Charlie Tuna

[michael hagerty]

I continue to marvel 40+ years later at how polished he sounds, just as he always has at KHJ, KCBQ & other format powerhouses. I didn't realize that he'd worked at KROQ-AM, which was an AOR station in the early seventies while I was attending West LA College.

Steve Lundy was another killer jock on KROQ, and Charlie Fox, who I heard somewhere in southern illinois while driving from St. Louis to Chicago in June of 1991 (voicetracking?) also worked at KHJ.

I can only assume that Charlie left KROQ for KKDJ sometime in 1973, and 'bounced checks' was a very good reason to do so.

Assumption correct. Once Charlie worked out his release from KHJ, he had a six-month non-compete clause. He couldn't be on the air in L.A. So he drove...every morning, in his Ford Pinto wagon (!) from Encino to San Diego to do mornings on KCBQ for six months. Then came KROQ. After a year, a check bounced. Charlie said in a post on Reelradio that was all he needed, and he went to KKDJ.

KROQ started out as a Top 40...but with everybody but Charlie playing a bit harder music and ignoring the softer and bubblegum stuff. It was possible to hear Charlie wrapping up his show with "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" and Sam Riddle starting off at 9 with Deep Purple's "Woman From Tokyo".

 

[emailfailed]

If I am correct Charlie Tuna was the first deejay on the original KROQ, and the first song played on "Revolution" by The Beatles.

The original KROQ, as a lot of us L.A. radio history buffs know, was full of problems, and not the least of which was bounced checks and a poor signal.

 

[LKellerIII]

If I am correct Charlie Tuna was the first deejay on the original KROQ, and the first song played on "Revolution" by The Beatles.

The original KROQ, as a lot of us L.A. radio history buffs know, was full of problems, and not the least of which was bounced checks and a poor signal.

If I recall the history correctly, the checks didn't start bouncing until later, when they had acquired 106.7 FM. The "original" KROQ was 1500 AM only out of Burbank - a very weak signal that was wiped out after sunset in many parts of LA.

I grew up just near Burbank when 1500 was KBLA, and we couldn't get the station after dark, just a few miles away.

 

[michael hagerty]

If I am correct Charlie Tuna was the first deejay on the original KROQ, and the first song played on "Revolution" by The Beatles.

The original KROQ, as a lot of us L.A. radio history buffs know, was full of problems, and not the least of which was bounced checks and a poor signal.

If I recall the history correctly, the checks didn't start bouncing until later, when they had acquired 106.7 FM. The "original" KROQ was 1500 AM only out of Burbank - a very weak signal that was wiped out after sunset in many parts of LA.

I grew up just near Burbank when 1500 was KBLA, and we couldn't get the station after dark, just a few miles away.

emailfailed: You're right. The first day was each of the jocks, in the order of the station lineup, doing about half an hour of a show one right after the other. That made Tuna the lead-off.

Llew: The checks actually started bouncing in '73...which is why Tuna and Jay Stevens bailed...with Sam Riddle not terribly far behind. KROQ wasn't financially stable until the late 70s.

 

[Marv-L.A.]

Tuna, Riddle, Stevens & Steve Lundy on one radio station? That's a phenomenal lineup straight out of Bill Drake's playbook. Wow!

I lived in the Leimert Park section of LA from 1966-87, and KROQ-AM, and KBLA definitely had anemic signals, even worse than KCBQ, which came in quite well from 100+ miles away.

 

[michael hagerty]

Tuna, Riddle, Stevens & Steve Lundy on one radio station? That's a phenomenal lineup straight out of Bill Drake's playbook. Wow!

I lived in the Leimert Park section of LA from 1966-87, and KROQ-AM, and KBLA definitely had anemic signals, even worse than KCBQ, which came in quite well from 100+ miles away.

Marv: It was an amazing lineup of jocks...Charlie Tuna, Sam Riddle, Jay Stevens, Steve Lundy, Jim Wood, Jimmy Rabbitt, Steve Sands, China Smith and Johnie Darin (who was the Program Director).

What doesn't get mentioned much is that J. Paul Huddleston jumped ship at KHJ to do news on Tuna's morning show at KROQ.

A boatload of talent. Would have been good to have a signal so people could hear it. By the time they got the FM, the paychecks had bounced, most of the big names had split, and Shadoe Stevens was PD, taking the station in a different direction.

KCBQ was 50,000 watts. KROQ was 10,000, with a less favorable dial position. Also, KROQ's towers couldn't have been in a worse location. Incredibly, it was an upgrade. Until 1965, they were at 1490 on the dial with only 250 watts.

