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The most comprehensive listing of 6,000 Los Angeles Radio People, spanning the last 50 years, is now available just by clicking on your favorite personality. The listings provide a colorful snapshot of where they came from, where and when they worked, and what they’re doing now. Enjoy!
A\B\C\D\E\F\G\H\I\J\K\L\M\N\O\P\Q\R\S\T-Z\W
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(Bob Hastings, Roxane
Roquio, Michael Means, Jeff Gehringer, Buddy Ebsen, Zeke Manners,
Arnie
McClatchey, Dave Sebastian Williams,
Bruce
Chandler, Jim Meeker, Paul Freeman, Norm Epstein, George Green, Jeff &
John, RJ Curtis, and Mika)
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(Roger Carroll, Ted Quillin, Super Estrella, Bill Browning, Jean Browning, Johnny Hayes, Mark & Brian interviewing Scorpions, Captain K-EARTH, Michael Medved and Hugh Hewitt)
You Can Book LARadio
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(May 21,
2013) There are thousands of you who check into LARadio.com on
daily basis. Some have expressed a desire to make a contribution to keep
the “lights on” to help with the expenses of maintaining a website.
Over the years we’ve tried advertising,
subscriptions, and donations. Nothing seemed to work, so we abandoned
the pay wall and now the site is open and will continue to be open. Last month we launched an eBook, incorporating
material from the LARadio archives. I hope you'll order your copy today.
Adventures
in Airtime. Volume 1 is available through clicking the artwork and
it is only $2.99. If you don’t
have a Kindle, use this
site:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/313233.
Your purchase of the eBook will help demonstrate
that you appreciate LARadio, the daily content and keeping Where Are
They Now updated and current.
Gary Moore
of KLOS wrote, “Got your eBook and love it.
Keep 'em coming - I'll collect the whole set.
Mary Price,
part of the KFSH (contemporary Christian “the FISH”) morning show found
out how simple it is to order. “Wow, I just bought your book and I don't
know how I did it. I accessed Amazon on my laptop, and, somehow, when I
clicked on a button, the book magically appeared on my Kindle app on my
iPad. But $2.99?! You should have charged more. I'm going to go back to
Amazon to see if I can gift it to someone.
Congrats on the book, and I
can't wait to read it.”
“Thoroughly enjoying your book, Don,” emailed
Damien Lewis. “I loved the
chapter on Wally Clark.” |
Hear Ache. Last Friday, Don Imus had successful surgery for a “thing” on his vocal chords. He had the choice of having an operation or six weeks of radiation treatment. Imus rested his voice yesterday and came back to work this morning. "Have you ever taken Oxycontin?" asked Don rhetorically this morning. "No wonder Rush took that stuff until his ears fell off. Your wiener shrivels up to the size of a Milk Dud."
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CNN on Radio. David Alpern sent a note that CNN published a series on radio Friday.
The main feature is about an independent rock
station in Columbus, OH -
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/17/showbiz/hfr-music-radio/index.html
There is a photo collage as well as some audio is
available here - http://cnnradio.cnn.com/2013/05/17/radios-last-stand
In addition,
Howard Stern and
Bob Pittman
are featured, sharing their
takes on
technology and radio.
“You might want to share this loving profile of an
independent station trying to succeed in a competitive and changing
industry,” emailed David. |
Audience Is Listening.
Vin Scully has been the voice of L.A. since 1958. The June issue of
Los Angeles Magazine features a two
page spread by Vin Scully. An example of the prose:
“”The sky over Dodger Stadium will change into cotton candy
– all these different colors. That’s a marvelous thing, when you can sit and
take all that in.”
Overheard.
“If you failed your boss the way these people failed
America, you’d be fired. But there are no consequences for anyone in the
government.” (Michael Savage)
“I still remember all the things that used to get my
attention when I was just a listener to radio and they still work till this
day.” (George Johns, radio
consultant)
“It has been a very informative call, but do you want
to wrap it with one thing that doesn’t include the guy who is opposite me?”
