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FALL 1970 Ratings/Progressive Myth

B

briancraig

Hope it is OK to post ratings from 35 years ago.

Here are the top 12 Los Angeles stations from the Fall of 1970 Arbitron ratings:

1. KABC 7.6
2. KHJ 7.5
3. KFI 5.6
4. KFWB 5.4
5. KMPC 4.9
KNX 4.9
7. KRLA 4.3
8. KWST-FM 4.2
9. KPOL 3.6
10. KOST-FM 2.8
11. KHJ-FM 2.4
12. KIIS 2.4

Total FM share was 19.4

In Men 18-24, the top 3 were:
KHJ 11.6 KRLA 9.7 KHJ-FM 7.4

Womwn 18-24, the top 3 were:
KHJ 15.8 KRLA 7.7 KHJ-FM 7.2

Notice that not one "progressive" FM shows up in the top 12. I've read where people claim that FM was having a huge impact on KHJ as early as 1968, but as you can see this is just not true.

I'm not arguing the importance of or creativity of early FM rock just stating the fact that not a lot of people listened to Tom Donahue and company despite what the various rock critics would have us believe.

It wasn't until the Fall of 1973 when KLOS started having great ratings that FM rock really became a factor. KLOS by then was a very playlist oriented AOR station.

I believe the formats in the Fall of 1970 for the top 12 stations would be:
KABC--News/Talk
KHJ--Top 40
KFI--Full Service/old style MOR
KFWB--All news
KMPC--hipper chart oriented MOR
KNX--All news
KRLA--Top 40 (it wasn't until Fall of 1971 that Shadow Stevens ruined KRLA by changing to a "FM on AM" format)
KPOL--beautiful music
KIIS--what today would be called Hot AC

KWST-FM--beautiful music
KOST-FM--beautiful music
KHJ-FM--In 1970, I believe they still would have been Hitparade and not Solid Gold.
 
> Hope it is OK to post ratings from 35 years ago.

I rather doubt Arbitron can complain about it.

> 5. KMPC 4.9

For those unfamiliar with the market changes, this is not the present 1540 (that was KPOL then) but the legendary personality-driven full-service station at 710. In 1970, KMPC would have been just starting to become more contemporary musically.

> 11. KHJ-FM 2.4

Now KRTH, but KHJ-FM was an oldies station even then (this would have been not long after the simulcast with 930 ended, so KHJ-FM would have been running the original automated Drake format; I think you're right, Brian, that it was still "Hitparade" at this point).

> 12. KIIS 2.4

No, this isn't 102.7 ... this is AM 1150, not long after it changed call letters from KRKD and Chuck Blore programmed it. (102.7 was still KRHM in the fall of 1970, but would become automated top-40 KKDJ not long after, on April 15, 1971.)

> Notice that not one "progressive" FM shows up in the top 12.
> I've read where people claim that FM was having a huge
> impact on KHJ as early as 1968, but as you can see this is
> just not true.

I think the first FM that had an impact on KHJ was not KMET or KLOS, but KKDJ, after Rick Carroll came in as PD in 1973.

> It wasn't until the Fall of 1973 when KLOS started having
> great ratings that FM rock really became a factor. KLOS by
> then was a very playlist oriented AOR station.

And it influenced Rick Carroll at KKDJ, which further influenced KHJ.

> I believe the formats in the Fall of 1970 for the top 12
> stations would be:
> KIIS--what today would be called Hot AC

Boy, that's a hard call. KIIS was a rather unique format. Sort of like taking KHJ's playlist, removing the bubblegum and hard rock, adding some of the soft rock that KNX-FM was playing, and making it much more gold oriented than any "top-40" music station had been.

Where was KNX-FM in the ratings back then, BTW?
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>
> I think the first FM that had an impact on KHJ was not KMET
> or KLOS, but KKDJ, after Rick Carroll came in as PD in 1973.


That was also around the time that KIQQ K-100 came on the scene; their format was closer to KHJ's, IIRC; seems they'd have a huge impact.
 
The Original Drake Format wasn't Oldies though?

