John Mack Flanagan

[Bryan Simmons]

Checked in the SF Forum, surprised there's no word of JMF's passing. We lost him yesterday and it hurts your heart to see those you've idolized die.

https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/...c-kfrc-san-francisco-dj-john-mack-flanagan-pa

 

[davideduardo]

Checked in the SF Forum, surprised there's no word of JMF's passing. We lost him yesterday and it hurts your heart to see those you've idolized die.

Very sad news. I worked with JMF at KRUX in Phoenix and he talked to me about moving up to San Francisco... a wonderful move that must have been most fulfilling for him.

 

[michael hagerty]

Checked in the SF Forum, surprised there's no word of JMF's passing. We lost him yesterday and it hurts your heart to see those you've idolized die.

https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/...c-kfrc-san-francisco-dj-john-mack-flanagan-pa

Bryan: I almost posted it here first thing yesterday morning, then figured it would just get moved to "IN MEMORIAM", so I posted it there instead.

John Mack Flanagan was second only to Dr. Don Rose in his ability to make a human connection with the listener. A great talent. Do some digging...about ten or so years back....in this forum and you'll find posts from JMF himself.

 

[LKellerIII]

Bryan: I almost posted it here first thing yesterday morning, then figured it would just get moved to "IN MEMORIAM", so I posted it there instead.

John Mack Flanagan was second only to Dr. Don Rose in his ability to make a human connection with the listener. A great talent. Do some digging...about ten or so years back....in this forum and you'll find posts from JMF himself.

I'm very sad to hear this - I don't think John could have been older than his late 60s or early 70s. As a person who reveres a few dozen DJs from the "Top 40," CHR, and "free-form" FM eras in Los Angeles and San Francisco, I consider JMF one of the best. The photo of him on the All Access article says "KFRC 1992," but I think it had to have been more like '82., or earlier. My memory is less than perfect...certainly not Hagertyish, but IIRC, John was at KFRC during its greatest years of success in the early and mid 70s, then worked (K)CBS-FM playing Oldies, KSFO/KYA-FM, playing Oldies, KWSS - a South Bay CHR FM station in the 80s, K-101 for awhile, K-Big 98.1 in the early 90s, and I believe his last gig may have been country music at "Young Country," (formerly KYA-FM) when CBS briefly tried a country format. It always bugged me that CBS didn't move John over to 99.7 KFRC during their successful run as an Oldies station from about 95-04. It would have been a perfect fit.



After radio, JMF did work in corporate security, and returned briefly to the ill-fated 106.9 KFRC (now a repeater for KCBS-AM) to do the Sunday morning Beatles show - about 2005, or so. I never met John, but from stories I have heard, he was a very good man.

 

[michael hagerty]

I'm very sad to hear this - I don't think John could have been older than his late 60s or early 70s. As a person who reveres a few dozen DJs from the "Top 40," CHR, and "free-form" FM eras in Los Angeles and San Francisco, I consider JMF one of the best. The photo of him on the All Access article says "KFRC 1992," but I think it had to have been more like '82., or earlier. My memory is less than perfect...certainly not Hagertyish, but IIRC, John was at KFRC during its greatest years of success in the early and mid 70s, then worked (K)CBS-FM playing Oldies, KSFO/KYA-FM, playing Oldies, KWSS - a South Bay CHR FM station in the 80s, K-101 for awhile, K-Big 98.1 in the early 90s, and I believe his last gig may have been country music at "Young Country," (formerly KYA-FM) when CBS briefly tried a country format. It always bugged me that CBS didn't move John over to 99.7 KFRC during their successful run as an Oldies station from about 95-04. It would have been a perfect fit.



After radio, JMF did work in corporate security, and returned briefly to the ill-fated 106.9 KFRC (now a repeater for KCBS-AM) to do the Sunday morning Beatles show - about 2005, or so. I never met John, but from stories I have heard, he was a very good man.

Llew:

What you credit me for as memory is, in most cases, research.

John arrived at KFRC in the fall of 1973, did 9-noon from 1974-76 and then afternoon drive from 1976 to 1979. He told the story here on this board ten or eleven years ago about how all the jocks at KFRC made the same money (probably AFTRA scale for San Francisco)...$37,000 a year. Except Dr. Don, who may have made ten times that or more, depending on who you believe. John went to the GM and PD (Pat Norman and Les Garland) and demanded a raise. They offered $60,000 and he told them that was an insult. They offered $90,000 and he told them to stick it and walked out.

