Mock Emergency Broadcast System Test WHEN Syracuse 1970s

[theojer87]

IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY WE ALL SING SO GAYLY

[ChrisHenniker]

Why do American, Canadian, Mexican, Japanese and Phillipino radio stations have a 4 letter code assigned to them, rather than a name? In the UK, you can call it what you like, even Reginald or Fred. So long as it's distinctive, not over six words long, obscene or defamatory, or violates trademark laws, you're set.

[TrollFacedHedgehog]

i bet they were high when they made this

[bigshant2212]

Love it.

[edmedmoped]

Those harmonies at the end - damn.

[PGMEagle]

This sounds like a Wierd Al song

[PGMEagle]

Do they play this when there is an actual emergancy.

[LuigiGodzillaGirl]

I wonder how many different EBS test jingles there were before the FCC banned them. I've seen a couple others on YouTube.

[leafyutube]

I like the happy music before the test.

[yoshi41023]

Because I don't wanna hear that beeping EAS crap -_-

[yoshi41023]

I wish EAS tests were like this :(

[theogt821]

I think this is annoying, thanks much. The first part ain't so bad, but the end singing tune I don't care much for. I'd rather it be kept plain than have the singing as not only does it go faster, but people pay more attention to it if as they get the idea that if the real thing were to happen it wouldn't have singing attached to it.

[GateStudios]

If they hadn't banned singing EBS tests, there would have been the possibility that--of all companies--JAM Creative Productions would have produced one for WHEN in the 1980s!

[jayjarnold]

This was found (minus the tone) on the "L.A. Air Force - Cheap Radio Thrills" album...

I'm still trying to find that, and the more comical Bob And Ray EBS test with a hilarious tone intro and outro on either side of the actual EBS tone. That was used on KSFO, San Francisco, until the late-1970s...

Great stuff, but I can see why the dreaded FCC 'banned' the use of these, being the stuffed-shirfts the FCC can be.

[LarryB1984]

So let me get this straight......that horrible sound was meant to get our attention, so therefore we were supposed to pay attention to it? What if the EBS came on, and I changed the channel during the attention signal......would the EBS people come knocking on my door and do that annoying sound when I answer it?

[LakeyLuvAnimals23]

hEY! This is just a test! So we make funny font and awesome catchy tune for you!!!

Hey, at least it doesn't freak children out!

[backinthecrystal]

Ah, the sound the scared an entire generation.

[peakster753]

from what I read, the tone was done at two different frequencies that are disharmonious to the human ear as they felt it'd be a way to get the collective public's attention

[loikmg]

That's cool to have a jingle for the test commercials. I wonder what it would be like if it was a real emergency.

[tymanfity]

YAY DISCO YA GOTTA LOVE THE 70's

[enigma413]

Cute.

[stillfly122]

ROFLLMFAOLOL! The little girl goes This is a test in a high ass pitch hahaha



[grahamkeithtodd]

yes the bombs are falling thick and fast,but here is a twee catchy jingle to speed you on your way.....

[DJCandyManMike]

Man, this is priceless! I find it amusing that something like this was actually played. This one has officially been favorited!

[unclefestus]

Wish they would have played this one in my town. I mean, for a simple test of the emergency broadcast system, couldn't it be less frightening and disturbing? Did it HAVE to be something to traumatize me forever played in my town?

[HunterM28025]

"Yep, it's gonna be a groovy apocolypse people!"

[Audioquest56]

A nice little happy tune right before the warheads vaporize your city...

[2dittoz]

lol its like it does that when theres a nuke falling on your city "this is the emergency broadcast syyystemmmm, pac your sh*t n' goooooooooo!" *beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep* "gooooooooooooodbyyyyyyyyyyyyy­ye" turns blank....

[lolol1234567890ful]

Its actually kind of scary when you think about the fact if it was real, it meant impending doom unless you were near a bunker of some sort.

[TheSunnyStar]

This EBS song is groovy, catchy, and better than most of today's music!

[altfactor]

Did they have a singing "This is not a test; we are under attack" EBS jingle??

