The NAB Show Gears-Up In Las Vegas

NAB Show, the world’s largest annual conference and expo for professionals who create, manage, and distribute entertainment across all platforms, will host the renowned Creative Masters Series, as well as a Main Stage session and special programs for content creators. Providing exclusive insight into latest technologies and techniques that are reinventing the storytelling process, the 2019 NAB Show will be held April 6 – 11 in Las Vegas.

NAB Show’s annual Creative Master Series, April 7-8, takes attendees behind the scenes with the creatives and crews responsible for today’s most innovative and popular feature films. Filmmakers and show runners share trade secrets on designing game-changing looks on set, mastering complex shots and solving workflow challenges.

The Creative Master Series will lead off with “A Global View: How Diverse Crews are Making an Impact,” on Sunday, April 7. The session will feature a panel of pioneering cinematographers with experience working across international borders who will discuss the impact of cross-cultural representation in storytelling and how diversity on set is changing the way we produce content.

Monday, April 8, will begin with “Editing Inside the Spider Verse,” produced in partnership with American Cinema Editors (ACE). Oscar winning director Peter Ramsey, award-winning editor Robert Fisher, Jr. and first assistant editor Sarah Cole will talk with The Hollywood Reporter’s Carolyn Giardina about their roles in creating the Academy Award-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse.”

Produced in partnership with Motion Picture and Sound Editors (MPSE), the session “'Captain Marvel': The Making of a Female Superhero Story” will feature a discussion on the complex production process behind the blockbuster film. Senior Supervising Colorist Doug Delaney, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor Craig Hammack and Supervising Sound Editor Gwendolyn Yates Whittle will share techniques used to create pivotal visual effects elements, integrate sound and picture, and bridge organic and stylized comic book looks to build a unified vision for the picture.

Also on Monday, the session, “Matthew Libatique, ASC: Close-up,” will feature the two-time Oscar nominee in conversation with ICG Magazine Executive Editor David Geffner about Libatique’s unique approach to lighting, color and camera movement. Produced in partnership with International Cinematographers Guild (ICG), the session will delve into the director of photography’s body of work, including “A Star is Born,” “Iron Man” and “Black Swan.”

Also at the 2019 NAB Show, ASC will celebrate its 100th anniversary on the Main Stage with the session “Full Circle – Past, Present, and Future of Cinematography,” on Wednesday, April 10. Panelists will discuss the evolving state of cinematography and how to best preserve the historical foundation of the art, while embracing the new tools and techniques that are revolutionizing the industry.

As previously announced, the new Birds of a Feather (BoF) program will bring together subject matter experts, creatives, technologists and production crews to discuss industry topics through a series of eight forums. Also at this year’s NAB Show, the Post Production World keynote will feature Oscar Award-winning editor William Goldberg.

A full lineup of NAB Show offerings curated for the content creation community can be found here.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Michael O’Rielly, Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks will participate in two separate sessions.

Chairman Pai will offer remarks at the NAB: We Are Broadcasters Celebration on Tuesday, April 9 at 3:00 p.m. on the Main Stage.

As previously announced, “This Is Us” and “Black Panther” star Sterling K. Brown will receive the NAB Television Chairman’s Award at the event. The NAB Crystal Radio Awards will also be presented, including KFOR-AM's NAB Crystal Heritage Award honor. Also, Garrison Cavell and Cindy Hutter Cavell will receive the NAB Engineering Achievement Awards.

Designated FCC chairman by President Donald Trump in January 2017, Pai subscribes to a regulatory philosophy centered on the FCC ensuring that its rules reflect the realities of the current marketplace. Under his leadership, the FCC has been working to update media regulations to better match today’s dynamic media marketplace. He had previously served as commissioner at the FCC, appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in May 2012.

In a session titled “Raining 3s: A Q&A with FCC Commissioners O’Rielly, Carr and Starks,” the Commissioners will provide insight on the FCC’s current regulatory and legislative agenda. The session, to be held on Monday, April 8, is part of the Business of Media Conference, which brings together broadcast station management executives, as well as leaders from digital, cable and satellite companies, to examine broadcast and digital business models and practices.

And The 2019 ACM Award Winners Are...

Winners have been announced for the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards, which aired live Sunday evening, hosted by iconic entertainer and 16-time ACM Award winner, Reba McEntire,  on the CBS Television Network from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

The ACM Awards named Keith Urban as Entertainer of the Year, his first win in the category and the evening’s biggest honor. With this win, he will receive the prestigious ACM Triple Crown Award, as he previously received awards for New Male Vocalist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year.

