[topcat]

Hmmmmm…. PAMS Series 28.

-TC

[LenGroat]

Hmmmm … TC…..

Series 28

'Happiness is a thing called…..'

As used by UBN…. lyriced by Neil Spence (Dave Dennis on Big 'L' 266, the 'Double D') it was his favourite PAMS package…

And in 1974 Fred Hardy sent me an original box demo when I was at Metro..

…. in 1988 as we sang cuts from it, during the first GEM session at TM studios, I got it signed by Dan Alexander and Brian Beck…

Jackie D. said she was not on the demo so would not sign it

What stories a box can hold….

Thanks !

Len

[aaronhudson1981]

Gem AM have had some great jingle over the years my fav ones are the early Jam and Pams stuff they are fab! Here's one of my favs that i'd think Jingle man Mr. Len Groat for GEM back in 92/93. Enjoy

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZXTQM5J2

[martinlesterMember]

Series 28

'Happiness is a thing called…..

One of my all time Fav PAMS Cuts never heard in with a group sing before anyway hear is one of my Personal Cuts sung by Nate one of Kenr singers

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=F8B937BD15A577A5

[aaronhudson1981]

This has got to be my fav Gem AM pams cut! Happiness Is…….And.

I've just spent the last hour listening to the Gem AM 88 package and it's well worth a listen.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P7YGHQKU

[Craig Strong]

Len, arrived on this forum, almost by accident, and there you are! Its been ages since we spoke, check your e mail and give me a call….344301 isnt it??

[topcat]

Len wrote:

'Happiness is a thing called…..'

As used by UBN…. lyriced by Neil Spence (Dave Dennis on Big 'L' 266, the 'Double D') it was his favourite PAMS package…

I posted some accapella lifts from UBN's Series 28 here once upon a time. I have the multitrack and couldn't resist….! Check them out at http://www.jingles.org/UBN28.mp3 for grins 'n chuckles.

Tracy

[LenGroat]

O wow… THANKS

what a great tape….

'biscuits & wafers & teatime cakes…'

and there was Jackie D. in fine voice heading the group, what a great way to hear them….

I recall a trip down for an audition with Adrian Love, in 1971 with Chris Harper (later Swansea Sound / Beacon) and Mark Williams (worked everywhere) The studios had Plessey CT80 cart machines that were VERY slow to GO !

UBN was a legend even then… and of course the following year Dale Winton joined it!

Sadly those PAMS series 28 were replaced with some rather lack lustre acapellas …

Len

[Barras]

LenGroat wrote:
The studios had Plessey CT80 cart machines that were VERY slow to GO !

Len,

checkout this website`s homepage, you can see some cart machines in the photo.

http://www.ubn.org.uk/

David Barras

[LenGroat]

I've had a great time chatting on here about JAM and PAMS. As regards 'Happiness is' I'd like to share the original box for Series 28, sent to me by Fred Hardyin 1974. As you can see it was actually called 'Happiness .. is a thing called' on the box. You could buy the whole set today for a GOLD station (or is it passe to use that term now?).

My earliest 'PAMS memory' was calling the reception at 4141 Office Parkway via the phone at Swansea University, in 1969. I was running the student 'Action Radio' and had NO chance of buying anything. Calling America then was like calling the moon… but just hearing that Dallas accent say 'Goodmorning, PAMS' was a real 'buzz' and seemed SO daring then?

I have found it most depressing listening to some of the 'new' Oldies jingles being peddled by some of these companies with flashy websites which mix them with the music. The technology is impressive, but the packages, particularly the trendy new ones, are not!

WHY do programmers and jingle makers nowadays assume you HAVE to have to same melody on every cut, that you HAVE to always have the station name in the same place? To me this results in a 20 cut package all sounding like ONE jingle?

For GEM-AM we sang the name to that of the original JAM or PAMS package we were singing ~ so we had everthing from WABC, to WYNY, KIMN, KOST, KDKA and WFUN! It didn't stop us getting 24% and 23% reach in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in 1993…

Serving the same melody to your audience all day, every day, is rather under estimating their intelligence.

You don't have Macaroni 7 nights a week….

Len Groat[/size]

[Bigdave]

The art of writing lyrics to an existing syndicated package is something that PD's/Station Imaging/Cre.Prod people have lost the art of doing in the last 10 years.

As everyone's aware on here,I've been helping in writing lyrics for Pete Wilson recently, and it's been an enjoyable experience in creating a new sound to an existing cut. I had tremendous fun in doing the same for my own cut back in October 2005,when I had cut 17 of Best Show 2 resung ,and having listened to both Trent and GEM,I must give you credit in having a creative mind (and also a musical one) in writing lyrics that said exactly what you wanted them to and knowing how they would work on air.

When creating new Oldies packages ,many of the new boys in the Jingle market haven't got the grounding or heritage of say JAM,in being able to know what works.Maybe it's because people like Jon Wolfert and Steve England were collectors and therefore are able to produce cuts from the heart and have a 6th sense of what works and what doesn't.Listen to “Home Of The Hits” on the JAM website and you'll hear little nods to PAMS in the vocal sound plus cuts that complement the music they'll be played against.Platinum Groove is the same,as are many of the Kool 105 packages.

But with more stations wanting to sound “individual”, they seem to want to shy away from a composite package and have something “unique” that consequently blands the output and sounds much the same. Thank god people like yourself,Steve Keeney at KIMN and Gary Berkowitz (the man behind such packages as QCuts and It's Nice) had the forethought to understand the medium,instead of buying something that's like the aural equivalent of own brand beans – not the same,a little bit inferior than the better brands,but will keep most people happy.

And if you are a PD that's stumbled across this thread,get them demos from off the shelf,and start jotting down ideas for lyrics – it's enjoyable,and that individual sound you're looking for will be wholly individual, because it'll be yours!

[aaronhudson1981]

All this talk of Gem AM is great and i've just found a GEM montage I posted on JM a good while ago. So for those who missed it here is Totally GEM.

Enjoy

http://jinglemad.com/e107_files/public/1170775149_9872_FT42517_totally_gem_montage_3.mp3 filename:1170775149_9872_FT42517_totally_gem_montage_3.mp3

[billip]

Quoting Len Groat from Feb 06: “My earliest 'PAMS memory' was calling the reception at 4141 Office Parkway via the phone at Swansea University, in 1969. I was running the student 'Action Radio' and had NO chance of buying anything. Calling America then was like calling the moon… but just hearing that Dallas accent say 'Goodmorning, PAMS' was a real 'buzz' and seemed SO daring then…”

Indeeed it did Len ! And if I remember rightly, they wouldn't agree to send us the free samples we were asking for ! (Davy Graham – also ex-Action Radio)

[GlennaMember]

THE NUMBER ONE CHOICE FOR JINGLES IS PAMS/JAM!

[LenGroat]

wow

Hello 'Davy Graham' the Liverpool dj ! It's almost FORTY years… !!

'A lotta water under the bridge Miss Elsa..'

Best wishes ~ Len

[Barras]

For anyone who didn`t catch this first time around, here it is again…

http://jinglemad.com/e107_files/public/1196678115_3680_FT42517_jam_pams_gem_am_sponsor.mp3 filename:1196678115_3680_FT42517_jam_pams_gem_am_sponsor.mp3

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