Radio Waves Podcast #299

Radio: May 21, 2021

Ever wonder why certain things are the way they are in radio? Ever want to use little-known radio trivia in casual conversation to impress your friends or at parties to meet the person of your dreams? You’ve come to the right place.

I got the idea for this subject matter by talking with friends and realizing … a lot of what people think they know about radio isn’t necessarily right. As but one example:

• You may have heard — I’ve even written it here — that the iconic jingles used in the Boss Radio era were sans music because of the musicians strike of 1965.  This is even mentioned in Boss programmer Ron Jacob’s book, Inside Boss Radio, in which he quotes Johnny Mann — whose famous singers voiced the jingles. 

“The musicians union is on strike,” he remembers telling Don Otis, who Jacobs replaced at the launch of the format. After a short discussion, Mann asked Otis, “Why don’t you do ‘em a cappella?” The rest, as they say, is history.

But it’s wrong. Oh, sure, the musicians may have been on strike, but it doesn’t appear to have been a major factor. “KHJ consultant Bill Drake used a cappella jingles at a few of his stations prior to his arrival at KHJ,” Ken Levine (aka Beaver Cleaver on KTNQ and himself as a movie, television and play writer) told me. And he’s right: even KGB in San Diego used a cappella jingles, and they were on the air a year before KHJ’s switch.

Want proof? Head to http://rockradioscrapbook.ca/ckc-dec6.html; there you’ll hear KGB from December, 1964 … only the long-form jingles include music; KHJ had no long-form jingles. And there is a produced jingle from KHJ’s early Boss days that did have music (and only music). So the musician’s strike theory appears to be false.

But there are a lot of other tidbits floating around that can make for an interesting conversation about radio. Such as:

• There’s much talk of what would have happened had KHJ’s top-40 format been on FM. Well, it was … the only problem being that few had FM radios at the time. For most of KHJ-FM’s life until 1967 when the FCC said they couldn’t do it any more, the FM simulcast the dominant AM signal’s programming. “You’re listening to the much more music station, AM and FM” says Bill Drake before the jingle “KHJ, Los Angeles.” That was heard through 1967. No one cared about FM back then. No one.

• The forces that made top-40 a dominant format for so long are what led to the rise of some of the FM formats, once they adopted the same principles. Explains former Sound (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM) programmer Dave Beasing, “If you’re playing a song that isn’t familiar, the chances are strong that people will hit the button for another station,” he told me recently. So even if people say they want new music and variety, a station that sways too far from the familiar will have generally lower ratings than the station that plays more mainstream. And this affects all formats from top-40 to rock to country … even classical. 

And it’s why stations that may start out playing something different generally evolve into a more mainstream format.

• You may think that KFI stood for “Farm Information,” that KHJ was for “Kindness, Happiness and Joy,” but almost all three-letter call-letter combinations were mere coincidence - random assignment from the precursor to the FCC. It wasn’t until the four-letter calls were launched that stations could easily request a certain combination.

• KROQ (106.7 FM) is a legendary alternative-rock station. But it actually got its start on AM. Ever listen to San Diego’s KGB-FM (101.5)? It also started as an AM, originally playing progressive rock on 1360 when they dropped top-40 in 1972. KIIS-FM? It was KIIS (AM) long before but was “married” to the FM, forming KIIS AM/FM in late 1975. KIIS-FM’s prior calls? KKDJ, programmed at one time by the same guy who truly put KROQ on the map, Rick Carroll.

• KIIS wasn’t “kiss” originally. It was “k-double i-s,” with the letters chosen because the IIS most closely resembled the numbers 115, the AM station’s frequency (1150 AM). And that great KIIS-FM jingle that the station doesn’t play enough? It’s actually the jingle from Chicago’s WLS of the 1960s and ‘70s.

• It may stand for Kindness, Joy, Love, and Happiness now, but KJLH (102.3 FM) was actually named for it’s one-time owner John Lamar Hill. Hill bought the station in 1965 and sold it to Stevie Wonder in 1979.

• There is no direct connection to the original, but KDAY (93.5 FM) was once an AM station that — like a handful of stations across the country — had to sign off at sunset to protect the signals of stations elsewhere. From sign on in 1949 using the ironic calls KOWL, the station could only broadcast during the day, so in 1956 it picked up the K-DAY call letters … get it? It finally got permission to operate at night — with a very narrow coverage pattern — in 1968, though it kept the KDAY calls until 1991.