(Dennis Miller, KRLA)
“Celebrity sighting: Warren Beatty at the Apple Pan.
Didn't know whether to say ‘I'm a huge fan’ or ‘hurry up and eat!’" (Ken
Levine)
“Memo to 94.7 the Wave. Stop playing Justin Timberlake.
The station sounds like a train wreck.” (Chet
Hearring)
Top 10 Jocks of All
Time. CNN listed its assessment of the best Top 40
personalities of all-time. The list, comments and descriptions were sent to
LARadio subscribers yesterday. "They were, and are, your guide to the airwaves: the
vinyl spinners, the blasts from the past, the paramount players of the platters
that matter." Here are 10 of the all-time great disc jockeys:
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("Big Daddy" Tom Donahue, Bruce Morrow, Alan Freed, Casey Kasem, and Jocko Henderson)
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(Howard Stern, Kid Leo, Scott Shannon, Hy Lit, and Robert W. Morgan)
As with any lists, there is controversy. A smattering of reaction:
"No Larry Lujack? No John "Records" Landecker ? No Ron Lundy
or Joe Niagra or Arnie Ginsburg? No
Real Don Steele or
Don Imus?
“How about
Al
Jarvis who originated the Make Believe Ball Room and
Dick Whittinghill?” –
Robert Fox
“Great stuff, but I was also expecting
The Real Don Steele on KHJ and
Emperor Bob Hudson on KRLA and or
KGBS.” - Bill Taylor
“They must have lost my photo :-)” –
Harvey Kern
“Damn. I did not make the list again.” – Roger Carroll
Email Tuesday
** When God Made
Paul Drew
“I have a friend who is the Monsignor of St. Columba
Episcopal Church in Fresno. He'd
heard of the passing of Paul Drew,
and knowing that I was a ‘radio guy,’ he said that Paul met God a couple of days
ago, and he noted that God was wearing a small earpiece, attached to a
transistor radio....in his robe pocket, just to make Paul feel welcome.” –
Joe Collins
** Wow
"Jerry Kaye sure has gotten confused on his KROQ email story. He has mashed up the KROQ-AM 1500, KROQ/fm/KPPC/fm 106.7 and KPPC-AM 1230 stories with dates and events that are scrambled. Guess it does not matter but it is weird to read it like it was fact." - Douglas Brown, KBBQ-KROQ-AM/FM 1972-74
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“My radio idol wanted to beat the crap out of me” By
Ken Levine,
http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/
(May 20,
2013) Readers seem to enjoy my radio war stories, otherwise
entitled: 'One Disc Jockey’s Mediocre Career.' Several of you have
requested I write a book about them. Buy my current book first. But to
tease you, here’s another Top 40 tale.
In the fall of 1974 I had finally made the big(ish)
time. I was hired to do the evening shift on K100, Los Angeles. This was
the first time I was on the radio in my hometown, and even more exciting
– the station was owned by Drake/Chenault, the same consultants who
created Boss Radio KHJ. And most of the disc jockeys were former KHJ
Boss Jocks. The great Robert W.
Morgan (l) did mornings and
The Real Don Steele did afternoons. As
Beaver Cleaver, I got to
follow the Real Don Steele. Forget that I had to play
Billy, Don’t be a Hero and
You’re Having My Baby every
ten minutes – how cool was that? |
Robert W. Morgan was one of my idols. He was the complete
package. Great voice and wickedly funny. Within three weeks of my joining K100,
Morgan almost drove down to the station with the intent of sending me to the
emergency room.
Here’s what happened:
After my first week the station began a contest called “The
Secret Stash.” Ten items (like stereos, trips, motorcycles – things kids wanted
back then besides drugs) were in “The Secret Stash” and the first listener who
could identify all ten would win them all. We took a contestant every hour and
also provided hourly worthless clues. We would tell the contestants when they
correctly named an item and eventually listeners were closing in on all ten. The
contest took about a week.
