For Memorial Day, you would be asked “if you want to temporarily get away from all of the ridiculous nonsense of the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, how about going back to an era which was not much simpler?”
Advertisements Target Travelers in The New Yorker Magazine in 1965
As a tradition of every Memorial Day weekend for years, a dentist named Alan Sniffen brings back Musicradio 77 for all to enjoy and remember through Rewound Radio, which is his streaming broadcast station that plays music from the years 1960 through 1982 — 24 hours per day, seven days per week. He uses what are known as airchecks of the radio personalities — who were also known as disc jockeys, or DJs — to emulate what WABC sounded like. Airchecks were a portfolio of recordings to demonstrate the talent of the personality; and they were used either for the purposes of selling advertising — or as part of a resume if the personality was applying for a job at a radio station — and they were usually telescoped or scoped, which means that the music, commercials and news were removed. Music is inserted digitally back into the scoped airchecks to recreate the sound of WABC-AM — as if it were broadcasting the programs today….
…and although that homage to 77 WABC-AM, which broadcast contemporary music for 22 years until it adapted a talk show format on Monday, May 10, 1982 — “the day the music died” on 770 on the AM radio dial — is happening again this year starting tomorrow morning at 6:00, that is not what this article is about.
If you look at this Portable Document File of the issue of The New Yorker magazine from Saturday, February 20, 1965 — which was posted at the official Internet web site of Musicradio77.com — in addition to the interesting article pertaining to WABC-AM at that time, you will notice multiple advertisements from such travel companies as Hilton, Auto-Europe, and the airline named Braniff — as well as the city of Venice.
Click to access New%20Yorker%20WABC%20Magazine%20Article%20-%202-20-65.pdf
Each hotel property with Hilton seemed to have its own logo while simultaneously adhering to a brand standard of sorts at the time; and a seat in the first class cabin aboard an airplane operated by Braniff from New York to Rio de Janeiro would have lightened your wallet or purse by $815.00 round trip.
For anyone who remembers the venerable road trip in the United States — yes, an advertisement for Stuckey’s awaits your perusal as well.
Summary
Advertisements from the past are a window of the time period of when they were printed or broadcast; and they never cease to interest me…
…and the advertisements included in the issue of The New Yorker magazine from Saturday, February 20, 1965 are no exception.
As for listening to the news and audio commercials of the day during the aforementioned Rewound Radio broadcast this Memorial Day weekend, they can be fascinating. For example, start at 3:18 during this aircheck from late veteran radio personality Dan Ingram, who voiced a commercial for Eastern Air Lines and its new non-stop Whisperjet service — presumably with its fleet of Boeing 727 aircraft — from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Saint Louis…
…and do not be surprised if during Memorial Day weekend, you hear commercials from Trans World Airlines, National Airlines, Pan American Airways, and Continental Airlines — most of which aired before frequent flier loyalty programs existed — as well as commercials which were advertising lodging. During the first hour, one commercial each from American Airlines and United Airlines was already heard. You might also hear about incidents pertaining to travel during the news segments.
The jingles were legendary as well. This classic jingle for WABC-AM — which is part of the 1961 Contempo Sig 18 series — had been one of the most recognized of all time.
Even if you never listened to 77 WABC-AM, give this special program a listen this Memorial Day weekend — no matter where you are located in the world — as it is almost like being transported back in time with an audio record, preserved as a part of the storied history of New York.
Some people listen to the Musicradio 77 broadcast through a mobile telephone to emulate that transistor radio sound which was so popular back then…
…and for additional information, photographs and audio airchecks, be sure to explore this Internet web site which is dedicated to Musicradio 77 WABC-AM — it was founded by Allan Sniffen — for a way to add something uniquely interesting to your Memorial Day weekend.
Source: The New Yorker.