• Orange County once had the great top-40 station KEZY (now KGBN, 1190 AM) to call its own. The station was synonymous with top-40 programming throughout the 1970s, and on former sister station KEZY-FM (now KFSH, 95.9) during the 1980s and ‘90s. But the call-letters actually were chosen to represent its original easy-listening format it had at launch in 1959 as K-Easy. The cool thing about KEZY aside from it’s great sound when it was top-40? The station address was the same as its frequency … 1190 East Ball Road.

Have some trivia of your own or want me to expand on these or related stories? Drop me a line - I would love to talk radio with you.

Radio Waves Podcast #298

Radio: May 14, 2021

For obvious reasons, the very early broadcasting stations get all the love when it comes to radio trivia. KNX (1070 AM), KFI (640 AM) and KHJ (930 AM), for example, are all either celebrating, or are about to celebrate, a full century of broadcasting.

Lost among the crowd, however, are other stations with unique histories. One such station is KTNQ (1020 AM) which actually has its genesis as a station broadcasting out of the port community of San Pedro.

That’s right – San Pedro once had its very own radio station. According to radio historian Jim Hilliker — who provided much of this material via a long-ago telephone conversation as well as material available at www.radioheritage.net/Story28.asp — KTNQ is the 9th-oldest continuously operating radio station in the Los Angeles area, and over its 96-year existence has had only four sets of call letters.

Hilliker says that it was the McWhinnie Electric Company, then located at 1825 S. Pacific Avenue in San Pedro, that decided to put a radio station on the air. As reported in the March 30, 1925 local newspaper The Daily Pilot (one of the outlets that eventually became part of this newspaper chain), McWhinnie brothers William (Bill) and Charles (Charlie) received permission from the Department of Commerce to build a radio station. The call letters were to be KVFD, and the assigned frequency was to be 1460 AM. It cost $31,000 (about $470,000 today) to get the station on the air, using a 100-watt transmitter and studios located at the company’s retail store. The first on-air test was June 12th, and the signal reached many parts of Southern California including Catalina Island.

The station featured a reception area, a large studio at 16×26 feet with a large glass window and soundproof walls, and a control and transmitter room all in the same building. Stories featured in The Pilot told of about 2000 people visiting the station on that Friday, as the studios were open to the public from 1-10 p.m. Hilliker wrote in the story featured by radioheritage.net that the head inspector for the Department of Commerce Radio Division said that “KVFD was one of the finest equipped stations in the country.”

The first official broadcast came the following night, Saturday, June 13th, from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. The inaugural broadcast consisted of speeches, congratulatory messages and music and entertainment from both local and regional talent. It may seem odd, given what we know of radio today, but the fact that the station would then broadcast only three nights per week (Monday, Wednesday and Saturday) from 8 to 11 p.m. was not unusual in the early days of broadcasting. Indeed, many stations had to share the same frequency, so they couldn’t broadcast all day.

In addition to the evening broadcasts, the station also carried Sunday morning and Sunday evening services of the First Presbyterian Church, which due to the cost of the phone line needed to do the broadcast, was a major expense of the station. Funds to pay for the broadcasts came from individual donations, businesses, and the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored monthly programs to help publicize San Pedro on the radio.

Over time, the programming expanded. News and current events were a major part of the broadcasts, and the station made an agreement with the Daily Pilot, allowing it to use the paper’s wire services for its news and sports reports. The Pilot in turn helped promote the station by listing the daily programs in an early version of a radio program log. Local musical talent rounded out the programming along with special features such as a one-act play presented and performed by students from San Pedro High School.

Then, abruptly, it was gone. On August 9th, 1926, it was announced that the station would move its studios to the Venice Ballroom in Venice’s then oceanfront amusement park. No reason was given, but the move was quick: the station went off the air for almost a month beginning the day of the announcement. Newspaper reports alluded to giving the station a chance to expand its audience, but some believe that the transmitter’s location was causing interference to Navy ships in the area.

More moves came along the way, but on March 29, 1941, KVFD moved to its final radio home of 1020 AM, where it has been ever since. In August, 1955, the station became KPOP, one of the early top-40 stations and the new home of someone who would become legendary among radio fans, Art Laboe, who would broadcast live from Scrivner’s drive-in restaurant, first in Hollywood and later at a new location at Western and Imperial.