When someone finally got the last one, the jock on the air
was required to make a huge deal of it. The recording of that exchange was then
used as a station promo for several days.
Usually you like your best jock to be the one on that
promo. In this case, it was Robert W. Morgan. So once nine of the ten items were
identified and we knew we were close, a giveaway clue was to be given on
Morgan’s show. The next contestant would easily then win.
So that was the plan. But the night before, on my show, the
contestant got it right. I made the requisite big hoop-dee-doo, my voice was on
the promo for the next week, and Morgan was steamed. I heard about this but what
could I do? It wasn’t my fault the skeesix won.
The station liked the contest so much they ran it again.
Secret Stash #2 was rolled out. Same deal. Listeners narrowed down the items. We
were primed to give it away the next morning on Robert W.’s show when, wouldn’t
you know, a listener on my show got it right. So I’m screaming on the air how
thrilled I am for this person while inside I’m going, “You stupid asshole! Do
you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused, you dick?”
Sure enough, Morgan had had one or two adult beverages,
called The Real Don Steele and said, “I’m going down to the station to beat the
shit out of that kid!?"
Now he had warned me beforehand that if I gave away Secret Stash #2 instead of him he would hurt me, but I just assumed that was an idle threat. But now I was thinking -- was it? I knew Morgan had a temper. What if
he did come down to the station? I hadn’t been in a
physical altercation since the 7th Grade. I didn’t want to fight him. He was my
idol. On the other hand, if your idol is kicking the crap out of you, that takes
away some of the adoration. Would I swing back? Three weeks ago I was truly
honored just being in the same room as him. Now I’m trying to get him in a
headlock?
Fortunately, Steele talked him out of driving to the
station. He simmered down but wouldn’t talk to me for a month. Eventually we
became very good friends. In his last year before succumbing to lung cancer I
once joked with him. I said, “We never resolved this Secret Stash business. You
want a piece of me? Come on. Let’s do it. Right now.” He looked up at me, in his
somewhat frail state and said, “I could still take you.” He was probably right.
God, I miss him.
I don't miss Billy, Don't Be a
Hero though.
Overheard.
“Just saw Star
Trek: Into Darkness and all I can say is what a ride! Visually stunning
and high octane for sure. Oh and while I won't give anything away, there are
some twists and turns as well as homages to past Trek and its
history that are quite nice, though I saw some of the plot developments
coming way ahead of time. Bottom line, I loved it!” (Bryan
Simmons)
“Here’s the cross Bette Midler has to bear … she had
sex with Geraldo Rivera.” (Don
Imus)
“This is Las
Vegas’ 108th birthday and the Golden Gate Casino helped mark the occasion by
offering a photo display of the city’s history.
Next up: a photo display of
the history of shrimp
cocktail.” (Ira David Sternberg)
Hear Ache. Marsha and
Larry Van Nuys celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary over the weekend.
“We are as much in love as we were on day one. If you have that in your life,
you're happy no matter what comes,” said the newsman.
Email Monday
We GET Email …
** Gary Owens
Birthday Mailer
“This was, of
course, the infamous Preparation H Christmas commercial, which Gary - being the
mirthful person that he was [and still is] - had the presence of mind to have
carted from the KMPC logger tape so he could play it every day between
Thanksgiving and Christmas for years afterwards.
Gary Owens is
Funny with a capital ‘F,’ as in Foonman.” –
K.M. Richards
** Early LA Radio
Pitfalls
“Enjoyed the history of KPPC AM. Worked for a few months @
KPPC/fm and just ignored the AM ‘godcasts’ when they were on.
Just a cultural thing...
Just for a giggle:
When Burbank Broadcasting Co acquired KPPC - then renamed
it KROQ, they had to, under orders from the FCC, get the station on the air
pronto.