Dan + Shay won Duo of the Year as well as Song of the Year and Single of the Year for “Tequila.” In addition to the wins as an artist, Dan Smyers received two individual wins as a producer in the Single of the Year category and songwriter in the Song of the Year category.

Kacey Musgraves won Female Artist of the Year for the first time. She also won Album of the Year as both artist and producer, for Golden Hour. Musgraves previously won in the Album of the Year category in 2013 for Same Trailer Different Park. Thomas Rhett won Male Vocalist of the Year for the second time. He first won the award at the 52nd ACM Awards in 2017.

During the telecast, former ACM Artist of the Decade Award honoree George Strait presented Jason Aldean with the ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award. In celebration of the honor, Aldean performed a medley of his hits including “Lights Come On,” “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with Kelly Clarkson and “Dirt Road Anthem.”

 Old Dominion won Group of the Year Award for the second consecutive year. During the ACM Awards red carpet, Songwriter of the Year winner Shane McAnally surprised Old Dominion on the red carpet at the PEOPLE Digital Red Carpet Pre-Show with the news of their win. Earlier in the day it was also announced Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne won Music Event of the Year for “Burning Man,” and Chris Janson won ACM Video of the Year” for “Drunk Girl.” McEntire surprised Janson with the news backstage before the show.

Luke Combs, LANCO and Ashley McBryde were also previously announced winners of the New Male Artist of the Year, New Group of the Year and New Female Artist of the Year, respectively and each performed on the show. The winners received a surprise phone call from host Carrie Underwood last month notifying them of the news.

Shane McAnally was announced as the winner of this year’s ACM Songwriter of the Year Award on Friday at the ACM Stories, Songs & Stars: A Songwriter’s Event Benefitting ACM Lifting Lives, which was presented to him by the event’s hosts Hillary Scott and Storme Warren, alongside reigning ACM Songwriter of the Year winner, Rhett Akins.

Reba

Country Music’s Party of the Year featured an all-star lineup of collaborations and memorable performances. The awards telecast once again featured “ACM Flashbacks” with 29-time ACM Award-winning duo Brooks & Dunn performing “Brand New Man” with Luke Combs, and the King of Country Music and 24-time ACM Award winner George Strait performing “Run” with Miranda Lambert. In addition, Lambert, the most-awarded artist in ACM Awards history with 32 wins, performed a flashback medley of her greatest hits.

The awards telecast also featured solo performances by Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, George Strait, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban. Additional highlights included collaborations by Dierks Bentley & Brandi Carlile performing “Travelin’ Light,” Kane Brown and Khalid performing “Good as You” & “Saturday Nights,” Eric Church & Ashley McBryde performing “The Snake,” Dan + Shay & Kelly Clarkson performing “Keeping Score,” Florida Georgia Line & Jason Aldean performing “Can’t Hide Red” and Maren Morris & Brothers Osborne performing “All My Favorite People.”

Following is the list of winners in the 14 categories voted on by the membership:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Keith Urban

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Kacey Musgraves

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Thomas Rhett

DUO OF THE YEAR Dan + Shay

GROUP OF THE YEAR Old Dominion

NEW FEMALE artist OF THE YEAR Ashley McBryde

NEW MALE artist OF THE YEAR Luke Combs

NEW DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR LANCO

ALBUM OF THE YEAR Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves

SINGLE OF THE YEAR Tequila – Dan + Shay

SONG OF THE YEAR Tequila – Dan + Shay

VIDEO OF THE YEAR Drunk Girl – Chris Janson

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR Burning Man – Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne

The ACM Broadcast Winners (announced in February):

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR WINNERS:

NATIONAL – Lon Helton - Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton

MAJOR MARKET – Tanner in the Morning - Rob Tanner, Catherine Lane, Chris Allen, Captain Jim, and Mimi - WSOC-FM (Charlotte, NC)

LARGE MARKET – Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt, Kevin Freeman - WFMS-FM (Indianapolis, IN) 

MEDIUM MARKET – Mo & StyckMan Show - WUSY-FM (Chattanooga, TN)

SMALL MARKET – Brent Lane and Candy Cullerton - WYCT-FM (Pensacola, FL)

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR WINNERS:

MAJOR MARKET – KNIX-FM (Phoenix, AZ)

LARGE MARKET – KUBL-FM (Salt Lake City, UT)

MEDIUM MARKET – WIVK-FM (Knoxville, TN)

SMALL MARKET – KHAY-FM (Ventura, CA)

ACM Awards: Backstage with Westwood One

Lauren Alaina with Mike McVay, EVP Programming & Content, CUMULUS MEDIA and Westwood One; Charlie Cook, Operations Manager, CUMULUS Country; and John Kilgo, VP, Label Relations, CUMULUS MEDIA

Westwood One Backstage at the ACM Awards, held Friday, April 5 and Saturday April 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The event featured a two-day radio row, where more than 90 Country stars and hot new artists came through do radio interviews with 25 top Country radio stations and national shows and mingle with each other.

Reba McEntire and Jason Aldean with (L-R) Pete Fisher, CEO of the Academy of Country Music; Barry Adelman, Producer of the ACM Awards; and RAC Clark, son of the late Dick Clark

The event kicked off with a press conference with Reba McEntire, who is hosting the ACM Awards on Sunday. She was interviewed by  Westwood One’s NASH Nights Live host Shawn Parr; the presser also featured a surprise appearance by Jason Aldean, who received the “Dick Clark Artist of the Decade” Award on Sunday.

Westwood One’s Backstage event included exclusive live performances from UMG Nashville’s Lauren Alaina, Big Machine’s Riley Green, Curb Record’s Dylan Scott, and Riser House Records’ Dillon Carmichael.

"Old Town Road": Rap With A Twang

"OLd Town Road" Tops iTunes

Lil Nas X is riding back stronger than ever. The 19-year-old Atlanta rapper behind the hit single “Old Town Road” was removed from the Hot Country chart last week after Billboard deemed the track not “country” enough. The move immediately spurred accusations of discrimination from fellow rappers, including Tyga and Ski Mask Slump.

According to The Daily Beast, the outcry has only spurred Lil Nas X to further success, however, as the rapper returned with a remix, this time with the support of another country outlaw. “Old Town Road (Remix)” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus dropped Thursday night, and climbed to No. 2 on Apple Music by Friday evening. The original “Old Town Road,” meanwhile, is sitting pretty at No. 1 on the platform. (Billboard won’t release their charts until next week.)

The up-and-down journey of “Old Town Road” started on the social media platform TikTok. A prolific user, Lil Nas X posted his song on the app, which is largely dominated by teenagers making short-form, highly edited videos.

Following the rules of viral success, the song then leaped over to Twitter, Instagram and YouTube before populating streaming platforms like SoundCloud, Spotify and Apple Music. Lil Nas X did it all without being signed to a label, meaning he never officially released a studio song ready for airplay. The song sparked a bidding war, however, and Lil Nas X is now with Columbia Records.

Cyrus, Nas X

Radio stations, wanting to capitalize on the viral hit, ripped the song straight off YouTube. According to New York magazine, the YouTube version—which became the track’s unofficial music video—uses montage footage from the video game Red Redemption 2. With both social media and traditional music avenues on board, the song then hit Billboard’s charts, debuting at No. 36 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop, No. 83 on the Hot 100, and No. 19 on the Hot Country charts.

Then, suddenly, it was taken off the charts. Rolling Stone was the first to report that Billboard had quietly removed the country rap single from the Hot Country chart. Billboard told Columbia Records that his inclusion was accidental and, upon review, did not meet the requirements for country “musical composition.”

“While ‘Old Town Road’ incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version,” Billboard said in a statement. Had they not removed the track, “Old Town Road” would’ve likely topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.

Lil Nas X has “hope” the remix will bring him back to Billboard’s country charts, but there’s no guarantee. Billboard often considers original and remixed songs as one when it comes to charting.

Another obstacle: Billboard’s charting criteria includes radio performance. A Billboard spokesperson told The Washington Post that “Old Town Road” recieved 63 plays on mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop radio stations but “zero on country equivalents.”

Several Private Firms Still Interested in Buying Nielsen

Nielsen, the media research firm famous for its TV and Radio ratings, is still contemplating an outright sale, fueled by continued private equity interest, according to CNBC citing people familiar with the matter.

Advent International is working with Goldman Sachs Group on a bid, as well as Apollo Global Management, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Advent and Goldman have consistently shown interest and recently attended Nielsen management presentation, although it's unclear if the consortium will be willing to pay enough to get a deal done, two of the people said.