In June 1960, the station got new call letters: KGBS. It actually had some big talent and earned some decent ratings in spite of having to sign off every night at sunset. (I have an old aircheck of one such broadcast and it’s quite odd.) Hudson and Landry, Bill Balance, and more helped the station compete.

Finally, in late 1976, the station won authorization to broadcast 24-hours a day and became KTNQ, Ten-Q, a high-energy top-40 format that brought in talent such as Charlie Tuna, Rich Brother Robbin, Ken “Beaver Cleaver” Levine, The Real Don Steele and “Machine Gun” Kelly, among others. To AM top-40 fans, it was amazing.

In 1979, the station was sold and it adopted a Spanish-language format. Today, it carries a Spanish-language talk format and is the Spanish radio home of The Dodgers.

Few people know of the San Pedro (or even Venice) connection to radio, and in many ways, it is a shame that these communities don’t have that anymore. But the fact that they once did is a fun part of local radio history, and as legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey always said, now you know … the rest of the story.

Radio Waves Podcast #297

Guest:  Dave Beasing

 Radio: May 7, 2021

Months in the making, K-Mozart re-launched itself on May 1st.

Did I say months? Actually it was over a year … owner Saul Levine has been planning this since before the start of the Covid pandemic, but put it off due to the problems that came about over the past year.

Over time the plan has changed. At one time, it was to be exclusively on the app and on the HD signal that is available with a special tuner on 105.1 HD4. Since that time, the decision was made to put the format on 1260 AM in an attempt to help spread the word.

The music itself has been available for a long time. The app, online on HD4 signal have been running classical for a few years; 1260 AM has carried it for the past few months. The re-launch is referring to the addition of hosts and special programs, bringing back the knowledge and passion that was once a regular part of the format as it was heard when it originally launched by Levine as KBCA (now KKGO, 105.1 FM) in 1959.

To clarify - the analog signal and the 1st HD digital signal on 105.1 plays country music. To hear the classical music on the radio you need a special HD Radio tuned to the 105.1 HD4 channel, or an AM radio tuned to 1260, which also runs HD radio and sounds fabulous if you are near Glendale. The station can also be heard on-line at Mozart.com, or using smart phone apps and smart speakers.

Joining the on-air staff of the station is veteran Nick Tyler, Russ Maloney, David Benoit, Chuck Southcott, and LA Opera diva Suzanna Guzman. The iconic Evening Concert — a program with a local history dating back 75 years — is back on the air Monday through Friday nights at 7 p.m. with Tyler as host. Guzman presents At the Opera Sundays at 12 Noon. Benoit, well known composer and piano artist, hosts Ovations on Sunday afternoons. The smooth-voiced Southcott hosts  Curtain Call — highlighting familiar Broadway Show Stoppers — on Saturday mornings. And Maloney, formerly with Public Radio in the Midwest, hosts K-Mozart Morning Classics at 7 a.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Why classical? Why now? Mainly because Levine loves the music and wants to present an alternative to KUSC (91.5 FM). I respect his devotion.

We want Mo(re) Kelly

KFI (640 AM) weekend host Mo’Kelly (Morris O’Kelly) — heard Saturdays and Sundays 6-8 p.m. along with other shifts as one of the station’s official fill-in hosts — was the guest of honor on last week’s radio-oriented podcast Radio Waves, hosted by Michael Stark and Yours Truly.

In the roughly 30-minute discussion, Mo hit on many topics including how his show isn’t necessarily political, though it is definitely topical whether it is referencing politics,  — “I hope you’re not  just talking about politics all day,” he explained,  “that would be a horrible existence!” His plan - talk about life. “As the day goes on, I’m thinking about my Dodgers … my Lakers … or what may be on TV  because that’s how life works.”

Indeed. And on his show you can hear almost anything about life, with recent shows running the gamut from James Bond, the Oscars, the FBI, and theaters. It harkens back to what talk radio once was: an opportunity to get together with friends and just shoot the breeze. No preconceived notions.

His life is as varied as his show. A graduate of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Mo has been involved in music (classical to hip-hop), entertainment,  records, print journalism, and of course radio. On radio, he’s worked with Jim Rome, Ryan Seacrest, Tavis Smiley, and of course the many people at KFI itself. And that helped him develop  a show that isn’t predictable, and often just plain fun.

“I’m like beer … I’m an acquired taste,” he quips. I like beer … I can go with that.

It’s a fun discussion that like his show covers many topics. Hear it at LARadioWaves.Com.