Sandy Beach [RIP] was initially
hired on to do some engineering and transmitter work for the simulcast, and roll
some takes. Previously he had been programming a cable music channel that I also
worked on. He called me and asked
if I would do nights, live. I had
previously worked @ KNAC and KOME in San Jose among others.
We broadcast out of the transmitter bunker for many months
until we moved to the Pasadena Hilton on a trade out.
Yes! I drove my shiny Alfa
Romero Duetto [like in The Graduate]
up the fire road to the ridge where the bunker was, stopping along the way to
move boulders out of the way! KPPC
AM was gone, but the joke was the AM station we were now simulcasting had the
power of a light bulb [the signal wouldn't get over the Silver Lake/Griffith
Park hills into LA] but, hey, we called it: The BIG 15!
Typical ID was ‘Broadcasting at 106 point 7 fm and 15
hundred AM, the BIG 15, this is KROQ Pasadena' then I'd put on a longish jam and
take transmitter readings and enjoy an adult beverage, etc.
I can verify Mike's description of paydays.
Rarely was there enough money in the account to cash more than the first
couple of checks. My West Hollywood
landlady understood, but I got a Sierra Madre lawyer girlfriend so I could stay
over, get my check early, crash-drive to the bank and cash it BEFORE Mike got
there!
Two other memories regarding paydays:
The afternoon and night jocks had set up a signal with the
station assistant who would instruct Bob
Gowa to play, straight up at noon, John Prine's song
Sam Stone with the lyrics 'there's a
hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes...' if there was not enough money
to cover payroll checks, so we wouldn't have to waste gas and drive into
Pasadena unnecessarily.
During a prolonged heavy smack session by those
(ir)responsible unnamed, there was NO money in the account.
DJ Bob Sala, a friend and I
removed the last Scully from the production room [carrying it down a flight of
stairs] to a waiting pick-up truck and held it hostage till we got our pay...
two days later! Or was it three days?
Such were the trials and tribulations of underground radio
in LA back in the day when we were all feelin' like and
Singin' Wharf Rat,
Not Fade Away/Goin' Down the Road Feeling
Bad. Appropriate.” -
Jerry Kaye, aka Jerry The Junker,
KROQ AM & FM, 1973-79
** Scam Email on
Your Nomination to Who’s Who
“Many broadcasters/LARP may be receiving this scam email:
Good morning!
We wanted you to know that you received Honorable
Mention in yesterday's article titled Who's Who in Radio and Journalism
by Stephen Bozanek.
The article will remain available at www.newsdigest.co
for the next few hours and is available for on-demand download and printing.
We wish you the best of continued success.
Sincerely, Lisa Davis, News Digest International
No article, no Bozanek, and no name in the greeting. I urge everyone to ignore and delete it. Google cites one danger of this particular scam: if you click, that can confirm your email address which they can sell to more scammers...or worse. And the domain of .co [note it's not .com] can originate anywhere.” -
Bill Kingman
"The Voice Is a Dream Come True" - Carson Daly
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(May 19, 2013) A syndicated newspaper feature features AMP Radio morning man Carson Daly this weekend talking about The Voice: Are you enjoying the show? "It's been a dream come true professionally, and personally, for my family. We were not sure about the fate of my late-night show, I just had a son and it came at a good time, workwise. People thought we were crazy to put another singing competition on." Speaking of which, the market is so crowded with singing competitions. Why do you think this has taken off when others haven't? "We loved it, too, and we have to give credit to John de Mol and the guys who did it in Holland. That is where it was on and we fell in love with it, too. We just liked the pureness of it, hearkening back There is just snarky television. Does it even pay off to do anything for the right reasons? Is there a place for pure? In this day where you have to be beautiful and popular, yeah, they can sing, but what do they look like?" |
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Those marked with (d) are deceased
LARadio is published by Don Barrett
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Last modified:
May 21, 2013