 

[pjc1961]

oh Voice Tracking. Gotta love the secrets in radio and the board operator tricking the caller pretending that its the DJ yet its like a Miss Cleo or Arnold Schwarzenegger Sound Board

Charlie is syndicated in various formats...
http://blackcardradio.com/index.php/home/50-charlie-tuna-clip

Since the link above leads to a "dead end", try this instead: http://blackcardradio.com/?page_id=13

Charlie Tuna's '70s show airs on Sunday nights 7pm-Midnight ET on WSOX-FM-96.1 Red Lion, PA (York-Harrisburg) "Susquehanna Valley's Greatest Hits"

http://961wsox.com/SOXJocks/CharlieTuna/tabid/440/Default.aspx

Listen Live player: http://player.cumulusstreaming.com/SLPLayer.aspx?WSOX-FM or
http://widget.newsinc.com/_cfvp/rad...itesection=yowsoxfm_rad&vid=23308919&cid=1252

Listen Live streaming direct URL: mms://live.cumulusstreaming.com/WSOX-FM or
http://live.cumulusstreaming.com/WSOX-FM?.wma 130 kbps 44.1 khz stereo

 

[Ai4i]

She says one of the canned tuna fish companies has a mascot called Charlie the Tuna.

Sorry I found this thread so lately, but...(link)

 

[ChannelFlipper]

She says one of the canned tuna fish companies has a mascot called Charlie the Tuna.

Sorry I found this thread so lately, but...(link)

ai4i, are you still on the trailing edge of technology? Just curious.

 

[Marv-L.A.]

Would anyone care to speculate as to why KRTH doesn't carry Charlie's outstanding 5-hour 70's-based oldies show?

Could it be because he plays a ton of songs from that decade that KRTH won't play for whatever reason?

6-11 PM on Saturday or Sunday makes plenty of sense, no?

 

[michael hagerty]

Would anyone care to speculate as to why KRTH doesn't carry Charlie's outstanding 5-hour 70's-based oldies show?

Could it be because he plays a ton of songs from that decade that KRTH won't play for whatever reason?

6-11 PM on Saturday or Sunday makes plenty of sense, no?

Marv:

I think you answered your own question. Same reason CHRs started dumping American Top 40 in the 80s...too many songs that the station didn't play. Remember, the casual listener doesn't differentiate between a syndicated show and anything else on a station. If they hear (and I'm just making this up as an example) "You Light Up My Life" on Charlie's show on K-Earth, to them, K-Earth is playing it. And that results in two problems. The people who like the song will expect to hear KRTH play it again...and be disappointed....and the people who hate that song might stop listening to KRTH because they think the station has added it.

 

[Marv-L.A.]

Michael--I guess that a 'radio junkie' such as you or me might not differentiate between a syndicated show and regular programming on any given radio station, so in that regard your post makes tons of sense.

But I guess that as someone who listen to Casey's 'AT 40' the 70s & 80s' every weekend, that essentially means that I'm not a 'casual listener' anyway, right?

I don't know if LA radio stations are more conservatively programmed than a station in Laredo or Lexington, KY, but I do listen to many Classic Hits stations around the country which air Casey's countdowns, and KRTH remains a very conservative station next to many of them.

Even if as David Eduardo has stated previously, they do play upwards of 900+ tunes per week, it just doesn't sound like it sometimes. At least they're not playing 'Oh, Pretty Woman', 'My Girl' or any other classic every 3-3.5 hours as they did when Mike Phillips & Jay Coffey were the PDs.

At least KRTH is more consistent than the woebegone KOST is; I'm still flabbergasted after hearing Kari Steele incomprehensibly play 'I Love Rock & Roll' by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts this afternoon.

 

[calguy]

At least KRTH is more consistent than the woebegone KOST is; I'm still flabbergasted after hearing Kari Steele incomprehensibly play 'I Love Rock & Roll' by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts this afternoon.

CC has been on a kick to change the face of mainstream AC so it's no surprise. The question is, once they're done, will it even be considered mainstream AC? What's weird is how KOST has been morphing into something akin to what KBIG sounded like some years ago. Kari Steele became a Premium Choice talent when she moved to KOST. That meant an identical playlist across the stations she's carried on. Don't know if she's still doing it as word was she wasn't happy, but it would indicate to me much less local music control, not that there was much before. I too heard Joan Jett on KOST recently and it sounds VERY out of place. All that being said, the latest PPM has KOST and KBIG at number 3 and 4 with a 4.4 and 4.3 respectively. KFI and KIIS were 1 and 2. So apparently enough people on the PPM panel like what they're hearing. I just hear a lot of distortion.