Still Recovering

Speaking of the Radio Waves podcast: The special guest the first week of every month is former program director of The Sound (now KKLQ, 100.3 FM)  Dave Beasing, on a segment we like to call “Ask a Recovering Program Director.”

In past discussions, Beasing has answered questions regarding how ratings are determined, why stations run commercials at the same time, how The Sound evolved and why it was never supposed to exist, and more. The idea is to answer questions sent in by you, so if you want to ask Dave anything, let me know.

Radio Waves Podcast #296

This week's episode of the show features an interview with KFI's Mo Kelly.

Radio: April 30

            It was all supposed to happen May 5, 1965.

            One of LA’s oldest radio stations — dating back to 1922 — KHJ (930 AM) had a long history of great programming. But the decade prior to 1965 was not kind. It had gotten so bad that most employees inside the building at 5515 Melrose in Hollywood didn’t think the new team would last any longer than the previous few programming teams. Especially when it was about to enter the tough top-40 competition dominated until then by KFWB (980 AM) and the original KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM). 

            Primary figures included station manager Ken DeVaney, programmer Ron Jacobs, and consultants Bill Drake and Gene Chenault; Jacobs Drake and Chenault had battled it out at previous stations in smaller cities, honing their craft. New DJs included morning man Robert W. Morgan and afternoon legend “The Real” Don Steele, who I am told once captured a full 40% of the afternoon listening audience.

            But about a week before the planned launch, new morning man Robert W. Morgan happened to tune into KFWB and heard things he should not have been hearing … like the term “Boss Radio,” a slogan invented by and for KHJ, along with other stolen KHJ ideas. It seems one of the newsmen thought he was going to be fired from KHJ and went to KFWB with the inside information in order to land a job there.

            There is much more to the story, which you can find by searching “KHJ Sneak Preview” on socalradiowaves.com, as well as numerous other places. The short version: the staff decided to launch a week early with a “sneak preview” on what is my best guess, April 27, 1965. The rest is radio history.

            For its brief life as a top-40 station, KHJ was huge. It started big in 1965 — copied at stations from coast to coast — and ended big — the last true top-40 programmer, Chuck Martin, brought back much of the station’s glory, and ratings, right before RKO made a horrendous decision to take the station Country in November, 1980. Between those times, some the world’s best DJs worked behind the microphone, and some of the best programming ever produced came from the little 5000-watt transmitter at Fairfax and Venice Boulevards.

            Last week I asked for your memories of the station. In no particular order, here are a few:

            “ If 56 years ago was 1965 I would be a sophomore in high school and listening to KRLA.  KHJ came on STRONG with the line:  KHJ PLAYS MORE MUSIC.  And I think they did.  At least fewer commercials than we were accustomed to.  And of course…’Tina Delgado is alive, ALIVE’.  Loved the Real Don Steele, he was my favorite. — Mark Edwards, Huntington Beach

            “I have many fond memories of 93/KHJ Boss Radio … They were my go-to radio station to hear all the latest hits.  They had the best music mix — on one radio station you could hear music from artists like Dean Martin and the Rolling Stones played back-to-back; the wide variety of popular music they featured was the greatest.  My sister’s favorite personality was the Real Don Steele, mine was Sam Riddle.  I especially enjoyed tuning in every Wednesday from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to hear him do the Boss 30 countdown, years before Casey Kasem started doing American Top 40.  My sister was once the correct caller to win the Tiny Tim album they were giving away on the Real Don Steele's show!” — Russell Cinque, Jr., Glendale  

            “TINA DELGADO IS ALIVE! ALIVE!” — Pete Whelan

            “Drafted in 1967 and spent almost all of 1968 in Vietnam. I can't tell you how surprised I was to hear the Real Don Steele while stationed there. After spending a little over a month in the Chu Lai hospital I returned to my company where the first sergeant must have felt sorry for me and put me in charge of the enlisted mens club an old tent set up so when beer did arrive I was to find some ice, put the beer in what ever we had, pack them with ice and wait for the guys to return from the days assignments. Not a steady gig but kept me out of the field on occasion.     “Anyway getting back to the subject. Someone brought in a reel to reel player which I hooked up to the generator for the lights, this player came with a few reels. I had everything ready and the men started coming in, I turned on the player and to my surprise I hear 93/KHJ and the Real Don Steele from the station I listened to back home! It did wonders for our morale and would listen to it every chance we had … even those who weren't from L.A. enjoyed it. It even had the commercials, weather and time reports. Nothing like a bit of home to bring smiles to a soldiers face.” — Henry (Teeberry) Barkman (almost everyone had a nickname in Nam)

