[GrahamCollins]

Enjoyed watching this movie earlier today. The production team have gone to extraordinary lengths to recreate Los Angeles as Quentin Tarantino remembered it as a 6 year old boy in 1969, not only in the overall look but in the soundscape too, including extensive use of 93 KHJ radio playing in cars and houses all through the movie. Plenty of the correct songs and commercials, and of interest here, half a dozen jingles.

However there is no acknowledgement for these in the end credits. My knowledge of 93 KHJ in 1969 is sadly lacking, so difficult for me to say who might be missing out.

My main beef however is technical – the audio played is just too good sonically. It was as if 93 KHJ broadcast in FM stereo, not the fizzy mushy mono reality that it probably was.

Happy New Year !

[Anonymous]

2 good reads on the subject;

https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/khj-radio-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood/

https://boingboing.net/2019/07/30/quentin-tarantino-talks-about.html (with a link to a podcast with a Tarantino interview on the subject.)

In short, the recordings are real and there is a few discussions around the web on the subject of accurancy. But it is from old airchecks. If you ever get your hands on the soundtrack you’ll hear that the sound is old broadcasts.

Regards and Happy New Year,

MrDonT

[GrahamCollins]

I don’t doubt that the recordings are ‘real’ but I suggest that most have been dubbed from the studio output, not recorded off-air and so are presented to the movie audience in better quality than would have been the case back in 1969.

It doesn’t matter if the jingles are played as part of an aircheck, permission is still required from any copyright holder to include them in a separate production, just like all the hit music played – see this –

https://www.jingles.com/jam/radioids/jamtalk.html#JT4

[IainJohnston]

Can someone give me an idea which jingle package(s) are actually used on the film?

(I’m guessing at the Drake 1 package (circa 1969), which I had a demo dub of over 40 years
ago from a station that had bought re-sings of the package after they found PAMS didn’t offer
a “short jingle” package – obviously pre-PAMS Series 40 appearing I guess). Drake 1 had HUGE
sales (and even clones) and probably would have done even better if it hadn’t come up against
TM Productions doing their Phase II package around the same time).

[GrahamCollins]

Gave me an excuse to watch the movie again !

Here they are – only 4 in fact:

https://soundcloud.com/graham-c/93khj-jingles-from-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood

So who made them and what package are they from ?

[IainJohnston]

https://soundcloud.com/allthebestjingles03/ij-drake1-johnnymannsingers-khj-losangeles-1

I’m sure TC or others can put me right on any errors here…

When I got to hear this the first time, circa 1970 (!), it was refererred to as a “jingle package by
the Johhny Mann Singers in Los Angeles”. Some have called it “Drake 1”

Very small package, fixed logo (incredibly similar (!) to the TM Phase II one), consisting of:-
A TOH stager bed (again c.f. Phase II, same era)
A “legal ID ” acapella to go on the end of the stager, after a V/O for the DJ or whatever.
2/3 short but “to-the-logo-3-notes” sung instrumented jingles, fast, medium, slow
A fast-to-slow-instrumental (check out the last layered note, the structure is on many Alfa cuts!)
A slow-to-fast-instrumental
A “More Music” acapella, a weather acapella
A very tight news-in/bed, again the 3 notes.
As many acapellas for whatever as the client wanted – sometime they took literally just the basics ones.

A LOT of stations bought it (I’ve examples galore, from my station reels through to KenR Cds, etc etc).

Some companies cloned it – there’s examples from Canada to Chatanooga.

Although popular, and used with the Drake programming philosophy, I suspect such
an incredibly small and tight package no doubt “burnt-out” quickly?

“Over 200 of you are using our Phase II package” said TM, in direct competition to
the Drake one, but both were ubiquitous at the time.
Drake’s follow-up (“AA” package??? I’m probably wrong) wasn’t as good, and TM Phase III
didn’t seem to get so popular either. PAMS at that time….Series 40 probably a long way
back in 3rd place???

[nleibo]

Jon Wolfert told the story about the KHJ acapellas–how KHJ was eager to debut, but musicians union was on strike–so KHJ went with the acapella jingles.

[GrahamCollins]

Thanks Iain, Drake 1 does indeed have all the elements heard, except for the ‘Beat goes on’ liner.

So who now owns the Drake back catalogue I wonder ?

[IainJohnston]

“Jon Wolfert told the story about the KHJ acapellas”

Thanks Neil – I missed that show – which one was it please, so that I can downwload

Graham – off the top of my head, I think someone was re-singing the “classic Johnny Mann” cuts quite recently?
IJ

[nleibo]

Have to look when i get home, Iain..

[nleibo]

Sorry Iain, i just couldn’t locate the show which had the story of the KHJ acapella jingles–as it was a short JingleTime segment and the shows I have are the full 3 hours…HOWEVER I will try to REQUEST it next Sunday..

[IainJohnston]

TQs Neil :^)

[nleibo]

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-01-21/how-johnny-mann-wrote-the-radio-jingle-in-once-upon-a-time

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