Dollar Bill Lawson added to CD & Record Show guest list

One of the funniest men in Birmingham radio is coming to the ARCA CD & Record Show this year. Bill Lawson, affectionately known as Dollar Bill is a native Birminghamian and has been a staple on the radio since 1971.

Over the next few years, Bill worked at stations in various parts of Alabama before landing at WERC in Birmingham in 1979. During the 70s, WERC and WSGN were the two most listened to Rock & Roll stations in Birmingham and Bill was in the middle of it as WERC's evening DJ.

However, by the end of the decade, FM had all but taken over the airwaves. One of the biggest stations was WERC’s sister station WKXX, Kicks 106. AM’s weak, mono signal couldn’t compete with the stereo power of FM. In 1980, WERC changed its format to Adult Contemporary. Bill talked the Program Director into allowing him to host an oldies show beginning at 10pm every night. He used his own records and those of friends. WERC switched to Talk in 1982 and Bill hosted a call-in talk show. He stayed with it until a great opportunity opened up for him in 1985. Country station, WZZK had the top morning team in Birmingham, Patti & the Doc. However, the team was shaken when Doc passed away suddenly. Bill took over the vacant slot and the show became Patti & Dollar Bill. Ratings went even higher and the pair ruled the market for close to twenty years. However, in 2002, WZZK forced Patti to “retire.” She, at first, had said she would stay out of radio, but when Bill was also forced to leave, they teamed up again, but had to wait out a 6 month ‘no-compete’ clause. They moved to WDXB, the Bull 102.5. The Bull had been a smaller regional station, but moved its tower to Birmingham to increase its signal strength and thus the market. With the powerhouse team of Patti and Dollar Bill, the station gave WZZK a run for its money. Unfortunately, in 2008, Patti was forced to leave the Bull, a replacement was hired and the team of Dollar Bill & Madison was born. The station is as strong as ever thanks to the staying power and humor of Bill Lawson.

By the way, some of Bill’s funniest stories involve his days of flying in WERC’s traffic helicopter. When you see him at the show, ask him to tell some.

Legendary Birmingham DJ, Dave Roddy, also to be at the CD & Record Show

If you grew up in Birmingham in the 60s, most likely you listened to one of the best radio stations in the south, WSGN, the big 610. They called their DJs, the Good Guys. One of the most popular Good Guys was Dave Roddy, sometimes called, “Rockin’ Roddy.”

Dave grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He began radio in Knoxville and came to Birmingham in 1960, first on WYDE, which was a rock station at that time. After one year, Dave moved to WSGN and became one of the Swinging Southern Gentlemen DJs. In 1963, WSGN hired Jim Taber as the Program Director and he immediately went to work revamping the station. WSGN moved their studios from the 7th Avenue South location to the penthouse above the City Federal Building. Taber made other changes such as using PAMS jingles, adding a distinct echo (reverb) to the signal (which gave it a more polished sound) and using the cute smiley face logo on surveys, tee-shirts, etc. He also renamed the DJs, the Good Guys. Principle among them was Dave Roddy. Others of note included Glen Powers, Walt Williams and Steve Norris. Dave was named Music Director and is responsible for being the first to play a lot of records which became hits. National radio stations monitored WSGN's playlists. These changes and the Good Guys helped to make WSGN one of the best radio stations in the country. In fact, WSGN was so popular, that WYDE changed their format to country in 1965, leaving WSGN the sole 24 hour rock and roll station in Birmingham for many years. Their next strongest competitor, WVOK, signed off at sunset.

Dave was extremely popular with the teenage rock and roll crowd and also hosted rock and roll shows at the Airport and Oporto armories. He was instrumental in bringing national and local artists to Birmingham. WSGN would also set up live at the Alabama State Fair each year and, since Dave was the evening DJ, he would broadcast his show from the fair.

