Jim Ladd's History of FM

[michael hagerty]

Mike, I think K.M. and I are replying to slightly different parts of this---he to the disucssion of "It could work today, if..." and me to the just plain facts and the understanding that time does what time does.

It's one thing, in 1981, when KMET and KLOS and KWST are all playing Phil Collins and Styx and Loverboy, to say:

"Ten years ago, Jimmy Rabbitt ruled this town."

Because we didn't know better.

But we have the numbers now. All of them. Volumes of them:

RADIO and RECORDS RATINGS REPORT: 90's and 00's ratings results

R&R Directories: Ratings SectionsSemi-Annual 12+ Ratings Rankers Includes several ratings summaries from other sources

www.worldradiohistory.com

We know it's not true.

And it applies to things other than freeform.

"Robert W. Morgan ruled L.A. morning radio in the 1970s."

What we know because we can look it up: The last time Robert W. Morgan was #1 in mornings was June of 1973, the day he walked out the door at KHJ. He was #33 in mornings at K-100, and did weekends at KMPC until the last four months of 1979. And after taking over from Whittinghill, he wasn't number one. Nor was he at K-Earth.

I've said this before to other people:

If you want to engage in fact-free reminiscing about what you think L.A. radio was, there are a dozen Facebook groups that do that all day long. That's not us. This is a reality-based environment. It's okay to say you loved something (and I loved that era of rock on FM), but if you don't know the facts about why it didn't last, you have to at least be open to hearing and accepting them.

 

[Mike Stark]

If you want to engage in fact-free reminiscing about what you think L.A. radio was, there are a dozen Facebook sites that do that all day long. That's not us. This is a reality-based environment. It's okay to say you loved something (and I loved that era of rock on FM), but if you don't know the facts about why it didn't last, you have to at least be open to hearing and accepting them.

Maybe this should be put on the "rules" page. A "rule" I we'll try my best to follow and if something comes up I don't believe - that I think might violate the rule, I'll scroll past.

This is why this should be a "podcast" instead.

m

 

[K.M. Richards]

You make me wonder how I possibly made it through 50 years of broadcasting without getting fired.

If you never got fired during your career, you missed part of your education about this business.

Even the legendary Larry Lujack bounced back and forth between WLS and WCFL. My dear departed friend Jim Carson used to say he felt a little isolated from the business because of his long tenure at KIQQ (16 years, plus another five when the "K-Lite" format resurfaced on the former KMPC-FM/KEDG a few months after 100.3 became "Pirate Radio") then another long gig at KRTH (12 years). And before those two stations, he had only worked at three L.A. stations, given his gigs at KFRC and KGB in the late 60s/early 70s.

In fact, it was my being let go at only the second station I had worked for that led to my being hired as a PD for the first time as a third!

(Yeah, I know you're kidding. At least I think you are ...)

 

[michael hagerty]

My dear departed friend Jim Carson used to say he felt a little isolated from the business because of his long tenure at KIQQ (16 years, plus another five when the "K-Lite" format resurfaced on the former KMPC-FM/KEDG a few months after 100.3 became "Pirate Radio") then another long gig at KRTH (12 years). And before those two stations, he had only worked at three L.A. stations, given his gigs at KFRC and KGB in the late 60s/early 70s.

And then, on the other end of the spectrum, you have an equally dedicated professional, Charlie Tuna, who worked at SEVENTEEN radio stations in L.A. in roughly the same time period (Charlie came to town in 1967 and worked until 2015; Jim came to town in 1973 and worked until 2016).

Sometimes, it's just the breaks.

 

[Mike Stark]

I did get "laid off" because of a sale and was immediately rehired. Long story. AND another station was sold, but even that end was great because the staff got to say good-bye to the audience. I know layoffs and firings are a LONG standing tradition of radio.

 

[K.M. Richards]

And then, on the other end of the spectrum, you have an equally dedicated professional, Charlie Tuna, who worked at SEVENTEEN radio stations in L.A. in roughly the same time period (Charlie came to town in 1967 and worked until 2015; Jim came to town in 1973 and worked until 2016).

As you know, the late Art Ferguson was also a friend, and even I couldn't list all 17 of those without outside help.

Notably, he did mornings at most of them (the ones that immediately come to mind are KHJ, KKDJ/KIIS-AM-FM, KROQ, KTNQ/KHTZ/KBZT, KIKF, KLAC, and KBIG).

 

[michael hagerty]

As you know, the late Art Ferguson was also a friend, and even I couldn't list all 17 of those without outside help.

Notably, he did mornings at most of them (the ones that immediately come to mind are KHJ, KKDJ/KIIS-AM-FM, KROQ, KTNQ/KHTZ/KBZT, KIKF, KLAC, and KBIG).

Let's see how close I can get---and I'm thinking it was probably 17 sets of call letters...with fewer actual stations, but still a chunk.

1. KHJ (twice)
2. KROQ
3. KKDJ/KIIS AM-FM
4. KTNQ/KHTZ/KBZT
5. KRLA
6. KODJ/KCBS-FM
7. KMPC
8. KIKF
9. KLAC
10. KBIG
11. KRTH

So, yeah, add one for the KKDJ/KIIS thing, add two for KTNQ/KHTZ/KBZT, add one for KODJ/KCBS-FM...

That's four more, which is 15. I've been carrying "17" around in my head for years---I probably counted the two stints at KHJ as separate and included KCBQ, San Diego, which makes 17.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Let's see how close I can get---and I'm thinking it was probably 17 sets of call letters...with fewer actual stations, but still a chunk.

