(For Immediate Release – Monday, March 8, 2004) Toronto, Ontario - In the 1960's there was only one radio station. If you were a DJ it was the top, the pinnacle of your career. If you were a recording artist and they played your record, you were an instant hit. It was the most powerful force in the music industry. On FRIDAY MARCH 12, at 9:30 pm in the CONVENTION CENTER THEATRE, SXSW will present the world premiere of RADIO REVOLUTION: The Rise & Fall of The Big 8, a 72-minute documentary that tells the little-known secret history of this broadcasting rock and soul phenomenon. It’s the story of a Windsor, Ontario radio station that helped define a time and a place - CKLW - the Big 8 - the leader of an international RADIO REVOLUTION.
RADIO REVOLUTION, a feature length documentary written and directed by Michael McNamara and produced by Judy Holm for Markham Street Films Inc., investigates the international social, political and musical impact of radio station CKLW during the 1960s and 70s. CKLW invented a non-stop, loud and brash programming style that was studied and copied in markets around the world, from LA to New York to London. With fifty thousand watts of radio power blasting out to 12 million listeners across 32 states and 4 provinces, CKLW, ‘The Big 8’, was the giant of pop radio and the most powerful single force in the American music business. But it was, in fact, on the south shore of the Detroit River in a city of 180,000 people – Windsor, Ontario, Canada. And the person in charge of picking the hits? A former CKLW switchboard operator named Rosalie Trombley who was born and raised in Windsor. In those days, young Rosalie had the transmission tower and the music industry power to make or break international acts such as Bob Seger, David Bowie, Elton John, the Temptations, the Four Tops and the MC5
CKLW was the sonic mirror of Windsor’s sister city, separated by a half a mile of dirty Detroit River water - reflecting excitement, prosperity, exuberance, soul, creativity - and bloody murder. The station provided the soundtrack to the days of postwar industrial prosperity, through the rising social unrest and racial tension that lead up to the explosion of the most violent of all the race riots in the US during the disastrous summer of 1967, and through the shockwaves and renaissance efforts in the decades to follow.
Through a combination of personal anecdotes from CKLW alumni, memorabilia and recordings, rare never before seen film and photographs of CKLW in its heyday, vintage and modern day footage of both Detroit and Windsor, RADIO REVOLUTION sheds new insights into a unique phenomena of communication and community.
RADIO REVOLUTION features a powerful soundtrack that includes hits from the halcyon days of radio including: “Detroit” (Scott Morgan, the Rationals), “Heavy Music” (Bob Seger), “Born to be Wild” (Steppenwolf), “Won't Get Fooled Again” (The Who), “Rosalie” (Bob Seger), “I'm Eighteen” (Alice Cooper), “Beth” (Kiss), “These Eyes” (The Guess Who), “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” (Tony Orlando), “Bennie & the Jets” (Elton John), “Nowhere to Run” (Martha & the Vandellas), “Going Back to Detroit” (Wayne Kramer (MC5)), “What's Going On” (Marvin Gaye), “American Woman” (The Guess Who), “I Just Want To Testify” (The Parliaments), “You and Your Folks” (Funkadelic), “Rhythm Changes” (The Ohio Players) and the legendary multi-million selling “The Americans”, written by Gordon Sinclair and read by Byron MacGregor.
RADIO REVOLUTION ALSO SCREENS THURS. MAR 18, CONVENTION CENTER & SAT. MARCH 20, CONVENTION CENTER
Markham Street Films Inc. is a production company based in Toronto, Canada, specializing in documentary and feature films. Formed in 2002 by partners Judy Holm and Michael McNamara, Markham Street Films has originated such distinct documentaries as the Gemini Award nominated WRINKLE, and produced HEARING VOICES: The Lives and Times of Rich Little (CBC), RADIO REVOLUTION: The Rise & Fall of The Big 8 (History Television) and GENUINE ARTICLE: The First Trial (The Documentary Channel). Markham Street Films is currently producing a number of new television documentaries including FLATLY STACKED (TVO & The Documentary Channel), MEET THE SUMDEES (Vision TV), 100 FILMS & A FUNERAL (The Documentary Channel) as well as the feature films VICTORIA DAY, SLEEPYHEAD and THE RETURN OF THE FABULOUS SEVEN.
www.markhamstreetfilms.com
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Markham Street Films Inc. Tel. 416-536-1390 info@markhamstreet.com
