John Sebastian leaves and new PD Chuck Martin desperately rushes to put the personality and production values (the Paul Frees legal ID still knocks me out) back on KHJ.
Rick Dees is brought in for mornings from WHBQ, Memphis (KHJ brought Terrence McKeever along, too, but separated them – putting McKeever on afternoon news. Anyone out there know why?)
It may not have been too little, but it was too late, it turns out … a year, maybe a little more, and KHJ flips to Country.
It was the end of KHJ as a Top 40 station. Country would fail within 2 years, but KHJ came back as Oldies, and then switched to a recurrent and traffic report format called Car Radio before going back to oldies as KRTH-AM. (The station has been Spanish KKHJ since then. The FCC will not re-issue 3-letter calls).
This aircheck features: Bobby Ocean, Pat Garrett, The True Don Bleu, Banana Joe, Rick Dees, Danny Martinez, Terry Moreno, KHJ News’ Lee Marshall, and VP/GM Neil Rockoff’s on-air address to the listeners as the station flips to Country. If you love rock ‘n’ roll, be warned – he’ll tick you off!