Crowell-Collier Radio
Color Radio "Image" Theme
Fall 1961

An instrumental theme built around the six "jingle" notes of the three Crowell-Collier stations' call letters — KFWB (Los Angeles), KDWB (Minneapolis) and KEWB (Oakland-San Francisco).

The tune heard here was composed by Jerry Glenn, based on the original work of jingle gods Bob Sande and Larry Greene, who had crafted the "Color Radio" imaging for the stations under the direction of Color Radio mastermind Chuck Blore.

The theme, entitled "Image Part I" and performed by Hank Levine & Orchestra, was released as a single (ABC-Paramount #10256) and charted for one week only on the Billboard Hot 100, showing up at #98 (oddly enough the dial position of KFWB Channel 98) on October 9, 1961. According to some sources, it would be played occasionally on KEWB, KFWB and KDWB through 1963, mostly in the evening hours.

In March 2009, Chuck Blore — the Father of Color Radio — related his recollection of how the recording came about:

One of the L.A. record promoters I liked brought Hank Levine to my office at KFWB. He said Hank wanted to record "a musical tribute to the Color Radio image."

That may not be the exact language, but I thought it was a lovely idea and a few days later when they brought the recording to my office I fell in love with it and we immediately made it our Disc/covery (pick of the week).

The darn thing became #1 in L.A., although I don't think it sold three copies anywhere else, except maybe San Francisco and Minneapolis.

J. Glenn (I want to say 'Jerry' but I'm not sure of the first name) was the composer of the entire piece, other than the actual logo notes which were originally written by Sande and Greene as part of the jingle packages they did for us. While Sande and Greene owned the melodies to the jingle packages, we, KFWB, kept ownership of the logo melody itself. Hank I believe did the arrangement and it was his orchestra.

	FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE...
1961	Hank Levine & Orchestra - "Image (Part I)") BONUS: "Image (Part II)"

RELATED EXHIBITS:

• The Complete KEWB Airchecks Collection