MAGIC

MOREING LANDS ON BOARDWALK - Song stylist Jody Moreing recently signed a longterm,
worldwide contract with Boardwalk Records through Bruce Bird Prod. Her debut
single, "All Girls Want It," which shipped July 10, and her album, which is scheduled for
August release, are the first productions to be released through Bird's independent
production company. Pictured after the signing are (l -r): Hank Donig, producer; Bird;
Moreing; Neil Bogart, president, Boardwalk; and Scott Kranzberg, vice president, promotion,
Boardwalk.
Spring Arbs Released For N.Y. And L.A.
,continued from page 6)
the Spring book, but may have an effect on
the Summer book.
Black -formatted WBLS jumped a full
share to 7.4 from its Winter ratings and is
now one point ahead of prime competitor
WKTU, which slipped a tenth to 6.4. Both
WKTU and WOR had led the Winter ratings
in New York with a 6.5 share. WOR fell to 5.9
in the Spring. Rounding out the top five stations
in New York for quarter hour shares
were beautiful music WRFM with a 4.9, up
from 4.4, and WCBS-AM with a 4.8, up from
4.7.
The Spring 1981 ratings also revealed
some dramatic trunabouts for major stations
and formats in both markets. In Los
Angeles, Metromedia's AOR kingpin,
KMET, re-established itself as the leading
contemporary music station with a 4.6, up
from 3.9 in the Winter. In fact, AOR stations
in general did well, as KMET's closest rival,
KLOS, improved with a 3.6, up from 2.9,
and KROQ moved to 1.7 from 1.6.
Every ratings period seems to have one
ironic twist, and this book's belongs to
KWST, which just recently changed formats
from AOR to Top 40 mass appeal. In
this, its last book as an AOR station, KWST
made a notable gain, jumping from 1.6 to
2.3, the highest numbers the station has en-
PolyGram Names Four
(continued from page 6)
president of marketing (Cash Box, July 11).
Peters has been with the organization for
the past 13 years, beginning with Mercury
Records in the marketing department. He
has also served as Cleveland branch
manager.
Follett, prior to his current appointment,
served as San Francisco branch manager.
He now succeeds Emiel Petrone, who was
recently named vice president, marketing,
west coast, for PolyGram. Follett joined
PolyGram in Aug. 1974 as a salesman in the
Los Angeles branch.
Karen Mattson, former branch
marketing manager for PolyGram Distribution,
replaces Peters as Cleveland branch
manager. Mattson has been a member of
the PolyGram organization since 1971.
Replacing Follett will be Larry Smith, former
PolyGram regional product development
manager, west coast. Smith has been
with PolyGram since 1971, when he joined
in a sales capacity.
For The Record
In the June 13 issue of Cash Box it was
incorrectly stated that a dispute has
developed over the estate of the late Bob
Marley, involving Marley's mother and his
manager Don Taylor. Cash Box regrets any
inconvenience the error may have caused.
joyed in years. KNX-FM, which led all contemporary
music stations with a 4.3 in the
Winter ratings, fell noticeably to a 2.8.
In addition to WBLS reclaiming the top
spot in New York, the big story there was
Top 40 giant WABC, which had declined
severely for the past few books. This Spring,
however, WABC jumped to a 4.6, up
from 3.5, and tied with rival WNBS which
dropped to 4.6 from 4.8 in the Winter book.
Like KABC, baseball played an important
role, as WABC broadcasts the Yankees
games. In the AOR battle, WPLJ extended
its dominance with a 4.5, up from 4.1; while
WNEW-FM fell slightly to 2.8, down from
3.0. New York's country leader, WHN, was
up to 2.4 from 2.2, while WKHK pulled a 1.0,
up from .8.
While country formatted stations improved
slightly in the Big Apple, all of the
Los Angeles country stations dropped. Still
leading the pack is KLAC, with a 2.9 down
from a 3.2 in the Winter. Last year's country
converts that attracted some of KLAC's
listeners away also declined. KZLA-FM fell
to 1.7, down from 2.5, and KHJ slipped a
tenth to 1.9.
Top 40/adult contemporary formats also
suffered in the Spring ratings in the area of
quarter hour shares. KRTH dropped to 3.1,
down from 3.9; KHTZ pulled a 3.0, down
from 3.6; KIQQ dropped a tenth to 2.6; and
KFI fell to 2.5, down from 3.1. Moving up
were KIIS-FM with a 3.0, up from 2.7, and
oldies/Top 40 formatted KRLA with a 3.7,
up from 2.9.
Black formatted stations, however, improved
dramatically with the Spring
ratings. Where all but one dropped in the
Winter, all but one rose in the Spring. KJLH
led the way with a 1.6, up from 1.1, followed
closely by jazz station KKGO with a 1.5, up
from 1.4. KGFJ had the biggest gain with
1.4, up from .8, and KACE was up to 1.4
from 1.2. Only KDAY fell, slipping to 1.4
from 1.7. Dance -oriented KUTE also improved
with a 2.0, up from 1.4.
All figures represent average quarter
hour shares, 12+ for the metro area, Monday
through Sunday, 6 a.m. to midnight and
do not reflect stations' total listening
audiences.
Murdoch Working On
Chapman Film
NEW YORK - Despite a report on NBC's
Today Show that Yoko Ono described as
"tacky" a projected film on the life of John
Lennon's assassin, Mark David Chapman,
being worked on by Rupert Murcoch's
News Group Productions, a spokesman for
Lenono Music said, "Yoko is unaware of
any film 071 Chapman being done by Murdoch."
A spokesperson for News Group
Productions said, "We've been working on
it for awhile."
