The PAMS Numbered Series

PAMS created hundreds of different jingle packages through the years. Although many of them had names, the ones which were most widely used are the "numbered series". Between the years 1951 and 1978 there were 49 of these series (actually more if you count the lettered variations). Each package had a unique musical sound or lyric theme.

To sell these jingle packages to radio stations, the company prepared demonstration tapes ("demos") which were sent out on 5" reels of 1/4" tape. Most demos were sent out in the distinctive PAMS box. However, many of the demos were packaged with their own special box labels. This page contains a complete set of these original labels, which are now collector's items. Click on the small image of any custom label to see a full size version of that label.

You can hear samples of many of these packages by listening to our online jingle samplers.

THE PAMS NUMBERED SERIES
Series #	Name	Year	Remarks
1		1956	Bill Meeks first began creating radio jingles in 1947, while working for Gordon McLendon at KLIF in Dallas. He founded PAMS as an advertising agency in 1951. A few years later the company began to offer syndicated packages of station IDs.
2		1957	This package expanded on the idea of Series 1, with more orchestration and better recording.
3		1957	These were show open and closing themes for DJs.
4	The Flexibles	1957	Jingles inspired by the sound of the big artists of the day, such as Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, and Jimmy Durante. Each cut was available in a variety of lengths.
5	Merchant Jingles		These were not station IDs, but commercial ("merchant") jingles. As more were done through the years additional demos 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, and 5F were created.
6	Color Radio	1958	This was radio's answer to the advent of color television. The package was divided into sections 6A, 6B, and 6C.
7		1958	The first attempted "soul" (R&B) jingles. Several tracks were re-used in later packages with more traditional vocals.
8		1958	A very successful series which only required one girl singer (Terry Lea) to customize it for a station.
9	Highland Series	1958	The name commemorates PAMS' move to its first makeshift studio on Knox Street, which is in an area known as Highland Park.
10	Signature Series	1959	This was the first series to have a consistent signature melody ("logo") for the call letters in every cut.
11	Electronic	1959	Series 11, 12, and 13 were recorded together. Each section had a different style, and stations had the option of buying any or all of the sections. The "electronic" sounds were created by speeding up recordings of regular instruments.
12	Trend	1959	Featured several all male vocals, in the style of groups like the Hi-Los.
13	Target	1959	Featured group vocals and larger orchestration.
14	Dramatic Signatures	1960	The beginning of jingles as we know them. This series not only had a consistent signature melody for the call letters, but allowed each station to select their own logo melody. Features the console guitar of Alvino Rey.
15	Living Radio	1960	This package was originally sung for WABC New York, which is what is heard on the demo. The "77 WABC" logo used was a variation on the theme song for the popular TV show "77 Sunset Strip". But WABC never bought these, and eventually the series was used by WMGM New York instead.
15A	High School Fight Themes	1960	These were "fight songs" intended to support local high school teams.
16	Sound of the City	1961	To enhance the bond between the station and the city it serves, this series included a full length song called My Home Town, which many stations distributed to listeners on 45 rpm records as part of the promotion.
16A	Musical Funtests	1961	A collection of radio contests and promotions.
17	New Frontier	1961	With President Kennedy's "new frontier" program underway, PAMS produced this series to encourage community pride and civic participation. The vocal group featured lead singer Jean Oliver.
18	Sonosational	1961	This package introduced "Sonovox" to radio jingles. Although the process had been used since the 1940's to make instruments appear to talk or sing, this was its debut in IDs.
19	Personality Themes	1962	Another collection of DJ show themes. For the demo presentation, famous radio personalities were impersonated by local Dallas DJs.
20	Weatherettes	1962	An entire package devoted to jingles about the weather.
21	The Friendly Giant	1962	This unusual package, which was intended for full-service stations rather than top-40, didn't sell very well because it was difficult to change the logo melody.
22	Sono-Magic	1962	This was an update of Series 18, and once again featured the unique sonovox effect. There was also a non-sonovox version of the demo called Series 22B (WYNR).
23	Ani-Magic	1962	Series 22 and 23 were made for WKBW at the same time. Instead of sonovox, 23 incorporated sound effects into the rhythm of the cuts to create "animated magic".