 

[Marv-L.A.]

If she indeed was moved from KBIG to KOST at her request, then good for her; ,she's always been one of my favorite personalities, and she certainly ranks with Joni Caryl as one of LA's finest female radio personalities of the past 10-15 years IMHO.

I didn't know that she became a Premium Choice persenality upon moving to KOST; thanks for the tip.

 

[michael hagerty]

I don't know if LA radio stations are more conservatively programmed than a station in Laredo or Lexington, KY, but I do listen to many Classic Hits stations around the country which air Casey's countdowns, and KRTH remains a very conservative station next to many of them.

Even if as David Eduardo has stated previously, they do play upwards of 900+ tunes per week, it just doesn't sound like it sometimes. At least they're not playing 'Oh, Pretty Woman', 'My Girl' or any other classic every 3-3.5 hours as they did when Mike Phillips & Jay Coffey were the PDs.

At least KRTH is more consistent than the woebegone KOST is; I'm still flabbergasted after hearing Kari Steele incomprehensibly play 'I Love Rock & Roll' by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts this afternoon.

As much as I hate to say it, if Jhani's playing 900+ titles a week and you're hearing other stuff on other stations, they're probably too broad. Jhani's very, very good, knows his audience and understands the medium. Also, in Los Angeles, a blip in the PPM is a lot more expensive than in Laredo or Lexington.

As someone who programmed in the early days of Adult Contemporary, this really isn't surprising. We started out with the idea that you played the current hits with adult appeal and the oldies that were hit records when the listener (a 33-year old, when we were targeting 18-49) was between 16 and 22. Joan Jett's record is 30 years old, so it's actually an upper demo record now.

I read something somewhere recently that said among 45-54 year olds, The Ramones' I Wanna Be Sedated" is a sure-fire hit.

And remember, it was Jhani Kaye who took AC soft and emotional at KOST in the early 80s. Before that, you could rock a bit. There exists an aircheck of KFMB-AM, San Diego in middays in 1973...one of the pioneering AC stations of the time...and the Doors' "Riders On The Storm" and Richie Havens' "Here Comes The Sun" are both in the same half-hour.

 

[Marv-L.A.]

I do believe that David stated that KRTH does play around 900 tunes per week IIRC, but I could be mistaken. However, a 'core' library of 400 tunes plus another 400 or so tunes per week is doable in the course of a week isn't it, at least for a Classic Hits station?

You're right about the Joan Jett tune; it was #1 for 8 weeks exactly 30 years ago this week, and wound up #1 for the year; nevertheless, it was still startling for me to hear it on KOST as opposed to KBIG, KRTH, JACK or KLOS.

So a female who graduated from high school would be 48 years old this year, comfortably within KOST's demo target. Nevertheless, I'd love to have had access to the PPM reaction when it hit the air.

Jhani is as brilliant as they come; he certainly knows this market as well as anybody, although I have no way of knowing if he or his MD would have played Ms. Jett's anthem if he was still the PD. KOST definitely stayed true to their 'soft rock with less talk' positioning statement when the station was launched which must have made it one of the most imitated radio stations in America.

I read somewhere that he programmed a top 40 station somewhere in Texas to a 35.0 share in 1968 or thereabouts, which was exceptional, if that was indeed the case.

He essentially reinvented the AC format, much like Gerry DeFrancesco reinvented (or modernized) the top 40 format at KIIS in 1981 en route to that stupendous 10.0 share in the fall of 1984. I don't think KHJ had a 10 share after 1972 or 1973, anyway.

The Doors and Richie Havens on an AC station in 1973 alongside Roberta Flack, Jim Croce, Elton John & Deodato? Are you sure that wasn't KCBQ or KGB-AM?

Would KMPC have had those tunes in their library at that time?

I certainly can believe that a blip in the PPM can be a multi-million hit to any radio station out here, or in any other major market.

 

[michael hagerty]

I do believe that David stated that KRTH does play around 900 tunes per week IIRC, but I could be mistaken. However, a 'core' library of 400 tunes plus another 400 or so tunes per week is doable in the course of a week isn't it, at least for a Classic Hits station?

You're right about the Joan Jett tune; it was #1 for 8 weeks exactly 30 years ago this week, and wound up #1 for the year; nevertheless, it was still startling for me to hear it on KOST as opposed to KBIG, KRTH, JACK or KLOS.

So a female who graduated from high school would be 48 years old this year, comfortably within KOST's demo target. Nevertheless, I'd love to have had access to the PPM reaction when it hit the air.

