I learned yesterday of the passing of the great crooner Andy Williams on Tuesday from bladder cancer. He was 84 years old. While his music is somewhat out of character with the rest of the performances featured on this blog, his enormous talent cannot be denied. He at least deserves a mention.
While “Moon River” was never released as a single and probably should have been, it became Williams’ best known song and was sung on his weekly variety show for nine years. The song was so inextricably linked to Williams that it became his alter ego – his autobiography was titled “Moon River and Me: A Memoir.” In addition, Branson, Missouri was the home of the Andy Williams’ Moon River Theater.
He first sung “Moon River” at the Oscars in 1962, as it was the theme from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” In the movie, Audrey Hepburn sang this Johnny Mercer/Henry Mancini collaboration. The song first appeared on his 1962 album “Moon River and Other Great Movie Themes,” which peaked at #3 and was certified gold.
While “Moon River” received mainstream radio airplay, it was never a Top 40 hit; however, it became a staple of Middle of the Road (MOR) stations – a format that was later branded as Adult Contemporary or AC. It also garnered some play on Beautiful Music/Easy Listening stations as its smooth rendition was synonymous with that style of performance.
In my years in oldies radio, “Moon River” was probably the only Andy Williams tune that I ever played – although not as often as I probably should have. Williams’ Christmas recordings would also get some airtime, as I frequently worked Christmas day to give my staff some time with their families. I was single at the time and had no local family, so it was no skin off my back to work an eight or twelve hour shift.
The work was easy, as most stations for which I worked tracked Christmas albums that were sponsored with commercials at the beginning, at the flip of sides, and the end of the album. It was basically me babysitting the equipment and answering the phone if necessary. Since I was salaried, I didn’t get time and a half for holidays – just some comp time later. During these long stretches of music, Andy Williams’ Christmas albums were pulled from storage and often played in their entirety.
Here’s to our “huckleberry friend” Andy Williams – may you rest in peace.
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AC/DC’s “Black in Black” has been used in so many commercials that I should have used it as a TV Thursday tune many posts ago, but alas, it wasn’t until I heard it recently being used in a Wal-Mart layaway commercial that I considered it. The characteristic opening provided by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young may be one of the most recognizable guitar riffs of the present time.
I saw AC/DC in concert in 1978 when they opened for Cheap Trick in Huntington, WV. I wasn’t that familiar with the band at the time, but Bon Scott and Angus Young put on a mean show. A several points in the concert Young, dressed in his school boy outfit, even went out into the crowd with his characteristic Gibson SG guitar. When lead singer Scott died from misadventure in 1980, it was a loss for the music world.
However, their loss inspired the band to write a couple of tribute songs – one of which was “Back in Black.” The music was composed by the Youngs, and Scott’s replacement, Brian Johnson, was tasked to author the lyrics – on the condition that they could not be morbid. Depicting Scott as a cat with nine lives fulfilled the obligation.
While the single only peaked in the US at #37 in 1980, its popularity eclipsed its chart performance. Being that it is heavier than most single releases, the Top 40 radio stations were probably playing it during late afternoon and evening hours; however, AOR stations played “Back in Black” around the clock. I can remember playing it in morning drive during my short stint as an AOR jock in 1983.
Another reason for its popularity doing better than its chart position is that AC/DC fans were not buying the single, but rather the entire album of the same name. The LP “Back in Black” is either the second or third bestselling album of all time in the world – Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is number one and there is debate whether “Back in Black” or Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” landed in the second slot.
With 22 million copies sold in the US, it is the sixth bestselling LP in America and is ranked behind “Thriller,” the Eagles “Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975),” “Led Zeppelin IV,” Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” and Billy Joel’s “Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II.” Two of those albums, “The Wall” and Joel’s “Greatest Hits,” were double albums.
The song “Back in Black” is one of the more often used ringtones with over two million downloads purchased. I hear often in public. VH1 ranked “Back in Black” as the second greatest hard rock song only to be bested by Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.”
In the mid 80s, I had the opportunity to play this tune with The Second Story Band. Being that I was the keyboardist and there were no keyboards present on this cut, I played claves. I remember playing them so hard one night that I shattered one of the claves into three pieces. All for the price of rock 'n roll.
