The ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' was an American syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

recording artists.

History

The program was broadcast on Sunday nights from 1973 until 1993. Following the end of original programming, the broadcast continued on Sunday nights until 2005, airing previously broadcast shows. During its prime, the program was carried by more than 300 radio stations throughout the United States. The show's name was derived from the influential blues radio show ''

King Biscuit Time :''"King Biscuit Time" is also the name under which ex-Beta Band frontman Steve Mason releases his solo work.'' ''King Biscuit Time'' is the longest-running daily American radio broadcast in history. The program is broadcast each weekday from ...

'', which was sponsored by the King Biscuit Flour Co., combined with the hippie phrase "

flower power Flower power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and nonviolence. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsber ...

". The first show was broadcast on February 18, 1973, and featured

Blood, Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is a jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. In addition to original music, the group has performed popular songs by Laura Ny ...

, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

. The long-time host of the show until the mid-1990s was

Bill Minkin William "Bill" Minkin (born October 17, 1941) is an American comedian, singer, and recording artist who performed political satire, under the names Senator Bobby and Senator Everett McKinley. In 1967, Parkway Records released a 45 rpm single of Mi ...

, whose voice has been described as "the perfect blend of hipster enthusiasm and stoner casualness." The concerts were usually recorded with a mobile recording truck, then mixed and edited for broadcast on the show within a few weeks. In the 1970s, the show was sent to participating radio stations on reel-to-reel tape. Some shows were recorded and mixed in both stereo and quadraphonic. In 1980, D.I.R. began using the LP format, producing the show on a three-sided, two-record set. The first show on compact disc was a live retrospective of

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

broadcast on September 27, 1987. By 2000, King Biscuit was using CD-R media to distribute the show. These tapes, records or compact discs were accompanied by a cue sheet which gave the disc jockey a written guideline of the content and length of each segment of the program. In 1982, a

three-alarm fire One-alarm fires, two-alarm fires, three-alarm fires, etc., are categories classifying the seriousness of fires, commonly used in the United States and in Canada, particularly indicating the level of response by local authorities. The term multip ...

damaged the Manhattan office tower that housed D.I.R. Broadcasting. Reportedly, many of the ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' recordings were lost in the fire. Although closely associated with

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

in its later years, the ''King Biscuit Flower Hour'' dedicated much air time to new and emerging artists, including new wave and

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

artists in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 2006, the ''King Biscuit'' tape archives were acquired by

Wolfgang's Vault Wolfgang's (formerly Wolfgang's Vault) is a private music-focused company established in 2002 dedicated to the restoration and archiving of audio and video concert recordings and the sale of music memorabilia. It began with the collection of the p ...

which began streaming concerts online and has made some available for download.

King Biscuit Flower Hour Records

After founder

Bob Meyrowitz Robert "Bob" Meyrowitz is the co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background In 1973, Meyrowitz was a founder of D.I.R. Broadcasting and a creator of the syndicated radio series, the King Biscuit Flower Hour. In the late 198 ...

sold his interest to new ownership, King Biscuit Flower Hour Records was formed in 1992 with the intention of releasing live albums from the archives. Licensing issues prevented the release of the most popular artists featured on the program, although dozens of recordings did see commercial release.

D.I.R. Broadcasting

''D.I.R. Broadcasting'' created the syndicated radio series ''King Biscuit Flower Hour''.

References

External links

* *{{BFI , id= 4ce2b9852d71d , name= DIR Broadcasting * Fred Jacob
Could The King Biscuit Flower Hour Survive Today ?
· Jacobs Media Strategies American music radio programs Rock music radio programs 1973 radio programme debuts 2005 radio programme endings