A sale isn't imminent, and while Nielsen is a willing seller, a deal for the company has always been challenging because of the company's size. Nielsen has a market capitalization of $9.3 billion and has an additional $8.4 billion in total debt. An acquisition of the entire company would be one of the largest private takeovers in years and well above the typical size of an acquisition for Advent, in particular. Final bids aren't due for several weeks, two of the people said.

Activist hedge fund Elliott Management, which has an 8.4 percent in the company, has pushed Nielsen to find a buyer. Nielsen said in September that it was working with investment banks JPMorgan Chase and Guggenheim Securities, as well as law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, on an "expanded" review of strategic alternatives, including a sale of the company.

Nielsen began holding management presentations for potential buyers in January after naming David Kenny as its new CEO, people familiar with the matter told CNBC in December. While both Blackstone Group and Bain Capital had met with the company and considered an acquisition, neither is still involved in the process, said people familiar with the matter.

"The Nielsen Board of Directors continues to move ahead with its strategic review, which includes a broad range of options, including continuing to operate as a public, independent company; a separation of either Nielsen's Media or Connect segment; or a sale of the company," Nielsen said in a statement. "There can be no assurance that this review will result in a specific transaction or other alternative. The company will provide updates on the review when it determines that further disclosure is appropriate or required."

TV Ratings: NBC, Fox Tie For 18-49 Viewers

Through 27 weeks of the TV season -- with lower overall prime-time ratings industrywide versus a year ago -- CBS remains tops in total viewers. NBC and Fox are tied for the virtual top spot among the key 18-49 viewers favored by national advertisers.

NBC is at a 1.7 rating/8 share, while Fox is at 1.7/7 through April 2. CBS is just a tick behind both networks at 1.6/7, followed by ABC at 1.3/6, Univision with 0.5/2; Telemundo at 0.4/2 and The CW with 0.4/2.

CBS has 9.1 million total viewers, followed by NBC at 7.6 million and Fox with 5.9 million, ABC at 5.7 million, Univision at 1.40 million, CW with 1.36 million and Telemundo at 1.2 million.

Data comes from Nielsen's live program-plus-same day viewing for the most recent weeks, and live program-plus-seven day viewing, reports MediaPost.

A year ago -- season-to-date -- NBC was at 9.6 million viewers (with a 2.4 rating/10 share in 18-49 viewers), followed by CBS at 9.01 million viewers (1.6/6); ABC, 6.0 million (1.5/6); Fox, 5.3 million (1.6/6); The CW, 1.7 million (0.6/2); Univision, 1.6 million (0.5/2); and Telemundo, 1.3 million (0.5/2).

So far, CBS and Fox have seen better results this year. CBS has inched up in total viewers versus a year ago (9.1 million vs. 9.01 million), as well as with 18-49 viewers -- at 1.6/7 versus 1.6/6. Fox is also higher, with 5.9 million viewers versus 5.3 million and 1.7/7 versus 1.6/6 in 18-49 viewers.

Fox’s gains are largely attributable to the reality show “The Masked Singer.” A year ago, NBC had the Winter Olympics as well as the Super Bowl, thus accounting for its big viewing decline.

CBS’ “Big Bang Theory” remains the top TV broadcast network entertainment show, looking at Nielsen live program-plus three days (L3) of time-shifted viewing. "Big Bang" averages 16.5 million viewers (September 24, 2018 through March 31, 2019).

For “Big Bang” in its final season, this is 27% more viewing from its live program-plus-same day viewing (L1) number of 13 million.

As Cord Cutting Grows Network Ratings Continue to Drop

As cord cutting opens Americans up to new content they can’t get with cable TV, it is no surprise that TV ratings are continuing to drop.

According to cordcuttersnews.com, BTIG, a research group focused on topics like TV, has reported that network ratings are down on average 18% in 2019 compared to 2018. The biggest drop is ABC, which is seeing its viewing down 22% in the ever important 18-49 demographic.

Increasingly networks have relied on advertising and cable subscriptions to cover costs. With cable subscriptions and viewership going down, networks like ABC could soon see not only cable receding but also ad revenue.

For some time now this has been happening to music as more Americans move to streaming. Now half of all music revenue comes from streaming. You have to wonder how long it will be until broadcast TV networks start seeing the same crunch radio stations have felt for the last 10 years.

