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KYA ... Back On The Air!

BossRadioDJ

BossRadioDJ

I just got done speaking with Steve Kushman at the California Historical Radio Society, and he mentioned that the great Chris Edwards (ex-KYA) had stopped by on the KRE studios in Berkeley for a quick tour. He also mentioned that Chris was now operating www.KyaRadio1.com which is streaming great Oldies with classic KYA jingles mixed in between -- along with Chris doing the announcing.

Steve also mentioned that Chris is talking to Bonneville about possibly reviving the old 1260 AM (now simulcasting KOIT) as an Oldies station. Not the worst idea I've ever heard...

Check it out when you have a moment ... but don't forget about our amazing collection of original 1260/KYA broadcast recordings on the Bay Area Radio Museum website at http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kya

D.J.
 
  While scanning the internet dial, we just caught the Chris Edwards show, with that great west coast sound.
Welcome to the internet Chris. Ey, Eeyyooo Chris, when you pause for the cause, be sure to tell everybody to catch the bombastic and fantastic WIBG/WFIL 'Philly Town Sound' we’re putting down on HyLitRadio.com. 
  In the mean time, in between time, keep your motor spinnin, it's only the beginnin!
Stay cool, but don't freeze.

Warmest Wishes,

Hy Lit


Hy Lit & the Beatles Come Together. Hear it on HyLitRadio.com, read about it first on Radio-Info Philly board.
 
Gee...that's funny. This guy with the website doesn't look anything like the Chris Edwards on the original KYA 1260 surveys, or sound like him. The Chris Edwards who sells for Clear Channel in SF looks and sounds like the real guy...because he is. Johnny Holliday came by a couple years ago when his book was out, and they went to lunch together, talking about old times at KYA. Why does this guy with the website claim to be someone he's not?
 
I think it would be a great idea to have KYA back on 1260....Having a similcast soft rock station on AM is so out of date................There are no oldies stations in SF as it is one of the a few cities without one.
 
I think it would be a great idea to have KYA back on 1260....Having a similcast soft rock station on AM is so out of date................There are no oldies stations in SF as it is one of the a few cities without one.

Nurse Jeff and I think it would be great if we could go back to the late 1960's and kick Howard Kester's ass (RIP, Howard). KYA was legendary, but sounded like crap compared to the BIG Six~10. Even under KING Broadcasting, KYA-FM was beaten by KOFY in the oldies format - and don't tell us it was because of the 93.3 signal! There's something about those calls and bad programming. A simulcast of KOIT is not the highest and best use for the 12~sixty frequency, but we doubt whether the Men In Secret Underwear want to spend anymore $$ on finding out. Best bet...sell the station and let someone else ressurect the KYA calls.
 
BossRadioDJ said:
I just got done speaking with Steve Kushman at the California Historical Radio Society, and he mentioned that the great Chris Edwards (ex-KYA) had stopped by on the KRE studios in Berkeley for a quick tour. He also mentioned that Chris was now operating www.KyaRadio1.com which is streaming great Oldies with classic KYA jingles mixed in between -- along with Chris doing the announcing.

Steve also mentioned that Chris is talking to Bonneville about possibly reviving the old 1260 AM (now simulcasting KOIT) as an Oldies station. Not the worst idea I've ever heard...

Check it out when you have a moment ... but don't forget about our amazing collection of original 1260/KYA broadcast recordings on the Bay Area Radio Museum website at http://www.bayarearadio.org/audio/kya

D.J.
Click to expand...
I'm really impressed kudos to Chrs!
 
SFStatic said:
Gee...that's funny. This guy with the website doesn't look anything like the Chris Edwards on the original KYA 1260 surveys, or sound like him. The Chris Edwards who sells for Clear Channel in SF looks and sounds like the real guy...because he is. Johnny Holliday came by a couple years ago when his book was out, and they went to lunch together, talking about old times at KYA. Why does this guy with the website claim to be someone he's not?
Click to expand...

Static,

There were actually two Chris Edwards at KYA -- one in the late 1960s, and another in the mid-1970s. I may be wrong (stop laughing!) but I think that the first Chris Edwards is now with Clear Channel in sales.

Chris Edwards of KyaRadio1.com called himself "Big Fat Chris Edwards" on the air at KYA, and he also worked at KFRC during the same timeframe. His real name is Chris Edwards White -- which he notes on the website -- and he has put about $30,000 of his own money into the website, including the studio equipment, buying the rights to the original jingles, building the music collection, etc.

He's not an imposter ... he's just not the same Chris Edwards you thought he was!

By the way, the streaming station is a blast. Give it a listen when you have a few minutes.

D.J.
 
