Don Blesse Presents: Our Kind Of Town Jingle Composite (0:49:52)

… What have you done for Altoona? …
[Description by contributor Don Blesse]
As a jingle collector for almost thirty years and an aficionado for even longer, I’ve noted over the years the myriad of jingles produced for radio stations about the communities in which they’re located.
This collection highlights some of the better examples. The long and the short — from the 50’s to the present — from the serious to sublime — and from the various production houses that existed over the years.
One of the more ambitious early projects was PAMS Series 16 “Sound Of The City.” This 1960 package sought to link the station to the community it served. It also featured a record-length song about the city which some stations added to their song rotations and distributed as 45 rpm records. KNUZ in Houston sold over 4,000 copies in a week!
The genre flourished during the mid-60’s with some memorable songs from the likes of Sande & Greene, Chuck Blore, and Hugh Heller. While 70’s radio was generally characterized by short jingles or none at all, projects like TM’s Sound Of Chicago and Listen To Your City and JAM’s I’d Rather Be… series kept radio listeners singing about their towns. The songs have kept on coming and you’ll hear works from the 80’s and 90’s as well.
The final cut is a custom cut done by JAM in 1979 for WYNY New York. By length and production value alone, it would have already been a contender as the grand finale. The events of September 2001, however, make it a particularly appropriate ending for such a compilation.
Thanks go to Mike Neff, Mark Biviano, Bill Schenold, Kevin Slater, and others who have contributed material over the years that went into this collection, as well as Tom Corbett and Jonathan Wolfert who assisted in identifying some of the cuts.
The audio quality varies. Some cuts are first generation dubs from the masters or digital clones from CD. Others show the effects of multi-generation dubbing, magnetic tape deterioration, or simply the archaic recording technology of their time. We hope you’ll forgive a little harmonic distortion here and there.
STATION/CLENT MARKET PRODUCER PACKAGE
Cleveland Broadcasters Cleveland Chuck Blore custom
KBOX Dallas PAMS Series 16
WCFL Chicago Chuck Blore Encore
WABC New York PAMS Series 33A
WWWE Cleveland PAMS Smilin’ Thru
KGW Portland PAMS Series 28X
WPRO Providence PAMS Series 47
WMID Atlantic City PAMS Series 22
KNUZ Houston PAMS Series 16
WTVN Columbus TM Sound Of Chicago
WSPD Toledo MusiCreations Voice Of The City
WCFL Chicago Chuck Blore Encore
CKGM Montreal JAM I’d Rather Be 2
KNX Los Angeles Chuck Blore custom
WKBW Buffalo JAM Pro Radio
KHOW Denver JAM We Love You
KYA San Francisco Chuck Blore Encore
WGY Schenectdady JAM I’d Rather Be In Denver
KDKA Pittsburgh TM BZ ’73
WIND Chicago Heller custom
WHDH Boston TM Boston Is Beautiful
WPLJ New York TM/Century Big Time Radio
WHEN Syracuse PAMS Winter
WMGK Philadelphia JAM The Magic Is The Music
KIMN Denver JAM I’d Rather Be In Denver
WCBS-FM New York Chuck Blore custom
KIIS Los Angeles PAMS Kiss ’70
WHN New York Heller custom
WBT Charlotte PAMS Series 34A
WNDE Indianapolis JAM Windy Songs
WCFL Chicago TM Charisma
WLW Cincinnati Heller custom
WNEW New York Sande & Greene custom
Ohio Historical Society Columbus TM custom
WDAE Tampa TM ?
WBZ/WBZA Boston/Springfield CRC ?
WNBC New York PAMS custom
KYW Cleveland Sande & Greene custom
KSD St. Louis Tanner Spirit Of
Altoona Growth Assn. Altoona, Pa. PAMS Series 29
KNBR San Francisco PAMS custom
WIBC Indianapolis Heller custom
WDEE Detroit Heller custom
KOST Los Angeles JAM Coastlines
WESA Charleroi, Pa. TM Sound Of Chicago
WCOD Hyannis, Ma. Tanner Simple & Free
KSFO San Francisco Heller custom
KIMN-FM Denver JAM Best Mix In Denver
WFLA Tampa PAMS Series 40
WGAR Cleveland PAMS Series 20
WBZ Boston Heller custom
WNBC New York TM Design ’72
WKYC Cleveland Chuck Blore Encore
WCBM Baltimore JAM Special Touch
WXYZ Detroit TM Design ’70
WABC-FM New York PAMS custom
WOWO Ft. Wayne TM custom
KGUM Agana, Guam JAM I’d Rather Be 2
KFMB San Diego TM Listen To Your City
WPLJ New York TM/Century Big Time Radio
WLOF Orlando PAMS Series 39
WINN Louisville PAMS Series 30
WIND Chicago Heller custom
WNEW New York PAMS custom
KYA San Francisco PAMS custom
WDRC Hartford Roy Ross custom
WIRO Ironton, Oh Pepper-Tanner Now Sound
WGH Newport News PAMS Series 34C
KOL Seattle TM Ahead Of Its Time
KRLA Los Angeles Chuck Blore Encore
WNEU Wheeling TM Beat Goes On
WNIC Detroit JAM It’s Nice
WYNY New York JAM custom

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