(photo courtesy Jonathan Wolfert and PAMS)
The Most Famous WABC Jingle of All!
Musicradio WABC was famous for its jingles. There were literally hundreds created for the station; most from legendary jingle companies PAMS and JAM. But... of them all, the WABC Chime Time jingle is probably the most famous. So... here's all you ever wanted to know about it (but were afraid to ask):
The jingle itself is part of PAMS Series 30 ("The 'N Set") produced in 1965 that featured four female voices; Judy Parma, Camilla Duncan, Jean Oliver, and Tinker Rautenburg pictured here:
(photo courtesy Jonathan Wolfert and
PAMS)
The most interesting part is that the jingle was not a stand alone cut. WABC edited it from the jingle "The Weather Is In WABC". Here is the original:
But the story doesn't end here!
As you can hear, the famous chime at the end is not present. In fact, PAMS did not add it at all (although some have incorrectly assumed PAMS used its "Grand Chimes" heard in other PAMS jingles). Instead, WABC itself dubbed in the chime. According to Murri Barber (Herb Oscar Anderson's producer--among many other things), the chime was pulled from the ABC Record Library that contained sound effects from old radio shows from the 30's and 40's. Former WABC Chief Engineer Winston Loyd found it and added it at the direction of program director Rick Sklar.
So, here's the version we all know:
When, specifically, did WABC use it?
At its peak, it was used after each of the current top 14 songs. The rationale was that 7+7=14 (the 7's are a reference to "77" WABC). The jingle was recorded directly on to the tape at the end song so it would always play at the same place.
The DJ's gave the time whenever they heard the chime ("WABC Chime Time"). It was a technique to guarantee that listeners knew they were listening to WABC. Program Director Rick Sklar believed that placing the jingle at the end of the song was an ideal place for WABC to get its call letters in since it was likely listeners were paying attention to the song. The purpose of giving the time was so listeners with ratings diaries knew exactly when they were listening to the station with the idea that WABC would always get credit.
Want more info?
Here's a copy of an in studio playlist from December 23, 1967 (autographed by Chuck Leonard!):
(courtesy Jonathan Wolfert)
Note the asterisks before each of the top 14 songs. That's a reminder to the DJ that that song ended with the Chime Time jingle. (Other things WABC aficionados will find interesting are that former "Pick Hits" are underlined and the parenthesis around the lower numbers to remind the DJ not to give those survey numbers on the air).
Originally, the chime itself was a stand alone element without the jingle. Listen to this 1963 Cousin Brucie aircheck. You'll hear the chime... with no jingle!
(As always, Muscradio77.com thanks good friend and jingle expert Jonathan Wolfert for his help in putting this story together!)
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