Re: ...But RKO rolled me....

[Donna Halper <dlh@donnahalper.com>]

Phyllis wrote--
>
>Does anyone else remember  "...Life is a Rock, but RKO rolled me..." - when
>WRKO used to play it?  

This was actually very common during the days when independent record
promoters ruled and a station that reported its ads to Radio & Records (the
bonuses, called "spiffs" that the indies got were tied to how many R&R
reporters added a record-- they didn't have to actually play it, just
report it as an add-- hence the term "paper adds".)

One incentive important stations got was a special version of a song with
their call letters in it.  I recall the special version of "Fire" the
Pointer Sisters did for WRKO-- "I'm drivin' in your car, you turn on the
radio {at which point, the words "to R-K-O" were sung}.  Much later, the
song "We Built This City" by the Starship was also done in custom version
for reporting stations.  Such practises really annoyed the other stations
in the market, but were great for collectors!!!  

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