U-S House Vote Set For Net Neutrality

House Democrats are set to revive a fight over the Obama-era net neutrality rules, putting them on a collision course with the White House and the GOP-controlled Senate.

According to The Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has set a vote for Tuesday on the Save the Internet Act, which would reinstate the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) regulations requiring internet service providers to treat all web traffic equally.

The Obama-era rules prohibited internet service providers from blocking or throttling web content or from creating internet fast lanes.

Democrats argue the bill is a necessary step to ensure the internet remains accessible to all.

But critics argue the bill places bureaucrats in charge of the internet, which they feel could have strong negative implications.

Republicans tried, without success, to amend the Democrats' bill in committee including undercutting the FCC's authority to enforce the rules. They also called for Democrats to come up with a compromise bill that would establish less oversight of the broadband industry.

A majority of the Senate voted last year to reinstate the Obama-era FCC’s net neutrality rules.

But Senate Democrats now only hold 47 seats in the chamber, after Republicans netted two additional seats during the 2018 midterm election. And the 60-day window for forcing a vote on the bill under the Congressional Review Act lapsed last year, giving the new legislation long odds in the GOP-controlled Senate.

SiriusXM To Air Live Coverage Of The Masters

SiriusXM has announced its extensive audio coverage of the 2019 Masters Tournament at storied Augusta National Golf Club with live broadcasts of each day of Tournament play, exclusive shows hosted by past Masters champions and contenders, and historic audio from the Augusta National archives.

Masters week on SiriusXM programming is available to subscribers nationwide on SiriusXM radios (Sirius channel 208, XM channel 92) and on the SiriusXM app.

"Each year we promise to bring our listeners inside the ropes at the Masters in a very unique and entertaining way," said Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM's President and Chief Content Officer. "This year we'll again proudly deliver on that endeavor, with live Tournament coverage, specials that look ahead to this year's Tournament and look back at the storied history of the Masters, and commentary from several of golf's great players, who have enjoyed extraordinary success at Augusta National."

Live Masters Play-by-Play
Listeners will hear live hole-by-hole commentary from Augusta National covering the action and the players on the course. The live Tournament coverage starts at 2:00 pm ET each day of play - Thursday, April 11, through Sunday, April 14. Play-by-play broadcasts of the Masters are produced by Westwood One.

Masters History Special
In the days before the Tournament, SiriusXM will present a Masters history special that will celebrate the anniversaries of three memorable Masters moments. With in-depth storytelling and rare audio from Augusta National's exclusive archives, SiriusXM golf historian Martin Davis will look back at Phil Mickelson's 2004 Masters victory on the 15th anniversary of Lefty's first major tournament win. Davis will also commemorate the 60th anniversary of Art Wall, Jr.'s 1959 Masters victory, in which Wall birdied five of the last six holes on Sunday to surge past Arnold Palmer and Dr. Cary Middlecoff, and the 70th anniversary of Sam Snead's first of three Masters wins. The special will debut on April 7 (11:00 am ET) and replay several times during Masters week. It will also be available on SiriusXM On Demand.

Exclusive SiriusXM Masters week programming

• SiriusXM will feature several shows hosted by past Masters champions and top-finishers, who among them have won six Green Jackets and recorded more than 40 top-10 finishes at Augusta National. These include:
• Golfing Younger with Bernhard Langer, hosted by the two-time Masters champion (1985, 1993) on Monday, April 8 at 9:00 pm ET.
• Just the Fax, hosted by Brad Faxon, who has two top-10 Masters finishes, on April 8 at 4:00 pm ET.
• Time To Let It Fly, hosted by Mark Lye, who tied for sixth in the 1984 Masters, on April 8 at 7:00 pm ET.
• Crenshaw on Golf, hosted by two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw (1984, 1995), on Tuesday, April 9 at 1:00 pm ET.
• The Fred Couples Show, hosted by 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples, on April 9 at 3:00 pm ET.
• Connected with John Cook, hosted by 11-time PGA Tour winner John Cook, who competed in 15 Masters Tournaments, on April 9 at 7:00 pm ET.
• Out of Bounds, with three-time PGA Tour winner Pat Perez, who finished in the top-20 in the 2017 Masters, on April 9 at 8:00 pm ET.
• On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Craig Stadler, Hale Irwin and Dave Stockton will host special two-hour Masters preview editions of their SiriusXM shows live from Augusta each morning from 8:00 to 10:00 am ET:
• Wednesday, April 10 features Stadler, the 1982 Masters champion.
• Thursday, April 11 features Irwin, who has seven top-10 finishes in the Masters.
• Friday, April 12 features Stockton, who tied for second in the 1974 Masters.

