Jack Pyle
KYW Radio
1950
As a sales tool, KYW Radio held a "Sales Clinic" for the New York City staff of the advertising agency, Free & Peters, late in 1950. The audience was the national sales representatives of this agency and the station used a theatrical approach in staging this "Sales Clinic."
The "show" was a two and a half hour presentation containing short versions of almost all of the KYW Radio local programs, complete with theme songs and music, sample formats, air personalities and success stories. Each capsule was introduced by the MC for the event, Jack Pyle. Midnight air personality Kay Wylie (Marge Wieting) posted colored program titled signs as part of the event. Jack is seen in the extreme left side of the picture, seated at a table.
Wilmer Henninger, a visitor to our website e-mailed: Do you happen to recall the theme song used by Jack Pyle? This has been bugging me for YEARS! I wrote to KYW, but the consensus there was wrong. They said, Glenn Miller's "Slumber Song", but I clearly remember a different tune.
Ed Johnson, a visitor to our site says that Jack Pyle's theme song was Glen Gray's version of "Smoke Rings." It was also Gray's signature theme.
Richard Salvucci, a visitor to our website e-mailed: ...Jack loved "Smoke Rings...", but I don't think he ever used it as a theme. I remember Pyle's morning show on WRCV when I was growing up, and he used "Slumber Song" there....
Bob Lineburger, a visitor to our website e-mailed:
I was interested in your brief write-up on Jack Pyle, but more so on the question of his theme songs on WRCV. I remember very distinctly both of his theme songs - one at the beginning and one at the end of his show. The introductory theme was an obscure Glen Gray piece called "Was I To Blame For Falling in Love With You" which was recorded on one of Gray's later LPs. (I've never seen it since.) "Slumber Song" was his closing theme.
I'm not sure if these themes (either or both) were Jack Pyle's themes or whether they were the themes used by all the disc jockeys for WRCV's big band format of the day.
Skip Clayton, a veteran radio hand in Philly for decades e-mailed:
Before Jack got to Philadelphia, I know he worked in Charleston, South Carolina, Nashville and Cincinnati.He started with:I'm In the Market For You by Harry James.
Then he changed to:Stardust by Artie Shaw.
While he was in Cincinnati, he did a special music show on Sunday and wanted another theme.He used Slumber Song by Glenn Miller.
Jack liked it so much he kept it as his theme and used it on his radio shows at KYW, WRCV, WIP, then he he want back to WRCV, later was at WCAM and WPBS.
His first job at WPBS was doing the Saturday Night Big Band Wagon from 8 pm to midnight. The theme song for that show was Starburst and we used Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra's recording.
On November 1, 1965, he started doing the morning show at WPBS from 6 to 9 am and used Slumber Song.He also started hosting a program Monday through Friday for one hour, called "Smoke Rings" which we would voice track earlier in the day. The theme song for that was Smoke Rings by Glen Gray. It was a two hour program and Hal Moore hosted the second hour.
Jack died on April 27, 1966. I was his last producer and the last Big Band Wagon we did which aired on April 23rd was an hour each beginning with Count Basie followed by Jan Savitt, Jimmy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. That was one great show but then again, they were all great.
From the official archives of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia
Photo originally donated by Broadcast Pioneers member Marge Wieting
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