… and this is the way it all began, with Hank Ballard and the original “Twist!” …
After one too many live appearances at a Teen Fair, Tom Donahue left KYA and Top 40. Next stop: underground radio.
“Big Daddy” Tom Donahue is best remembered as the godfather of FM free-form rock radio. But, before he went underground with KMPX and KSAN in the late Sixties, he had a stellar career as a Top 40 personality, in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and San Francisco, where he and Bobby Mitchell took KYA to the top of the ratings. His airchecks are rare, and although his FM style is represented in the CD, Golden Age of Underground Radio (DCC Records), this tape, from Steve Rood, I believe, is one of only a couple that capture the style of the self-described “300 pounds of solid sounds.”
Tom and Bobby (who also worked as Bobby Tripp in Los Angeles) loved to play the horses, and that’s obvious from the on-air contest going on here, with a big payoff of $15. And check out the contest itself, conducted before callers could be put on the air. Ah, the good old days