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Pop Chronicles
Radio documentaries on 1940s-1960s popular music.

The Pop Chronicles are two radio documentary series which together "may constitute the most complete audio history of 1940s–60s popular music." They originally aired starting in 1969 and concluded about 1974. Both were produced by John Gilliland.

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The Pop Chronicles of the 1950s and 1960s

Inspired by the Monterey Pop Festival,2 the Pop Chronicles of the 1950s and 1960s originally was produced at KRLA 1110 and first aired on February 9, 1969.3 John Gilliland4 narrated the series along with Sie Holliday5 and Thom Beck (pictured).6 Also performing interviews were Dick LaPalm, Lew Irwin, Harry Shearer, Mike Masterson, and Richard Perry.7 The show's brief recurring theme song "The Chronicles of Pop" was written and performed by Len Chandler.8 The engineer and associate producer of the series was Chester Coleman.91011

KRLA 1110 originally broadcast an hour a week of the Pop Chronicles,12 which were later syndicated1314 by "Hot Air"15 and broadcast on Armed Forces Radio.16 The photo above indicates that it was broadcast on KABC-FM sometime before that station became KLOS.

The University of North Texas Music Library made the Pop Chronicles available online1718 since June 2010.19

The Pop Chronicles of the 1940s

The Pop Chronicles of the 1940s was produced by John Gilliland and broadcast on KSFO while he worked there beginning in 1972202122 for a total of 24 episodes.23 To promote the show, KSFO "had a 40's month celebration with a dance remote and a jitterbug contest at Union Square."24 Allan M. Newman of KSFO said of the show that Gilliland, "interviewed damn near everybody involved during those years. such as Bing Crosby, Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Mercer, Patty Andrews, Tex Beneke, etc. ... I think John has put together a true collector's item."25

In 1972, Gilliland had produced and syndicated 12 episodes which covered the first half of the 1940s. He then asked his listeners to write to their stations if they wanted to hear the rest of the series.26 He would produce another 12 episodes to cover the rest of the 1940s.27

This series was syndicated by Doug Andrews2829 and broadcast on AFRTS.30 In 1973 MCA Records used the show to sell a nine-album set of music from the show,31 so the show could be offered for free to radio stations.32 But in 1974, RCA negotiated for the rights to the show.33

In 1994, Gilliland released an edited version as the four cassette audiobook Pop Chronicles the 40's: The Lively Story of Pop Music in the 40's.3435 This was later rereleased as The Big Band Chronicles.3637

After his death, Gilliand's sister donated the Pop Chronicles tapes to the University of North Texas Music Library where they form the John Gilliland Collection.3839

See also

Notes

Sources

  • Gilliland, John (1997). "On Chronicling Pop". In Barrett, Don (ed.). Los Angeles Radio People: Volume 2, 1957–1997. Valencia, CA: Db Marketing. ISBN 978-0-9658907-0-0. OCLC 38994418. (The pages in this book are not numbered, but Gilliland's essay is located between the E and F entries.)
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References

  1. "ARSC Conference 2008 – Session Abstracts" (PDF). Retrieved July 13, 2009. http://www.arsc-audio.org/conference/2008/pdf/2008-abstracts.pdf ↩

  2. Gilliland, John (1969). "Explore the holdings of UNT Music Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries. /wiki/John_Gilliland ↩

  3. "CLASSIC DJ & RADIO SCRAPBOOK: KRLA POP CHRONICLES Program, 1969 (1 of 2)". Classicdjradioscrapbook.blogspot.com. Retrieved July 13, 2009. http://classicdjradioscrapbook.blogspot.com/2009/04/krla-pop-chronicles-program-1969-1-of-2.html ↩

  4. "Los Angeles Radio People, Where Are They Now, G". Laradio.com. Retrieved April 16, 2009. http://www.laradio.com/whereg.htm ↩

  5. "Los Angeles Radio People, Where Are They Now? H". Laradio.com. Retrieved February 19, 2021. http://www.laradio.com/whereh.htm ↩

  6. Los Angeles Radio People, B http://www.laradio.com/whereb.htm ↩

  7. "Index to Interviews — University of North Texas Libraries". Library.unt.edu. July 24, 2008. Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2009. https://archive.today/20070607042351/http://www.library.unt.edu/music/gilliland/indexint.html ↩

  8. "Index to "Pop Chronicles" — University of North Texas Libraries". Library.unt.edu. Archived from the original on June 7, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2009. http://www.library.unt.edu/music/gilliland/indexpop.html#1 ↩

  9. Hopkins, Jerry (October 4, 1969). "'Pop Chronicles' Chronicle Pop". Rolling Stone. No. 43. p. 34. Chester Coleman, engineer and associate producer /wiki/Jerry_Hopkins_(author) ↩

  10. "CLASSIC DJ & RADIO SCRAPBOOK: KRLA POP CHRONICLES Program, 1969 (2 of 2)". Classicdjradioscrapbook.blogspot.com. Retrieved July 13, 2009. http://classicdjradioscrapbook.blogspot.com/2009/04/krla-pop-chronicles-program-1969-2-of-2.html ↩

  11. Jim Carnegie (March 21, 2006). "RBR epaper, Volume 23, Issue 56". rbr.com. Lake Ridge, VA: Radio Business Report. Retrieved June 12, 2020. Chester Coleman, who was both a station owner and media broker passed away last Friday in San Francisco https://www.rbr.com/epaper/issue56-06-nor.html ↩

  12. Hopkins, Jerry (October 4, 1969). "'Pop Chronicles' Chronicle Pop". Rolling Stone. No. 43. p. 34. Chester Coleman, engineer and associate producer /wiki/Jerry_Hopkins_(author) ↩

