|
|
Post by pamelajaye on Feb 19, 2013 19:35:47 GMT -5
I've wondered since the recent first time I heard it, how it got on the air. Any clue? How many times has this been asked?
|
|
|
|
Post by mga707 on Feb 19, 2013 19:57:32 GMT -5
I've wondered since the recent first time I heard it, how it got on the air. Any clue? How many times has this been asked? My local Top 40 station back in '72 (KTKT) played it, and I don't recall any backlash or controversy at the time. Same for the other two "orgasm songs" of the 70s: "Pillow Talk" and "Love To Love You Baby". |
|
|
|
Post by canat40fan on Feb 19, 2013 20:29:25 GMT -5
Perhaps the censors didn't understand spanish  |
|
|
|
Post by mrjukebox on Feb 19, 2013 20:59:34 GMT -5
Pete Battistini's excellent book "AT40-The 70's" has a copy of a memo that was circulated by Watermark,the show's distributor to the affiliate stations-They had the option to delete "Jungle Fever".
|
|
|
|
Post by mrjukebox on Feb 19, 2013 21:05:19 GMT -5
I'm a long time resident of the NY metropolitan area-My station of choice in the early 70's was Musicradio 77 WABC-I'm almost positive that they never played "Jungle Fever" & with good reason:They were a family-friendly station & they tended to shy away from playing songs that might be deemed as offensive by their listeners-Chuck Berry's "My Ding A Ling" is another case in point.
|
|
|
|
Post by dukelightning on Feb 19, 2013 22:06:37 GMT -5
My stations in Albany did not play "Jungle Fever" either. In fact, I heard this song for the first time 2 years ago when I heard the first rebroadcast of an AT40 from this time period. I was rather shocked that I had not heard a top 10 hit before. BTW, chrisic if you read this, maybe you can confirm. But I think Albany stations like WTRY and WPTR copied the NYC stations for their playlists back then, making the Albany market an extension of the NYC market to some degree.
And on the other thread is a comment about "Black Dog". Now I DID hear that song a lot on the aforementioned top 40 stations.
|
|
|
|
Post by blackbowl68 on Feb 19, 2013 23:46:59 GMT -5
I was far too young to know the song's airplay ordeal in the US at the time. (I was also living in England.) But it was discussed in another thread the top half of the Hot 100 was essential a sales chart. So its "lack of airplay" would mean nothing to its chart performance. It's how well the single sold that matters.
What I DO know is "Jungle Fever" was the ONLY single in which I saw a copy of in 45 collections of all extended family members ( my father included.)
|
|
|
|
Post by reachinforthestars on Feb 20, 2013 4:32:16 GMT -5
Simple answer is: Where it was played, it sold very, very well. Primarily urban radio stations where it was a Top 5 hit in Washington DC, San Francisco, San Diego, Tempe, Denver, St. Louis, Detroit, Boston, and even Omaha, Nebraska and Boise, Idaho. Lots of R&B action too as it peaked at #11 on the Soul chart. It was played on Soul Train with one of most memorable moments as the dancers would pause in unison during the breathing segments and then pick right up again when the music continued.
|
|
|
|
Post by pgfromwp on Feb 26, 2013 13:08:11 GMT -5
I first heard "Jungle Fever" on April 12, 1986 during a WCBS-FM (NYC) top 20 countdown of the 4/01/72 hot 100 chart (though this was never disclosed on the show) hosted by Norm N Nite. A few years later, Bobby Jay took over hosting that show. He made it clear to listeners that he was so offended by the content of "Jungle Fever" that, anytime a 1972 countdown was to have included it, he was adamant that it be excluded from that particular show. This was accomplished during a late March 1972 countdown played in either 1991 or 1992 (my best recall) when an alternate chart was used, which substituted Honey Cone's "The Day I Found Myself" (not a Billboard top 20) for "Jungle Fever". Certain memories last on ... |
|
|
|
Post by blackbowl68 on Feb 26, 2013 21:22:33 GMT -5
I heard Mr. Jay say that and I thought he was being hypocritical because he didn't have a problem playing records like "Pillow Talk" or "Love To Love You Baby." The good thing was only he banned the song; the station did not.
What's so ironic is I hear the record more on the radio these days and it gets lots of requests on Felix Hernandez' "Rhythm Review" showcase.
|
|
|
|
Post by SFGuy on Feb 26, 2013 21:29:47 GMT -5
A lot of younger people seemed to be exposed to this song due to the fact that is was on the video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas".
|
|
|
|
Post by pgfromwp on Feb 27, 2013 8:43:22 GMT -5
I heard Mr. Jay say that and I thought he was being hypocritical because he didn't have a problem playing records like "Pillow Talk" or "Love To Love You Baby." The good thing was only he banned the song; the station did not. What's so ironic is I hear the record more on the radio these days and it gets lots of requests on Felix Hernandez' "Rhythm Review" showcase. I always thought Bobby hated "Jungle Fever" because he believed it miscast people of african-american heritage as jungle citizens who are feverishly pitched by orgasmic sounds and of nothing more cerebral or mainstream, IMHO. |
|
|
|
Post by blackbowl68 on Feb 27, 2013 9:46:36 GMT -5
I didn't get that impression from his rant. I think he was simply bothered by an audio recording of two people (supposedly) doing "the wild thing" superimposed on a Latin funk track.
The corresponding album had most of the song titles in Spanish. This initially led me to believe The Chakachas were of Hispanic heritage, so I figured the jungle reference was more aligned with the Amazon region, not the African stereotype.
|
|
|
|
Post by rgmike on Feb 27, 2013 12:37:32 GMT -5
I'm a long time resident of the NY metropolitan area-My station of choice in the early 70's was Musicradio 77 WABC-I'm almost positive that they never played "Jungle Fever" & with good reason:They were a family-friendly station & they tended to shy away from playing songs that might be deemed as offensive by their listeners-Chuck Berry's "My Ding A Ling" is another case in point. indeed, notoriously conservative WABC (they also waited until "Kiss You All Over" was #1 nationally before they finally added it) listed "Jungle Fever" on their survey for one week at #15 www.musicradio77.com/Surveys/1972/surveyfeb2972.htmlBut didn't play it. Or maybe played it on overnights, I dunno. But WWDJ played the heck out of it, as I recall. |
|
|
|
Post by pgfromwp on Feb 27, 2013 12:42:10 GMT -5
I'm a long time resident of the NY metropolitan area-My station of choice in the early 70's was Musicradio 77 WABC-I'm almost positive that they never played "Jungle Fever" & with good reason:They were a family-friendly station & they tended to shy away from playing songs that might be deemed as offensive by their listeners-Chuck Berry's "My Ding A Ling" is another case in point. indeed, notoriously conservative WABC (they also waited until "Kiss You All Over" was #1 nationally before they finally added it) listed "Jungle Fever" on their survey for one week at #15 www.musicradio77.com/Surveys/1972/surveyfeb2972.htmlBut didn't play it. Or maybe played it on overnights, I dunno. But WWDJ played the heck out of it, as I recall. On an aside, do you recall WWDJ's short-lived slogan "Pass the J"?  |
|
