...is coming.
ÒGet your
clothes off and get in the tub!Ó
#180...January
2014
And now, ladies and gentlemenÉ
Éa little more than just ÒSuperjockÓ died last week. IÕd argue that
Larry Lujack was top 40Õs last iconoclast on a grand scale.
In mornings for sure but
afternoons especially - whether on ChicagoÕs ÒMusicradioÓ WLS or ÒThe Voice of
LaborÓ WCFL - LarÕ played by his own rules. Never mind ÒSuperjockÓ: Lujack was
the Òanti-jock.Ó While itÕs tough enough today to find out if an air
personality even likes a particular song, Lujack made no secret of what music
he loved or despised on-air. Making fun of commercials, in fact, just talking
extraneously between them, the way Larry did? Just try that now. And sparring
with listeners, airing calls between lots of songs, making fun of listener
correspondence on ÒThe Klunk Letter of the DayÓ? Not likely these days, but it
wouldnÕt have been LujackÕs show without that.
While most listeners took
to the kinder gentler ÒUncle LarÕÓ who read ÒAnimal StoriesÓ and ruled mornings
during his second go-round at the Big 89, real fans surely loved him best when
it sounded as if he was doing top 40 with boxing gloves on. You can hear that
even as he transitioned WCFL to easy listening on an afternoon in 1976 http://youtu.be/c_PEjXMp54M,
recommending those still wanting the hits to turn to ÒKHJ Los AngelesÓ and,
over the ocean waves sound effect that ended CFLÕs top 40 era, suggesting
everyone else Òget [their] clothes off and get in the tub.Ó
So why is it that as
LujackÕs unusual nature may have opened the door for the FM rock Ôshock jocksÕ
that came after, it also eventually closed it for top 40 hosts? How did the
format get it so wrong?
Whether it was the
increased meddling of consultants and researchers, or the heightened focus on
music as top 40Õs most important product, thereÕs been a clear move from jocks
whose personalities donÕt necessarily fit the ÔisnÕt this a great day, let me
read you something funnyÕ mold and toward a lineup where every live (and not
live) hostÕs intent is simply to serve as companion to the hits. In most cases,
this has resulted in a lack of something I call Ôtalent varianceÕ: the idea
that from one DJ to the next, you donÕt necessarily know what to expect day in
day out. ItÕs as if the more careful the formatÕs become not to lose listeners,
the less likely it is to be a good fit not only for anyone along the lines of
Dan Ingram, Don Steele or Lujack Ð larger-than-life personalities who made top
40 the powerhouse it became in the first place Ð but for anyone even a little
different.
ItÕs worth noting that
radioÕs rebels arenÕt completely gone from the airwaves. For that you can thank
hip-hop-based stations, where tell-it-like-it-is format jocks who are
encouraged to be themselves are alive and well. While at the same time I
understand why thereÕs been a conscious shift away from talent variance (read:
ratings, advertisers, job security in a riskier-than-ever business) at
mainstream and adult-oriented top 40, itÕs done the listener a disservice when
there isnÕt a place for the next ÒSuperjock.Ó
Farewell, Mr. Lujack. That big top 40
station up there Ð without all those rules - just got a whole lot better.
NOW THISÉ
* Hz
So Good online (currents and recent archive) at http://www.60s70s.org/HzSoGood/
* ÒThe CHRoniclerÓ and more in ThursdayÕs Billboard Top 40 Update (subscribe for
free at http://www.billboard.biz/newsletters)
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Happy Hz-idays.
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