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Note: This featured WHFI audio aircheck is courtesy of Bob Pratt, Farmington Hills, MI. Having been archived in our aircheck repository for several years, the aircheck audio was digitally restored yesterday.
You will note this (classic and rare!) WHFI Tom Clay aircheck now sounds better than it ever sounded before. It is today’s aircheck feature for the week.
DON ALCORN WHFI (Mother’s Day) date: Sunday, May 10, 1970
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NEW! A special THANK YOU to Bob Pratt, of Farmington Hills, MI, for recently donating this WHFI radio aircheck (unscoped!) to Motor City Radio Flashbacks!
* The Bob Pratt Collection *
TOM CLAY WHFI aircheck date (unknown): 1969 or 1970
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NEW! A special THANK YOU to Bob Pratt, of Farmington Hills, MI, for recently donating this WHFI radio aircheck (unscoped!) to Motor City Radio Flashbacks!
* The Bob Pratt Collection *
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Tom Clay’s Detroit radio resume lists the legendary jock having been on WJBK, WQTE, CKLW and WWWW. But we cannot find any indication he was ever on WHFI.
So, was he? We can only speculate, as this WHFI aircheck bears supporting, possibly he was there for a very brief period of time (days? weeks maybe?) — either sometime late-1969 or earlier-1970. By late summer, 1970, Tom Clay was on WWWW-FM.
Regardless, we present today an extremely rare aircheck find, thanks to Bob Pratt, who recorded it (again, no date). It’s Tom Clay on 94.7 FM WHFI.
From the MCRFB NEWS archive: 1966
Station’s Music Format Centers Spotlight on Local Dance Hall Scenes, Jazz Clubs, Ballroom Entertainment Venues in ‘Flashback’ Show
DETROIT — Uniquely different emphasis to the “Detroit Sound” is given by a month-old program on WHFI-FM, which concentrates upon full-size dance bands with music originating in the area, or in some cases by Detroit musicians.
Both taped live performances and records are used in the show, for which Frank Sidney, society band leader for many years and now president of the Detroit Orchestra Leaders Association (DOLA) is host. Format includes also interviews with leaders and sidemen.
The content of the show, which is produced by Len Ford of WHFI, covers all varieties of dance band music-ballroom, swing and jazz alike.
One segment of the show is subtitled “Flashback” and includes recordings
from the “golden era” of big bands of the territory, as recorded in various media at theaters, radio stations, ballrooms, Great Lakes cruise ships and other locations. Typically featured are such famed bands of an earlier decade as Jean Goldkette, Seymour Simons and Del Delbridge.
This new show, exploited as typical “Detroit Sound,” is right in line with the general style of WHFI, which leans strongly on large dance bands in particular and dance music in general in its programming though the total musical offering is quite diversified. Typical if unusual is “Jazz From Britain,” using a local British announcer.
Sidney has enlisted the close co-operation of DOLA as well as of the parent Detroit Federation of Musicians (AFM Local 5), of which it is a segment. Other radio stations are co-operating by making their old recording files of old-time broadcasts and music available. In some instances the private collections of engineers and other station personnel are being tapped to present musical rarities of the big band period.
Thus Sam Benavie, formerly director of major theater and radio bands and now musical director of Jam Handy, movie producers, has loaned rarities from his own files. The revival of the dance band is being furthered also by DOLA through clinics held for younger musicians, plus the institution of their own musicians’ ball to be held this winter at the Latin Quarter. END
(Information and news source: Billboard; September 10, 1966)
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DETROIT FREE PRESS: “WHFI RADIO ‘STICK IT IN YOUR EAR’ AWARD”
(Above WHFI ad courtesy freep.com newspapers archive. Copyright 2016; Newspapers.com).
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From the MCRFB news archive: 1970
Station Air Talents Control Shows: Avails Audience Appeal via Telephone
DETROIT — Personal contact blended with a consistent music policy directed at adults is paying off for WHFI-FM, a stereo station. Tom Danley, in slightly over a year at the station, has taken it from billings of only $20,000 per year to approximately $250,000 this fiscal year and by next year expects to be far above those figures.
