Airwaves: April 29, 2016
Friends,
former colleagues, and fans of gathered at Le Petit Chateau restaurant
in North Hollywood last Saturday to pay tribute to radio legend Ron
Jacobs, who passed away last month in his native Hawaii.
Organized
by Kevin Gershan, who grew up with the Boss Radio format originated by
Jacobs and others at KHJ (930 AM) in 1965 -- and who eventually produced
the (post- KHJ) Robert W. Morgan Show -- the gathering was a way for
those living on the West Coast to get together and remember the man
known as one of the architects of modern music radio broadcasting.
And
did they talk. About the manic phone calls that might last hours at a
time, including incoherent yelling. About the many times he threatened
to sue someone ... or everyone in the room. And about the genius that he
was when it came to radio and marketing, along with the care he took of
people he respected and considered friends.
Best
known for his work at KHJ, launching the format that took the station
to the top of the ratings with a fast-paced bigger-than-life music
format, Jacobs was also behind the creation in 1972 of album-oriented
KGB (now KLSD, 1360 AM) complete with the Homegrown series of albums
featuring music from local artists as well as the hugely popular KGB
Chicken.
He
was the man behind the 1969 48-hour radio documentary “History of Rock
and Roll” that aired on KHJ just prior to his leaving the station. He
then went on to co-found Watermark and launch American Top-40, the
long-running countdown show starring Casey Kasem. Jacobs also produced
the Elvis Presley Story narrated by Wink Martindale ... the first
American radio production to be purchased by the BBC for airing in
England.
You
can get a taste of his crazy-genius and energy level by reading KHJ
Inside Boss Radio, available as a Kindle book at Amazon for $9.30. When I
read the book I found it fascinating ... and tiring: the energy that
pours out of the memos written by Jacobs is simply astounding.
The
celebration of life was just that -- upbeat, happy, positive. As
“crazy” as Jacobs could be at times, he touched so many people in so
many positive ways, and he did indeed help change radio forever.
Interview
Michael
Stark -- who runs the LA Radio Studio in San Pedro -- and I interviewed
Jacobs almost a year before his death, back in March of 2015. We spent
three hours on the telephone discussing radio in general, letting him
tell stories about his early radio life, the top-40 wars of Fresno and
San Bernardino, KHJ and more. Unfortunately, it ended up being only part
one of what was supposed to be at least two -- and probably more --
volumes.
The
project was put on the backburner due to in part to Jacobs being
involved in other projects as well as some of his health issues.
Regardless, We are currently editing the interview and eventually we
will have this ready for release and available as an audio recording or
podcast.
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