[grahamkeithtodd]

what a happy jaunty catchy tune... god knows what the real music would have been played if it was for REAL!(a bit of heavy/death metal maybe?)

[frednora]

Oh wow, this is a happy intro. It will make my next disaster much brigher

[NextVideoGames]

scary lol

[tatetalk]

I want this to play at 3am, not that beeping crap

[Dannypuck]

Epic. That's all i have to say. Did this really happen?

[pythonfan1]

Stupid and annoying!!

[jesteranime]

did this actually get played on WHEN? I mean they go for a specific station and everything so I find it funny and ironic if this actually at some point played on the Syracuse and Central New York airwaves.

[CobraKing619]

@jesteranime yeah they did use to play this on tests in the mid to late 70s until the FCC laid the smackdown on WHEN for what they deemed singing the script in a comedic manner

[TrollFacedHedgehog]

@jesteranime umm.... i think they did...but they changed names at the end to go with the local area (i think)

[fenris91]

This test was brought to you by The 5th Dimension! In case of disasters and civil emergencies remember to Let The Sun Shine In!!

[Headcheezonium]

I want to hear them sing an Emergency Action Notification.

[frednora]

@Headcheezonium : La dee daaa dopplar radar has detected a tornado in you area... doobie doo wop, this storm is expected to bring bowling ball sized hail and deadly cloud to ground lighting...

tra la la, this storm is expected to bring winds are in excess 70 miles per hour and 5 inches of rain to the area so expect widespread flooding ...

shoop da doop, take shelter immediately or face certain death...

boppity boo.

Hows that?

[ravenfan205]

@frednora LMFAO. That is epic XDDD You must evacuate quicklyyyyyyy, or we'll keep singinnnnnnng!

[RealmsQE]

I lol'd. THIS CONCLUDES THIS TEEEEEEEEEEEST!

[CobraKing619]

@leo222 Back then the EBS was strictly to let people know they were about to die within a few minutes.........I guess they didn't want people to have a few shits and giggles out of a rmageddon.

[coffeeandsugar20]

The FCC banned this cause it would make people think it is a joke... lol

[jfpl7672]

I remembered hearing this as a teen on a radio station here in Tacoma, WA.; I believe it was KTAC (now KHHO). Only heard it once; thought it was neat. Thanks for sharing.

[legomaxmania]

LOL

[SailorCallie]

WTH is with that song? Like we needed a bouncy tune to inform us at the start and end of an EBS.

Come to think of it, we were in the Cold War at the time, so I just thought about the irony of it.

[hillbillyprofane]

Even the song scares me. LOL I'm hopeless when it comes to EBS tests! Still, love it, thanks for posting!

[chocolate45689]

lol

[afuzzyduck]

so jaunty :D

[leilapersian]

Sad. FCC banned this.

I would like a good tune before we would get nuked.

[LarryB1984]

Yeah, and they think think an ear piercing 60 second long, nails on a chalkboard like sound is going to make us listen.....

They quickly ban this cool tune, but you still hear plenty of foul language on TV....

The FCC is ass-backwards!

[guitarhero12197]

lmfao

[MissyLeilaPersian]

@leilapersian Remember to put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye!

[shandamoon]

Oh wow, I didn't know this was real, I thought it was Negativland being Negativland.

[singinglawnchair]

@shandamoon

I know, I thought that too when I heard this. I wonder how they get ahold of all this awesome material like this?

[Mrfunnyify]

Hmm.... Win.

[PresidentGrasshopper]

Now, that's a catchy tune!

[CobraKing619]

Because the FCC didn't find anything funny about this jingle and banned it's use in the late 70s. They really want to emphasize the threat of mortality when broadcasting alerts and nothing does that more than ear piercing tones and absolute urgency in the announcements.

[jzcrandall]

@CobraKing619 Even the EBS card looks uplifting - it should have a matching jingle.

[TwilightKing581]

@jzcrandall Dude, I'm sorry, but that slide scares the absolute crap out of me. If they're going to make a song to that slide, it should come out of a horror movie or something. I'm surprised it hasn't been used in too much pop culture.

