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Ways Lacking As Only Top 40 Dial
By MONTE ZEPEDA
For some time there has been
much dissatisfaction among young
people about the variety in radio
broadcasting in the Charlotte area.
As it stands now, there is only
one top-forty radio statlMi in Char
lotte, WAYS. WGIV is a oihm
and blues or colored audience
staticm.
WAYS, or as it is affection
ately known, “Big Ways”, because
it is the only top-forty station in
Charlotte, has become a tittle
conceited. They have no competi
tion.
“Our station has the highest
ratings in the area,” states Mike
Greene, WAYS disc-jockey, “and
we are ready for any competiticm.
Someone will always come along
to try and knock us out but we’re
ready to meet that competition.”
WAYS, although to the listener
it is a station aimed at the teen
age audience, is not aimed at any
particular group of people. The
staticm wants everybody to listen.
This is evidenced by the fact that
WAYS plays such winning tunes
as “It Takes People Like You to
Make People Like Me” by country
and western great. Buck Owens,
A major complaint against “Big
Ways” is that they play the same
songs too often. “We have maybe
35 records that we program on the
station,” continues Mike Greene,
“We play these in order that no
one song will be repeated in two
hours.”
Another big complaint is that
WAYS doesn’t play many songs
that are in the top twenty of the
national chart. Big Ways answers
that there are some songs that
make it to the top of the natiaial
charts that the kids here just do
not accept. Paul Revere and the
Raiders, and Petula Clark have
never done well in this area
according to WAYS.
Just how does Big Ways decide
what the public accepts and re
jects? They have a number of
factors that figure into selecting
the records that are played on the
station.
The first «ie is Jack Gale. Gale
is program director and listens
to each week’s new record releas
es and decides which of them will
be honored with airplay in the
station.
There are many records which
never make it to WAY’S turntab
les because of Gale. Records that
do make it to the disc jockey’s
hand often do not stay there be
cause Gale decides that the record
is not doing well.
Some records that have never
been played or haven’t been played
laig on Big Ways include:
“I’m Wondering” by Stevie Won
der.
“The Rain, The Park, and Other
Things” by the Cowsills
“Apples, Peaches, PumkinPie”
by Jay and the Techiiiques
“You’re My Everything” by the
Temptations
“Along Comes Mary” by the
Association
There are other songs that can
be mentioned but these are a re
presentative group.
Another thing that plaques Big
Ways is the station’s tardiness
when it comes to playing new re
leases. They were several weeks
late in playing the first record by
the Tremeloes, “Here Comes My
Baby”. They were also late on
the second record by the same
group, “Silence Is Golden”
Big Ways uses record sales in
local shops to decide just how
popular a record is. If a certain
record doesn’t sell very well with
in the first week the station begins
playing it, the station usually drops
it from the airplay lisL But most
new records take more than a
week to find their way into a re
cord shop so this method is not a
very good one. It also takes more
than a week for the public to
decide whether or not it likes a
song enough to buy it or not.
The request by phone is a farce.
The station pays little attention to
it. “A bunch of kids could get on
the phone and call over and over
again for a song they want. And
as for the others, they usually
request a popular song thatwewiU
play soon anyway,” statesGreene.
This statement would surelyprove
that WAYS is not “Ail Request
Radio”.
The contests, oh those corny
contests! Everyone says that they
get weary of listening to how they
can win $6,10 by guessing the
“good guy” “who I am, who I
are” or some other retarded stunt.
“We are involved in many pro
motions that we use to gain lis
tener interest. Just how much
good these do we don’t really
know. All we know is that they do
some good and so we continue to
us them.” — Greene
ENTERTAINMENT
ON REVIEW
By Monte Zepeda
I was sitting in the office last week playing a new album. When
“The Look of Love” came on, editor Gayle Watts said, “They’re
pretty good; who sings that song?”
I answered, “As a matter of cold fact it is The Pretty Goods.
And it was, honest. The neime of the London album is “The Look
of Love” and it is by The Pretty Goods and it is pretty good.
Other cuts on the album include “Alfie”, “Yesterday”, “A Man
and a Woman”, “Something Stupid”, and “ J.B.”
“The Willy Nilly Wonder of Illusion” is the title of the Back Porch
Majority’s latest Epic album.
This record is a lively, entertaining album. The version of “This
Little Li^t of Mine” may not sound much as far as the title goes,
but when you finally hear it, it will get to you rather quickly. It really
moves.
“Jack the Ripper” will keep you in stitches, no pun intended.
The entire album is delightful and refreshing.
Peter, Paul and Mary once said that rock and roll was corrupt
and that those who sang it were also corrupt. Now they have a new
record titled, “I Dig Rock and Roll Music”. Although it can’t be
classified hard rock, it surely is a far cry from “The Cruel War”.