            “I was only 12 when Boss radio started and was listening to KMEN & KFXM in ‘Berdo.’ KHJ didn't come in very well in San Bernardino. I would have to say Don Steele was my favorite Boss Jock.” — Gary Chenault

            “Memories of KHJ radio for me: CHARLIE TUNA!!  DJs don’t get any better than him! And I was lucky enough to get to meet him at an event, and hang out and be on the radio with him, a few years before his passing … the contests they had! …  you could call in and request your favorite song; they always played it, and sometimes even mentioned your name! … When they played the songs they would sometimes tell something about it or about the group that sang it.” — Michele Cruz, Cypress

            “ I was 9-10 years old when I got my first transistor radio. I would love riding my skateboard on the sidewalks in Newport Beach holding on to the radio, the ONLY station I listened to was Boss Radio. It was a continuous loop of the same hit songs, every hour. The DJ's made the difference, my favorites were Robert W Morgan, Real Don Steele and Charlie Tuna.” — John Keys, La Mirada

            “My dad work for Phillip Yarbrough, (aka Bill Drake) and Gene Chenault for many years. We always had DJ's calling the house, with their deep voices, and Dad loved giving advice. Martoni's was a second home for mom and dad.” — Kelly Torres Hill

            (Martoni’s was a local restaurant where many of the local deejays and other stars would be found)

            “It's hard to pick a favorite but KHJ was always at the top. Top 40 formats can go to blazes, I want Dick Dale, The Stones, The Astronauts, and Tina Delgato! Of course older people always yearn for those memories of their youth, but there is always my turntable and large collection of vinyl! — Chris Coon, Arcadia

            “With my cream-colored Realtone transistor radio, growing up in L.A., I listened to all the Boss jocks on my radio home – KHJ, almost incessantly!  And I have been listening to airchecks recently. The benefit of hindsight makes me appreciate these guys even more than ever, for their intense energy - something you don’t get in today’s radio.  

            “Ridiculed by other jocks as merely “time and temperature jocks,” the Boss jocks successfully “threaded the needle” with short, tight, and witty talk-ups to songs.  To some degree, they had to check their egos at the door - being willing to get out of the way and let us enjoy the music, compared to those other jocks who would ‘pontificate’ about some song or artist. 

            “KHJ: ever in our hearts.” — Gina Tedesco

            “93/KHJ Boss Radio’s ‘Sneak Preview' just happened to debut right on my 15th birthday, April 27th in 1965. It could not have been a better gift to me and all of Boss Angeles! I was immediately impressed with how ‘tight’ it was, from the jingles and the fast pace. It kept sounding better as the years passed. 

            “Of course, the Real Don Steele caught everyone’s ear right from the start, he was one of a kind, but it wasn’t until November of 1967 that I truly found my favorite Boss Jock. When Charlie Tuna joined the Big 93 from WMEX in Boston, he brought another slant and creativity to the format that no one else had done. Humble Harve’s arrival in February of 1967 was spectacular. Although, I was already familiar with his sound from Burbank’s 1500/KBLA, he blended in superbly to the Drake format. 

            “The contests, created by Jacobs, were on a whole different level than anything I had ever heard on KRLA and KFWB. Between those, and mind blowing concerts, I quickly became addicted to it. KHJ, all in all, gave me a feeling that I was always missing something amazing when I wasn’t listening to the station. Their through the roof ratings were well deserved. 

            “Thank goodness for the airchecks because we can still listen to those fun days any time we want! KHJ still RULES!” —  Jeffrey Leonard, Woodland Hills

            “Charlie Tuna, Real Don Steele and Robert W on KHJ … Charlie getting us through our earthquake terrors after the Sylmar quake by talking about lost cat ads and showing up to every local event and opening made me want to go into radio.” — Julie T. Byers, Arcadia

            “KHJ was one of the two AM stations to listen to on a hand-held 9 volt transistor radio in junior high school days (the other was KRLA) … the time they were giving away a car each day.  (Wonder how the economics on that worked out.)  Must have had some effect on me, because I majored in Radio-TV in college. My best memory of KHJ was a visit to the station to meet Charlie Tuna -- truly one of the nice guys of radio. He showed me around, and I also got to see Bill Wade wrap up his shift -- dancing around the studio to some record. Wade was not built for dancing …” — Tim, Corona

            Wow … thank you for the memories!