[jemerson722]

@TwilightKing581 I hear ya! WDTV used that EBS slide for their tests until the mid 90s (2 years or so before EAS). It was definitely scary!

[MissGenius3847]

Why can't all eas tests be like this?

[smittykins]

I remember hearing a different sung version of the EBS ending with, "Did'ja pass?"

[NightsEclipse44]

LOLZ

[Lars2121]

Very funny!!

[ZeldaLinkNessRule]

(Cheesy 70's music playing, with the following words, imagine them singing like they did in this test!) This isn't a test! There has been a meteor! The size of the sun! Headin' this wayyyyyyyy! We are all screwed! On WHEN, Syracuseeeeeeeeeeee! We will now stop broadcasting! Get to underground shelters and kiss your asses goodbye! On WHEN, Syracuseeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

[yamomwa3]

Well, at least we can have a bit of fun before we are nuked, lol

[eszettfromhell]

I first heard this on another Youtube video about 'numbers stations' and thought that someone had recorded it as a joke or satire. I was amazed to find out that it was. It's the "And other authorities!" bit that makes it for me. Absolutely fantastic. I would quite happily be engulfed by a nuclear fireball knowing that the West had managed to accomplish this before its demise.

[DorvellTStewart]

I also find the "and other Authorities" line funny as hell! Sounds like the way it would be said on a Saturday Morning Cartoon or something. LOL!

[lolol1234567890ful]

@eszettfromhell Was it the one with the creepy doll?

[eszettfromhell]

@lolol1234567890ful Yes, it was!

[tfto73]

This is even creepier than the usual ebs tests.

[MewSumomo]

LOL this is amazing.

[singinglawnchair]

I heard this on Negativland's "It's All in Your Head FM". Hilarious, but still kinda disturbing, haha.

[DorvellTStewart]

Cracks me up everytime!

[pat3917]

Hey we can have a little fun before we die in a tornado or nuclear strike can't we?

[DorvellTStewart]

One good thing that comes out of this is at least those people can sing, LOL!

[DorvellTStewart]

BTW, that wasn't a criticism towards you.

[pat3917]

LOL. No offense taken; I can't sing!

[uraydo]

... if this was an actual emergency we wouldn't be singing.

[trailbreakeradk]

That's how it should be.

[brianD69]

I lived in Syracuse in the 70's, I did not get whether this was mocking the government requirement to do this or just sincerly trying to do it in a more entertaining way?

[CobraKing619]

I don't know to be honest but the FCC didn't find anything funny about this jingle and by the late 70s they made it illegal to sing the test script or to do the test in a comedic way.

[Kemruss]

Nothing like globia media corporations trying to sugar coat catastophic disasters...atleast in the 70's they did it with some flair lol

[DorvellTStewart]

Probably, but you've gotta admit this is pretty creative!

[PoPoNellie]

My dad told me about this long ago and I never believed him...Until now. Very creepy. He used work with the FCC and said that the dept. head called WHEN/Syracuse and bitched them out and they discontinued its use. It wasn't until the late 70's that the FCC made it a written rule that all stations should avoid using sung or comical jingles for the EBS

[ferhordlingrads]

AH HA HA HA HA! Is there anywhere I could download this in MP3 format?

[CobraKing619]

I couldn't find a downloadable file of this jingle what I did was use audacity to record it from the CONELRAD website and I already had the tone downloaded.

[jrmcferren]

This actually happened, the FCC even made a rule to prohibit stations from singing the test scripts, the EAS had the purpose of alerting for Nuclear attacks.

[dft432]

Wow!, this is so 70's!!!

[DanDMan16]

if you can, can you mock up this type of EBS only featuring the current alert tone.

[CobraKing619]

I'd like to but when I created the Emergency Alert System Mock Up Atomic Twister I used the EAS Encoder Demo it was infected with a backdoor trojan and fucked my PC up to the point I had to take it to school and reformat

[DanDMan16]

ok then never mind

[triviatrap1982]

Wow...now that would have made a lot of people's days (particularly younger kids)

[zymaymyn]

very amusing