D.J....Let's all agree that the guy with website isn't the the "Great Chris Edwards" most people remember. That Chris was on KYA until around 74 or so. That Chris DOES in fact work for Clear Channel SF as a sales manager. If "Big Fat Chris Edwards" was on KYA, it wasn't a very long run. Since KYA was the enemy for so long, KFRC made it policy NOT to hire jocks who worked at KYA, at least during the Michael Spears/Les Garland era. Although Mike Rivers, in a very rare exception, did work at both.Mike was actually known for at all other stations in his career as Tom Rivers and was a legend in Toronto. He could not use Tom on KFRC since Tom Parker was at the station at the time. In speaking w/several KFRC jocks from the era, who live still live here, no one named "Big Fat Chris Edwards" was on KFRC from at least 74 on. Perhaps he was off air? Or like like many of us, wished we were on KFRC.... ;D ;D!
 
oldbossjock said:
D.J....Let's all agree that the guy with website isn't the the "Great Chris Edwards" most people remember.
Click to expand...

Over the past several weeks I have been corresponding with several people regarding "Chris Edwards" and the KYA tribute site that I had originally lauded here on this board. In conversations with Ben Fong-Torres, Dean Goss, Norman Davis and "Chris Edwards," I think it has become abundantly clear that this "Chris Edwards" is not the person I -- and many other people -- were led to believe he was.

I had raised numerous questions to him directly, including requests for information about his Grammy Award, his work at KYNO in Fresno, and about his employment at KYA and KFRC. None of these inquiries garnered a response that I would consider satisfactory.

After posting photos on the "KYA" website that I knew were only available from one person -- Norman Davis -- I contacted Norman and asked if he had provided them to "Chris Edwards." Norman, in turn, contacted "Chris Edwards" and noted that those photos were from his private collection. "Chris Edwards" responded, in essence, that I had provided the images (which I did not do), and that unless Norman had them copyrighted, he had nothing to complain about.

After Norman forwarded a copy of that message from "Chris Edwards" to me, I contacted "Chris Edwards" and said that I most certainly had not sent the photos. At this point, the story was changed: the photos had probably been bought on Ebay, which I strongly doubted. In addition, "Chris Edwards" also basically said that Norman should be happy that he was being mentioned on the KYA site at all, and that Norman should quit complaining and support his efforts.

On the 440:Satisfaction website (http://440int.com/440sat.html), which is run by the legendary KHJ overnight Boss Jock Johnny Williams, "Chris Edwards" makes the following claims about his career:

· KEAP [Fresno CA] 1962
· KYNO [Fresno] 1963
· KSLY [San Luis Obispo CA] 1968
· KYA [San Francisco CA] 1974 - Big Fat Chris Edwards
· KFRC [San Francisco] 1974
· KBAI [San Luis Obispo CA] 1989 - owner, GM
· KTAA [Fresno] 1999-2001 - owner, GM

Dean Goss, who worked at KYA during the mid-1970s and has been with KFRC for many years, told me that he did not know who this "Chris Edwards" was.

I had requested copies of any airchecks "Chris Edwards" might have of himself at either KYA or KFRC during the mid-1970s. Although I received a response, the aircheck request wasn't even acknowledged. I also asked, at least twice, for information about his tenure at KYNO/Fresno, which was the launching pad for the entire Bill Drake/Ron Jacobs era that served as the prelude to the Boss Radio explosion across the country in the mid-Sixties, and made stars of virtually everyone who worked at either KYNO or KMAKe. It is one of the most well-documented eras in the history of broadcasting, yet I couldn't find any reference to this "Chris Edwards" (or anyone who remembered him at KYNO) anywhere. Again, he responded, but failed to provide any detail about his work in Fresno.

I could go on and on about this for pages and pages, but instead I'll direct you to the latest edition of Ben Fong-Torres' "Radio Waves," which appeared in today's Chronicle Datebook. The piece about "Chris Edwards" was supposed to have run two weeks ago, Ben told me, but was held off until the Chronicle's attorneys could complete their own review.

The column can be read online at:

http://tinyurl.com/jsf67

D.J.
 
paulsecic said:
So basically this guy is a fraud? How did he buy the jingles & such. And from whom?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure whether "fraud" is the term. I think that he has been less than truthful. Apparently his real name is Verne White, and he is listed as a broadcast consultant on TM Century's website:

http://www.tmcentury.com/consultants.asp

(Click on W and scroll down from there.)

As for the jingles, he may have bought them from the same sources that I get them from -- collectors, Ebay, Ken R., etc.

I feel that this is like someone putting up a KFRC tribute website and calling himself "Marvelous Mark McKay" or something.

Very strange.