Radio Waves Podcast #295

 Radio: April 23, 2021

I’ve been a big fan of The Woody Show on Alt 98.7 since soon after it made its debut in April of 2014. Led by Jeff “Woody” Fife, the show is what you get when you put the cynical Woody in charge of a cast of intelligent and fun friends who see life in much the same was I do.

Not sure if that’s good, but I like it.

Unfortunately it’s syndicated now, but still a damn good show. Last week, we found out that the show will be around for at least a few more years, as Fife and friends signed a new contract to take the show through April of 2028. Obviously the station and syndicator like the show as well.  Considering that it consistently ranks among the highest-rated programs among its target demographics, and you can understand why. Woody airs on Alt from 5 to 10 a.m. weekdays, with “best of” segments airing Saturday mornings from 4 to 10.

Amp is now Now!

There was a time when Amp Radio (KAMP, 97.1 FM) was in striking distance of top-40 leader KIIS-FM (102.7). In the past year or so, however, while KIIS-FM itself has underperformed compared with itself in a historical sense — February had the station tied for 9th with a 3.3 share … a far cry from the dominant position it had for so many years — Amp has just about become irrelevant.

There was a time when even AM music stations totally abandoned music formats when ratings dropped below 2.0. Amp hasn’t been as high as, or even close to a 2.0 share in at least six months, and February had it at 1.2. This is the lowest rating I can recall — correct me if I am wrong — for the station in about five formats and four decades … talk, classic rock, adult contemporary, adult top-40, and even country.

Frankly that rating surprises me, but perhaps it should not. Top-40 radio isn’t being done right, as shown by even KIIS-FM’s problems, and the lifeblood of the format — young people — are simply not as interested in radio as are you or I. I personally think it can be fixed easily, and have stated how right here in the past.

The main problem with Amp is that it doesn’t set itself apart from KIIS-FM. Musically? Similar. Personalities? Nothing special. Morning show? Syndicated from out of town and generally lackluster (which pains me to say as they truly seem to be a nice group). 

So how do you fix the station? Pump up the music mix. Find out what kids and young adults want to hear. Either replace the Morning Mess or work with them to connect with the local audience. Get a vibe going with promotions that the target audience wants, and don’t rely on national contests because your owners is too broke or cheap to do something local.

What does the management of Amp do? Change the station name.

Same music. Same personalties. Same dull programming and promotions. But now it’s called 97.1 Now!

Yeah that’ll fix it. Bad on-air IDs always fix bad programming. This has to be a joke.

Launch date for the new name was April 15th, and 97.1 Now! Is “LA’s Party Station.” In a press release, Audacy Regional President Jeff Federman explained, “As more and more Americans receive their COVID-19 vaccine, now is the time for us to safely get back on our feet and get moving with the daily habits we love and miss.

“This rebrand not only embodies the spirit of our return to normalcy, but also the dynamic state of today’s music industry and we’re excited to usher in this new era with our consumers. As LA’s party station, our programming will spotlight the biggest stars in music and deliver a fresh listening experience to our audience no matter the time of day.”

I like the sentiment, but seriously … “Now!” ????? That’s the best they could do?

One on One

I have no clue where I obtained the recording, but on a recent late-night walk, what came up in my iPhone playlist was a recording from August of 1986, featuring the final hours of KFRC/San Francisco as a top-40 station.

For the uninitiated, KFRC was the Bay Area’s version of KHJ (930 AM). Some feel it may have been even better than co-owned KHJ, and it did last about five years longer as a top-40 station than did KHJ.

But the main programming in the early Monday morning featured in the recording was not much music. Instead it was station Music Director Jack Silver taking calls from listeners regarding the station’s impending switch from top-40 to adult standards.

Two things struck me listening to the air check. First - it was recorded from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., and Silver was live … as was the norm back then. Today, no station runs local live programming overnight.

Secondly, the passion of listeners calling in to talk about the death of their favorite station was uplifting in way. Listeners. Passionate. About a radio station. That is unheard of today. Why?  Should that not be the norm?

“Don’t let your radio stations be stagnant” Silver begins as his parting shot a bit before 6 a.m.  “More music, less talk is bull; fifteen in a row commercial-free is bull,” he continues just prior to playing the last two songs. “You’ve got to make sure that they talk to you … one on one.”

