Lan Roberts Promotional Picture, 1969
Hallowe’en 1969 was a day to remember on KOL. Lan Roberts (d. December 30, 2005) created the ultimate promotional vehicle with “The World’s First International Garbage Record Festival” to draw listeners to “The World’s First International Garbage Film Festival”. At midnight Hallowe’en night, a chain of six local theatres was showing a double bill of rotten films. “Billy the Kid versus Dracula” and “Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter” were both misguided attempts from three years earlier to combine Western and Horror genres.
Amongst the rotten records aired, only two ever made Billboard’s Hot 100, and were not on that week’s KOL chart. Certainly a major departure for 7:03 a.m. in Morning Drive, when this aircheck begins. It ends with more usual morning fare, including two songs from the chart that week, even if one starts at 78 rpm and the other was a local hit in the Jet City.
The commentary on current news items was a Lan trademark, heard as the aircheck tape rolls off the end of the reel. Other trademarks, heard during the festival itself, include Lan’s Hollywood Reporter and Phil Dirt characters. As well as two songs about Phil, you will also find that Phil finds something definitely erotic about the sound of trains.
As odd as this hour is, the height in oddity is reached as listener Patty McKnight drops by during Lan’s show and lends him her copy of “The KJR Concerto”, which Lan airs, complete with dated KJR jingles. When it’s over, the Hollywood Reporter even refers to KJR’s most famous name: Pat O’Day.
Hallowe’en had been heavily promoted for more than a month on KOL. In addition to the International Garbage Record Festival, Afternoon Drive was highlighted by two airings of Robert O. Smith’s Hallowe’en Horror Movie.
As for KOL jingles during this period, they were often experiments and changed frequently. You will only hear two here, one following the first “train” record and a second at 56:38 into the aircheck. The truth is, several of the DJs just did not like jingles.
Don Chambers does news headlines at 20 past the hour and complete news at 20 to the hour. Production Manager and 9-noon DJ Terry McManus promotes an upcoming Moody Blues concert at 29:28 into the aircheck. Newspaper columnist Emmett Watson is heard at 8:00 a.m.
This was the start of KOL’s most successful period against the unbeatable KJR. Lan Roberts had been PD for several months, but just started on Morning Drive after a KJR lawsuit was settled. It was an about-face from their earlier Drake style.