I just found a great Audio Site for the Drake Formats!

http://www.dougquick.com/automatedradioformats2.html

Drake-Chenault's "Hit Parade"
later called "Contempo 300"
"bright contemporary easy listening/MOR for today's 18-49 year old"
on 50 AM and FM stations voiced by Charlie Van Dyke and Jim Carson

> Now KRTH, but KHJ-FM was an oldies station even then (this
> would have been not long after the simulcast with 930 ended,
> so KHJ-FM would have been running the original automated
> Drake format; I think you're right, Brian, that it was still
> "Hitparade" at this point).
 
Re: FALL 1970 Ratings/KMET sucks

Next. go after the bloated stoner KMET myth, I
know they were a monster in 78-80, but before
and after their peak period they were not that
strong. Jim Ladd has to be the most ove
talent in LA history. Put down the bong and you
realize its just a one dimmensonal bad jock with
a y attitude.
 
Re: The Original Drake Format wasn't Oldies though?

> I just found a great Audio Site for the Drake Formats!
>
> http://www.dougquick.com/automatedradioformats2.html
>
> Drake-Chenault's "Hit Parade"
> later called "Contempo 300"
> "bright contemporary easy listening/MOR for today's 18-49
> year old"
> on 50 AM and FM stations voiced by Charlie Van Dyke and Jim
> Carson

KHJ-FM was pre-Drake-Chenault, Scott.
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Re: FALL 1970 Ratings/KMET sucks

> Next. go after the bloated stoner KMET myth, I
> know they were a monster in 78-80, but before
> and after their peak period they were not that
> strong. Jim Ladd has to be the most ove
> talent in LA history. Put down the bong and you
> realize its just a one dimmensonal bad jock with
> a y attitude.

Why is it that every time a thread ventures into AOR/Progressive, someone has to take a potshot at Jim Ladd?

Like him or not, he does have status as a market legend. If he didn't, KLOS wouldn't keep him on the air and let him do what he wants. Okay, so he might have lost a bit of his edge since his days at The Edge, but there are thousands of late-night KLOS listeners who would disagree with your rant.

You don't like Ladd? Switch stations or turn the radio off.

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Exactly KM, but...

the Simulcast of KHJ AM & FM wasn’t Oldies, it was Top 30, even though looking back it sure seems old to me?

> KHJ-FM was pre-Drake-Chenault, Scott.

Who knows, maybe I just interpreted the response differently?.
 
Re: Exactly KM, but...

> the Simulcast of KHJ AM & FM wasn’t Oldies, it was Top 30,
> even though looking back it sure seems old to me?

I said that the ratings period being quoted was after KHJ-FM stopped simulcasting with KHJ. And that the first KHJ-FM format was automated oldies.

I have no idea how you came to the conclusion above that the simulcast was anything other than the Drake "boss" format.
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I could have Sworn...

the first Automated Format aired on KHJ FM and most likely KYNO FM, was Hit Parade, a contemporary Format, not Oldies (Solid Gold came after). I remember moving to Los Angeles in 1968, and loved Hit Parade 69, and Hit Parade 70 in Los Angeles. It was a kick to spend both Summers near Fresno hearing the same format. Where's Michael Haggerty when we need him the most?

> > the Simulcast of KHJ AM & FM wasn’t Oldies, it was Top 30,
>
> > even though looking back it sure seems old to me?
>
> I said that the ratings period being quoted was after KHJ-FM
> stopped simulcasting with KHJ. And that the first KHJ-FM
> format was automated oldies.
>
> I have no idea how you came to the conclusion above that the
> simulcast was anything other than the Drake "boss" format.
>
 
Brian:
I'm guessing the ratings you quote were from ARB. I've got Pulse numbers from Fall of '70...and they're pretty close in some areas, different in others:

1 KABC 790 AM Talk 10.7
2 KHJ 930 AM Top 40 9.0
3 KGFJ 1230 AM R&B 6.2
4 KFWB 980 AM News 5.7
5 KPOL 1540 AM Beautiful Music 4.2
6 KRLA 1110 AM Top 40 4.0
7 KMPC 710 AM MOR 3.7
8 KALI 1430 AM Spanish 3.2
8 KBCA 105.1 FM Jazz 3.2
8 KFOX 1280 AM Country 3.2
11 KFAC 1330 AM Classical 2.7
12 KIIS 1150 AM Adult Contemporary 2.5
12 KNX 1070 AM News 2.5
12 XETRA 690 AM Beautiful Music 2.5
15 KFI 640 AM MOR 2.2
15 KHJ 101.1 FM Adult Contemporary 2.2
15 KMET 94.7 FM Album Rock 2.2
15 KWKW 1300 AM Spanish 2.2
19 KEZY 1190 AM Top 40 2.0
19 KWST 105.9 FM Beautiful Music 2.0
21 KOST 103.5 FM Beautiful Music 1.7
21 KWIZ 1480 AM Oldies 1.7
23 KLAC 570 AM Country 1.5
23 KPPC 106.7 FM Album Rock 1.5
25 KUTE 101.9 FM R&B 1.2
26 KDAY 1580 AM Top 40 1.0
26 KSRF 103.1 FM Beautiful Music 1.0
26 XEGM 950 AM R&B 1.0
29 KGBS 1020 AM Adult Contemporary 0.7
30 KGIL 1260 AM MOR 0.5
30 KPOL 93.9 FM Beautiful Music 0.5
32 KABC 95.5 FM Album Rock 0.2
32 KBBQ 1500 AM Country 0.2
32 KNAC 105.5 FM Album Rock 0.2


While the point of your post was the relatively poor showing of album rock stations, it had only been three years since KPPC and then KMET got in the game. But between them there was a 3.7 rating....that would have been worth a tie for 7th place with KMPC. Factor in the 0.2 each from KABC-FM and KNAC and it's a 4.1, which would make 6th place...ahead of KRLA. It's also worth noting that in Pulse, KMET is tied for #2 FM (behind KBCA) with KHJ-FM. Any station or format with that kind of growth curve in 3 years is going to have an impact. And during that time, KHJ's numbers had fallen from an 11.6 to a 9.0.

In Fall, 1971, KLOS cleaned KMET's clock...taking a 2.7 rating and sending KMET down to a 0.7. And, as you noted, it was KLOS that really made a difference. Pulse shows them moving to a 3.2 in Fall '72 and then to a 4.1 (tied for 4th place) in Fall '73. By that point, KHJ was pulling a 6.0.

---Michael Hagerty
 
>
> Where was KNX-FM in the ratings back then, BTW?
>
KMR: KNX-FM in 1970 was still running "The Young Sound". It wasn't until 1973 that the station developed its "Mellow Rock" format. My Pulse numbers indicate KNX-FM was a no-show until 1973, when it managed a 1.0, good for 29th place. But in '74, it shot to a 2.5, tied for 12th.

And, yes, in 1970, KHJ-FM was "Hitparade '70". The "Solid Gold Rock N' Roll" format came in 1971, with the call letter flip to KRTH in early (January?)1972.

---Michael Hagerty
 
God Bless You

for all my other mistakes! When are you going to write your Book?
Scott

> And, yes, in 1970, KHJ-FM was "Hitparade '70". The "Solid
> Gold Rock N' Roll" format came in 1971, with the call letter
> flip to KRTH in early (January?)1972.
>
> ---Michael Hagerty
>
 
Re: I could have Sworn...

> the first Automated Format aired on KHJ FM and most likely
> KYNO FM, was Hit Parade, a contemporary Format, not Oldies
> (Solid Gold came after). I remember moving to Los Angeles in
> 1968, and loved Hit Parade 69, and Hit Parade 70 in Los
> Angeles. It was a kick to spend both Summers near Fresno
> hearing the same format. Where's Michael Haggerty when we
> need him the most?

Right here, Miami! KHJ was an AM/FM simulcast until the FCC put an end to it in 1967...meaning KHJ-FM was running "Boss Radio" until then. In '67, KHJ-FM went automated with "Hitparade" (later "Hitparade '68", "Hitparade '69" and "Hitparade '70"). The music was 60 percent current, 40 percent gold (a higher concentration of oldies than KHJ-AM, except on KHJ's "Million Dollar Weekends")and the currents tended to be added more slowly than on KHJ, which was always early on records, leaving them playing a lot of marginal records. "Hitparade" also went deeper on gold, playing a lot of songs during the week that you'd only hear during "Million Dollar Weekends" on the AM.

I'd classify "Hitparade" as being one of the first adult contemporary formats (though the occasional harder rock records like "Born To Be Wild" would get played).

"Solid Gold Rock and Roll" debuted in 1971, with the call letter change to KRTH in early 1972. A year and a half later, RKO had to cook up its own oldies format, with the divorce from Drake.