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Used in a 2002 commercial for California Happy Cows, our TV Thursday special is provided by Styx from their 1973 second album, which was appropriately titled “Styx II.” The song “Lady” eventually became a national hit in 1974 after much airplay by WLS’ Dick Biondi. Eventually after a re-release of the single, the band’s first hit charted at #6.
Styx’s first four albums were released by Wooden Nickel Records, which signed artists from its home base, the Greater Chicago area. Wooden Nickel, playing on its name, did not have Sides 1 and 2 of an album or the A & B sides to the singles; the sides were known as “Heads” and “Tails.”
“Styx II” did very well by charting at 20 and was their highest charting album until their seventh release, “The Grand Illusion,” peaked at #6 in 1977.
In 1995, several members of Styx reunited to re-record “Lady” so that it might appear on A&M Records compilation “Styx: Greatest Hits.” The new version, named “Lady 95,” is surprisingly close to the original and is the version that is generally found on YouTube. The selection below is the original single release.
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Recently a Target back-to-school commercial utilized a redone version of the Go-Go’s hit “We Got the Beat.” While the original was not used in the ad, it still warrants the 1982 hit as qualifying as our TV Thursday selection.
While grammarians cringe on both the name of the group (the apostrophe should be eliminated as it is plural and not possessive) and the name of the song (should be “We Have the Beat”), it didn’t stop the song from peaking at #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
The tune was written by lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey and it made it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. As with yesterday’s selection, movie exposure in 1982's “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” didn’t hurt record sales either.
Picture disc 45 backed with "Our Lips Are Sealed"
In 1981 when their previous hit “Our Lips are Sealed” was being promoted, Brenda Carlisle called me at WCIR pushing the record. It slowly climbed to #20, but set the stage for “We Got the Beat,” which was the Go-Go’s highest charting record.
Both singles appeared on their debut album “Beauty and the Beat.” During the summer of 1982, I drove to Cincinnati to see the Go-Go’s open for A Flock of Seagulls. They did an excellent job in this open air concert at King’s Island; however, “A Flock of Seagulls” was the loudest band I’ve ever seen. I think my ears are still ringing.
I had a chance to meet three of the band that night – Jane Wiedlin, Kathy Valentine, and Gina Schock. They were not the friendliest rockers I’ve met and I felt it that our presence was an imposition even though the local A&M Records rep was present, it cut no ice with the band – the star image had been cast. In addition, Jane Wiedlin was as unusual in person as her stage persona later dictated. It’s no act – she is different – not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The Original Version
Most people either aren’t aware that “We Got the Beat” was actually the band’s first single or they have forgotten that little known piece of rock history. Recorded with a previous lineup of the band in 1979 that included Margot Olavarria on bass, the single was released in the UK. It did cross over to the American club scene as an import and had sufficient play to chart at 35 on the Dance Charts – which is no easy feat with no product to generate sales.
The song came from a demo that the band recorded in 1979 and was released on Stiff Records. Olavarria left the band before the recording of “Beauty and the Beat” and was replaced by Kathy Valentine.
Since the advent of the recording industry, it has been fraught with mergers and acquisitions. Often competing trademarks existed in different companies due to the spinning off holdings overseas. I first noticed this in the late sixties that labels such as Decca and Columbia were no longer operated by the same organizations in the US and the UK.
Because of this, you would find newer labels such as London in the US being the arm of the Decca Records, Ltd., and artists on UK’s Columbia (owned by EMI) appearing in the US on EMI’s American arm – Capitol Records and not on CBS' Columbia label. Even the famous record listening fox terrier Nipper, who was known as the icon of RCA Victor in the US and Canada, is a trademark owned in much of the world by EMI's HMV (His Master's Voice) label.
I really became fascinated with all of the intricacies of the music business when Crawdaddy!, in 1971 or '72, featured an article on whom owned what in the recording industry. Inside the newspaper a fold-out chart indicated that (at that time) less than a dozen corporations controlled the majority of the music business worldwide. Since the 1980s, the major labels brought on even larger conglomerates and that pool shrunk. In recent years, I’ve lost touch with who owns whom these days – and frankly do not care to know. I think it’s better that way.
