The Jam Song

The Jam Song (5:08) (mp3)

Another Comment (2:33) (mp3)

Here’s a song with a message from 1985: If you’re listening to the radio, you’re hearing our jingles. Texas-based Jam Productions owned the imaging market in the 1980s, cheerily telling listeners that they were hearing everything from Kiss Radio to Casey’s Coast to Coast. The money flowing from the Kiss contract had to be paying more than a few bills, but if you’re not growing, you’re dying, as they say in the business world.

Someone at Jam came up with a brilliant idea that this single flawlessly executes. Take a bunch of Jam’s radio imaging jingles, string them all together, and make a song out of them. Ship it off to program directors and not only will they hear how great our jingles sound, but they’ll realize that they need to hire Jam Productions to keep up with the local disco station that’s grabbing share in the coveted 18 to 25 demographic (aka the local Kiss franchise).

If you were listening to radio in the ‘80s, you’re sure to hear a familiar radio theme in here somewhere. Even the BBC and VH1 were using Jam, although I’d forgotten that VH1 was on the air back then. Wasn’t that the year MTV first hit it big with wall-to-wall Live Aid coverage?

The flip is an amusing plea for the continued need of radio jingles with a killer ending. You haven’t lived until you’ve heard those polished radio singers coo, “We give a damn.”

Media: 33 1/3 RPM 7” single

Credits: Produced by Jam Creative Productions, 1985

Vocals: Dan Alexander, Abby Anderson, Brian Beck, Jim Clancy, Cheryl Cleavenger, Mike Collier, Jackie Dickson, John Hooper, Chris Kershaw, Judy Parma, Debi Rady, Kay Sharpe, Bruce Upchurch

Rhythm: Brad Smith, Bob Gentry, Bud Guin, Bruce Upchurch

Recorded By: P. Craig Turner, Brian Hamilton

Mixed By: Jonathan Wolfert

Comments

[Markus]

Amazing! It's impossible to be unhappy listening to this.

(I note that at least one of the sample IDs they sang, 1050 CHUM, is still in use! 1050 is an oldies station in Toronto -- one of the few remaining AM oldies stations, so many of which seem to be clustered in Southern Ontario -- and it uses all its historic jingles from right back to the 50s.)

[billy beyond]

I love JAM. The JAM SOng is my new favorite tune and I will be playing it everywhere I DJ.

THANK YOU

[billy beyond]

I love JAM. The JAM SOng is my new favorite tune and I will be playing it everywhere I DJ.

THANK YOU