Jhani is as brilliant as they come; he certainly knows this market as well as anybody, although I have no way of knowing if he or his MD would have played Ms. Jett's anthem if he was still the PD. KOST definitely stayed true to their 'soft rock with less talk' positioning statement when the station was launched which must have made it one of the most imitated radio stations in America.

I read somewhere that he programmed a top 40 station somewhere in Texas to a 35.0 share in 1968 or thereabouts, which was exceptional, if that was indeed the case.

He essentially reinvented the AC format, much like Gerry DeFrancesco reinvented (or modernized) the top 40 format at KIIS in 1981 en route to that stupendous 10.0 share in the fall of 1984. I don't think KHJ had a 10 share after 1972 or 1973, anyway.

The Doors and Richie Havens on an AC station in 1973 alongside Roberta Flack, Jim Croce, Elton John & Deodato? Are you sure that wasn't KCBQ or KGB-AM?

Would KMPC have had those tunes in their library at that time?

I certainly can believe that a blip in the PPM can be a multi-million hit to any radio station out here, or in any other major market.

Marv: The numbers are doable. But if he's at 900+, it means he's playing every good song that can't possibly hurt him in the PPMs. I don't think Jhani's conservative, I think he's brilliant and anyone going deeper than he does is probably making a mistake...though, again, the cost of playing the wrong tune in a smaller market is a lot less than it is in L.A.

And yes, I'm sure...it was Clark Anthony on KFMB-AM, San Diego on April 13, 1973. Jack Woods was the PD at the time...and he came at AC from the direction of a Top 40 softening a bit. Smart move in a town that had the then-hyper KCBQ doing Top 40, KGB and KPRI doing album rock and KOGO doing old-style MOR...there was a huge hole in between. Jack (and later Bobby Rich) filled it.

I don't ever recall hearing The Doors or Richie Havens on KMPC, but then KMPC was an old-line MOR trying to modernize and taking it very gradually.

 

[Bryan Simmons]

Jhani is as brilliant as they come; he certainly knows this market as well as anybody, although I have no way of knowing if he or his MD would have played Ms. Jett's anthem if he was still the PD. KOST definitely stayed true to their 'soft rock with less talk' positioning statement when the station was launched which must have made it one of the most imitated radio stations in America.

I read somewhere that he programmed a top 40 station somewhere in Texas to a 35.0 share in 1968 or thereabouts, which was exceptional, if that was indeed the case.

He essentially reinvented the AC format, much like Gerry DeFrancesco reinvented (or modernized) the top 40 format at KIIS in 1981 en route to that stupendous 10.0 share in the fall of 1984. I don't think KHJ had a 10 share after 1972 or 1973, anyway.

The Doors and Richie Havens on an AC station in 1973 alongside Roberta Flack, Jim Croce, Elton John & Deodato? Are you sure that wasn't KCBQ or KGB-AM?

Would KMPC have had those tunes in their library at that time?

I certainly can believe that a blip in the PPM can be a multi-million hit to any radio station out here, or in any other major market.

Jhani programmed KINT 98 in El Paso in the latter half of the 70's and dominated the town. I do recall some experimentation in the early years of KOST's AC format. When Prince got hot we played "I Would Die For You" which was pretty up when considering most of what was on air then. There was some technical tweaking with the song to soften it a bit. We simply had the best programmers in Jhani and Mary Catherine Sneed.

When I think of hearing The Doors, Richie Havens, Roberta Flack, Jim Croce, Elton John & Deodato on one station I think of what KRTH used to sound like. One of my friends, Dave Williams programmed KRTH for a time in those early days and I really should email him to find out for sure. Really though, if you take away Richie Havens, the rest could be found on most Top 40's of the day. I think they called AC stations Pop Adult back then, and they seemed pretty soft from my recollections. I don't remember hearing the doors on that format in the 70's, but I was just entering my teens then and didn't listen too much to AC stations.

B

 

[michael hagerty]

When I think of hearing The Doors, Richie Havens, Roberta Flack, Jim Croce, Elton John & Deodato on one station I think of what KRTH used to sound like. One of my friends, Dave Williams programmed KRTH for a time in those early days and I really should email him to find out for sure. Really though, if you take away Richie Havens, the rest could be found on most Top 40's of the day. I think they called AC stations Pop Adult back then, and they seemed pretty soft from my recollections. I don't remember hearing the doors on that format in the 70's, but I was just entering my teens then and didn't listen too much to AC stations.