EAST COASTINGS
THIS BUSINESS OF MUSIC - The Kingston (New York) Daily Freeman reported last
week that Bearsville Records head Albert Grossman recently filed a $1 million lawsuit
against Bob Dylan, who Grossman managed during the '60s. The Freeman reported
that Grossman is suing Dylan for back royalties from records, tapes and sheet music,
charging that Dylan "overpaid songwriter's royalties to himself and otherwise withheld
payments." Dylan was unavailable for comment ... A New York court has denied Radio
City Music Hall's motion to stay arbitration by the American Federation of Musicians
(AFM) of a complaint filed by the Grateful Dead over non-payment of money owed the
group for its week-long stint at the Hall last September. Although the Music Hall cited a
decision made in the Supreme Court of California that held AFM arbitration invalid, the
New York court upheld its validity in this
state. The complaint will go into arbitration
in the near future ... Reliable word
has it that PolyGram has decided to go
ahead with bar coding of new product,
although it's not known exactly when it
will begin doing so.
IT'S GOTTA BE REGIONAL MUSIC -
Texas singer/guitarist Johnny
Copeland has been part of blues history
since he attended the infamous 1954
HEARTS ON BRODA WAY - 20th Century
Fox recording artist Stephanie Mills recently
visited the Cash Box New York offices.
Pictured are (l-r): J.B. Carmicle, Cash Box
east coast vice president and general
manager; Mills and Cash Box editorial staffers
Dave Schulps, Dan Nooger and Fred
Goodman.
New Year's Eve show in Houston, where
headliner Johnny Ace shot himself playing
Russian Roulette backstage an hour
before he was scheduled to go on.
Copeland, who composed (but wasn't
credited with) Bobby Bland's classic,
"Farther Up the Road," released his first
single in 1958. Since then, he's cut
nearly two dozen singles, including such
regional hits as "Down on Bended Knee" and "Old Man Blues" (with the Crusaders).
Copeland, who has been a working bandleader for 20 years, insists that the Houston urban
blues scene that spawned Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Albert Collins and Llghtnln'
Hopkins, among others, has unjustly never received the attention lavished on the
Chicago blues. In his own case, he hopes the situation will change with the recent
release of his "Copeland Special" LP on Rounder, which showcases him and his band
(with such guests as George Adams, Arthur Blythe and Byard Lancaster) on a selection
of mostly self -written material. Copeland, who divides his time between New York and
Houston, is currently touring the east coast, and his upcoming New York area dates include
Tramps (July 16, 25 and 26) and Harlem's Top Club (July 19). Copeland's
producer/manager Dan Doyle says he's currently shopping for international licensing
deals for the album.
HEARTS ON FIRE - We recently had the pleasure of a visit from Stephanie Mills,
who's been heating up the charts with "Two Hearts." Since first attracting attention as
Dorothy in the Broadway production of The Wiz, Mills has established herself as a top
recording artist, and although she would eventually like to return to Broadway - she
hopes in a couple of years - her current priorities are touring and beginning her next
album for 20th Century -Fox. She plans to work again with Mtume and Reggie Lucas,
who wrote and produced the Grammy -winning "Never Knew Love Like This Before"
and "Two Hearts," but would also like to work with good friends Nicholas Ashford and
Valerie Simpson
KING KURTIS - Kurtls Blow, the former Harlem club DJ who found both commercial
and critical success with such rap songs as "The Breaks" and "Christmas Rap," spoke
to us about his new LP, "The Deuce," just released by Phonogram/Mercury. It's an ambitious
rap concept album based on the theme of New York's 42nd Street/Times
Square district (known in street lingo as "The Deuce"), which is both slicker and covers
more musical ground than last year's debut album. "I felt on the last album I broke a lot
of ground in hooking the public into the whole rap thing, because I added a uniqueness
to both the rap and the music," Blow told us. "With this record, we set out to emphasize
that uniqueness even more. I definitely intended it to be slicker and more sophisticated
and wanted to bring out the whole range of sounds and styles in my music, which can
range from softer, piano -based stuff to
James Brown funk to more jazzy
sounding. I'm just really happy with what
we've come up with." Blow recently gave
his first concert fronting a live band -
he had previously worked only with a DJ
- and he admitted to being scared
when we spoke a few days prior to the
show. However, nervous as Blow was
when he hit the stage, he loosened up as
the show went on and left with the Peppermint
Lounge crowd screaming for a
second encore.
DON'T CALL HIM BOSS - Anyway you
looked at Bruce Springsteen's
inauguration of the new Brendan Byrne
Arena in New Jersey Meadowlands
Sports Complex, it was a great success.
Artistically, Springsteen and the E-
Streeters were razor sharp, giving the
PIRATES DANCE - Epic recording artist
Karla DeVito recently replaced Linda
Ronstadt on Broadway in The Pirates Of
Penzance in the lead role of Mabel. Pictured
in a scene from the Tony Award winning
musical are (l -r): De Vito (I) and co-star
Rex Smith.
sell out crowd everything it came for and more; playing two sets that lasted over three
hours, including a final encore consisting of a seemingly endless medley of rock 'n' roll
and R&B classics that was so exhausting it left the crowd knowing it had just seen
everything there was to see. Though the choice of material leaned a bit more heavily
toward his slower material than usual, it's to Springsteen's credit that he was able to
keep the large crowd paying rapt attention throughout the ballads and then was able to
immediately put everyone back on their feet with each tempo change. His crowd
mastery was awesome. Amusingly, he changed a line in one of the songs to "Don't Call
Me The Boss," because on that night, he definitely was the boss. Promoter John Scher
and the Arena staff are also to be complimented for the excellent security arrangements,
which helped make the spacious new arena feel like a place you'd want to come
back to. When a July 2 show isn't interrupted once by the sound of fireworks, someone's
doing something right. (continued on page 36)
12 Cash Box/Julv 18. 198