1. KHJ (twice)
2. KROQ
3. KKDJ/KIIS AM-FM
4. KTNQ/KHTZ/KBZT
5. KRLA
6. KODJ/KCBS-FM
7. KMPC
8. KIKF
9. KLAC
10. KBIG
11. KRTH

So, yeah, add one for the KKDJ/KIIS thing, add two for KTNQ/KHTZ/KBZT, add one for KODJ/KCBS-FM...

That's four more, which is 15. I've been carrying "17" around in my head for years---I probably counted the two stints at KHJ as separate and included KCBQ, San Diego, which makes 17.

I had forgotten KRLA and KODJ/KCBS-FM. But my recollection is that, while he did do a one-week on-air audition at KRTH after Robert W. Morgan's sad departure, he never officially held the morning shift except for some vacation relief periods.

I still do not remember him ever being at KMPC.

 

[radiofan2023]

I had forgotten KRLA and KODJ/KCBS-FM. But my recollection is that, while he did do a one-week on-air audition at KRTH after Robert W. Morgan's sad departure, he never officially held the morning shift except for some vacation relief periods.

I still do not remember him ever being at KMPC.

He was there when it was sports talk:

Everyone's Singing a Different Tuna at KMPC This Week

Charlie Tuna has been going around all week saying, "I've died and gone to radio heaven."

www.latimes.com

 

[michael hagerty]

I had forgotten KRLA and KODJ/KCBS-FM. But my recollection is that, while he did do a one-week on-air audition at KRTH after Robert W. Morgan's sad departure, he never officially held the morning shift except for some vacation relief periods.

I still do not remember him ever being at KMPC.

It was short. He started in October of 1993:

Everyone's Singing a Different Tuna at KMPC This Week

Charlie Tuna has been going around all week saying, "I've died and gone to radio heaven."

www.latimes.com

In May of 1994, ABC got the keys, fired everyone and it became "710 Talk".

And that gets me to thinking about Charlie Tuna and "the breaks".

Charlie gets the job at KHJ at age 23.

Less than three years later, Robert W. Morgan goes to WIND, Chicago and Charlie's doing morning drive.

Morgan bombs in Chicago and wants his old job back after just 15 months (is this where Jay Leno got the idea?). KHJ gives it to him and offers Tuna 9-noon for the same money. Tuna says no. Tuna's under contract to RKO, which offers the consolation prize---morning drive at their new Top 40 station, WGMS in Washington, D.C., with Paul Drew as PD. Except RKO backs out after protests over flipping the station from Classical.

Tuna is released from his RKO contract, but not his non-compete, and spends four months driving from Encino to San Diego in the middle of the night to do mornings at KCBQ.

Charlie returns to L.A. at KROQ, which is doomed by its signal. He gets a big salary, though, but that's not much help when the paychecks start bouncing a year in.

He moves to KKDJ, gets good ratings, gets made Program Director when it morphs into KIIS AM&FM.

But then Charlie Van Dyke says he's leaving KHJ (Morgan only stayed 14 months after bumping Tuna out of the job), and KHJ asks Charlie to come back five years and four months after taking him off mornings.

Tuna accepts, the PD (Michael Spears) gets fired in six months, the new PD is John Sebastian, who reduces Charlie to reading liner cards.

Tuna bails to KTNQ, which had been sold (but the deal not consummated) six weeks before.

The new guys go Spanish, but the new owners of the FM side, KHTZ, keep Charlie.

And out of that chaos came the longest stretch Charlie enjoyed. Charlie stayed on KHTZ for six years, moved over to its new AM sister, KRLA, for four more.

And then more craziness---off to KODJ/KCBS, which lasts four years, to KMPC which lasts seven months, however long at KIKF, a decent stretch playing standards at KLAC, a gig at KBIG that for a while had him reading the news on the morning show(!) and finally---KRTH, but only for weekends, and that ends with a FedEx envelope with his final check on zero notice.

I loved Tuna on the air and had a couple of phone calls with him. A lovely man.

I would not have traded careers with him for anything in the world.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Thanks for the "memory flogger", as the late Gary Owens would have said.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I loved Tuna on the air and had a couple of phone calls with him. A lovely man.

I agree. I liked him a lot, knew his real name long before it was made public, and had his home phone number from the '90s until his passing. He never minded my calling him at home, provided it was before dinnertime if he was going to be on the air the next morning. (I think we would all respect that.)

 

[davideduardo]

What is being forgotten or neglected here is that the FCC general prohibition of simulcasting in the later 60’s made successful AM operators look for formats that were the furthest from their existing station. Album rock and Beautiful Music “”rang the bell” in many GM’s offices because they would not touch the existing station audience.

A lot of those easily 1966 and 1967 decisions were made when FM was generally unprofitable and so owners looked fore something non-competitive and cheap.

 

[TheBigA]

A lot of those easily 1966 and 1967 decisions were made when FM was generally unprofitable and so owners looked fore something non-competitive and cheap.

Cheap being key. Often reusing existing talent, or no talent at all, rather than hiring new people. Sound familiar?

Several WABC DJs did second shows on the FM. Most of the time, it was just music and recorded liners.

 

[EasyBakeOven]

Jim Ladd's "History of FM" was originally broadcast around the time of the theatrical release of the movie "FM". MCA Records sponsored and heavily promoted the "FM" soundtrack album during the broadcast. The movie was (very) loosely based on the strikes at KMPX and KPPC, which Ladd covered extensively in is radio special.

 

[vw86]

Not what anyone here was discussing, but the other day I realized I have an LP copy of Jim's syndicated 'Backtrack' from the 80s which was a blatant ripoff of Flashback with Bill St. James