In 1968, Dave was the first DJ to play “Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro and, to capitalize on “Honey’s” success, Dave went into the studio and recorded a similar record, “The Last Goodbye.” It was released on Warner Brothers and got heavy airplay in Birmingham where it topped the charts in April and May 1968. That record is still a highly sought after collectible (“The Last Goodbye” is available for playing from this blog, see left column).

Dave left WSGN and Birmingham in 1972. He now lives in Columbia, South Carolina and owns a successful advertising business.

For a special feature on Dave Roddy and a scoped air check of one of Dave’s shows visit Birmingham Rewound.

Dave will be appearing in addition to Revolver on Saturday, May 1 at the CD & Record Show beginning around 10:30 am. Who knows, you may even find some copies of Dave’s record at one of our dealer tables.

Birmingham band 'Revolver' to appear at annual ARCA CD & Record Show

One of Alabama's own power bands, Revolver, will make an appearance at this year's annual ARCA CD & Record Show. Four very gifted musicians and songwriters first formed in Huntsville in the early 60s. The band consisted of two sets of brothers, Mike and Kenny Webber and Vannie and Dannie Warren. Like a lot of bands back then, they were heavily influenced by the British Invasion sound of The Beatles. They began to perfect their sound by performing Beatle's songs and eventually changed their name from ‘The So…But So What’ to 'Revolver' based on the 1966 Beatles' album of the same name. They could pretty well do any Beatles' song and sounded enough like the Beatles to fool the most avid listener. While they became known for their Beatles' shows, they also perfomed rock standards and a lot of original material written by the various band members. Their first single was issued while the group was using ‘The So…But So What’ name. Their other singles were issued under their ‘Revolver’ name. All four members continue to perform with various bands and occasionally reunite to do Beatle shows at various locations around Birmingham and Huntsville. 'Revolver' will be appearing on Saturday, May 1 at 10:30 am, so be sure to make plans to see them. (Four of their songs are available for playing from this blog, see left column.)

2010 CD and Record Show

Our annual CD and Record Show is April 30 & May 1, 2010 at the Bessemer Civic Center. Hours for the show are:
Friday, April 30, 2010, 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (early birds 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m)
Saturday, May 1, 2010, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Complete Show Details.

ARCA IS 30 THIS MONTH!

Hey Music Lovers,

ARCA has traveled 30 years along with US as a musical companion. ARCA has been with us through Record/CD Shows, monthly meetings, Christmas parties, “Original Gold Wax,” mail-outs, summer record/picnic parties, etc. What a journey it has been since that day in February 1980 when a handful of music lovers decided to join me and be a part of a record collecting club called ARCA and begin musical friendships that have endured through the years. I want to thank you, the members and honorary members, who have shared your love of music with us all. We have seen a lot of changes in music in the past thirty years. We have had some of our ARCA members pass away, but they left us with some great memories to share. We won’t forget them. ARCA has changed since its infancy. Websites, emails, Alabama Music Hall of Fame, etc., were words that wasn’t yet in our vocabulary and ARCA grew up alongside them.. What a Journey! What a ride! Thanks ARCA and Happy 30th to you!!.

ARCA Founder,
Fred Dahlke

The Vinyl Renaissance

I’ve been looking for vinyl sales data for 2009 and found some interesting information. From an October 23, 2009, Goldmine article , “The numbers are in: music sales are down. All across the board the music industry is taking a hit - everywhere except vinyl records… vinyl sales are up 124 percent. Vinyl shipments more than doubled year-over-year to $57 million, the highest level since 1990, said RIAA vice president of research and strategic analysis Joshua Friedlander.” From the RIAA’s own site , “Looking to re-energize your music collection? Give it a vintage touch. More and more artists, from your favorites of yesterday to today’s hitmakers, have released or re-released various albums in vinyl format. Now, we love all the different kinds of legal formats in which fans can enjoy their favorite tunes, but we can’t ignore the LP frenzy that has connected music fans of all ages. In fact, our own annual music shipment report shows vinyl shipments more than doubling last year to $57 million, the highest level since 1990! In November alone artists from Norah Jones to The Flaming Lips to Tom Petty will offer their new album releases in the format. So dust off your record player, check out the liner notes, take in the sweet smell of a fresh album and give it a whirl.”

