The Bob Maslen Collection

This Exhibit ‘SCOPED (18:38) [Description by Uncle Ricky] Jay Stevens is hosting late morning on San Francisco’s KFRC from Monday, December 2, 1968. The venerable Christmas Wish is underway. Classic spots include Borden Dairy (with milk so fresh the cows ain’t even missed it yet) and Mission Pack Gift Baskets (from the land of fruits and nuts, of course..) Also, nice to remember that St. Joseph’s cough syrup is better than coedine because “it’s not narcotic”. This recording suffers from unfortunate technical problems, the most noticeable being high-frequency distortion (splatter). There’s also a fair amount of drop-out, and varying high-frequency response caused by poor tape-to-head contact somewhere along the dubbing trail. One song was restored to replace a serious tape squeal. Two songs were incomplete and not replaced. Unexplained is the leakage from a cue channel which is heard twice. Technical disappointments aside, this IS classic KFRC from 1968.

This Exhibit ‘SCOPED (18:38)[Description by Uncle Ricky]

Jay Stevens is hosting late morning on San Francisco’s KFRC from
Monday, December 2, 1968. The venerable Christmas Wish is underway. Classic spots include Borden Dairy (with milk so fresh the cows ain’t even missed it yet) and Mission Pack Gift Baskets (from the land of fruits and nuts, of course..) Also, nice to remember
that St. Joseph’s cough syrup is better than coedine because “it’s not narcotic”.

This recording suffers from unfortunate technical problems, the most noticeable being high-frequency distortion (splatter). There’s also a fair amount of drop-out, and varying high-frequency response caused by poor tape-to-head contact somewhere along the dubbing trail. One song was restored to replace a serious tape squeal. Two songs were incomplete and not replaced. Unexplained is the leakage from a cue channel which is heard twice. Technical disappointments aside, this IS classic KFRC from 1968.

This Exhibit ‘SCOPED (18:36) [Description by Uncle Ricky] The mellifluous Joe Conrad is our host, filling in for Dave Diamond on 610 KFRC. The Rolling Stones are appearing in concert Sunday night and KFRC has your tickets! It’s a Solid Gold Weekend, and even though it’s Saturday night, we’re treated to a full ten-minute newscast from Ken Marvin. The Vietnam War, protests and changes proposed for the Draft are up front. Ripple wine is looking for love from beer drinkers, and who would have thought you could make money buying real estate in Bay Area California? J. Paul Huddleston brings up the rear with a report from Los Angeles regarding nude dancing. This exhibit has a few blips, edits, drop-outs, and heavy hiss (despite reduction) in a few places. Two songs were restored, but altogether it’s a very enjoyable aircheck with outstanding voices on a classic radio station. 1969 rules!

This Exhibit ‘SCOPED (18:36) [Description by Uncle Ricky] The mellifluous Joe Conrad is our host, filling in for Dave Diamond on 610 KFRC. The Rolling Stones are appearing in concert Sunday night and KFRC has your tickets! It’s a Solid Gold Weekend, and even though it’s Saturday night, we’re treated to a full ten-minute newscast from Ken Marvin. The Vietnam War, protests and changes proposed for the Draft are up front. Ripple wine is looking for love from beer drinkers, and who would have thought you could make money buying real estate in Bay Area California? J. Paul Huddleston brings up the rear with a report from Los Angeles regarding nude dancing. This exhibit has a few blips, edits, drop-outs, and heavy hiss (despite reduction) in a few places. Two songs were restored, but altogether it’s a very enjoyable aircheck with outstanding voices on a classic radio station. 1969 rules!

[Description by Uncle Ricky] As previously noted, the original 610 KFRC was an awesome radio station, and young Eric Chase is our host for this ‘scoped sample. Also notable is the newscast (most of which is included) featuring Barry Ellis, which opens with horrid worst-case early reality reporting. The gore and gag factor in this one rivals CKLW standards, and it is amazing we all didn’t die. Ellis is exceptional, but the rest of the newscast is not as exciting as the opening. And there’s one set from Tom Kennedy at the end.

[Description by Uncle Ricky] Bill Todd, aka Cat Simon was known as Johnny Williams at WRKO, Boston, in 1970. Because there was already a Johnny Williams at KHJ when he moved to Los Angeles in 1972, he was briefly dubbed C. C. Simon, but settled on Cat. Prior to WRKO, he was with Philadelphia’s WIBG, and after KHJ, he worked at KMET in L.A. and San Diego’s KPRI, among others. In this short, ‘scoped aircheck from June 21, 1972, Cat says “it’s been his night all along”, and you’ll hear a couple of technical snafus. Keep in mind that KHJ had board ops, so all the air talent could do is sound like it was something they could fix, even though they were completely at the mercy of their engineers (and their machines). Bill Todd died May 13th, 2007 of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s Disease.) Since 2004, he had operated a very successful web design and marketing business in Phoenix. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

[Description by Uncle Ricky] Brother John Rydgren graduated with a divinity degree from Pacific Lutheran University in Washington state, and is remembered as one of the first to use rock music in religious radio programs. He was the voice of ABC’s Love Format in 1968, and moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1972 where he worked at KRLA during their “progressive rock” phase. This short, ‘scoped and noisy aircheck showcases mostly John, but there’s a bit of news, reminding us of a time when left-leaning politics were so unpopular they kept Charlie Chaplin off the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Otherwise, period spots and small snips of music help to re-create the era. Rydgren suffered a stroke in 1982, requiring him to re-learn how to speak. He died of a heart attack on December 26, 1988, and was 56 years of age.