The last song played? “Lights" by Journey … a song about San Francisco that was used in a television commercial for the legendary station. Somehow it just worked.

Speaking of KHJ

Next Tuesday at 3 p.m. marks the 56th anniversary of the birth of the Boss … the Sneak Preview that launched with the Real Don Steele that afternoon that marked the beginning of what would prove to be one of the most successful and influential radio stations in the history of radio. 

In recognition of that event, as well as the fact that the station is now celebrating 99 years on the air, I want to put you in charge of the next column… what are your memories of KHJ as a top-40 station, or even of its earlier incarnations prior to the big change? What personalities did you like the most? What attracted you to the Boss sound … or what drove you away? 

Your responses next week

Radio Waves Podcast #294

Radio: April 16

My column on KROQ’s new(er) morning show and there station’s “two minute pledge” didn’t necessarily settle any arguments, but brought in some good responses from you. Witness:

"I agree with you 100% on this. I would be far more likely to stay with a station that announced how long the ads would last (esp. 1-2 minutes!) with a promise of another set of music to come.

“And speaking of insufferable ‘tune outs,’ KRTH's ill-conceived and heinous promo featuring listeners repeating ‘KRTH101’ as fast as possible for a minute (?) to win a prize is like fingernails on a blackboard to me. Even the ads for the promo cause my tune out finger to move like lightning and punch up another station - ANY other station! And I don't go back until the next day.” — Joe Lanning

I know the feeling. Sometimes I do wonder if programmers actually listen to their own stations. My hunch these days … rarely. No time.

“I can't agree with you more. I either turn the volume down or change the station when the ads come on.  Another thing I do is listen to Sirius Radio where the commercials are minimal.” — Oliver Grani

“I'm on board with you regarding commercial breaks. The longer they go the more frustrated I get. It truly ruins the flow of a show/broadcast. It’s not unlike TV. I find myself recording a vast majority of programs simply so I can fast forward thru the litany of commercials. Less is more.” — Frank Rizzo

That’s a major problem. As stations added commercials to each hour in order the raise revenue, advertisers realized that their ads were not being heard and caused a lowering of ad rates … the net effect being lowered revenue overall and listeners tuning out the long breaks. Not a good move, and what KROQ is trying to fix.

As I said before, I think the plan can be made to work but it will take time to get listeners to change their habits. Does any station have the time and patience?Is there an alternative?

“I enjoyed your column on KROQ. What used to make KROQ so good was the music and the concerts they put on. The music was alternative, new, and rocking! Devo, Clash, Specials, Echo and the Bunnymen. And in the 90's,  Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice n Chains...and Lollapalooza's.

“Today, rock music is practically dead, and the music on KROQ is terrible with a couple exceptions. Commercials mean switch the channel. 

“The Woody Show...is a bunch of 50 and 60 somethings trying to be funny. Fake laughs, predictable gags, and that crappy music to fuel them.

  “I prefer Sirius, Pandora, Records, and YouTube.” — Joe Nevis

Before they were news

David Schwartz, currently with cable television’s Game Show Network; formerly with the originally KRLA (now KRDC, 1110 AM) sent along a real gem. It’s five minutes short of an hour of programming from our own KNX (1070 AM) beginning just before 10:30 a.m. on November 22, 1963. 

This was prior to the station’s move to all-news. Back then it was a variety format, with many different shows, many of which were recorded.

As it explained in the description, President Kennedy was shot at exactly 10:30 a.m. Pacific time in Dallas Texas, adding “The first KNX bulletins interrupt Arthur Godfrey's show, which had been pre-recorded just a few hours before.”

You can listen via YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR17uOVMDhI

The Mighty 690

“In your Friday Column you wrote about XEPRS, a 50K watt station from a suburb of Tijuana.  What ever happened to XETRA the 50K radio station from Tijuana.  I remember listening to it as a kid in the 50s in Blythe along with other 50K watt stations.  Their station ID breaks were distinctive, being pronounced in Spanish.” — Leslie Venable

That’s a good question, and it has a nice connection due to 1090’s use of the “Mightier” handle, an obvious reference to The Mighty 690 name that XETRA used under numerous formats.

690 AM is still around, and they still broadcast from Tijuana. What is perhaps a sign of the various ethnic groups that make up our area, 690 is now XEWW, broadcasting from Tijuana, with studios in Burbank, carrying a format of Chinese-language music in the dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese.

