8/3/15

Forty years ago today... August 4, 1975

Popular Top 40 station KTKT in Tucson issued its weekly printed survey of Tucson's Super Hits on August 4, 1975. KTKT was the Number One highest rated, most listened to station in Tucson from the mid Sixties (when it switched to a top 40 format) through the early Eighties when radio began splintering into narrow playlists.  While I was not yet a Tucsonan in 1975, my interest in the history of Tucson radio was recently piqued by a couple of articles (first part, second part) featured in Tucson Lifestyle magazine.  After those articles I found the Images of America: Tucson Radio book.  Then I hit up the Airheads Radio Survey Archive (ARSA) to see what Tucson radio was playing before I arrived in 1981 and found a cache of KTKT surveys, including this one.  Then I visited this site and found these, courtesy of site curator CJ Brown, who happens to be co-author of the book mentioned earlier:
Then I pulled up the comparable survey from WLS (dated two days earlier), the station I started listening to in August 1975 after moving to Chanute AFB in Rantoul, Illinois from Carswell AFB in Fort Worth, Texas.  Also pulled up the weekly national charts from Cashbox and Billboard magazines (also dated August 2nd).  Found this in Billboard, showing that KTKT was one of their reporting stations, influencing the national charts:
What is interesting to me was that KTKT's playlist seems to be more progressive and ahead of the national charts while WLS seemed to lag behind the national charts.  
(Note: WLS only numbered the top 15 songs on its survey and listed an additional thirteen songs below them in no logical order so they are assumed to be numbers 16-28 for the purposes of the chart below.)  
8/4/1975Aug 2, 1975
KTKTARTISTTITLEBillboardCashboxWLS
1Bee GeesJive Talkin'3212
2BazukaDynomite1012
3Johnny WakelinBlack Superman/Muhammad Ali4948
4Elton JohnSomeone Saved My Life Tonight659
4Elton JohnHouse Of Cards
510ccI'm Not In Love243
6James TaylorHow Sweet It Is1514
7EaglesOne Of These Nights138
8Gwen McCraeRockin' Chair91713
9Melissa ManchesterMidnight Blue7810
10Van McCoyThe Hustle565
11Freddy FenderWasted Days And Wasted Nights2825
12Hamilton, Joe Frank & ReynoldsFallin' In Love2418
13WingsListen To What The Man Said8102
14KC & The Sunshine BandGet Down Tonight3226
15Mike PostThe Rockford Files1313
16Johnny RiversHelp Me Rhonda4444
17Paul Anka With Odia Coates(I Believe) There's Nothing Stronger Than Our Love5833
18Janis IanAt Seventeen2324
19Glen CampbellRhinestone Cowboy1411
20Frankie ValliSwearin' To God217
21Amazing Rhythm AcesThird Rate Romance3446
22Hudson BrothersRendezvous3852
23AmbrosiaHoldin' On To Yesterday2528
24Earth, Wind & FireThat's The Way Of The World3135
25WarWhy Can't We Be Friends12911
26OsmondsThe Proud One
27Barry ManilowCould It Be Magic3021
28Doobie BrothersMaxine77
29SweetBallroom Blitz3343
30Captain & TennilleLove Will Keep Us Together17151
Grand FunkBad Time24
BazukaDynomite19
Charlie RichEvery Time You Touch Me I Get High1922
Bad CompanyFeel Like Makin' Love2927
Isley BrothersFight The Power (Part 1)2220
Bachman-Turner OverdriveHey You7015
Dwight Twilley BandI'm On Fire1623
Barry ManilowIt's A Miracle27
Michael JacksonJust A Little Bit Of You2630
QueenKiller Queen20
Leo SayerLong Tall Glasses28
PilotMagic46546
Tony Orlando & DawnMornin' Beautiful181623
ChicagoOld Days25
CarpentersOnly Yesterday22
Elton John BandPhiladelphia Freedom26
Elton JohnPinball Wizard16
Olivia Newotn-JohnPlease Mr. Please414
Lynyrd SkynyrdSaturday Night Special2741
AmericaSister Golden Hair14
CommodoresSlippery When Wet2029
Doobie BrothersTake Me In Your Arms (Rock Me)18
John DenverThank God I'm A Country Boy21
Gladys Knight & the PipsThe Waty We Were/Try To Remember1119
Linda RonstadtWhen Will I Be Loved6217
Michael MurpheyWildfire53687
The conflicting dates between the charts, although only a couple of days, could account for some for the seeming ahead of their time chart positions as could the right-next-door proximity to the highly progressive California radio market.  Also interesting that KTKT listed (and played?) both sides of the record below at number 4 on their survey and noted the b-side in their Billboard report above as a "Discoteque (sic) Crossover":
You can listen to the countdown-style (30-1) Spotify playlist I made of KTKT's Super Hits, which surprisingly had a 84% fill rate in Spotify's library, missing just four of the thirty-one songs listed.  I bussed in three songs from Rhino's  Have A Nice Day series to round out my personal playlist leaving only the number 2 song (below) as a no-show.

2 comments:

  1. I have no memory of that Bazuka tune - thanks for the link. Not much to it, but I dig the tasty horn licks.

    And I bet Jimmie Walker didn't see a penny.

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  2. Always loved "Dynomite", eventually sampled into one of my own tracks too, or at least Part II I did.

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