The Vinyl rebirth is spreading and gaining traction. Brick-and-mortar music stores that specialize in selling new vinyl albums are appearing. The L.A. Times has a good article, “ In A Digital Age, Vinyl's Making A Comeback ” concerning new stores in its market. Also, existing stores like Best Buy and J&R Music now sell vinyl records. Best Buy started a pilot program selling vinyl albums at 100 stores earlier this year. In Alabama, the Best Buy store in Huntsville is the first to start selling vinyl albums. Although I encourage you to read all the linked articles, I particularly wanted to include the following from the Goldmine article:
Beyond the baby-boomer generation, a new demographic of record-buyers is unfolding. "I've seen a true increase in university kids and beyond," said Evan Chern, owner of Yesterday and Today Records in Florida. "It's exciting to see a young generation that is into records."

With music just a click away thanks to more affordable MP3 devices and digital downloads, why is Generation Y choosing to purchase vinyl?

"People older than me purchase records for nostalgia, but today's crowds are purchasing the music to listen to it," said Tim Schweiger, a 28-year-oid musician and record collector. Schweiger likes The Beatles on vinyl, although his generation "grew up with Abbey Road on CD."

25-year-old collector Ben Hendrickson said, "If there's an album I really like, I buy the vinyl - it's worth the investment." Unlike collectors who grew up during vinyl's heyday, Hendrickson didn't grow up with a record player in his home. "My mother thought they were ugly, so we never had one," he said. Hendrickson began collecting when he moved to college.

Music fans witnessed music changing to compressed digital formatting and have heard the sound quality disappear, said Mark Hillstrom of The Exclusive Company in Appleton, Wis. "[Vinyl] gives a fuller frequency response; you're able to hear a direct representation of what was recorded. A MP3's sound is compressed so much it's not a direct recording."

Wolak says collectors, like Hendrickson and Schweiger, are part of the digital-music resistance. "I think they want to own something, rather than having 1,400 sounds on their iPod that they can replace in a week."

Collectors across the country predict that vinyl records will overtake CDs. Wolak calls the new phenomenon the "vinyl renaissance" and says that he has switched his shop from selling mainly CDs to having 95 percent of stock in vinyl records.

February Meeting (Work Day)

We don’t have an official meeting this month. Instead you’re invited to Fred’s house on the 20th at noon for a social. Don’t be late or you’ll miss lunch! Please think of those ten songs you want played.

BTW we may do a little work preparing for our CD & Record Show.

Is Recorded Music Whale Blubber?

Most of you are familiar with Brian Eno. Here’s an interesting quote from Brian’s interview with The Guardian (U.K.) "I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a living from them for a while were lucky. There is no reason why anyone should have made so much money from selling records except that everything was right for this period of time. I always knew it would run out sooner or later. It couldn't last, and now it's running out. I don't particularly care that it is and like the way things are going. The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel. Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth. Then gas came along and you'd be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate – history's moving along. Recorded music equals whale blubber. Eventually, something else will replace it." The full article.

Should we change our name to The Alabama Whale Blubber Collectors?

Vinyl Rarity - Bobby Keys

What do Dion's Runaround Sue and the Stones' Brown Sugar have in common? Saxman Bobby Keys, who, in addition to having a standing gig with the Rolling Stones for the past 40 years, has shared stages and studios with everyone from Barbra Streisand to Lynyrd Skynyrd. It started at age 14, touring with fellow Texan Buddy Holly. That's Bobby you hear on the baritone sax on Elvis Presley's Return to Sender. He joined the Stones about the same time as Mick Taylor with the Let It Bleed album. In the Stones' 1972 concert movie, politely known as CS Blues, you can see Bobby and Keith throwing a television set from a hotel window.

