After listening to a bunch of tapes, it’s a real rush to sit back and enjoy this example of the granddaddy of them all in its prime. Gordon McLendon always said that “The on-air product comes first… if you do that right, the rest will follow.” Hal Martin does the KLIF night shift and demonstrates why the Mighty 1190 owned Dallas. (Martin, who went on to KFRC, was later known as Michael Spears at KHJ.)
The real big, clean pro sound jumps out at you, complete with reverb and hot PAMS 34 “Music Power” jingles. Something notably absent from most Top 40 stations is the heavy informational content  lots of LOCAL weather, time chex, and when was the last time you heard a LIVE LOCAL NEWSCAST (Malcolm Landis, K–L–I–F– Twenty–Twenty–News) on Top 40 radio at 10:20 at night? My favorite bit: Martin’s walkup on The Tremeloes, in fact, the whole damn tape brings tears to my eyes!
[Note from the Curator: Michael Spears (aka Hal Martin) passed away of cancer on October 25, 2005.]