The New Year Cometh

 

DMN January 1, 1963

 

Hopeful looking little fellow, wasn't he?  Little did he know.

 

As we awaited the New Year of 1963, the class was on its Christmas vacation, studying for their examinations, of course (tongue firmly in cheek at this point). In those days, the semester did not end before Christmas, and the fall exams awaited us in January. And, as hope springs eternal, we might even graduate in late May.

Some of us had firm college plans, others were still awaiting news of acceptance (or otherwise) to their college of choice.

Some of the big news, which most of us didn’t particularly care about, include a push for a tax cut by President Kennedy, a United Nations military action in he Republic of the Congo to forcibly reunify the breakaway province of Katanga with that country, and cold weather coming to North Texas.

More to the important stuff, the Billboard No. 1 hit that straddled the New Years was "Telstar’ by the Tornados. It was the first #1 pop music hit in the U.S. by a British band – a harbinger of things to come. Other popular records were "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don’t Cry" by the Four Seasons, "Monster Mash" by Boris Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, and "Walk Right In" by the Rooftop Singers. Nary a political or protest song in sight. The Beatles has been around in England for a few years, and the Rolling Stones, who turned 50 and are still rolling, were formed in 1962, but no one this side of the Pond had heard of either. That would change, but not for a year.

Louann’s, owned and operated by classmate Tony Bovis’s mother, was a popular nightspot at Lovers Lane and Greenville. The school had occasional social functions there, sans adult beverages, officially anyway. Blues singer Jimmy Reed appeared there, as did local talent Trini Lopez, Scotty McKay, and Kenny and the Kasuals.

The Number 1 pop music station in Dallas 1962-63 was Gordon McLendon’s AM station KLIF "the Mighty 1190" with morning DJs "Charlie & Harrigan" ("Harrigan" was actually Ron Chapman, who went on to be a legend with KVIL for 30 years), and "The Weird Beard" (Russ Knight) at night. KLIFs main – really only – competitor was KBOX, which ultimately went to a country & western format in 1967. FM radio was relegated to the easy listening and classical music formats; few had receivers for FM. WRR 101.1, the City of Dallas’s classical music station was around with few listeners. That changed in the late 1960s when Congress required radios manufactured to be sold in interstate commerce to be AF-FM capable.

 

Charlie & Harrigan (Ron Chapman with hair)

 

 

At that time, Dallas-Fort Worth television stations were KRLD Channel 4 (CBS), owned by the Dallas Times Herald, WFAA Channel 8 (ABC) owned by (still) the Dallas Morning News, WBAP Channel 5 (NBC) owned by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and KTVT Channel 11 (no affiliate, FOX was far off in the future). KERA Channel 13 was an educational station that started as a project of DISD (the "Little Red Schoolhouse of the Air"). Reception for 5 and 11 in Dallas could be "snowy" if the only antenna was "rabbit ears." Prime time shows included Andy Griffith, Cheyenne, The Rifleman, Ozzie & Harriet, Perry Mason, Dr. Kildare, Hawaiian Eye, The Untouchables, Route 66, and others. Broadcast news was not big; networks only devoted 15 minutes for the evening news. Another change coming in the fall of 1963.