The Don Jennett Collection
|
|
Don Jennett was born in Los Angeles in 1962, and is an avid collector of Los Angeles airchecks.
Many L.A teens grew up with Boss Radio 93/KHJ. But in 1969, Don was only seven years of age when he was first hooked on KHJ. As an adolescent, he made all-too-brief airchecks of KHJ, KFI and 10-Q. He was unaware that the tapes would become collectibles, so not much survives from that era. His collection, as presented here, was built virtually from scratch. Don dreamed of being a "Boss Jock" or a journalist while growing up, and was schooled in newspaper journalism. He was Entertainment Editor and Radio Critic for the Cal State Long Beach Daily Forty-Niner during his college years. He became aware of aircheck collecting as a hobby in 1991, when he stumbled upon KRLA's April Fools' day broadcasts of classic DJs like Dave Hull, Emperor Hudson, Bob Dayton and Charlie O'Donnell.
His career path took him into the world of advertising sales. He moved to Nevada City, California in 1998, where he worked as a publisher's representative. Don's only hands-on contact with radio — other than being a former groupie — was as a volunteer broadcaster at KVMR-FM, public radio in Nevada City.
|
The Repository thanks Don Jennett for sharing!
[Description by contributor Don Jennett]This one is very low fidelity, (for that reason, the music has been restored) but it’s a one-of-a-kind classic. It’s a Thursday aircheck (7:30-8:15pm), and it would appear that Don Steele is sick or on vacation. Rather than using a relief jock, KHJ went with four-hour shifts, with Johnny Mitchell taking 4-8pm and Tommy Vance 8pm-midnight. Presumably, Gary Mack did Noon-4pm.
A vintage Revlon “Fernanda Waltmiller” spot is included in the Bill Brown newscast. And Mike Garrett of USC wins the Heisman Trophy.
Within three weeks of this aircheck, Tommy Vance received his draft papers into the U.S. Army, so he decided to return to England, where he did his first show on Radio Caroline South on January 3, 1966. And Johnny Mitchell’s real name was Gerald Edward Phillips. He left KHJ in January 1967 (replaced by Humble Harve) for KFRC and took the air name Sebastian Stone (d. November 11, 1987.)
©2015 REELRADIO, Inc. All Rights Reserved
With much of his career still to come, his warm voice, confidence and comfortable energy fits well in this presentation. For some, there will be perhaps a couple of musical surprises. The TM jingles sound great, and it’s all very tight.
©2015 REELRADIO, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Here’s Los Angeles radio veteran Paul Freeman on KNAK (1280 Khz) in Salt Lake City, Utah during the Solid Gold Summer of 1970.
KNAK had some ballsy ID drops, TM “Beat Goes On” jingles and a
“Salt Lake City Weather” acapella which caps the “Salt Lake City Today”
report (at 47:33) by Lloyd Lindsay Young. (Lloyd Lindsay was later at KFRC. Mr. Young was a TV weatherguy and commercial spokesman in Sacramento, CA. for several years.)
This is an enjoyable escape to a time when hit records were all “about” 3
minutes. Top 40 stations in smaller markets could pay the bills with reasonable commercial loads and the format comfortably blended rock, R&B and Pop. This was not “diversity”. It was plain old “variety”. Smaller market stations that got this good at their craft were still making exciting radio – and payroll.
Even more appropriate for the date of the online debut, within the last 60 seconds of this salty treasure you’ll hear a spot for Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
It’s 31 years, one month and a couple of days after June 27, 1970  and some things never change!
An Old Smoothie
In The Rough
Fresh from a smashing success among the rocks and rills of Denver, Dave brings one of the most imposing Pulse case histories ever assembled. No. 1 in Denver… No. 1 in St. Louis … No. 1 in Knoxville; up to a 52% share in a 14-station market!
This jolly blond giant, who now fully fills the 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. shift on Boss Radio, brings something else that will make your heart sing…a sheaf of testimonials from gratified advertisers in every market which has felt his impact. Dave’s infectious good humor seems to have the facility of making even the tritest e.t. a grabber.
Six to nine is a competitive time segment in Southern California radio…and Dave is a competitor that has never lost yet.
He’s here to sell!
[Description by Uncle Ricky and Don Jennett for this exhibit contributed by Don Jennett]
Dave Diamond (Sid I. Davison, Jr.) passed away May 5, 2014. He was 77.
Although he was one of the first and original “Boss Jocks”, he only worked for KHJ for four months, from April 1965 until August 1965, and he never returned to KHJ. He went to Denver and then returned to KBLA in Los Angeles where he found his niche. After KBLA folded, he joined KFWB, and just before KFWB went all-news he went to San Francisco and did Boss Radio quite nicely at KFRC. In 1971, he left Northern California and came back to L.A. at KRLA, then back to SF (as PD and jock at KCBS-FM) in ’72, and then, back again to L.A. (KDAY in 1972, KIIS 1973-75), and was doing overnights at KFI from 1979 to at least 1982. That’s when he moved to Howard, South Dakota, to care for his aging parents.
Diamond taught mass communication classes at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, for several years, and would commute to Howard on the weekends. He moved to Spearfish S.D. in 1995 to teach at Black Hills State University. Diamond turned a defunct KBHU radio and TV station around. A professor emeritus in journalism, he continued to teach as his health allowed.
This short, very noisy ‘scoped aircheck of Dave Diamond was made at the very beginning of Boss Radio, the night before the Million Dollar Battle.
©2014 REELRADIO, Inc. All Rights Reserved