AM Radio (song)
Encyclopedia
"AM Radio" is a rock
song by the band Everclear
. The song was recorded circa 2000 for Everclear's fourth album Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile
. The song was released as the second single from Everclear's album Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile
. It spent 10 weeks on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, and reached #101. The "AM Radio" single was mistaken by many to be the first single from Everclear's fifth album, Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude
because the song was released so soon before Everclear's fifth album's release. The song was later used in a television commercial for General Motors
in early 2006.
' memories of growing up during the 1970s— specifically mentioning the years 1970, '72, '75, and '77—while listening to his favorite music on AM radio, which Alexakis describes in the outro chant as: "We like pop, we like soul, we like rock, but we never liked disco."
The song begins with a 1970s vintage jingle
from Los Angeles
radio station KHJ
and samples Jean Knight
's song "Mr. Big Stuff
". It also contains a short sample of "Those Were the Days", the theme song of the American sitcom All in the Family. However, certain versions of the song, including the version on later pressings of Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile omit the sample.
The song was used as a tribute to AM Radio Top 40 by John Records Landecker to open his Memorial Day show on the 2008 WLS (AM)
"Big 89 Rewind". WLS in Chicago was one of the leading AM giants in Top 40 radio from the 1960s to the mid 1980s when it dropped music for all talk.
sample, without the jingle. It then shows the band, along with some extra brass players, performing in front of a giant screen. At first, the screen shows a bunch of smileys. As the first verse begins, the screen starts showing TV programs (i.e., The Brady Bunch
, Kojak
, Hawaii Five-O
, H.R. Pufnstuf
, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
, Adam-12
, Land of the Lost
) with Art Alexakis' face edited onto some of the characters to make them sing with the song, or other well-known people, events and styles from the seventies (i.e., Richard Nixon
resigning, Jimmy Page
, platform shoes). A few scenes actually have members of Everclear doing 1970s things (i.e., posing in leisure suits, getting high in a Volkswagen Type 2
).
Art Alexakis is wearing a Portland Trail Blazers jersey in honor of that city's professional basketball team. Greg Eklund is wearing a Los Angeles Lakers jersey.
Camp Chaos Entertainment
also created an animated cartoon
version of the music video in SWF
format.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
song by the band Everclear
Everclear (band)
Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
. The song was recorded circa 2000 for Everclear's fourth album Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile
Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile
Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile is an album by Everclear, released on July 11, 2000. The album is a loose concept album based around lead singer Art Alexakis' second divorce...
. The song was released as the second single from Everclear's album Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile
Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile
Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile is an album by Everclear, released on July 11, 2000. The album is a loose concept album based around lead singer Art Alexakis' second divorce...
. It spent 10 weeks on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, and reached #101. The "AM Radio" single was mistaken by many to be the first single from Everclear's fifth album, Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude
Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude
Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 2: Good Time for a Bad Attitude is an album by Everclear, released on November 21, 2000. They recorded Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in the same year and released them only a few months apart. Both albums are loose concept albums based around Art Alexakis' second divorce...
because the song was released so soon before Everclear's fifth album's release. The song was later used in a television commercial for General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
in early 2006.
Content
The song's lyrics deal with Art AlexakisArt Alexakis
Arthur Paul "Art" Alexakis is best known as the American singer, composer, and lead guitarist of the rock band Everclear. He has been a member of several notable bands, in addition to his own work as a songwriter for other artists...
' memories of growing up during the 1970s— specifically mentioning the years 1970, '72, '75, and '77—while listening to his favorite music on AM radio, which Alexakis describes in the outro chant as: "We like pop, we like soul, we like rock, but we never liked disco."
The song begins with a 1970s vintage jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
from Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
radio station KHJ
KHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
and samples Jean Knight
Jean Knight
Jean Knight is an African-American soul/R&B/funk singer, best known for her 1971 Stax Records hit single, "Mr. Big Stuff".-Early years:...
's song "Mr. Big Stuff
Mr. Big Stuff
"Mr. Big Stuff" is a song by R&B singer Jean Knight. Released from her 1971 debut album of the same title, it became a huge crossover hit. The song spent five weeks at number-one on Billboard's Best Selling Soul Singles and peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. "Mr. Big Stuff" would...
". It also contains a short sample of "Those Were the Days", the theme song of the American sitcom All in the Family. However, certain versions of the song, including the version on later pressings of Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile omit the sample.
The song was used as a tribute to AM Radio Top 40 by John Records Landecker to open his Memorial Day show on the 2008 WLS (AM)
WLS (AM)
WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....
"Big 89 Rewind". WLS in Chicago was one of the leading AM giants in Top 40 radio from the 1960s to the mid 1980s when it dropped music for all talk.
Music video
The music video starts off with a radio announcer reading the recorded programming disclaimer (the voice of KHJ newsman Art Kevin) from the KHJKHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
sample, without the jingle. It then shows the band, along with some extra brass players, performing in front of a giant screen. At first, the screen shows a bunch of smileys. As the first verse begins, the screen starts showing TV programs (i.e., The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
, Kojak
Kojak
Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
, Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf was a children's television series produced by Sid and Marty Krofft in the United States. It was the first Krofft live-action, life-size puppet program. The seventeen episodes were originally broadcast September 6, 1969 to September 4, 1971...
, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
Sigmund and the Sea Monsters was an American children's television series that ran from 1973 to 1975, produced by Sid and Marty Krofft and aired on Saturday mornings...
, Adam-12
Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
, Land of the Lost
Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)
Land of the Lost is a children's television series co-created and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network....
) with Art Alexakis' face edited onto some of the characters to make them sing with the song, or other well-known people, events and styles from the seventies (i.e., Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
resigning, Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
, platform shoes). A few scenes actually have members of Everclear doing 1970s things (i.e., posing in leisure suits, getting high in a Volkswagen Type 2
Volkswagen Bus
-Light commercial vehicles:One of five generations of Volkswagen vans:*Volkswagen Type 2 , generation T1 *Volkswagen Type 2 , generation T2 *Volkswagen Type 2 , generation T3...
).
Art Alexakis is wearing a Portland Trail Blazers jersey in honor of that city's professional basketball team. Greg Eklund is wearing a Los Angeles Lakers jersey.
Camp Chaos Entertainment
Bob Cesca
Bob Cesca is an American director, producer, writer, actor, blogger and political commentator.Cesca writes weekly columns in The Huffington Post, which he has written since August 2005. He has also contributed to AOL's WalletPop blog and Manhattan Magazine.He began his career in media working as...
also created an animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
version of the music video in SWF
SWF
SWF is an Adobe Flash file format used for multimedia, vector graphics and ActionScript. Originating with FutureWave Software, then transferred to Macromedia, and then coming under the control of Adobe, SWF files can contain animations or applets of varying degrees of interactivity and function.,...
format.
Charts
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 15 |