DJ
 
It just occurred to me that, at the time, both stations, KYA and KSFO, were AFTRA. As late as the 80's, I was told you couldn't use a name at a covered station that another member was already using (was ok if he had died or retired). Also, some stations at the time had a contractual deal where you couldn't move to a competitor and keep using the same name.

DJ, you might know, can you still buy those old PAMS jingles? I had heard the present owners were no longer making them available.
 
SFStatic said:
It just occurred to me that, at the time, both stations, KYA and KSFO, were AFTRA. As late as the 80's, I was told you couldn't use a name at a covered station that another member was already using (was ok if he had died or retired). Also, some stations at the time had a contractual deal where you couldn't move to a competitor and keep using the same name.

DJ, you might know, can you still buy those old PAMS jingles? I had heard the present owners were no longer making them available.
Click to expand...

Static,

Regarding Verne White, I think it's a dead issue regarding him at KFRC or KYA. It appears that he never worked at either station.

Johnny Williams, the legendary overnight Boss Jock at 93/KHJ from 1965-1974 who now runs the 440:Satisfaction website, sent the following message today in reply to my inquiry about the "Chris Edwards" listing on 440:

Wow! I continue to be amazed at the ego trips we radio people take ourselves on -- just incredible. Ben Fong-Torres is having a ball with this one, huh? I'll pull the Chris Edwards listing ASAP. From the "I should have known" dept. When Verne White aka Chris Edwards submitted his radio history, he listed having worked at KHJ from 1968 to 1974. I called him on it and he said he had made a mistake and the station should have been KSLY (San Luis Obispo)... Better yet, make that the "I'm an idiot!" dept.
Click to expand...

Regarding the old jingles, you should go to www.bayarearadio.org and look for the Contact link at the very bottom of every page. Send the guy who runs that website a message with your specific jingle needs. I'm pretty sure he'll accomodate you.

D.J.
 
Nice message from Johnny Williams, who I spent many hours listening to as an insomniac teenager. What's amazing is that Verne White (that IS his name, right?..this is a little confusing) would think he would get away with perpetrating this lie...especially with the real Chris Edwards still alive and very much kicking. The sad part is - the idea of a KYA tribute website is a great one, and would have gotten attention without the dishonesty, regardless of who had put it together.
 
Abakar: You sound like an ill-informed idiot. KYA was the legendary station
of Bobby Mitchell, Les Crane, Bill Drake, & Big Daddy Donahue. "Something
about those call letters"-that show's pure ignorance on your part. End
of the story.
 
BossRadioDJ said:
Johnny Williams, the legendary overnight Boss Jock at 93/KHJ from 1965-1974 who now runs the 440:Satisfaction website, sent the following message today in reply to my inquiry about the "Chris Edwards" listing on 440:

[ When Verne White aka Chris Edwards submitted his radio history, he listed having worked at KHJ from 1968 to 1974. I called him on it and he said he had made a mistake and the station should have been KSLY (San Luis Obispo)... Better yet, make that the "I'm an idiot!" dept.[/i][/size]
Click to expand...
Click to expand...


At the risk of piling on, I was at KSLY in 1974...and Verne/Chris wasn't. The station still had some people who'd been there for years and years...I was given the history of the place and his name(s) never came up.

---Michael Hagerty
 
Quite a mistake, I'm sure it was simply by accident:) was that before or after
he worked at KYA:) What a fraud.
 
Abakar: You sound like an ill-informed idiot. KYA was the legendary station
of Bobby Mitchell, Les Crane, Bill Drake, & Big Daddy Donahue. "Something
about those call letters"-that show's pure ignorance on your part. End
of the story.

Yeah, yeah...let's all pretend it's the Sixties again and KYA is kickin' KEWB's ass. Internet streaming is as about as close KYA will come to being back on the air. Time to accept reality and move on.
 
doublecashkgb said:
Quite a mistake, I'm sure it was simply by accident:) was that before or after
he worked at KYA:) What a fraud.
Click to expand...

Okay....so the guy's very possibly a fake.  We also have his claim that he's got the most listened to oldies site on the web (or something to that effect), and then he claims this big network of stations for his Saturday night show.  I suspect its all bogus! 

But for the most part, the streaming product he's putting out sounds pretty good. I'd also point out that my understanding of the old Bartell business model was to create an "illusion" long enough and effectively enough until it eventually became reality.
 
Verne White is now very close to being charged with fraud regarding his claimed ownership of 94.7 KYAF (Formerly KAJP) submitting an application without the real owners knowledge replacing Linda Ross as president of the group that owns the Firebaugh station. By the way, he never ownd KBAI Morro Bay either !
 
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