The first thing Danley did upon arriving at the station, which is located in the suburbs of Detroit in Birmingham, was raid-local AM stations for top-flight personalities. Then he gave them not only control of their show, but made them available to the listeners not only through radio, but through the telephone.
There are three direct phone lines into the studio “and the phones are constantly ringing . . . sometimes all three at once,” said Danley.
He confessed that once a phone call received by evening Don Alcorn was a wrong number. “Turned out she’d never heard of WHFI-FM or Alcorn and thought she was kidding her when he told her she was on the air. He convinced her into getting an FM radio and then helped her dial it to 94.7, chatting with her all the time. ‘Is that me,’ she yelled, after she got the station. I think she’s now a confirmed WHFI-FM fan.”
Danley said it would be difficult to find at least 60 seconds when those phones are not ringing . . . even on the all-night show. The air personalities — which includes music director Marc Avery, Lee Alan, Joey Ryan, program director Don Zee, Alcorn, and all-night man Bob Bereten — can talk when they want to . . . segue when they want to . . . “they’re in complete control of their show,” said Danley.
The air personalities operate from a playlist of about 100 records, plus a huge volume of albums from which oldies are taken. The oldies are records that were previous Top 40 hits which fit the uptempo easy-listening format of the station. The only restriction is that is that no more than three oldies can be played per show, although the air personality doesn’t have to play any if he doesn’t want to.
Chain Planned
WHFI-FM is on an upgrading drive and the company plans to grow into a chain of stations . . . all of them strictly FM. The station is building a new station and will move into completely new facilities in October.
“FM radio has arrived,” said Danley, “especially in regards to being a profit vehicle for advertisers. I have never received so many call-ins from potential clients . . . listeners who operates businesses and want us to come out and talk to them about an advertising schedule on the station. And I’ve worked for some major stations.”
To spur further call-ins, WHFI-FM has a series of brief promotions on the air asking: “Mr. Businessman, are you listening to WHFI right now? So are a lot of other people.” WHFI-FM is also very promotional-minded off the air. “I tell potential clients there’s no such thing as ‘one’ place to advertise. It’s a valid rule for us to follow, too. So, we’re involved in everything, including bumper stickers.”
The music policy that Danley installed when he first came to the station in August, 1969, was consistency.” Previously, the music format was in the right direction (Tom Jones and Pet Clark), he felt, but occasionally heavier records were thrown in. Danley set a more consistent policy on record. “The sound is hard to describe, but you can more or less tell when you turn on the station now.” END
(Information and news source: Billboard; October 3, 1970).
From the MCRFB radio notebook: 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973
Station Milestones
WHFI-FM
DETROIT (August 9, 1969) — The on-air line-up at WHFI-FM in Detroit is now pretty elite. Program director Tom Coleman now has some of the best radio voices now working for him: Marc Avery, former WJBK personality. Don Zee, formerly with CKLW before Paul Drew took it over; Don Alcorn, Lee Alan, formerly WXYZ program director; and Ira Jay Cook from CHLO, St. Thomas, Ont., Canada. END
DETROIT (September 26, 1970) — Ira J. Lipson, former all-night personality at WHFI-FM, Birmingham, is now with Media Associates in Detroit, a public relations firm. END
DETROIT (June 24, 1972) — WHFI-FM, located in the suburb of Birmingham here, has picked up the rights to broadcast the “Olde Golde” program marketed by Programming General. The station was previously live with MOR music; John Allen is program director. Programming is operated by Ken Draper in Los Angeles. Broadcast Products automation equipment is being used. END
DETROIT (October 9, 1973) — Tom Miles, program director at WHFI-FM in Birmingham, reports that the station has changed call letters to WHNE-FM (Honey Radio) and is featuring an automated oldies package. END
– (Information and news source: Billboard Magazine. All excerpts culled as was first published from the dated editions as noted above).