Radio: November 25, 2022
One
of thew absolute greats of radio — Wally Clark — passed away November 14th at
the age of 84.
Clark
is one of the crew that brought KIIS-FM (102.7 FM) to prominence starting in
1982 when he was named General Manager of the station, then-owned by Gannett.
Teamed up with programmer Gerry DeFrancisco, a tremendously talented on-air
staff including Rick Dees, who had recently moved over from KHJ (930 AM), “Big”
Ron O’Brien, Bruce Vidal, Paul Freeman and more, a strong music playlist, and a
can-do attitude that brought excitement back to radio.
It
almost didn’t happen. KIIS-FM was all-disco for time before Dees’ arrival, and
when Dees first arrived at KIIS, it was a sleepy (honestly pretty awful) adult
contemporary station that barely registered among listeners. Had management at
K-WEST (now KPWR, 105.9 FM) given master programmer Chuck Martin more support,
K-WEST would have dominated and KIIS may never have moved to top-40.
But
K-WEST didn’t support Martin; management apparently felt that top-40 was a dead
format, and moved to adult contemporary as Magic 106. Meanwhile, Gannett sensed
that they could make a mark and put into place a powerhouse staff, re-launched
KIIS-FM as top-40, and not only saved the station, they saved top-40 radio
itself.
Clark
was absolutely a major reason for the station’s success. Through his tenure, he
supported his staff, protected them from corporate managers, figured ways to
appease the bean counters when he blew the promotional budget, and allowed
creativity to thrive.
In
an era marked by stations that thought being “good” was good enough, Clark and
his team believed that they could do better. A goal was set to not only make
KIIS-FM number one on the ratings locally, he wanted them number one
nationally. Under his leadership, the station increased its ratings into and
past 10 shares, and the station soon set a record for commercial advertising
rates in much the same way KHJ had done more than ten years prior.
He
once told me that it was fairly easy to hold back corporate suits from causing
problems. “When you’re the number one station in the nation, they tend to leave
you alone, even when you’re way over budget,” he explained a few years ago.
And
they went over budget a lot. Again, much like KHJ, they were the king of
contests … daily cash payoffs, cars, trips. They paid their talent handsomely,
in recognition of the work they did. They got out into the community with
“weekend warmups,” getting to know listeners directly and personally. They did
charity work, had community events and concerts, and a top-notch news and
public affairs staff. They hired the best engineers, and had the best jingle
package. In essence, they were unstoppable.
Until
they weren’t. When Clark left in 1986, things started declining. Power 106
launched and started taking listeners with their “fresh new music mix”
highlighting new dance tracks. KIIS-FM at the time over-reacted and starting
losing its way. Was it a loss of leadership, or just the first direct
competition KIIS had seen since it launched as top-40? Probably a bit of both.
Clark
left to start a consultancy and production company, and he consulted KIIS for
many years after he left. He helped launch Rick Dees Weekly Top-30, which still
airs nationally today. I met him years after he left KIIS, when he happened to
be among a group who were part of a radio and records reunion; I happened to
sit next to him during lunch and we hit it off right away. He was one of the
good guys in radio, with a genuinely positive outlook on things and an uncanny
ability to see and develop talent among those he worked with. I don’t think I
would be exaggerating to state that without Clark, KIIS-FM probably wouldn’t
exist today. And if they followed his examples, they’d be far better than they
are today, even though they are still a great station.
I
would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Clark also saw the talent in Howard
Stern; he directly hired Stern at WWWW/Detroit for one of Stern’s first radio
jobs and later was instrumental in getting him hired at WWDC-FM/Washington, DC,
the station that helped garner the attention of WNBC, where Stern would move
later.
One
of the nicest radio people I have met, Clark’s passing is a huge loss for
radio.
More
Holiday Music
KUSC
announced that their Holiday Spirit Channel is back and now has a new
name. “A Classical California Christmas” is filled with your holiday
favorites and a unique mix of carols, choirs and classical arrangements.
“It’s a festive choice to bring you comfort and joy throughout the holiday
season,” the station said in a promotional email.
You can stream on the station website or on their
free smartphone apps… go to KUSC.org for more
information.
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