An early player in the in music business was the German company Deustsche Grammophone, which utilized the Polydor imprint in other markets to export its recordings outside of Germany. The label eventually took on its own identity and particularly had success in the UK; however, until 1969 it had no presence in the US. Most UK Polydor releases in the US were licensed to other labels. Depending on the artist, you might find Polydor artists on the various Atlantic and MCA labels.
With the incorporation of Polydor in the US, the label struggled during its early US years. Its financial stability was based on a number of subsequent events including a 1972 merger with Philips' Phonogram holding company that created PolyGram. There were two other significant events in the history of US Polydor. One, it acquired James Brown’s back catalog from King Records in 1969; and two, the license deals with other US record companies began to expire and their music catalogs in the US reverted to Polydor.
Most notably during this period was the redemption of the Eric Clapton related material (Clapton, Cream, Blind Faith, and Derek & the Dominos) which had for years been issued in the US under license to Altantic’s ATCO subsidiary. That began to change in 1972 when new compilations emerged on Polydor and eventually the original albums were released as ATCO stopped producing these recordings.
While this influx of back material was a shot in the arm, the years of 1969 to 1972 were interesting ones for Polydor, Inc. and Polydor Records Canada Ltd. (as the North American arms of Polydor International were officially known). Besides bringing in artists such as John Mayall in 1969, the label signed a number of artists including Chick Corea, Arthur Fiedler, Roy Buchanan, Mandrill, Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys, and Odetta.
While Odetta only recorded one album for Polydor, “Odetta Sings” released in December 1970, the album’s single release of “Hit or Miss” is our TV Thursday selection. While one of two original compositions from the album, “Hit or Miss” is gaining in popularity these days as the backing track to a current commercial for Southern Comfort.
This unusual commercial features a 60+ old man with an obvious paunch walking on a beach. If that weren’t enough, he is wearing a Speedo and dress shoes. His swagger exudes confidence. The commercial screams individualism and Odetta’s song is perfect with the hook – “I gotta be me – hit or miss.” I had never heard this cut before its debut as a TV commercial backing track, but I love it.
“Hit or Miss” is departure from her folk music of the 50s and early 60s, but it is great; however, since it is not like her earlier recordings – her fan base probably didn’t appreciate the change in direction. Since she had already been typecast as a folkie, it was difficult for Polydor to market Odetta to a new audience. It was her only album with the label and "Hit or Miss" was, unfortunately, a chart failure.
Extended Southern Comfort Commercial
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Occasionally bands originating in one country are prohibited of using their name in another country due to conflicting trademarks with existing bands of the same name. In the 80s, several bands fell into this category.
One way to combat this is to buy the competing trade mark; however, this is not always possible and the solution is to rebrand the band in the other country or countries. The latter occurred with Yazoo, who was rebranded as Yaz in the US. For the purpose of this post, I will refer to them as Yaz(oo) rather than Yazoo/Yaz.
Yaz(oo) had several dance hits in the US in the 80s and 90s, but had limited mass appeal. “Situation” was the second of four #1 records to hit the top of Billboard’s Dance chart; however, its position on the Hot 100 only made it to 73. The year was 1982.
Yaz(oo) was comprised of two musicians: synthesist Vince Clarke and vocalist Alison Moyet. The synth hook was the compelling feature of this recording. I have fond memories of this song as the band I played keyboards with in 1982 and ’83, Audio Game, performed this number. We loved this song and our lead vocalist Debrin Jenkins shined on it.
“Situation” is our TV Thursday song, as it appears on a current commercial for Esurance.
Think quickly – where were you 35 years ago this afternoon? Any clue? I was sitting on the old 6th Street Bridge between Chesapeake, Ohio and Huntington, WV. I had just paid my dime to cross the Ohio River to get back into West Virginia and I heard the news over WKEE – Elvis had died.
As soon as I could, I got to the radio station where I worked the 5 PM to Midnight shift (WEMM) which at that time was located on Hal Greer Boulevard in Huntington. I ran back to the wire machine and grabbed the copy from United Press International signifying Elvis had passed. The afternoon jock hadn’t seen it or heard the news and he took the wire copy and read the news after his record.
