Phil Collins, Elton John, and Gloria Estefan dominated Adult Contemporary radio back in the 1980s and '90s, yet have disappeared from modern radio. Seemingly, the only time you ever hear them is at the grocery store or your local CVS. This blog remembers the music, the stories and the quirky characters from my days working in Adult Contemporary radio.
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Earth, Wind & Fire "Shining Star"
July 5, 1989 is the date that changed television history: Seinfeld premiered -- although it was actually called The Seinfeld Chronicles. NBC believed so little in the pilot that they aired it the day after Independence Day without any desire to pick up the pilot. Despite this, the show actually finished a respectable second-place in its time slot behind CBS-TV's Jake & The Fat Man. Aftering unsuccessfully shopping the show to FOX, it appeared The Seinfeld Chronicles was dead. However, an NBC executive believed so much in the show, he cut money from other projects and used those savings to order four more episodes to complete the show's first "season" -- he actually took money out of a budget for a Bob Hope special to make Seinfeld. About a year later, in May 1990, episode two of Seinfeld aired complete with a rebroadcast of the pilot. Five simple episodes comprised Season 1 of Seinfeld, and critics were intrigued enough to help buoy the show. NBC ordered a second season of the show -- albeit a short order of only 12 episodes. Creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David never believed NBC would pick up the show, but -- once again -- NBC bought in. By Season 3, NBC knew it had a hit on its hands and the show's audience continued to grow where it became part of their vaunted Thursday night "Must-See-TV" lineup.