in the city.

He first applied for 100.3 but lost out to an applicant for Media, Pennsylvania, located just a few miles to the southwest of the city; Media had no licensed station, which gave them extra points with the Federal Communications Commission.

That didn’t stop Dave. He searched further and found the next best possibility was 101.1, which should never had been granted, as under FCC rules of the time, it was “short-spaced,” meaning it was too close, mileage-wise, to New York City’s WCBS-FM.

However, since they were operating with low power at the time and Dave’s application proposed only 5400 watts from the roof of an old 13-story office building, the FCC granted a waiver and issued the permit.

A side note relating to Dave that I don’t think many people ever knew: Even before WDVR began operating, he had filed an application to construct a second FM station in the Reading, Pennsylvania, suburb of Shillington.

I don’t really know the reason it was not granted; yet it was along about the time the FCC made a number of rule changes, which likely made Dave’s application unacceptable for consideration, or someone filed an application in another community––which created a conflict and he chose not to proceed.

Meanwhile, back in Bethesda, at WHFS the following week, a young man named Jerry Lee stopped by. While employed by a station in Baltimore, he was also seeking to sell stations on utilizing the Good Music programming concepts of a friend, Ted Niarhos, who operated WDBN, an FM station in Medina, Ohio, located between Cleveland and Akron.

After telling Jerry that I could state definitely that the owners would not be interested in such a format, I said I was headed to a new station in Philadelphia. He got the details, hustled—as only Jerry can—to see Dave and got hired as sales manager.

Not many days passed before I heard from Jerry again, telling me that we’d be working together at WDVR. While, as I mentioned, Dave had some differing thoughts on programming, Jerry and I conferred and quickly agreed that a round-the-clock utility-type format of easy listening recordings, where we’d play just one track at a time from each individual recording presented in quarter-hour segments, had the potential for making a solid impact quickly.

While a couple of other stations in the market were playing similar music some of the time, they were not consistent in their programming as WDVR would be, and that would prove to put the station on the road to long-term success.

While Jerry offered music lists and information about the format as being executed in Ohio, I didn’t feel comfortable with a fair number of the albums listed. Instead, I chose to follow my own instincts and assemble a formatic structure which my intuitive senses told me the listening public was looking for.

Marlin Taylor will be one of the speakers at our Wednesday, April 18th luncheon (third Wednesday of the month). Marlin lives down near Washington, DC., so this is a good opportunity to come out and see him.

Next month, we will conclude our excerpts from his work Marlin Taylor was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers' Hall of Fame during November of 2015.

Recreating a Baseball Game!

(Left to right) Les and Lila Keiter
at the wedding reception
Seattle, Washington
September 9, 1948
(Photo originally donated by Cindy's website leskeiter.com)

This article was written by Les Keiter's daughter, Cindy and her spouse, Lory Henning and they live in New York City. Les was inducted posthumously into our Hall of Fame in 2013 and Cindy accepted on his behalf.

When Les Keiter was a small boy, he loved the Seattle-area baseball announcer Leo Lassen. In fact, he idolized him. Leo was renowned for his depth of knowledge and insistence on accuracy. He was a master in the art of the Baseball Recreate. And little Les spent his time trying to emulate his hero by making up his own baseball tournaments, adding the element of suspense by rolling dice to determine the plays, while announcing the imaginary games in his best approximation of Leo Lassen’s style. Les even kept score books of those made-up games, which his mother held onto for years!

What the heck is a Baseball Recreate?

This was in the time before satellites and other high-speed communication, so when a local ball team traveled out of range to play a game, the only way baseball fans could know what was happening in real time (or, close enough), was to listen to a Baseball Recreate.

The announcer would be in the local radio station receiving the game stats through telephone or teletype or telegram, whatever worked, and he would announce the game live on the radio using the real game stats, his wealth of knowledge about the players and the field, and a smattering of imagination to make it sound as if he was seeing the game being played in front of him.

(Left to right) Board Member Ed Eisen with Cindy Keiter
Broadcast Pioneers Annual Banquet
Hilton City Avenue, Philadelphia
Friday, November 22, 2013
(Cindy's dad, Les Keiter, was inducted into our Hall of Fame on that date)

The announcer or radio producer would fill in with sound effects for bat-cracks (Les preferred to do those himself with a drumstick and a wooden block), crowd noises, or whatever else was necessary to make the experience as authentic as possible. The audience was told before the game that it was a recreation, so it was all above board, but it’s said that many people “knew, but didn’t want to know” they were listening to a Recreation.

This was where a baseball announcer’s individual skill and imagination could really shine. This was also a decade before the Giants and Dodgers moved from New York to California, so the Modesto and Stockton teams were the biggest baseball attraction in town. Les also rounded out the baseball broadcast schedule at the station with Recreates from the rest of the Class-A California State League.

