From in-car AM to FM radio, eight-track tape players to cassette tape decks, in-car CD players to iPods and beyond, we’ve come a long way in how we listen to music in our cars.
To celebrate World Radio Day on 13 February, Ford South Africa highlights some rock and pop music milestones over the past several decades. And classic rock aficionado Benjy Mudie, host of ‘The Jukebox on 702’, takes us on a trip down memory lane, sharing some of his favourite memories of listening to music on the car radio.
1950s
“Back in the late Fifties, when I was a young boy, whenever Bill Haley and His Comets’ ‘Rock Around The Clock’ used to come on the radio, I remember my dad turning it up and pointing to the big dial of the car clock.” – Benjy Mudie
13 February 1950 – Peter Gabriel is born. One of the founders and original lead singer of Genesis, he goes on to have a successful solo career. In 1987, the now-iconic video for his song ‘Sledgehammer’ rakes in a record nine MTV Video Music Awards, still the most wins for a single video in the VMAs to this day.
1960s
“My dad loved muscle cars, and in the early Sixties he had a red Ford Fairlane 500. When The Beatles’ ‘She Loves You’ used to come on the radio, I remember we kids used to scream out the “yeah, yeah, yeah” part of the chorus.” – Benjy Mudie
13 February 1961 – Frank Sinatra launches his own label, Reprise, under Warner Bros Records. Although he vows he will never sign any rock artists, Reprise will go on to become the home of many influential US acts, including Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, and The Beach Boys.
13 February 1967 – The Beatles release the double A-sided single ‘Strawberry Fields Forever / Penny Lane’ on Capitol Records in the US, which peaks at #1 on the charts.
1970s
“When I worked in the EMI stores in 1974 and 1975, I had an old, fawn-coloured Ford Prefect that my folks helped me buy. It had an eight-track and radio combo, with four large and loud speakers that blasted LM Radio until it was shut down by the Frelimo government in 1975. The song I remember turning up whenever it played was The Who`s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’ – Benjy Mudie
13 February 1972 – Led Zeppelin is forced to cancel a concert in Singapore when officials won’t let them off the plane because of their long hair.
13 February 1973 – Elvis Presley takes ill during a concert in Las Vegas. He is attended to by Dr Sidney Bowers, who is later gifted with a white Lincoln Continental (produced by Lincoln, a division of the Ford Motor Company), in appreciation for his services.
13 February 1974 – Robbie Williams is born. In 1990, the then-16-year-old is the youngest member to join Take That. After he quits the boy band in 1995, he goes on to have a hugely successful solo career, becoming the best-selling British solo artist in the UK, with a record 18 Brit Awards under his belt, and also the best-selling non-Latino artist in Latin America.
1980s
“In 1981, I remember AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ ruling the airwaves. During my time working for WEA Records (later Tusk Music), I listened constantly to radio in the car, flipping through the dial, checking what WEA tracks were being played by each station. The one I heard the most in 1983 was éVoid’s ‘Shadows’, which was a huge buzz for me as they were hometown friends of mine (I played bass in the original band), and I had signed them to WEA.” – Benjy Mudie
13 February 1982 – Pink Floyd’s album ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ marks 402 weeks in the charts. Released in March 1973, the now-legendary album has racked up more than 1 500 weeks on the Billboard chart – a record that has yet to be broken, and continues to sell around 8 500 copies a week.
13 February 1988 – Michael Jackson buys a ranch in California which he names Neverland, after the fantasy island in the story of ‘Peter Pan’, about a boy who never grows up. Neverland becomes the artist’s private residence, and the grounds contain, amongst other things, his own amusement park and petting zoo.
13 February 1989 – The Brit Awards is hosted by Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood. Winners include Phil Collins for British Male Solo Artist, Annie Lennox for British Female Solo Artist, Erasure for Best British Group, Fairground Attraction’s ‘First of a Million Kisses’ for Best British Album, Bros for British Breakthrough Act, Michael Jackson for International Male Solo Artist, Tracey Chapman for International Female Solo Artist, and U2 for Best International Group.
1990s
“In 1998 I started my own label, Fresh Music. That same year, local band Egyptian Nursery had a huge radio hit with ‘God`s Window’, and I always turned that up in my car, because they were my first signing.” – Benjy Mudie
13 February 1996 – Take That announce they are disbanding, prompting the UK government to set up counselling phone lines for distraught fans. Across the pond that same day, Tupac Shakur releases his fourth studio album ‘All Eyez on Me’. He will pass away in Las Vegas exactly seven months later.
Beyond 2000
“I still listen to car radio, but generally avoid the mainstream stations who play generic wallpaper pop. I mainly listen to Hot 91.9 for classic pop and soul, and Mix FM for classic rock. Plus every so often I dial over to Classic FM for chill tunes, and when I really feel I need some happy time, it’s Bollywood tunes on Radio Lotus. Although I host ‘The Jukebox on 702’, I never listen to myself.” – Benjy Mudie
13 February 2005 – Readers of ‘The Sun’ newspaper vote George Michael’s ‘Careless Whisper’ the greatest British pop single of the past 25 years.
13 February 2012 – Adele wins all six categories she is nominated for at the Grammy Awards.
13 February 2015 – Bob Dylan’s 36th studio album ‘Shadows in the Night’ debuts at #1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart, and #7 on the Billboard 200.
Ford SYNC®
The sophisticated in-car infotainment systems available in new Ford vehicles today have almost 90 years of development behind them. And the latest generation of Ford Motor Company’s award-winning SYNC® system is at the cutting edge of this technology.
Besides being able to tune into your favourite radio stations, or play your favourite music, it offers a myriad other features like voice-guided navigation, live traffic information, estimated travel time, and voice commands to make hands-free calls, read text messages through the speakers (SYNC® even understands emoticons and popular abbreviations), send quick replies by selecting from a list of pre-set text responses, listen to voicemail, and climate control.
Disclaimer – Not all SYNC® features are available on all Ford vehicles or compatible with all mobile phones. Visit www.ford.co.za/technology/sync/ for more info.
Benjy Mudie
A legend in the South African music industry, Mudie has nurtured the careers of many of the country’s most successful recording artists, and been involved in the promotion of most of the biggest global acts within the region. Mudie was also involved in the development of the South African Music Awards (SAMAs). Classic rock has always been a passion for Mudie, and he has exceptional insight into the tracks, artists, and backstories, regaling listeners of ‘The Jukebox on 702’ (also aired on its sister station CapeTalk) with fascinating tales and trivia, in between the playlist.
Provided by Ford SA