---Michael Hagerty
 
Dave:
KLOS hit closer, sooner...managing a 3.2 and a tie for 11th in the fall, 1972 Pulse ratings. KKDJ (at that time an automated Top 40 with a few LP cuts) was tied for 22nd with a 1.7.

Rick Carroll's arrival at KKDJ in early 1973 (taking the station live with Jay Stevens, Russ O'Hara, Billy Pearl, Kris Erik Stevens, T. Michael Jordan and later Charlie Tuna) definitely had an impact. In Fall, 1973 KKDJ had shot up to a 2.9, in 12th place. But that was overshadowed by KLOS, which went to a 4.1 (good enough to tie for 4th)...less than 2 points shy of KHJ.

Drake-Chenault's K-100 debuted in December, 1973. While it was Bill Drake with Robert W. Morgan, Eric Chase, The Real Don Steele, Billy Pearl (stolen from KKDJ) and Jim Carson (all Drake jocks except for Pearl), K-100 didn't have any of the KHJ production values...no jingles, just "whispers"....rusty jocks (in the case of Morgan and Steele) running their own boards instead of the seasoned pros on the other side of the glass at KHJ. No one sounded like they were having fun and comments posted at Reelradio by Ken Levine (who as "Beaver Cleaver" replaced Pearl when he went to KHJ in late '74) and Shaune Steele (The Real Don's widow), confirm that no one was. Steele quit in 1974 and wasn't heard on L.A. radio for more than two years...until the debut of KTNQ. Morgan took weekends at KMPC (which he did for four years) rather than continue in mornings at K-100.

Before it fell apart, K-100 pulled a 1.3 in the fall, 1974 Pulse...tying for 25th place. The audience appears to have come almost entirely from KKDJ, which fell 1.2 points to a 1.7, while KHJ went up from a 6.0 to a 6.3. Essentially, K-100 was a spoiler.

From then on, K-100 was never a factor. KKDJ gave up and became adult contemporary KIIS-FM in the fall of 1975. The next attempt at Top 40 was KTNQ in December, 1976.

---Michael Hagerty


> > I think the first FM that had an impact on KHJ was not
> KMET
> > or KLOS, but KKDJ, after Rick Carroll came in as PD in
> 1973.
>
>
> That was also around the time that KIQQ K-100 came on the
> scene; their format was closer to KHJ's, IIRC; seems they'd
> have a huge impact.
>
 
> Notice that not one "progressive" FM shows up in the top 12.
> I've read where people claim that FM was having a huge
> impact on KHJ as early as 1968, but as you can see this is
> just not true.
>
> I'm not arguing the importance of or creativity of early FM
> rock just stating the fact that not a lot of people listened
> to Tom Donahue and company despite what the various rock
> critics would have us believe.
>
> It wasn't until the Fall of 1973 when KLOS started having
> great ratings that FM rock really became a factor. KLOS by
> then was a very playlist oriented AOR station.
>


Those numbers are deceiving. FM Rock's influence even in the early days 1966 - 1971 was felt through out the music industry and even in the radio industry as more top 40 stations added album cuts to their playlist. Also album sales were over taking single sales and it was FM Rock, not AM Top 40 which had the biggest influence. It was with the all important college age listeners back then where FM Rock radio had it's impact.
 
Re: FALL 1970 Ratings/KMET sucks

Jim Ladd is the last of the free form DJ's and one of it's best. He is a legend and is deserving of that title. He is still better than 99% of the people on the air today.
 
> Drake-Chenault's K-100 debuted in December, 1973. While
> it was Bill Drake with Robert W. Morgan, Eric Chase, The
> Real Don Steele, Billy Pearl (stolen from KKDJ) and Jim
> Carson (all Drake jocks except for Pearl)

Allow me to disagree with that statement. Jim Carson had been with KIQQ since right before the call letter change from KFOX-FM, and that happened <u>before</u> Bill and Gene came in. Carson was the only holdover from the previous soft-rock "K-100" format (in fact, I believe it was LARadio.com's Don Barrett who, as then-GM of KIQQ, originally hired Carson), although he was moved from afternoon drive to overnights.

Here's a trivia question: Who did 10pm-2am originally?
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OK then...

What Year did KHJ AM become KRTH? (no response needed)

> with the call letter
> > flip to KRTH in early (January?)1972.
> >
> > ---Michael Hagerty

> KHJ-FM became KRTH on October 16, 1972.
>
 
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