Radio ID Jingles/Imaging Part 1

One of things I enjoy is Radio ID's set to music. I will be doing a series of posts in which I will do a history of radio ID jingles/imaging and the key people and companies behind them.

Being part 1 (and I have not set the numbers posts as of this post) I will focus on the man and company that put the ID jingles on the map. Bill Meeks and his company P-A-M-S.

Aka PAMS of Dallas.

In the 1930's and 40's "prime time" was on the radio. Radio was the place to hear the sitcoms, action shows, serials, variety shows etc etc. To help pay for the airtime, their was a sponsor for these programs, and in those days you could afford just one brand or company unlike today.

Someone in the world of radio was smart to come up with a catchy song to help people remember a certain brand or product out their regardless if it was cereals, soap, soft drinks, and yet even cigars and cigarettes. It was a great way to recall a product even if you don't remember the talking points by the announcer selling you the product.

We move on now to a man by the name of Bill Meeks. He was born in 1921 and in those days of radio, recorded or "canned" music was taboo. The music had to be done LIVE!!! When Meeks was 14 he was a member of a band that played weekly on WRR in Dallas. He would also play on WFAA and then in 1947 Meeks joined KLIF which at time was a new radio station. Radio was booming and with many radio stations signing on, remembering a certain station calls can be a challenge but someone at KLIF came up with the ideal of writing jingles not only for the sponsors of KLIF, but for KLIF themselves.

The jingles for KLIF were a hit, and Meeks was encouraged to spend more time on creating jingles for his clients.

In 1951 Meeks founded PAMS Advertising Agency Inc. PAMS is an acronym for Production Advertising Merchandising Service. In its early years PAMS focused on commercial jingles for business around the Dallas area rather than radio ID's but eventually PAMS would be known for doing jingles that helped people remember the radio station they listened to.

In 1956 PAMS created their first syndicated radio package. The radio jingle began to explode, and PAMS was taking the radio business by storm on a national level. PAMS laid down the groundwork of the radio jingle blueprint. The 1959 package "Signature Series" had a constant signature melody or logo for the station's call letters in every cut.

One year later PAMS created "Dramatic Signatures" which not only had a constant signature melody logo but that logo could be changed from station to station. In short a station could change the logo from that featured on the demo.

Meeks like any musician would was not afraid to take chances, and when it came to making jingle packages he was not afraid to use off the wall effects. In 1961 PAMS created "Sonosational." This jingle package was built around a device called the sonovox which makes musical instruments sound like they are talking or singing. A variety of singing instruments featured on the package included were organ, flute, saxophone, guitar, and trombone. The sonovox was in use since the 1940's but never appeared in radio ID's until the Sonosational package. The sonovox would remain a part of radio jingles for years to come.

Top 40 radio would use PAMS jingles during the 1960's including Top 40 powerhouse WABC in New York City. WABC in fact would pilot most of PAMS best selling packages including Jet Set, Swiszle, Fun Vibrations, and Tenth Dimension (which was named when PAMS installed a ten track tape machine).

As much as PAMS tried to adapt to the changes in the radio business including competition from rival jingle houses, PAMS suspended operations in 1978. However the company never dissolved or was in bankruptcy. During the 1980's and 90's other parties offered PAMS re-sings but one man would help put a stop to that in 1997. This man also bought the stock of PAMS and had connections to people that worked for PAMS. His name is Jonathan Wolfert.

Wolfert grew up listening to the jingles that were on WABC. He soon learned of PAMS and dreamed of working their...He did.

Although PAMS is still a company in its own right today there will never be any new jingles under the PAMS name. For new jingles from Wolfert you would have to turn to the jingle house he and his wife founded back in 1974. I shall talk about that company in part 2.

PAMS website
http://www.pams.com/

Before I go I do want to give a shoutout to the Johnny Mann Singers. Mann and his singing group were key in jingles as we hear them today. In the mid 1960's Bill Drake was one of the people behind the concept of Boss Radio and Drake wanted the jingles to go into the music that was played on the station rather than have the jocks talk around the jingles as many Pre-Drake jingles did. Drake's style of programming would make Los Angeles radio station KHJ the top 40 powerhouse of the 1960's and 70's.

http://www.johnnymannsingers.com/