Also on April 10, Stockton, Bob Ford, Keith Maxwell and Taylor Zarzour will be featured hosts on a special three-hour Masters edition of The Starter beginning at 2:00 pm ET.

Zarzour, Carl Paulson and Mark Lye will host SiriusXM's post-round Masters programming, airing immediately after each day's play-by-play coverage.


For more information, visit masters.com or follow @TheMasters on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Masters week on SiriusXM programming is available to subscribers nationwide on SiriusXM radios, and those with streaming access can listen online, on-the-go with the SiriusXM mobile app and at home on a wide variety of connected devices, including smart TVs, Amazon Alexa devices, Apple TV, PlayStation, Roku, Sonos speakers and more.

R.I.P.: Bill Isles, Co-Founder of The O'Jays

Bill Isles

William Carvan Isles II, an original member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted R&B vocal group The O’Jays, died on March 28 at his home in Oceanside, CA, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

He was 78. The cause of death was cancer, according to his son, Duane Isles, who said that his father was surrounded by family members at the time of his passing.

Isles — better known as Bill Isles — was born Jan. 4 1941 in McAtenville, N.C. He was just 2 when he moved with his family to Canton, Ohio, where he learned to sing in church. Together with some of his childhood friends, Isles formed a singing group called The Mascots in 1958 when they were attending McKinley High School. Fun, not fame , was their initial goal.

In 1960, the group changed its name to The Triumphs and released its first single, “Miracles,” in 1961. It came out on King Records, a Cincinnati label whose roster of artists also included James Brown. Two years later, in 1963, top Cleveland DJ Eddie O’Jay suggested another name change and The Triumphs became The O’Jays.

Noted for his supple baritone, Isles was featured on such notable songs by The O’Jays as “Lonely Drifter” in 1963 and “Lipstick Traces” in 1965. He quit the group soon thereafter and married his wife of 52 years, Laural. But Isles didn’t turn his back on music for long. According to his son, Duane, Isles worked as The O’Jays’ tour manager from 1971 to 1974, a time that saw the group score such indelible hits as “Back Stabbers,” “Love Train” and “For the Love of Money.”

April 8 Radio History

➦In 1961…The BBC banned the Top 40 hit 'A Hundred Pounds of Clay' by Gene McDaniels. The ban arose because the censors interpreted the song as suggesting women were created simply to be sexual beings, and the BBC felt something that was considered blasphemous should not air to avoid controversy.

Larry Norton

➦In 1981...Radio personality Larry "Snortin" Norton completed a publicity stunt. Norton spent 20-plus days on the air at WGRQ-FM in Buffalo.

Norton launched his virtually sleepless quest March 19, grabbing only two hours of shut-eye per night to break the record.

Norton officially ended with 484 hours on the air, shattering the previous listing in the Guinness Book of World Records of 367 hours.

➦In 1985…John Frederick Coots died at age 78 (Born - May 2, 1897). He was a songwriter, who composed over 700 popular songs and over a dozen Broadway shows. In 1934, Coots wrote the melody with his then chief collaborator, lyricist Haven Gillespie, for the biggest hit for them both "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town." The song became one of the biggest sellers in American history.


In 1934, when Gillespie brought him the lyrics to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Coots came up with the skeleton of the music in just ten minutes. Coots took the song to his publisher, Leo Feist Inc., who liked it but thought it was "a kids' song" and didn't expect too much from it.  Coots offered the song to Eddie Cantor who used it on his radio show that November and it became an instant hit. The morning after the radio show there were orders for 100,000 copies of sheet music and by Christmas sales had passed 400,000.

➦In 1987...WFIL 560 AM, Philadelphia ended it's run as "Famous 56".

Capturing The True Sound Of Famous 56! Click Here To Listen.

In February 1964, Triangle moved the WFIL stations to a new state-of-the-art broadcast center at the corner of City Line and Monument Avenues in Philadelphia, from which WPVI continued to broadcast.

Starting on September 18, 1966, WFIL began playing "Top 40" rock and roll. It quickly became the most successful non-RKO "Boss Radio" formatted station, known locally as "The Pop Music Explosion".