I have that wire copy and all subsequent ones from that evening that signaled the end of an era – a death of a king – The King of Rock ‘N Roll. This news was significant as Elvis was to appear in Huntington a few days later – that show would never occur and the promoters scrambled on getting tickets returned so that customers could be reimbursed. Believing (and rightfully so) that the tickets would be collectors’ items, concert goers were hesitant to release their tickets, but still wanted a refund.
A compromise was struck with the promoter issuing commemorative tickets in place of the actual stock. I’m not sure I would have released my tickets had I purchased some. I would have probably counted the refund as a tradeoff for collectables. Unfortunately, I hadn’t planned on attending the show.
To commemorate the 35th anniversary of Elvis’ death and to fulfill my commitment with a TV Thursday cut, I bring you Elvis’ version of Jimmy Reed’s “Baby What You Want Me to do.” This particular cut appeared on the 1968 Elvis “Comeback Special” that aired on NBC on December 3, 1968. The show’s segment when this song was recorded had Elvis situated in the round surrounded by his friends and adoring fans. He did four hour-long sets with two recorded in the round. These were edited into the subsequent hour TV special.
Elvis hadn’t performed live since 1961 and his fan base had skewed older. To give the illusion that Elvis was still viable to a much younger audience, Colonel Tom Parker situated younger women closest to the stage. The tactic worked and the enthusiastic audience helped in the show’s success.
On this track, Elvis is playing Scotty Moore’s 1963 Gibson Super 400 CES. The Super 400 was Gibson’s most expensive guitar. Its name came from its price tag when an acoustic version of the guitar debuted in 1934 – it was $400. A 1934 dollar is equivalent to $17.00 in today’s market and therefore a Super 400 cost $6,800 in today’s money. The price tag at Musician’s Friend for one is over double that amount - $14,499.00. Monetary inflation has nothing on guitar inflation. The CES stands for “cutaway electric Spanish” (as in Spanish guitar).
A Super 400 CES in a different body style
Joining Elvis on stage were the following musicians:
Scotty Moore on acoustic guitar
D.J. Fontana playing drums on a guitar case
Alan Fortas providing percussion by slapping the back of an acoustic guitar and vocals
Charlie Hodge on acoustic guitar and vocals
Lance LeGault on tambourine.
Some have suggested that Elvis’ “Comeback Special” indirectly influenced MTV’s Unplugged series a generation later. Could be. RIP Elvis wherever you are.
Our TV Thursday cut is featured in BMW X1 commercial and is by Riccitelli. “Move On” is the track and I really cannot tell you much about this tune or the artist other than that I like it – I like it a lot. This 2011 release sounds like a cross between Jamie Cullum and and John Mayer. Enjoy.
It’s TV Thursday and this year Burger King began using Dire Straits’ 1985 hit “Walk of Life” as part of their summer 2012 advertising campaign. I always thought the song had a Cajun flair with the synth part that is reminiscent of an accordion; however, the patch was an organ sound. I’m not sure what keyboards they used on this track, but being that the band had two keyboard players, it is pretty full sounding.
Even the production of this song has a Louisiana feel to it. From the album “Brothers in Arms,” “Walk of Life” was the follow-up single to the number one “Money for Nothing.” “Walk of Life” was a double crossover hit – charting at #7 on the Hot 100, at #6 on the Mainstream Rock chart, and at #4 in the Adult Contemporary format. What a great song.
A few weeks while being sick, I was scanning through the channels and landed on a horrible movie named “Repo Men.” Starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker, the plot has the two primary characters repossessing transplanted body parts when their new owners defaulted on their payments. Quite dark and bloody, it was strange and unusual.
This mambo was recorded for Clooney and Prado’s 1959 collaboration, “A Touch of Tobasco.” I prefer Clooney’s vocal interpretation to Dean Martin’s. Her version is our TV Thursday selection for this week. Only 60 more posts until Reading Between the Grooves exits stage left.
A few weeks ago, I caught a live performance of Maroon 5 on CSI: New York doing their 2007 recording of “Goodnight, Goodnight.” While it was intended to be released as a single in the US, it was not. The song actually did well in several other countries, but is primarily known in America as an album cut from the band’s second LP “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long.”
The CD debuted at the #1 slot on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart and nearly sold enough copies in the first week to be certified gold. It eventually was certified as double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
CSI New York Performance
Maroon 5’s performance on CSI: New York was during the 2008 fall season.
