Do you know the name Johnny Mann?
Have you
heard of the Johnny Mann Singers?
I bet
you have, even though the name might not ring a bell.
You might
remember Johnny Mann from some of his great albums over the
years. If you like good vocal groups, such as the Hi-Lo's
or Inner Voices, you'll like the Johnny Mann Singers.
But whatever
your age, and almost wherever you live, you probably have
heard the Johnny Mann Singers many, many times.
For instance,
I heard the Johnny Mann Singers when I lived in Chicago, my
hometown, on WCFL. In the late 1960s and 1970s, I often heard
them on Larry Lujack's morning drive time show on WCFL. But
whatever time of day I listened to WCFL, I heard the Johnny
Mann Singers.
I moved
to California in 1986 and settled in Los Angeles in 1990.
I often listen to K-EARTH 101, an Oldies station very similar
to WCFL. K-EARTH
101 plays one of my favorite songs, "Hello Stranger" by
Barbara Lewis, at least once a day.
Another
reason I like K-EARTH 101 is that they play the Johnny Mann
Singers frequently throughout the day.
"Wait
a minute!" you say! "I live in L.A., too, and listen to K-EARTH
101 all the time. But I don't recall K-EARTH playing anything
by the Johnny Mann Singers!"
Oh, yes
you have! How can I say so with such certainty? I'll even
go so far as to say that many, many people from coast to coast
hear the Johnny Mann Singers on their local radio stations
all the time, too! Have a listen:
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|
Left
to right: Bob Joyce, Randy Crenshaw, Don Shelton (formerly
of the Hi-Lo's), Johnny Mann, Melissa MacKay (with Inner
Voices), Darlene Koldenhoven (lead singer) and Linda
Harmon.
|
Sound
familiar? For years, I wondered why K-EARTH 101 used the same
melody for its jingle as WCFL had used for its jingle in the
late 1960s and 1970s. Finally, in early 2008, I did a Google
search for "K-EARTH 101 jingle" that led me to the answer.
This search took me to the Johnny Mann Singers web
site.
Johnny
Mann and his great vocalists have been recording popular and
religious music and also radio station jingles for
decades, making it very easy for a station's listeners
to remember their call letters and location on the radio dial.
Many stations around the country and elsewhere use custom
jingles created for them by the Johnny Mann Singers.
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| Johnny
Mann |
I found
the song files that I have embedded in the above media players
on the Johnny
Mann web site. When I emailed Johnny to request permission
to use them here, he graciously agreed. Thank you, Johnny!