Radio Waves Podcast #293

Radio: April 9, 2021

The King is dead. Long live the King.

Just as when the former Clear Channel radio group changed its name to iHeart in order to solve all of its self-created problems, Entercom has decided to become Audacy.

Audacy: audio, audacious, and an odyssey, according to company CEO David Field.

Sure. Whatever you say, David.

The name change was not unexpected, as Entercom pretty much destroyed itself — just as iHeart did — by overextending itself through buying too many stations, then trying to handle crushing debt by cutting talent, promotions, and salespeople. Kind of the exact opposite of what they should have done, which was to build up stations through better programming, better promotions, and a focus on what local listeners want to hear.

Instead, they changed the name. The radio equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The new Audacy has no more chance of surviving longterm than did Entercom. I won’t be shedding any tears.

Mark Elliot Passes

Former KHJ (930 AM) morning man and former voice of KRTH (101.1 FM) Charlie Van Dyke posted on Facebook April 4th that his good friend Mark Elliot passed away. No other details were available.

If you grew up in Southern California in the early to mid 1970s, you know Mark Elliot. His smooth delivery and amazing “pipes” made him one of the best DJs on the station at the time. He could do anything. But he got tired of radio, and he decided to move into doing VoiceOver work, in which he was tremendously successful.

Ken Levine wrote about Elliot’s career change in his blog; read it at http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-break-into-voice-overs-without.html.

Prior to landing at KHJ, Elliot was a jock on KFRC/San Francisco, which was KHJ’s sister station in the Bay Area. While still in radio, Elliot hoisted the Weekly Top-30, an alternative to American Top-40 (that Elliot filled in as host for Casey Kasem at times), that aired — as I recall — on KHJ and later K-WEST (now KPWR, 105.9 FM) when that station was top-40. The Weekly Top-30 was produced from 1979 - 1982.

The primary voice for Disney productions from 1983 - 2008, Elliot also did voiceover work for CBS Television and Fox, numerous movie trailers even outside of Disney, and commercials. In other words, you probably heard him without realizing it, no matter where you were.

But I will always remember him as a super-nice guy who had arguably one of the best deliveries ever to be heard on KHJ. Here’s a short sample: https://airchexx.com/charlie-van-dyke-mark-elliot-93khj-los-angeles-june-18-1976. Elliot begins at about 5:25.

Kaplan and Crew TV

The border-blaster that was once the home of Wolfman Jack and is currently sports-formatted The Mightier 1090 (XEPRS, 1090 AM) is venturing into television.

OK, I’m stretching it a bit, as the station itself is not moving to television. But 3 - 6 p.m. afternoon show Kaplan and Crew — hosted by Scott Kaplan and featuring Alex Padilla and John Browner — is making the move, with a nightly Kaplan and Crew Tonight show, which can be found from 7-8 p.m. on Cox Cable Television’s Channel 4 and 1004 in San Diego and Santa Barbara, along with Channel 118 on Cox systems in Orange County and Palos Verdes.

The television edition made its debut on March 29th, and features two “best of” segments from each day’s radio broadcast with other elements added as time permits. I have not seen it myself, as I am not a Cox cable subscriber, but the XEPRS signal, 50,000 watts from a suburb of Tijuana, Mexico, reaches much of Los Angeles County as clearly as a local … so I — and you — can tune in to the radio show easily. 

Veteran talk host Bill Moran, formerly heard on KABC (790 AM), KFI (640 AM) and KGIL (now KMZT, 1260 AM), called to tell me about a podcast series he recently launched. Called “The Golden Mic Experience,” the program features residents of The Village at Northridge — a senior living community in Northridge, California — talking with Moran about their most intimate memories, sharing words of wisdom developed throughout their lives, and reveling sometimes deep secrets.

From dating at the age of 79 to stories of Holocaust survival and more, featured residents tell their stories. In episode one, 90-year young Norma Yaegar, author of Breaking Down the Walls, spoke of  her experience entering the male-dominated world of finance and telling the story of her walking the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, the first woman to do so.

Episode two features Gloria Sands telling her experiences as a mid-century model, giving listeners an inside look on what to was like to be a popular and successful advertising model during the “Mad Men” era.

“It’s a show that covers issues important to senior citizens,” says Moran, “but is so much more. It’s also a way to save these fascinating stories for future generations as well as link families together.”

Interested? Head over to srglive.com or search for The Golden Mic Experience on Spotify.Com.