His next job (here comes the irony) was for the Dale Carnegie Course---which he says in his book never paid him. Sometime in 1980, it was mornings at KCBS-FM and after that format failed, overnights on 'CBS-FM's successor, KRQR. KWSS was next...and there was KSFO/KYA-FM. I don't remember ever seeing K-101, Big 98.1 or any country work, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. I know it was about 20 years ago that I heard his full-time gig was working in security at Embarcadero Center---in the same building where he jocked at KCBS-FM and KRQR. And you're right---the Beatles Sunday thing on the short-lived KFRC at 106.9 was his last radio gig.

To me, he had amazing heart on-air...and I don't think that's something you can fake, long-term. I believe John was the genuine article.

 

[LKellerIII]

Llew:

What you credit me for as memory is, in most cases, research.

John arrived at KFRC in the fall of 1973, did 9-noon from 1974-76 and then afternoon drive from 1976 to 1979. He told the story here on this board ten or eleven years ago about how all the jocks at KFRC made the same money (probably AFTRA scale for San Francisco)...$37,000 a year. Except Dr. Don, who may have made ten times that or more, depending on who you believe. John went to the GM and PD (Pat Norman and Les Garland) and demanded a raise. They offered $60,000 and he told them that was an insult. They offered $90,000 and he told them to stick it and walked out.

His next job (here comes the irony) was for the Dale Carnegie Course---which he says in his book never paid him. Sometime in 1980, it was mornings at KCBS-FM and after that format failed, overnights on 'CBS-FM's successor, KRQR. KWSS was next...and there was KSFO/KYA-FM. I don't remember ever seeing K-101, Big 98.1 or any country work, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. I know it was about 20 years ago that I heard his full-time gig was working in security at Embarcadero Center---in the same building where he jocked at KCBS-FM and KRQR. And you're right---the Beatles Sunday thing on the short-lived KFRC at 106.9 was his last radio gig.

To me, he had amazing heart on-air...and I don't think that's something you can fake, long-term. I believe John was the genuine article.

Agreed. Not to wander off into side comments - but $37K per year in 1979 on probably still the most popular music station in the Bay Area. That's about $137K per year now - seems like a pittance for his high-profile job in afternoon drive.

I had forgotten that he stayed at 97.3 when it transitioned from "CBS-FM" to KRQR. KBGG ("K-Big") - early 90s - was a 70s classic hits station owned by AM/FM, which never did well in the ratings because 99.7 KFRC kicked it's ass - though it had a hot morning drive jock named Darian O'Toole (another sad story for another time). At the time, I was back in college - worked in an office on campus at SFSU with a manager who loved K-Big. JMF was in afternoon drive. When Clear Channel sucked up AM/FM, it became "Classic Soul" Kiss-FM, and was that until recently. Sadly, JMF was generally cut when stations changed formats, though it was notable that another 'older' white DJ did afternoon drive on Kiss-FM - Lee Baby Sims.

A story I've told before. When I opened my business in 1983, one of our customers was in sales for KCBS-FM. He talked us into doing a radio commercial...which was stupid for a one location video store in Marin County, but we fell for it. However, I was delighted when I heard it, because he got JMF to voice it. I wish I'd kept a recording of it.

 

[michael hagerty]

Agreed. Not to wander off into side comments - but $37K per year in 1979 on probably still the most popular music station in the Bay Area. That's about $137K per year now - seems like a pittance for his high-profile job in afternoon drive.

I had forgotten that he stayed at 97.3 when it transitioned from "CBS-FM" to KRQR. KBGG ("K-Big") - early 90s - was a 70s classic hits station owned by AM/FM, which never did well in the ratings because 99.7 KFRC kicked it's ass - though it had a hot morning drive jock named Darian O'Toole (another sad story for another time). At the time, I was back in college - worked in an office on campus at SFSU with a manager who loved K-Big. JMF was in afternoon drive. When Clear Channel sucked up AM/FM, it became "Classic Soul" Kiss-FM, and was that until recently. Sadly, JMF was generally cut when stations changed formats, though it was notable that another 'older' white DJ did afternoon drive on Kiss-FM - Lee Baby Sims.

A story I've told before. When I opened my business in 1983, one of our customers was in sales for KCBS-FM. He talked us into doing a radio commercial...which was stupid for a one location video store in Marin County, but we fell for it. However, I was delighted when I heard it, because he got JMF to voice it. I wish I'd kept a recording of it.

Llew:

Point taken about the money, though I think you might be hard pressed to find a 3-7 p.m. jock in the Bay Area now making $137,000....much less $204,000 or $306,000 (60 and 90K in 1979 dollars). Dig far back enough in the archives here on the San Francisco board and you'll see John regretting what he did. He certainly never did as well as long anywhere else as he did at KFRC.

That said, though---a tremendous talent and one of the best at one-on-one communication with hundreds of thousands of people simultaneously. He's been my favorite since I caught him on KFRC one of his first nights 45 years ago.

 

[1069_KIFR]

I am really enjoying this history of JMF and SF Radio, too.