In a continuing tribute to Andy Griffith who passed on Tuesday, I thought it might be nice to dedicate our TV Thursday song to him as well with the theme song to his television show. Used for the theme for the entire eight season run, most people don’t know the name of the song nor who was whistling the tune.
The music of “The Fishin’ Hole” was composed by Earle Hagen and Herbert Spencer with lyrics authored by Everett Sloane. I think most of us thought that Sheriff Andy Taylor was whistling the tune; however, this is incorrect as Hagen, one of the composers, utilized his talent in this area.
If you watch television in the United States, you cannot escape the numerous ads used in the campaign for esurance. There is a catchy little guitar instrumental that accompanies each of the commercials. For the uninformed, the song is “Jam Man” by the late Chet Atkins.
While the chords aren’t too difficult (Am, G, C, F, E, and etc.), Chet’s picking style makes this song a bear to learn. I tried it, but cannot pick like Chet – but how many people do you know who pick like Chet? Case in point.
Chet actually won a Grammy for “Jam Man” in 1994. When you listen to it, it is understandable why the committee and the members selected “Jam Man” to win. Enjoy. Only 90 more posts to go.
In the latest T-Mobile commercial advertising their HTC One S phone has commercial actress Carly Foulkes selecting three songs before she heads off down the streets on her magenta and black motorcycle. The first of these is a four second excerpt titled as “Everything is Ours” by Waste Grease. Checking for this song, I’ve come to learn that the song in its entirety is only four seconds long and this miniscule selection was probably created for the commercial.
The second, and our TV Thursday song, is Eilen Jewell’s “Everywhere I Go,” which is followed by The Vines’ “Get Free.” While I was initially interested in the Waste Grease song, which is really a non-song, I have selected Eilen Jewel’s tune for today.
Having featured her twice before, Jewell is no stranger to Reading Between the Grooves. “Everywhere I Go” comes from her 2009 CD release “Sea of Tears.”
The latest commercial from State Farm is hilarious. It has the claims rep and the customer going through the lyrics of Journey’s “Anyway You Want It” and having a flashback to the 80s with a little Journey moment. “Any Way You Want It” opened Journey’s “Departure” album and was the first single released from this 1980 classic album.
It is said that the vocal and guitar interplay was inspired by the late Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy. The song was often used to close out Journey concerts. The single only peaked at #23, but that didn’t stop this Steve Perry/Neal Schon composition from being one of their best known tunes. The album fared much better by peaking at #8.
Last week as Dr. Gregory House rode off with his pal Dr. James Wilson to celebrate Wilson’s last five months of his life. House had faked his own death so he wouldn’t miss being with his friend during his most trying times. The episode was titled “Everybody Dies” – a play on House’s constant mantra “Everybody Lies.”
The producers picked the best possible version of “Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later than you Think) written by Carl Sigman and Herb Magidson that was penned in 1949. The most popular version was recorded by Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians. It was a top 10 hit for Lombardo. And you thought he only sang Auld Lang Syne.
For House, the version by Louis Prima and Keely Smith was the better choice. Louis never took himself seriously – after I learned he was King Louie in the “Jungle Book,” I could never take him seriously either. So “Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later than you Think).
“House, M.D.” had its series finale this past Monday. The show started in 2004 and chronicled the lives of Dr. Gregory House, his teams, his loves, and his friend Dr. James Wilson. It was a fitting end to the show and the ending ranked as one of the best for a series finale. Towards the end, House, the doctor you loved to hate, appears to have died and his funeral is attended by those who knew him best.
While all of the main and semi-main characters had an opportunity to speak positively about House, his best friend, Wilson, tells it like it is. Surrounding the funeral scene is a fitting song. The final cut on Warren Zevon’s final album “The Wind.” “Keep Me in Your Heart for a While” was written and recorded by Zevon and Jorge Calderón during the time Zevon was dying of pleural mesothelioma. The album was released only two weeks prior to his death.
“Keep Me in Your Heart for a While” is a bittersweet song of goodbye and hope wrapped into one. It was nominated for two Grammy awards – Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male. The album won Best Contemporary Folk Album and the song “Disorder in the House,” which had two nominations, won Best Rock Vocal Performance – Duo or Group. The song was sung with Bruce Springsteen.