How sad it is to see an idealistic group compromise because of
that corrupting agent, money. Sniff.
This week there are a number of new 45’s that have great potentiaL
1) “Walk Away” by Damita Jo on Epic. This is a soft, beautiful
tune In the Streisand style.
2) “adnny Legs and All’ by Joe Tex on Dial. This is a “live
Performance” and a fast moving one at that.
3) “Kentucky Woman” by Neil Diamond on Bang.
^ “I Want Some More” by Jon & Robin and the In Crowd on Abnak.
Too many commercials for the
listener? Greene speaks further,
“We are the number on station.
The law allows that 18 minutes of
commercials be played each hour.
We play 18 minutes and no more.
If the listener doesn’t like it he
can change stations but he won’t
be listeningtotop-forty because we
are the only top-forty in Charlotte.
So we cram the commercials down
the listener’s throat. We have to
because we have to make money
to support our promotions and staff
as weU as clear a profiL”
The disc jockeys are refugees
from a mental hospital. Their silly
jokes, sing-along sessions, and
catch phrases are ridicoloustothe
average listener above 11 years of
age.
The news department could
easily be transferred to the news
room of one of the New York
scandal sheets. Their yellow-jour
nalism, their sensationalism is
deplorable. A good portion of their
news concerns accidents, killings,
and other bloody or lurid crimes.
They do try to tone it down by
saying “attacked” or “assaulted”
rather than “raped”. It’s a big
help.
And the hams that read these
stories. They over-act just a bit
in their dramatic presentation of
the news.
All in aU, Big Ways leaves a
heck of a lot to be desired as a
decent top-forty station. But there
is a ray of hope in the future.
One of Charlotte’s radio stations
in now in the process of being sold.
Although the final papers have yet
to be signed, the deal will prob
ably be closed soon. The static*!
is being bought by a chain that
owns the number one top-forty sta
tion in Los Angeles, Calif. The
new owners will take over approx
imately at the first of next year.
Pray that competition has finally
arrived for Big Ways.
* Enter Laughing’ Amusing
By MONTE ZEPEDA
As a rule, anything that Carl
Reiner touches turns to laughter
and gold for its promoter. Col
umbia Pictures’, “Enter Laugh
ing”, now playing at the Manor
Theatre might prove to be the
exception to this rule.
The major flaw of the movie is
that the entire motion picture only
covers a space in time of about
three days. Even for the most
versatile moviemakers are going
to have a very difficult time fill
ing two hours with material about
what happens to a handful of peo
ple, ordinary, simple people in
three days.
But “Enter Laughing” hasmuch
going for it also. The cast is made
up of some of the greatest comedy
stars in show business. Included
in the cast are: Elaine May, Jose
Ferrer, Shelley Winters, Jack Gil
ford, Michael J. Pillard, Don Rick
ies, and Richard Deacon.
One may not recognize the name
of Jack Gilford but his face cannot
be forgotten. He has made numer
ous TV appearences and movies.
Most recently he was seen in
“A Funny Thing Happened on the
Way to the Forum”. In an upcom
ing role he plays a safecracker
who is so deaf that he can’t hear
the clicking of the safe’s tumb
lers as he tries to open it.
The plot of “Enter laughing”,
which is supposed to be the story
be the story of Carl Reiner’s show
business beginning, is kept very
simple. David Kolowitz, played by
newcomer Reni Santoni, is a young
18-year-old who likes looking at
girls and wants to become an
actor. He works in Mr. Foreman’s
shop, has a girl named Wanda,
Visit
Green
Garter
looks after him better than his
mother and then reports his find
ings to David’s mother, and the
three women after him — His
girlfriend, the actress, and a lus
cious bookkeeper who has enjoyed
David’s calf worship.
“Enter Laughing” will never be
nominated for an Academy Award
but it will provide many people,
young and old, with an evening’s
entertainment. Although the movie
moves slowlyin some places, there
a number of belly-shaking and foot-
stomping laughs as well as a few
tender moments here and there.
and parents who want him to be
come a druggist.
Egged on by Marvin (Michael
J. Pollard), has demented com
panion, David applies for a
“scholarship” with an acting
school run by analcohoUc ham who
stages “society” plays in a run
down theatre where admission is
collected much in the same manner
as an offering at an evangelistic
tent meeting. Because of the sch
olarship, Mr. Marlowe, Jose Fer
rer, will only charge David $5
instead of $10 to act.
Marlowe, although he detests
David as an actor, much less as
a human being, is persuaded to take
David on by Angela, his daughter,
who decides she fancys the theatre
newcomer. Angela is played by
Elaine May.
From this the movie goes on
through a number of frustrating
events. David has no money, his
rehearsals are a farce, his boss
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