But for all his sessions and tours for other artists, Bobby Keys has only two solo LPs, one of which is the subject of this, the first Vinyl Rarity offering in the ARCA blog. The all instrumental LP was released in 1972 on Warner Brothers in the UK only. Titled as simply Bobby Keys, it featured, uncredited, Jack Bruce, Jim Gordon, George Harrison, Nicky Hopkins, Dave Mason, Felix Pappalardi, Jim Price, Ringo Starr, Klaus Voormann, Eric Clapton and Leslie West. If you happen across this one, snatch it up quickly. There is no US pressing, no CD release, and you'll pay $100-$200 IF you can find one online. Watch for more Vinyl Rarities served up semi-regularly on the ARCA blog.

January Meeting

Our next meeting is January 17th. Jay Michaels, currently a DJ with WZZK in Birmingham will be speaking to us. Jay has been in the radio business for many years. Some of us also remember him as the drummer with the Townsmen. Visitors are always welcome at our meetings! We meet at the Homewood Library, located at 1721 Oxmoor Road, near Homewood Park. Our meetings are in Room 110 in the lower level (social starts at 2 P.M. and official meeting at 3 P.M.).

A New Year

2009 was a good year for ARCA. We had several interesting speakers, held our 28th consecutive CD & Record Show and enjoyed fellowship with other members at both our summer picnic and Christmas party.

2010 promises to be even better. We will get a great start with our January 17th meeting when we have a special guest. He is none other than Jay Michaels. Jay is currently a DJ with WZZK in Birmingham and has been in the radio business for many years. However, before that, he was a drummer with the Townsmen. Jay should have a lot of stories, not only with being a member of the band, but also from his many years in radio.

Christmas Party At The Hoover Lake House

There is no meeting this month. Instead we’ll be gathering for food, fun and fellowship at our annual Christmas party on December 19th. Specific details are in the ARCA newsletter (both November and December). We hope to see everyone there!

Thank You Dale!

The special guest at our November meeting was Dale Aston. Influenced by early rock and roll, Dale taught himself to play the guitar. He and a friend, Wendell Colbert, who also played guitar formed a band in 1963. They took the name Torquays after a town in England and a song by The Ventures of that name. The initial band had several members, but eventually dwindled down to five, Dale on guitar and lead vocals, Wendell on bass, Barry Bicknell on trumpet, Eugene Hayes on drums and Steve Salord on sax. The Torquays made two records. The first, “While I’m Away” written by Aston backed by a great Doo Wop sounding “Pineapple Moon.” These were recorded in Muscle Shoals at Fame Studios. Both sides got significant air play in the Birmingham area. The second record, “You’re The One Who Loves Me” (also written by Aston) was recorded in Memphis. The Torquays often backed artists like Travis Wammack, Chuck Berry, Billy Joe Royal and Bobby Goldsboro. They played steadily all throughout the southeast, but disbanded in 1968. Dale went on to play a short stint with the Distortions, another popular Birmingham band.

November 15th Meeting

Dale Aston will be speaking to us at this month’s meeting. Dale was the lead singer and lead guitarist of the Birmingham band, The Torquays. He also penned both of the hits, “While I’m Away” and “You’re The One Who Loves Me." Both of these songs are available for playing from this blog (see left column). He was later with the Distortions. We gather at 2 pm for refreshments and music conversation. There will be a short meeting at 3 p.m. preceding Dale’s talk. Visitors are welcome to drop by! We’re at the Homewood Library, located at 1721 Oxmoor Road, near Homewood Park. We meet in Room 110 in the lower level.

Mark Your Calendar!

Our Christmas party is December 19th and our annual CD and Record Show is April 30 & May 1, 2010. Hours for the show are:
Friday, April 30, 2010, 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (early birds 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m)
Saturday, May 1, 2010, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.