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Funniest stunting in LA radio
- Thread starter 30james
- Start date
I think the winner has to be Sweet Dick Whittington (KGIL)'s 1972 invasion of Catalina Island.
Dressed like General Douglas MacArthur, he and 500 listeners, dressed in uniforms "from the war of your choice", took the ferry over to Avalon one morning, and stormed---well, actually, tap-danced---ashore.
Runner-up? A painting contest Dick held in the KGIL parking lot. The winning painting was then smuggled into the Louvre Museum in Paris by Dick and the winner and hung in the men's room.
Dressed like General Douglas MacArthur, he and 500 listeners, dressed in uniforms "from the war of your choice", took the ferry over to Avalon one morning, and stormed---well, actually, tap-danced---ashore.
Runner-up? A painting contest Dick held in the KGIL parking lot. The winning painting was then smuggled into the Louvre Museum in Paris by Dick and the winner and hung in the men's room.
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Thing is, apart from Sweet Dick, L.A. wasn't really a "stunt" type of town.
I'm straining to think of others.
Robert W. Morgan, on March 15, 1972, played "Puppy Love" by Donny Osmond for 90 minutes straight. He maintained format---the spots, promos, news, all ran as usual---it's just that the only song played was "Puppy Love", and Morgan, with a straight face, always announced it as some other record---"That's Neil Young and 'Heart of Gold' on KHJ. It's 7:32 in the Morgan..." Probably 20 plays of “Puppy Love” in those 90 minutes, all identified as other hit songs (new and Gold).
Listeners called the LAPD, thinking Morgan, who had mentioned on-air just how sick he was of "Puppy Love" in the days before, must have been held hostage. Officers stormed into the building, and Morgan had to fess up to the bit.
And I vaguely remember Machine Gun Kelly at KHJ in the middle 70s riding Magic Mountain's biggest roller-coaster non-stop from the park opening in the morning until it closed that evening, but....so?
I'm straining to think of others.
Robert W. Morgan, on March 15, 1972, played "Puppy Love" by Donny Osmond for 90 minutes straight. He maintained format---the spots, promos, news, all ran as usual---it's just that the only song played was "Puppy Love", and Morgan, with a straight face, always announced it as some other record---"That's Neil Young and 'Heart of Gold' on KHJ. It's 7:32 in the Morgan..." Probably 20 plays of “Puppy Love” in those 90 minutes, all identified as other hit songs (new and Gold).
Listeners called the LAPD, thinking Morgan, who had mentioned on-air just how sick he was of "Puppy Love" in the days before, must have been held hostage. Officers stormed into the building, and Morgan had to fess up to the bit.
And I vaguely remember Machine Gun Kelly at KHJ in the middle 70s riding Magic Mountain's biggest roller-coaster non-stop from the park opening in the morning until it closed that evening, but....so?
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That Puppy Love bit is hilarious
That Puppy Love bit is hilarious
There's a PS to that---eight years later, when Morgan was doing mornings at KMPC, a listener called to remind Morgan of it being the anniversary of the stunt. Morgan puts the call on the air, thanks the guy, goes to commercial, comes out of the spot break with the jingle ("Robert W. Morgan-K-M-P-C"), straight into Donny Osmond and "Puppy Love", which he intros as Willie Nelson's "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain."
Audio of it exists, but I can't find it online today. If I do, I'll post the link.
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In my limited recollection (mostly late-90s to now), big markets never seemed to do stunting. Probably because losing even a day in ad revenue could mean BIG bucks.
When KAMP lanched as "97.1 Amp Radio" they did a great format change launch. But other than stunting with "TODAY AT FIVE," I think they kept the existing talk programming and spots on air right up to the flip.
Compare that with medium and small markets which can stunt for days and days. A loser station (0.6 share) probably isn't billing much, and the exposure from the stunt is worth FAR more than what pitiful spot load they could sell. But in a big city, even a crappy market share is/was good money.
When KAMP lanched as "97.1 Amp Radio" they did a great format change launch. But other than stunting with "TODAY AT FIVE," I think they kept the existing talk programming and spots on air right up to the flip.
Compare that with medium and small markets which can stunt for days and days. A loser station (0.6 share) probably isn't billing much, and the exposure from the stunt is worth FAR more than what pitiful spot load they could sell. But in a big city, even a crappy market share is/was good money.
