Bob Oakes Beginnings - WKBW, Mars, Dick Clark, WWTC, KFWB - 1958-1967 (0:35:43)
… Whenever you want us, we’ll sing you a song …
[Description by Uncle Ricky from notes provided by Bob Oakes.]
Introduced by his daughter, this composite follows the creative genius of Bob Oakes through the early years of his career, beginning with WKBW in Buffalo and Mars Syndicated Productions (including The Dick Clark Show and early voice-over work by Dan Ingram.)
Particularly fascinating is an early ’60’s aircheck of WWTC Minneapolis-St. Paul, (starting at 04:52) an “adult standards” full-service station featuring the slick formatics and production techniques of Top 40 stations of the time. The aircheck features Jack Hayes (Haase) who later went to WNBC (New York.) WWTC engineers used eight cart machines and three turntables to present this tight, glittery format from the Big Independent. Please note Oake’s masterful use of words, the magical musical time beds and the “triple plays” renamed “Starburst Clusters” for this sixties sound of showbiz in the Twin Cities.
The composite concludes with a series of promotional announcements for KFWB (Los Angeles), featuring Lohman & Barkley and B. Mitchel Reed, and a KFWB Concert starring Jefferson Airplane and The Doors.