Remembering Bill Drake…

Monday, December, 1, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

Bill Drake’s programming philosophy was simple - play the hits.  That’s why all the RKO General stations consulted by Bill would run the ID, his ID:  “And the hits just keep on coming.“  I had the good fortune to program two of those stations - WRKO Boston and WOR-FM/WXLO New York.  Most people thought Drake was some gargantuan radio wizard who breathed fire and ruled tyrannically.  So did I until I met him…

Drake was none of the things people thought he was.  He was tall, about 6 foot 7 or 8 with a Pete Rose haircut and disarming Hollywood smile.  A country bumpkin from Georgia, Drake was commonly smart and knew what people wanted to hear on their radios.  He seemed to never take anything seriously, including his reputation but he was a stickler for attention to detail…

By the time Bill Drake had reached the east coast as consultant, WRKO was already number one but Drake made a great station even greater with his formatics.  Bill Drake revolutionized format radio, giving it a structure that always moved forward, that had excitement, that mattered, that worked…

Last December, R&R did a publisher’s profile of Bill Drake.  It may be the last in-depth interview Bill did and it’s worth reading.  Bill Drake was 71 when he died from lung cancer on Saturday.  There will be a memorial for Bill this Wednesday, December 3rd at 3 p.m. at The Little Brown Church, 4418 Coldwater Canyon Blvd. in Studio City, California.  You may e-mail your condolences to Bill’s friend Carole at drakeradio@sbcglobal.net  …    

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1824] Flip a coin: With no candidate receiving a majority of the vote in the Electoral College, the House of Representatives decides that John Quincy Adams is chosen over Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay…
2. 1914] First in service: The first service station opens in Pittsburgh…
3. 1917] Boy’s Town: Father Edward Flanagan opens “Boy’s Town” in Nebraska, a farm village designed for wayward boys. In 1979 it became co-ed. The Hollies‘ hit “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” was written as a tribute to Boys Town…
4. 1924] Hockey, eh?: The 1st pro hockey game in the U.S. is played at the Boston Arena with the Bruins beating the Montreal Maroons (not Morons) 2-1. Both teams had just joined the 7-year old NHL. Boston became the 1st U.S. team…
5. 1955] No more ‘back of the bus’: Rosa Parks refuses to give her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery (AL), marking a milestone in the civil rights movement…
6. 1969] There’s a draft in here: Charles Rangel will be happy to note that the U.S. government held its 1st draft lottery since WWII…
7. 1973] “Happy Trails“: David Ben-Gurion, founding father of Israel and its first prime minister dies from natural causes at 87…
8. 1992] Guilty as charged: In Mineola (LI) Amy Fisher is sentenced to 5 to 15 years for the shooting and serious wounding of Mary Jo Buttafuoco. The ‘Long Island Lolita’ was having an affair with Mary Jo’s husband Joey. Amy is now out and frankly we don’t care where Joey is.  In this clip, Amy confronts Joey on national TV…
9. 1997] No choke: Golden State’s Latrell Sprewell chokes in practice…chokes his coach (P.J. Carlesimo) that is. He’s suspended for one year and the remainder of his 4-year, $23 million contract was terminated. Sprewell’s career ended in 2004. Carlesimo is still coaching…
10. 1997] The name game: Westinghouse formally changes its name to CBS…

Music Memories:

• 1957] Debuted on this date: Buddy Holly & the Crickets and Sam Cooke make their Ed Sullivan debut.  Sam lip synchs ”You Send Me” on American Bandstand in this clip…
• 1960] Wedding Bells: Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee stroll down the aisle to “Dream Lover“. Sadly they will divorce in 1967…
• 1968] Curtains: Janis Joplin makes her final appearance with Big Brother & the Holding Company.  Here they are together on ‘Hollywood Palace’, introduced by Don Adams, would you believe…
• 1982] CBS Records employees best day: Epic Records releases its all-time best-selling LP “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, which feeds everyone working for CBS Records for a couple of years or so, thank you very much…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“:

Sarah Silverman (38), Carol Alt (48), Treat Williams (57), Gilbert O’Sullivan (62), Bette Midler (63), Lee Trevino (69), Dianne Lennon (69), Woody Allen (73) and Billy Paul (74)…

Timeline Countdown: 20 days until winter, 21 days until Hanukah, 24 shopping days until Christmas, 30 nights until New Year’s Eve and 33 days until the NFL playoffs…

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