The DJ is Russ Knight, the Weird Beard, who was doing 7-midnight on the flagship station of Gordon McLendon’s group of radio stations. The aircheck includes a short newscast, a promo for a concert KLIF sponsored, a cigarette commercial and a long bit that Russ did. The voice on one of the station intros is that of Ron Chapman, longtime Dallas-Fort Worth radio personality. At the time, Chapman was Irving Harrigan of the KLIF morning team of Charlie and Harrigan.
KLIF was among the pioneers of Top 40 in the U.S., and many stations mimicked the KLIF style illustrated here. I once had the opportunity to review McLendon’s papers, which he donated to a library at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. The collection is full of copies of memos he wrote to his station managers and program directors with directives on subjects most owners would leave to subordinates. Gordon McLendon’s attention to detail and showmanship was one reason KLIF ranked among the best of the era.
– Bob Shrader