Tom Leykis was the last talker heard on KLSX. He signed off KLSX with "I'm The Man" Joe Jackson (commenting he heard the song and he thought the lyrics described him. AMP launched with "Paranoid" Kanye West after a montage.
Kevin and Bean on KROQ used to do a big prank every April Fools Day - they simulcasted with Big Boy on Power 106 one year, claimed the Mall of America was opening in the IE one year, a bunch of other ones. They were so successful at fooling people with them that according to Kevin, eventually all of Audacy's stations banned April Fools pranks:
x.com
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My favorite was when they went all 70's for April Fools in about 1993 or so. It was hilarious hearing "Afternoon Delight" by the Starland Vocal Band and other campy favorites on KROQ (and watching their audience go nuts!).Kevin and Bean on KROQ used to do a big prank every April Fools Day - they simulcasted with Big Boy on Power 106 one year, claimed the Mall of America was opening in the IE one year, a bunch of other ones. They were so successful at fooling people with them that according to Kevin, eventually all of Audacy's stations banned April Fools pranks:
x.com
Similar to this, someone went bonkers at KRLA in the early sixties, played "Sherry" by the Four seasons 3 or 4 times an hour for days on end. People complained that the station "ruined" the song !
Don't remember what year but KROQ and KQLZ Pirate Radio flipped their formats.
Pirate Radio was playing Duran Duran and Culture Club and The Cure while KROQ was playing Motley Crue and Poison and Cinderella.
Sluggo was taking calls on KROQ with his listeners going apoplectic about the stunt.
Pirate Radio was playing Duran Duran and Culture Club and The Cure while KROQ was playing Motley Crue and Poison and Cinderella.
Sluggo was taking calls on KROQ with his listeners going apoplectic about the stunt.
Well, it wasn't L.A., but it was in my opinion very funny. There is a recording of it somewhere on the Internet.
When Gordon McLendon purchased KROW/960 in San Francisco/Oakland in 1959, everyone was sure it was going to be Top 40 because that was what McLendon did and was notorious for. But he (with the help of a consultant) felt that KYA and KEWB were too entrenched for a direct competitor to work. So they decided to go with a Beautiful Music format and call the station KABL (Cable).
To have some fun prior to the launch, they stunted with Top 40 songs and said, "This is KROW, carefree and gay radio." After a period of time, McLendon came on the air and announced the real change.
The word "gay" apparently meant something different back then.
When Gordon McLendon purchased KROW/960 in San Francisco/Oakland in 1959, everyone was sure it was going to be Top 40 because that was what McLendon did and was notorious for. But he (with the help of a consultant) felt that KYA and KEWB were too entrenched for a direct competitor to work. So they decided to go with a Beautiful Music format and call the station KABL (Cable).
To have some fun prior to the launch, they stunted with Top 40 songs and said, "This is KROW, carefree and gay radio." After a period of time, McLendon came on the air and announced the real change.
The word "gay" apparently meant something different back then.
Classic McLendon. The year before, KFWB in L.A. stunted with 24 hours of a song called "The Gila Monster", but always announced it as a legitimate hit. The song was the theme to a movie McLendon produced. At the end of those 24 hours, KFWB launched its "Color Radio" Top 40 format.
The most fun was what KABL did for days before the new format began. They ran music with ads in between songs for strange stuff, mostly government surplus like de-commissioned tanks, battleship repair parts, and the like. All done just like a regular radio ad.
As a DXer, I wasted a good Monday morning listening to KABL doing that from my home in Ohio. And then, a few years later, they did that again with 1390 in Chicago along with "BCSF" promos: Big Change September First.
Someone told me there was a reason why Amp Radio chose to play “paranoid“ by Kanye west specfically after Leykis signed off, and I kept forgetting to ask why. Here’s to hoping someone here knows why?
Wasn’t KABL 5kw by then with that crazy null to the east by then? Picking that up in Ohio was a pretty good catch. Interestingly, that signal is a regular in Hawaii at night due to their pattern.
Back in the early 60's most stations signed off at midnight on Sunday to do maintenance. That meant that 960 was clear once Phoenix signed off. Easy catch for many in the East back then.
Indeed it did...
Way back when, KABL 960 was my Aunt's favorite station! Had it on whenever I visited. I once asked her why she liked listening to that radio station, when she flatly refused to watch anything on Channel 2, because it was "from Oakland". When I told her that KABL was based in Oakland, she just turned and walked away! Huh???
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