The Glen Martin Collection
"Teen Radio", Glen Martin, 1967 
Glen Martin, KQIQ, 1970
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Born and raised in Los Angeles, like most kids of the 60s, I grew up listening to my hometown's Top 40 music stations. My folks gave my sister and me our first radios. I was 11. When I wasn't listening to Dodger baseball and Vin Scully - whom I thought had the best job anybody could ever have or want - it was KFWB and KRLA. Bill Ballance and Gary Owens were KFWB favorites. On KRLA, it was Emperor Hudson. KHJ hit big when I was in high school and that was when I decided on a broadcasting career - something that station probably had a hand in doing to more than just a few of us. Robert W. Morgan and Charlie Tuna were favorites, and my biggest influences, given their humor and instinctual timing. The Real Don Steele and Humble Harve made the station street cool. I actually lucked into a right place at the right time, part-time job at KHJ while still in school. What a time! I spent my entire full-time radio career in Top 40 and Adult Contemporary — in Honolulu (KPOI), San Diego (B-100), Chicago (WFYR) and Seattle (KJR). For the past several years, Financial Services has been an enjoyable second career that has required none of the geographic moves radio always did. My wife Kim and I have two great kids - Troy and Brooke - now graduated from the University of Washington. Barring major geographic moves of their own, our kids won't have to board planes to get to their high school reunions like we have. I appreciated every minute of radio's fun and competition, as well as the too-many-to-name, good people I came to know or was fortunate to work with during my career. Finding and enjoying the REELRADIO website brought back the memories — and finally sent me into the boxes in the garage, looking for some history to share. I hope you enjoy some of what turned up. |
Recorded on January 20, 1976: KFRC is humming along  still the same great station it had been over the preceding decade. There are a couple of sets from John Mack Flanagan following Dr. Don Rose (d. March 29, 2005), one full and one edited newscast from Paul Fredericks.
Heading into 1976, you had to decide if it was worth buying a new 280Z for about $6,700, when you could just as easily have a new Buick Skyhawk-S Hatchback for only $3,953. It needed a CB radio though. That’s a Big 610-Four.
Reportable music performances in this recording have been RESTORED by REELRADIO.
Except for three songs, this exhibit is UNSCOPED and RESTORED. We are required to pay a fee for each listener for all musical performances on this recording. Plus, we must also pay the cost of Internet bandwidth to deliver it to you. We are a user-supported organization, and if you enjoy this exhibit, please say thanks with your support.
I copied this from PD Bobby Rich, who put this together nine months into the station’s existence. With the exceptions of newsperson Terri Lynn and ‘Rocket Man,’ who had already left before I came aboard in August 1975, this composite features the rest of the original B-100 air staff.
Included are Rob Landree, Dave Conley, Willie B. Goode, Jimi Fox, Billy Martin and Phil Flowers, plus me and, of course, Dr. Boogie. You’ll also hear the late Rod Serling  one of his last gigs, as it turns out  was at KFMB-FM.
Contributor Glen Martin didn’t know who should be credited for this, but it is an excellent and entertaining composite of Bobby Ocean on KFRC that chronicles his arrival in 1972 and departure for Los Angeles and KHJ in 1975. UpFront: a phone call with Bobby that was likely not aired, and you’ll also hear Dr. Don Rose and Wolfman Jack.
We can’t help but wonder as to the identity of the “Listener From Daly City”, and if that same listener ever became a “top 40 deejay”, and if that listener was the individual who assembled this composite. If so, we hope he’ll step forward and take the credit – it is very well done, and a really nice tribute to Bobby’s first gig at KFRC.
Of course, Mr. Ocean appeared at 610/KFRC again, and one more time and then… (2005) there is no more “KFRC” on AM in San Francisco. The Good News is that Bobby Ocean is online and on-the-air elsewhere, and maybe he can tell us about this unusual 1975 “Tribute”?
These are the jocks that were KHJ in the Summer of 1975. These may have been part of a station composite put together at the time, or were possibly the individual pieces prepared for or by each jock as Billboard Top 40 Jock Of The Year entries. I like being able to hear everybody who was a part of the air staff at that time, as well as what KHJ was up to promotionally that sunny, southern California summer of ’75.
Play Points
Bobby Ocean (promos, 0:00-02:48)
Charlie Van Dyke (02:49-10:10)
Billy Pearl (10:11-16:03)
Machine Gun Kelly (16:04-21:39)
Big John Carter (21:39-25:31)
Bobby Ocean (aircheck, 25:32-28:48)
This was Robert W. Morgan’s first day back on the air following resolution of a compensation issue. His buddy, The Real Don Steele, had come back a month earlier after being off the air for a similar reason (June 30, 1969 exhibit). RWM’s return was pretty short notice. I set my alarm to get up early and tape the show with what I had – my portable cassette machine. I pointed the microphone at my radio speakers, made sure not to cough in the background, and hoped our telephone wouldn’t ring at the wrong time.
During Robert W’s absence, KHJ had brought aboard a new PD to replace the already departed Ron Jacobs. There was also fine-tuning going on with elements of the presentation. The LIVE, Top of the Hour ID in use just a month earlier, was now back to Bill Drake. The short-lived, 5-note stingers on the ends of the IDs were now gone too. However, the ‘rum-pum’ jingles – and a couple of other surprises are here. And new PD Jim O’Brien’s voice is on the promos. I am sorry now that I didn’t tape a full newscast or two but my focus was on Robert W. I suspected he would be in top form with the joy of being back on the radio after a two-month hiatus. He doesn’t disappoint.
I don’t remember if Gene Knight taped The Real Don Steele for me after I went to Chicago, or if PD Mike Wagner did. It’s not The Real Don on his best day, but there are some great sets and the typical extreme high energy. It includes some Top 40 core songs, and some oldies that many grumble about not hearing anymore.
This is an unscoped hour, clean quality, with the commercials, newscast and low prices  all intact. The time tones and newscast sfx sound retro to the ones KRLA used twenty years earlier. It was a great move by Mike to resurrect those.