Remembering John Mac Flanagan announcing his retirement from radio. Then weeks later I hear him on, 97K- Monster FM.

I do remember back in high school, my Radio/TV Class from Marysville, CA came down to SF to get our FCC Licenses. One of the stops was a tour of KFRC. We were all surprised, while waiting in the lobby, a limo pulls up and Dr. Don Rose, comes in and gave us autographed photos and chatted a bit. Then we were honored to have John Mac Flanagan give us the tour. It was not just a two-bit tour, he showed us everything and gave us lots of insights to the goings on in the station. When I see that photo of him in front of the Magic 61 background, he looked just like that but with more bushy, curly hair.

 

[TeaPartyDude]

According to the SF Chronicle he ended up working as a security guard at Embarcadero Center.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/John-Mack-Flanagan-1970s-top-40-disc-jockey-12805852.php

 

[LKellerIII]

The SF Gate Obit was a nicely written tribute, but not all together accurate, as they often aren't. They made it sound like JMF just kind of "knocked around" the airwaves between KFRC and K-Big. That's not really true - as mentioned, he had stints at CBS-FM/KRQR, KSFO/KYA-FM, Young Country - and a long run at KWSS in the South Bay. If he didn't have the huge audience he had enjoyed at the Big 610, it was mostly because those stations were not as prominent in the ratings, and because jocks in the 80s and 90s were not looked up to as much - given the new emphasis on "More Music" and less DJ talk.

Actually, I was surprised at the mention of his high ratings at K-Big. It was always my impression that their 70s format struggled, and probably always lagged 99.7 KFRC's afternoon drive show - which IIRC, was Ron Parker & Cammy Blackstone, in those days, though I recall that R&C eventually moved to mornings, and Bobby Ocean took over afternoons at 99.7, so John & Bobby may have been opposite each other for awhile.

 

[michael hagerty]

The SF Gate Obit was a nicely written tribute, but not all together accurate, as they often aren't. They made it sound like JMF just kind of "knocked around" the airwaves between KFRC and K-Big. That's not really true - as mentioned, he had stints at CBS-FM/KRQR, KSFO/KYA-FM, Young Country - and a long run at KWSS in the South Bay. If he didn't have the huge audience he had enjoyed at the Big 610, it was mostly because those stations were not as prominent in the ratings, and because jocks in the 80s and 90s were not looked up to as much - given the new emphasis on "More Music" and less DJ talk.

Actually, I was surprised at the mention of his high ratings at K-Big. It was always my impression that their 70s format struggled, and probably always lagged 99.7 KFRC's afternoon drive show - which IIRC, was Ron Parker & Cammy Blackstone, in those days, though I recall that R&C eventually moved to mornings, and Bobby Ocean took over afternoons at 99.7, so John & Bobby may have been opposite each other for awhile.

Llew: It helps to remember that this was a long, long time ago and the people involved probably don't spend the time looking back that we do. John Mack Flanagan's autobiography got a lot of the timeline wrong. And the Chronicle probably went to Bobby Ocean for the part about his leaving for KHJ as John Mack Flanagan was coming in. Trouble is, John arrived at KFRC in September of 1973 and Osh didn't leave for L.A. until May of 1975.

Ocean himself is quoted as saying "When I left he was the new guy and when I came back he was the hero". Well, no...when Osh left, JMF had been his lead-in for a year and a half (which is as long as a lot of jocks stay at some stations), and when Osh came back to SF in 1982, Flanagan was doing all-nights on KRQR.

But, again, we're talking 45 years.

 

[LKellerIII]

Llew: It helps to remember that this was a long, long time ago and the people involved probably don't spend the time looking back that we do. John Mack Flanagan's autobiography got a lot of the timeline wrong. And the Chronicle probably went to Bobby Ocean for the part about his leaving for KHJ as John Mack Flanagan was coming in. Trouble is, John arrived at KFRC in September of 1973 and Osh didn't leave for L.A. until May of 1975.

Ocean himself is quoted as saying "When I left he was the new guy and when I came back he was the hero". Well, no...when Osh left, JMF had been his lead-in for a year and a half (which is as long as a lot of jocks stay at some stations), and when Osh came back to SF in 1982, Flanagan was doing all-nights on KRQR.

But, again, we're talking 45 years.

I know my memory can't always be trusted, and I realize others are the same...and the older you get, the more there is to remember...and forget I recall (correctly, I hope) reading a reminiscence from Harry Shearer about his Credibility Gap days at KRLA (about 68 - 70, give or take), and Shearer saying that KRLA was the undisputed number one Top 40 station in LA during those years...which as well all know, was hardly the case...conveniently forgetting the dominance of KHJ.

You could probably interview KYA jocks from that era with the same memory