As far as we know, Les never spoke publicly about how he felt doing his very first on-air baseball recreate, but it’s certain that with all the practice he had making up his own games as a child, Keiter was as well prepared as could be. And all of those Modesto and Stockton Recreates were starting to get him noticed. As luck would have it, the 1949 baseball season was the all-time peak season for fan attendance in the league.

In late 1949, after only about 5 months with KBEE, Les received a telegram from J. Elroy McCaw. His former boss from KELA in Centralia-Chehalis, WA was now in Honolulu, Hawaii:

“WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU HERE, IF INTERESTED.”

Les sent back, “ALWAYS INTERESTED.”

Hawaii was a treasure trove of work for a good announcer with Les Keiter’s skills. So Les and (his wife) Lila packed up and moved from Modesto to Honolulu, where Les would do Baseball Recreates full time.

Writer Jimmy Wisner!

(Left to right) Jimmy Wisner and member Eddie Collins
Tommy James' 63rd Birthday Party at Tommy's home
April 2010

Jimmy 'Wiz' Wisnerm, one of the most legendary musical arranger / songwriters of rock's 'golden age' of the 1960's & 70's, has passed away at age 86. His legacy and stamp graced hundreds of hit records by Tommy James & The Shondells, The Cowsills, Spanky & Our Gang, Len Barry, Clint Holmes, Candy & The Kisses, and legions more.

I was honored to meet Jimmy in 2010, at the home of Tommy James, being invited by "Sweet Cherry Wine" co-writer Richie Grasso, for Tommy's 63rd birthday party.

A Philadelphia native, Jimmy spoke with me for over a half hour, discussing his roots as classical pianist, and in 1961 scoring a smash as a recording artist with "Asia Minor" released under the pseudonym of 'Kokomo' on Felsted Records.

In the early 60's, Jimmy became one the most sought out arrangers, and in 1963, as songwriter penned "Somewhere" for The Tymes, "Don't Throw Your Love Away" recorded in 1964 by The Orlons, later a smash with The Searchers, both tunes co-written by his friend Billy Jackson (who has appeared at several of our Broadcast Pioneers luncheons).

Another record that received 'the wiz' treatment, was "The 81" by Candy & The Kisses, (produced by Jerry Ross) and Len Barry with "1,2,3," (produced by John Madara & Broadcast Pioneers member David White), two songs which personified 'that philly sound.'

(Left to right) member Eddie Collins and rock artist Tommy James
Tommy James' 63rd Birthday Party at Tommy's home
in front of Tommy's 1956 Seeburg Jukebox
April 2010

By the early 1970's, Jimmy had taken a position as A & R director for Columbia Records, helping to create hits for Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, and a new artist he was mentoring in 1972 named Clint Holmes and his song "Playground In My Mind."

As Jimmy told me, originally at Epic Records, no one favored the song. "Eddie, everyone hated it but I saw something in it, we took the 'calliope' music with the kids singing, put it on the front of the song. It worked, and, of course it became a Top Ten record."

In 1971, a group from Wilkes-Barre / Scranton PA, The Leer Brothers, were set to record a song written by Jay Leer entitled 'I Pray." (on Intrepid Records) According to Jay, " When we got to the studio, I was told that Jimmy Wisner was going to arrange the tune. I'll admit I was a bit apprehensive, as he handed the charts out to horn players, string ensemble, but what he did with my song was unbelievable. A masterpiece!

I recall getting a wonderful, and very touching voice mail from Jimmy a few years back, telling me how he appreciated my comments to him about his many musical contributions, thanking me many times, and letting me know that he was sending me a copy of a CD he produced in recent years for 'Randy & The Rainbows,' that's the pro, and friend that Jimmy 'the wiz' Wisner was.

A LITTLE BIT OF BROADCAST HISTORY!

A FINAL THOUGHT....

In the early fifties, Steve Allison was on WPEN Radio as the Discless DJ. That is, he did a talk show daily from 11:15 pm until two in the morning. Steve was a child actor, worked on the legit stage, was part of a dance team, told jokes for a living and was a burlesque straight man. Steve smoked three packs of cigarettes a day and had a dog, Junior, that Steve trained to put out the cigarettes with his paw for when Allison fell asleep (which he did on more than one occasion).

Please contact us by e-mail at pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com or by mail to: Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, PO Box 2886, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. Your stories are important, to you, to us, and your colleagues. Contact us today and we’ll include your story in the next newsletter!

Newsletter proofreader is Michele Wilkinson

© 2018, Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia
All Rights Reserved

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com
For luncheon reservations call (856) 365-5600 or e-mail us at: rsvp@broadcastpioneers.com