24	His & Her Radio	1962	The "his and her" lyric theme wasn't too big a hit, so a Series 24A (WFUN) version was also released with more top-40 oriented lyrics.
25	The Happy Difference	1963	This package included the vocal sound of two little girls named Carol and Lauri (they're twins). There were 3 versions of the demo with slight differences in cuts and lyrics: 25A (KGW), 25B (WABC), and 25C (KONO).
25D	Cheerleaders	1963	An update on the high school team fight songs idea.
26	Let's Go America	1963	The patriotic theme of this package was a tie-in with WABC's DJs being called "The All Americans" (which was derived from the station being owned by the American Broadcasting Company). There were 3 versions of this demo: 26A (WXYZ), 26B (WABC or KFWB), and 26C (WXYZ).
26D	Beatles Series	1964	Beatlemania was sweeping the USA on stations like "W-A-Beatle-C", so PAMS created this series of jingles based on various Beatle hits.
27	Jet Set	1964	This legendary package featured the unique combination of all-male vocals, and a high soprano female (Gleni) singing along above the trumpet parts.
28	Happiness Is	1964	A more traditional sounding package which told listeners to "get happy". There was also briefly a "28X" featuring jingles done for KGW. Some of the 28X cuts became part of series 28, 29 and Smart Set.
29	Go Go	1965	Riding the "a Go Go" craze, PAMS created this series which once again featured all-male vocals with fast-paced group backgrounds.
30	The N' Set	1965	Everyone wanted to be part of "The In Crowd", so that became the next PAMS theme. The song "What's New Pussycat?" inspired the name for the all-female vocal group that sang on this package: The Gold Pussycats.
30U	Kampus Kapers	1965	More fight songs, but these were intended for college rather than high school teams. The letter "U" (in 30U) stood for University.
31	Music Explosion	1966	"Music, that's our middle name". This package featured a powerful 4-male vocal sound.
32	Swiszle	1966	What was a "swiszle"? Anything that a station wanted it to be. For those who didn't get it, there was a 32B version of the demo with more conventional lyrics. Both featured the unique vocal style of Trella Hart, plus the first use of the Moog synthesizer.
33	Fun	1967	The song "Good Vibrations", combined with mayor John Lindsay proclaiming New York to be "Fun City", lead WABC to adopt the phrase "Fun Vibrations" with this new PAMS package. There was also a 33B version called "Just For Fun".
34	Tenth Dimension	1967	The summer of "Flower Power" inspired the direction of this package. The name, however, was a reference to PAMS' newly installed 10-track tape machine. There are 3 versions: 34A (The Power of Love), 34B (Music Power), and 34C (Music Pow Pow Power).
35	The All Sound	1968	There was a 35A and 35B version of the package with different cuts and lyrics.
36	Contempra	1969	The 36A version contained cuts based on the idea of "The Music Machine". 36B was built around "The 24 Hour Excitement".
37	Power Play	1969	"Music comes here to play" was the central theme of this package which once again featured a 4-male vocal sound.
38	New Generation	1969	Responding to requests for a different, younger vocal sound, PAMS created a new group which it called "The New Generation Singers". The Moog synthesizer was heavily used. There was also a 38B version which featured a more traditional vocal sound.
39	The Sherwood Series	1970	Named for programmer Lee Sherwood who wanted his jingles to sound more like the music on the station. There was a 39A and 39B version.
40	The Changes	1970	Responding to the influences of the Drake era, this package featured brief jingles and acappellas, with a big 7-voice group sound. There was also a 40B version. 40C contained additional supplemental cuts.
41	Music Radio	1971	Part of this package was sung with the 7-voice "A" group, the other featured the younger "C" group. Each was named for the studio in which they recorded most often.
42	The Igniters	1971	The 42A demo contained WABC versions. 42B had the same cuts, but for a variety of different stations and logos. 42C was a completely different package called "Music Is Our Message".
43	The Textures	1972	This package concentrated on tempo and texture transitions.
44	The Music's On Us	1973	PAMS created over 60 cuts for WABC using this lyric theme. They were divided into packages 44A and 44B. As usual, the station only used a small fraction of the cuts on the air.
45	Music And More	1975	There was a 45A and 45B, as well as a separate 45C titled "Do You Recall?" For a brief time there was also a 45X demo (X for experimental) which used the theme "all hits all the time".
46	Just For You	1976	One of several packages of the day which were inspired by McDonald's successful "we do it all for you" campaign.
47		1976	Bascially a continuation of series 45 and 46 for WGAR.
48	Where It's Good Again	1977	The name of this KLIF package was sung to the tune of "where you're hearing things", which was borrowed from Series 18.
49	The Modulators	1977	There was a 49A version (WLS) and a 49B version (WGAR).

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