  13. "Vox Jox". Billboard. September 26, 1970. Retrieved January 4, 2011. Alt URL https://books.google.com/books?id=nSkEAAAAMBAJ&q=pop-chronicles+john-gilliland&pg=PA53 ↩

  14. MacKenzie, Bob (October 29, 1972). "Radio Returns to the '40s" (PDF). Oakland Tribune. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120209175138/http://www.sfradiomuseum.com/audio/ksfo/1972/Trib_Pop-Chronicles-Article-1_1972.pdf ↩

  15. "The Pop Chronicles: More than a history of rock and roll" (PDF). Broadcasting: THE BUSINESSWEEKLY OF TELEVISION AND RADIO. April 7, 1969. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1969/1969-04-07-BC.pdf ↩

  16. Gilliland, John (August 18, 2008). Pop chronicles. 36 (RU 11-1 [Sept. 1970]. OCLC 50111827. /wiki/OCLC_(identifier) ↩

  17. Gilliland, John (1969). "Explore the holdings of UNT Music Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries. /wiki/John_Gilliland ↩

  18. "The Pop Chronicles Of The 50s And 60s". radioechoes.com. 1969. Retrieved September 22, 2018. http://www.radioechoes.com/?page=series&genre=OTR-Historical&series=The+Pop+Chronicles+Of+The+50s+And+60s ↩

  19. "Statistics: John Gilliland's Pop Chronicles UNT Digital Library". Digital.library.unt.edu. Retrieved July 24, 2013. https://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/JGPC/stats/ ↩

  20. MacKenzie, Bob (October 29, 1972). "Radio Returns to the '40s" (PDF). Oakland Tribune. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120209175138/http://www.sfradiomuseum.com/audio/ksfo/1972/Trib_Pop-Chronicles-Article-1_1972.pdf ↩

  21. "The Pop Chronicles Of The 1940s". RadioEchoes. October 29, 1972. http://www.radioechoes.com/?page=series&&genre=OTR-Historical&series=The%20Pop%20Chronicles%20Of%20The%201940s ↩

  22. "John Gilliland – Pop Chronicles: The Forties". bayarearadio.org. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009. https://bayarearadio.org/audio/ksfo/1972-2/john-gilliland-pop-chronicles ↩

  23. "John Gilliland Collection, 1955–1991 | Music Library". Findingaids.library.unt.edu. Retrieved June 14, 2019. https://findingaids.library.unt.edu/?p=collections/findingaid&id=959&q=&rootcontentid=204947 ↩

  24. "12-Hour Special Spots Forties' Music & Events". Billboard. January 13, 1973. Retrieved January 4, 2011. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help) Alt URL https://books.google.com/books?id=MwkEAAAAMBAJ&q=pop-chronicles+john-gilliland&pg=PA20 ↩

  25. "Syndication: An Explosion" (PDF). Billboard. March 31, 1973. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2015. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help) Alt URL https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20150428015016/http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1973/Billboard%201973-03-31.pdf ↩

  26. Gilliland, John (October 7, 1972). "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #12". UNT Digital Library. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633224/m1/ ↩

  27. "Search Results — 24 Results". UNT Digital Library. May 3, 2024. https://digital.library.unt.edu/search/?fq=str_title_serial:%22Pop+Chronicles+1940s%22&sort=title ↩

  28. "12-Hour Special Spots Forties' Music & Events". Billboard. January 13, 1973. Retrieved January 4, 2011. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help) Alt URL https://books.google.com/books?id=MwkEAAAAMBAJ&q=pop-chronicles+john-gilliland&pg=PA20 ↩

  29. "Syndication: An Explosion" (PDF). Billboard. March 31, 1973. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2015. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help) Alt URL https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20150428015016/http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1973/Billboard%201973-03-31.pdf ↩

  30. Gilliland, John (August 18, 2008). Pop chronicles of the 40's. 1 (RU 14-76 [Apr. 1976]) [WorldCat.org]. [WorldCat.org]. OCLC 50311556. /wiki/OCLC_(identifier) ↩

  31. "Syndicated Air Show Sells LP's" (PDF). Billboard. October 6, 1973. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help) https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1973/Billboard%201973-10-06.pdf ↩

  32. "John Gilliland's the Pop Chronicles presents the 40's free" (PDF). Broadcasting: The newsweekly of broadcasting and allied arts. October 8, 1973. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1973/1973-10-08-BC.pdf ↩

  33. "Radio Show Set To Test Oldies" (PDF). Billboard. March 30, 1974. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help) https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1974/Billboard%201974-03-30.pdf ↩

  34. Gilliland, John (August 18, 2008). Pop chronicles. Worldcat.org. OCLC 31611854. /wiki/OCLC_(identifier) ↩

  35. Gilliland, John (1994). Pop Chronicles the 40s: The Lively Story of Pop Music in the 40s (audiobook). ISBN 978-1-55935-147-8. OCLC 31611854. 978-1-55935-147-8 ↩

  36. Ruhlmann, William. The Big Band Chronicles at AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-08-03. https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0001287584 ↩

  37. The big band chronicles. Worldcat.org. OCLC 38555138. /wiki/OCLC_(identifier) ↩

  38. "ARSC Conference 2008 – Session Abstracts" (PDF). Retrieved July 13, 2009. http://www.arsc-audio.org/conference/2008/pdf/2008-abstracts.pdf ↩

  39. "John Gilliland Collection, 1955–1991 | Music Library". Findingaids.library.unt.edu. Retrieved June 14, 2019. https://findingaids.library.unt.edu/?p=collections/findingaid&id=959&q=&rootcontentid=204947 ↩