B

Bryan: That's what KRTH sounded like in their AC days. KFMB was aggressive musically for an AC, but there were a few others like it, including WGAR in Cleveland. I liked it and used the approach on the stations I programmed, because it was much easier to attract adults from Top 40. It wasn't The Doors driving them away (though I think "Touch Me" and "Riders On The Storm" were the only two Doors tracks we played) from Top 40, it was the bubblegum and novelty stuff.

Pop/Adult was Radio & Records' (the newspaper) term originally. They were trying to distinguish their charts from Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.

 

[michael hagerty]

Since it's been 30 years since Jhani forever changed the image of AC, I've dug out the KFMB aircheck I was talking about and one from KMPC from two months later. Here's how they played out. The KFMB aircheck is only 30 minutes, so we'll compare half-hours.

Clark Anthony, KFMB, San Diego April 13, 1973

11:57 AM: Vogues: Turn Around, Look At Me (1968 gold)

12:00 Noon: Legal ID/KFMB News

12:05 PM: KFMB Jingle/Richie Havens: Here Comes The Sun (1971 gold)

12:08 PM: KFMB Jingle/Brenda Lee: All Alone Am I (1962 gold) (Clark back-sells Richie over intro)

12:10 PM: Clark back-sells Brenda as record ends/Commercial break (Oldsmobile :60, Tab :60)

12:12 PM: Live tag for Tab spot/KFMB Jingle/Elton John: Daniel (current hit...Clark teases KFMB contest for a Seiko watch and 7 days and 6 nights at Mammoth Mountain over intro)

12:16 PM: Clark back-sells Elton over song ending/Commercial break (National City Mile of Cars :10, Carvel Ice Cream live read :60)

12:17 PM: KFMB Jingle/Doors: Riders On The Storm (1971 gold) (Clark talks up intro)

12:21 PM: (Cold Segue/Layunder) Tornadoes: Telstar (1962 gold)

12:24 PM: Clark back-sells Tornadoes/Commercial break (Dean's Photo Drive-Thru :60, Rolling Homes RV Dealer :60)

12:26 PM: Clark reads Rolling Homes live tag/KFMB Jingle/Gilbert O'Sullivan: Out Of The Question (current hit)



Gary Owens, KMPC, Los Angeles, June 16, 1973

4:00 PM: KMPC News

4:06 PM: Gary Owens "Garish Is The Word" Jingle/Steve Wonder: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life (current hit...Gary talks up intro)

4:09 PM: Gary backsells Stevie over fade-out/Commercial break (Fotomat :60, Gary reads live tag for Fotomat, reads weather live, Winnebago :30)

4:12 PM: Matthews Southern Comfort: Woodstock (1971 gold...Gary talks up intro)

4:15 PM: Gary backsells Matthews Southern Comfort/Commercial break (World Savings :60, Quaker State :60)

4:17 PM: The Big Bopper: Chantilly Lace (1958 gold...Gary intros before rolling cold intro)

4:19 PM: Gary backsells The Big Bopper/Commercial break (Forest Lawn :60, Promo for KMPC DJ vs. Angels spouses' softball game :60, Gary reads live tag for promo, Budweiser Malt Liquor :30)

4:22 PM: Freddie Hart: Easy Lovin' (1971 gold...Gary talks up intro)

4:25 PM: Gary backsells Freddie/Commercial break (Western Airlines :60, Gary reads live tag for Western Airlines, live read for Wilshire Center Chamber of Commerce Luncheon :30)

4:27 PM: Henry Mancini: Theme From Oklahoma Crude (current...Gary talks up intro)


1973 was the year KMPC was transitioning from MOR to AC...and they were pretty much all the way there by this June aircheck. The Henry Mancini single was about the only nod to the old music. Again, KFMB had failed as a Top 40 in 1972, and was coming at AC from the opposite direction, keeping the audio processing, pacing and production values, going deeper with the gold (and playing more of it ) and simply not playing a few songs from the current top 40.

Looking at KHJ's Thirty for that week, there are only 8 songs I'm sure KFMB wasn't playing: War's Cisco Kid, The Sweet's Little Willy, The Temptations' Masterpiece, Edgar Winter Group's Frankenstein, David Bowie's Space Oddity, Steely Dan's Reeling In The Years, Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side and First Choice's Armed and Extremely Dangerous.

I'm betting KMPC passed on those and Skylark's Wildflower, Dobie Gray's Drift Away, Stealer's Wheel's Stuck In The Middle With You, The New Seekers' Pinball Wizard/See Me, Feel Me, Loudon Wainwright III's Dead Skunk and The O'Jays' Love Train.