It was a fitting song to be one of the two final cuts on House, M.D. Next week, I’ll feature the other.
It is said that Gram Parsons helped write the Rolling Stone’s song “Wild Horses”; however, it is only credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It was Parsons band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, that released the song first – nearly a year before the Stones’ version debuted on “Sticky Fingers.”
A couple of weeks ago, an old episode of the TV show Psych utilized The Sundays’ recording of the tune for a very poignant scene regarding the near hit and miss relationship between Shawn and Juliet. The song also appeared in the movie “Fear” and the TV shows “CSI” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” If that wasn’t enough, it was used in a Budweiser commercial in the 1990s. Its exposure garnered a great deal of synchronization royalties for The Sundays as well as for Mick and Keith.
Formed in the late 80s, The Sundays released three albums with “Wild Horses” coming from their US version of their second LP: “Blind.” They chose their unusual moniker as it was the only name the four members of the band could agree. If you’ve ever had to think up a band name (and I have), it can be a difficult prospect.
This is probably one of my favorite Stones’ songs and one of the few I ever learned to play on guitar. I know the purists out there will hate this version, but I like it a lot. If there would be one thing I would change it would be to bring out Harriet Wheeler’s vocals in the mix. They are a little too buried for my taste.
Having not played this song in about eight years caused me to get out my guitar to play it again. I actually found it better suited for the octave mandolin that I got for last Christmas. I love it.
This is post 875 - only 125 before the end of Reading Between the Grooves.
I heard “A Soft Place to Land” on the latest episode of House, MD this week. From Kathleen Edwards’ LP “Voyageur” released earlier this year, I find the tune poignant, emotional, and thought provoking. No doubt the producers of House felt the same way, as the song appeared in one of the episodes that deals with James Wilson’s diagnosis of cancer.
I would classify the song as alternate folk. It showcases Edwards 12 year training as a classical violinist as well as her ability to multitask as a guitarist. It starts out with a fade in of a piano sustain of decay. The attack has passed and gives a very unique sound to begin and end the tune.
In today’s cut, Edwards’ appears on a special private performance recorded in her native Canada by the CBC. I actually prefer this live version to her studio release of the same song. That’s not normally the case, as I prefer studio recordings for their overall sound quality. This live recording sounds great. I like it better every time I play this cut. By the way, check out her guitar. It appears that it is covered with numerous autographs. On closer inspection of it, they are personal messages from friends and family members. See it here.
Can a song that repeats the hook line over forty times get on your nerves? Perhaps, but not necessarily, as War’s 1975 hit of “Why Can’t We Be Friends?’ did just that and charted at #6 on the American charts. The song was played in space and has appeared in a number of movies, TV shows, and a few commercials – which qualifies it for our TV Thursday hit.
The most recent commercial to feature the song was in 2010 when Pepsico used it for their Pepsi Max campaign. The commercial is one of my favorites; however, the band War is not smiling as members of the band who performed the song were neither consulted nor did they receive any royalties from the obvious synchronization of their tune to this ad. Apparently, the band members found out about the song’s commercialization when they saw it on television.
In September 2010, several of the members of the original War filed suit against Pepsi regarding their blatant lack of permission in its use. At this writing, I can find no information on whether the suit went to trial, was settled out of court, or was dropped. One would think that nearly two years later that news would be forthcoming in this matter.
Associate Provost and Professor of Mass Communication at Alderson Broaddus University and an adjunct faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University.
Graduate of Marshall University, West Virginia University, Southern New Hampshire University, Kentucky Christian University and Mountain State University.
Dissertation on institutional rebranding (see newriver.net) was the 2009 international winner of the Alice L. Beeman Dissertation Award for Outstanding Research in Communications and Marketing for Higher Education Advancement and was the 2008 Leo and Margaret Goodman-Malamuth Outstanding Dissertation Award for Research in Higher Education Administration.
Placed as a winner in five Active Industry Research Contemporary Hit Radio "Pick the Hits" competitions from 1983 through 1987. Each competition had 31 winners. Placed 2nd (1st among radio participants), 6th, 10th (twice), and 21st in the five competitions.
Awarded 14 gold & platinum records and an international sales award from various record companies. Winner of 30 Public Relations awards.
