 | |
| Genre | Album-oriented rock |
|---|---|
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Syndicates | D.I.R. Radio Network |
| Hosted by | Bill Minkin |
| Produced by | Bob Meyrowitz |
| Original release | February 18, 1973 – December 25, 2005 |
| Website | kingbiscuit |
| Audio sample | |
The King Biscuit Flower Hour was an American syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network [1] that featured concert performances by various rock music recording artists. [2] [3] [4]
The program was broadcast on Sunday nights from 1973 until 1993. Following the end of original programming, the program continued, featuring material from previously broadcast shows, until 2005. During its prime, the program was carried by more than 300 radio stations throughout the United States. The show's name was derived from the influential blues radio show King Biscuit Time , which was sponsored by the King Biscuit Flour Co., combined with the hippie phrase "flower power". The first show was broadcast on February 18, 1973, and featured Blood, Sweat & Tears, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Bruce Springsteen. The long-time host of the show until the mid-1990s was Bill Minkin, whose voice has been described as "the perfect blend of hipster enthusiasm and stoner casualness." [5]
The concerts were usually recorded with a mobile recording truck, then mixed and edited for broadcast on the show within a few weeks. In the 1970s, the show was sent to participating radio stations on reel-to-reel tape. Some shows were recorded and mixed in both stereo and quadraphonic. In 1980, D.I.R. began using the LP format, producing the show on a three-sided, two-record set. The first show on compact disc was a live retrospective of the Rolling Stones broadcast on September 27, 1987. By 2000, King Biscuit was using CD-R media to distribute the show. These tapes, records or compact discs were accompanied by a cue sheet which gave the disc jockey a written guideline of the content and length of each segment of the program.
Although closely associated with classic rock in its later years, the King Biscuit Flower Hour dedicated much air time to new and emerging artists, including new wave and modern rock artists in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1982, a three-alarm fire damaged the Manhattan office tower that housed D.I.R. Broadcasting. [6] Reportedly, many of the King Biscuit Flower Hour recordings were lost in the fire. [7]
In 2006, the remaining King Biscuit tape archives were acquired by Wolfgang's Vault which began streaming concerts online and has made some available for download. [8]
After founder Bob Meyrowitz sold his interest to new ownership, King Biscuit Flower Hour Records was formed in 1992 with the intention of releasing live albums from the archives. Licensing issues prevented the release of the most popular artists featured on the program, although dozens of recordings did see commercial release.
The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the early 1920s and lasted through the 1950s, when television gradually superseded radio as the medium of choice for scripted programming, variety and dramatic shows.
Lester Raymond Brown was an American jazz musician who led the big band Les Brown and His Band of Renown for over six decades from 1938 to 2000.
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King Biscuit Time is the longest-running daily American radio broadcast in history. The program is broadcast each weekday from KFFA in Helena, Arkansas, United States, and has won the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcasting excellence. In 2018, certain selections of King Biscuit Time from 1965 were selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant."
Genesis Live is the first live album from the English rock band Genesis, released on 20 July 1973 on Charisma Records. Initially recorded for radio broadcast on the American rock program King Biscuit Flower Hour, the album is formed from the recordings of shows at Free Trade Hall, Manchester and De Montfort Hall, Leicester in February 1973 during the band's tour supporting their fourth studio album Foxtrot (1972).
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King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Deep Purple in Concert is a live album taken from a Deep Purple performance originally broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour, released in July 1995. It contains concert material recorded on 27 February 1976 at Long Beach Arena, Los Angeles, CA featuring the Mark IV line-up with Tommy Bolin.
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The Music Scene is a television series aired by the ABC Television Network in its Fall 1969 lineup, featuring primarily rock and pop music. The 45-minute program aired Mondays at 7:30 pm. It was paired with a second 45-minute program, The New People, to form a 90-minute block intended to compete with the more popular offering on NBC, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
Roger Scott was a British radio disc jockey. He was best known for presenting an afternoon radio show on Capital London from 1973 until 1988 and was also best known for presenting his late night Sunday show, Scott on Sunday on BBC Radio 1 until his death from stomach cancer.
Kingfish in Concert: King Biscuit Flower Hour is a live album by the rock group Kingfish. It was recorded at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on April 3, 1976, and released in 1996. Part of the recording that became the album was originally broadcast on the radio show The King Biscuit Flower Hour.
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King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Greg Lake In Concert is a live album of the Greg Lake Band recorded in concert November 5, 1981, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England, that was broadcast live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour radio program, first released on CD in 1995.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was an American blues rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and the frontman for the band Double Trouble. He is often regarded as one of the greatest guitarists and blues musicians of all time. During his career, he released four studio albums, one live album, and several singles.
Live from Agora was the fourth and final album from the Dwight Twilley Band, recorded live in October 1976 and released in 2009 on Gigatone Records. The album consists of a recording of a live performance of the band at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio, which had been taped for broadcast on Cleveland radio station WMMS.
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For further information, contact Bob Meyrowitz, Peter Kauff or Alan Steinberg at DIR Broadcasting Corp., 445 Park Avenue, New York,.
Bob Meyrowitz, Peter Kauff or Alan Steinberg at DIR Broadcasting Corp. 445 Park Avenue
Building at 445 Park Avenue, between 56th and 57th Streets.