The original line up of air personalities, or "Boss Jocks" were scheduled as follows:

• 6-10am: Chuck Browning
• 10am-2pm: Jay Cook ("Captain Jay Cook")
• 2-6pm: Jim Nettleton ("Diamond Jim" Nettleton)
• 6-10pm: George Michael ("King George" Michael)
• 10pm-2am: Long John Wade
• 2-6am: Dave Parks ("Dave the Rave" Parks)
• Weekends: Frank Kingston Smith

WFIL announcers heard in later years of the Top 40 era included Dr. Don Rose, Jim O'Brien(who later also became a WPVI-TV reporter and station personality), Dan Donovan, J. J. Jeffrey, Dick Heatherton, Tom Dooley, "Tiny" Tom Tyler, Mitch "K.C." Hill, "Big" Ron O'Brien, Kris Chandler, Geoff Richards, Joel Denver, Brother Lee Love (Alan Smith), and Banana Joe Montione.

The format evolved into an adult contemporary sound in the fall of 1977. At some point after that, the WFIL studios were relocated to Domino Lane in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia; they moved into the building of FM station WUSL, which WFIL owner LIN Broadcasting had acquired in late 1976. Growing competition from FM stations in this period did serious damage to WFIL's ratings. In September 1981 country music was tried, but this failed to reverse the downward trend. The station switched to an "oldies" format in September 1983, called "The Boss is Back," with a new line up of "Boss Jocks," playing the hits of 1955 through 1973.



This format lasted until April 8, 1987, when new owner WEAZ Inc. discontinued locally originated music programming in favor of Transtar's "Oldies Channel," a satellite-delivered service. The end of live programming was marked by a production piece consisting of a portion of the song American City Suite by Terry Cashman and Tommy West interspersed with old WFIL airchecks. The "Epilogue to WFIL" was produced by Charlie Mills, who at the time was working cross-town at WPEN, and had been an avid fan of WFIL during his teen years.

Its 5000-watt transmitter enabled its signal to be heard as far away at times as Staten Island, the southernmost borough of New York City. During its top 40 years, WFIL also consistently showed strongly in the ratings books in nearby Wilmington, Delaware, where it has an excellent signal. In addition, WFIL was a popular listening choice in Reading and Allentown, both in Pennsylvania.

Today, WFIL is locally co-owned with Salem Media's WNTP (990 AM). Interestingly, WNTP is the former WIBG. WIBG was WFIL's main rock 'n roll rival in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The studios, offices and transmitters of both stations are located at the former WIBG complex on Ridge Pike in Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania.

➦In 2004...Clear Channel Communications fired Howard Stern for airing sexually explicit material.

''Clear Channel drew a line in the sand today with regard to protecting our listeners from indecent content, and Howard Stern's show blew right through it,'' Clear Channel Radio's president, John Hogan, said in a statement. The statement did not specifically describe the content but said it ''was vulgar, offensive and insulting, not just to women and African Americans but to anyone with a sense of common decency.''

Clear Channel did not disclose how many of its stations carry the show, which is produced and distributed by the Infinity radio unit of Viacom.  Since he was syndicated by Infinity Broadcasting his programs continued uninterrupted.


➦In 2004...Eugene Klavan died at age 79 (Born  - May 4, 1924). He  was a radio personality, columnist and author

His radio career began with brief stints at Baltimore's WITH and WCBM, followed by WTOP in Washington, D.C., where he would remain until moving to WNEW New York in 1952.  Klavan was best known for being one-half of the succesful morning show, "Klavan & Finch". The program ran for many years on WNEW 1130 AM.

Gene Klavan and Dee Finch

Gene Klavan was first as half of the radio show “Klavan and Finch” and then as a solo performer, brought slicing wit, a knack for voices and peppery irreverence to New York morning radio audiences for 25 years.

From 1952 to 1968, Mr. Klavan was the comic half of Klavan and Finch, heard on WNEW, then one of the leading AM radio stations in New York. With Dee Finch as straight man, Mr. Klavan changed into the voices of wacky characters like Trevor Traffic, Mr. Nat, Sy Kology, Victor Verse and Emilio Percolator. The sound of a slamming door signaled a character’s arrival.

Finch retired in 1968 and Mr. Klavan continued the show alone as “Klavan in the Morning.” In 1977 he moved to WOR-AM and left radio in 1980. Finch died in 1983.