The First Minutes of KKHR Airchecks 1983

[recto101]

http://www.socalradiohistory.com/kkhr.html

http://airchexx.com/2004/11/04/form...flips-to-top-40-hitradio-93-kkhr-august-1983/

Todd Parker of KKHR 93.1 in 1983 sounds exactly like Harry Nelson of KFRC in 1982. Wow I thought only Jackson Armstrong of KFRC went to KKHR but I was wrong here.
But KKHR was a great station in LA but KIIS-FM 102.7 shut them down in the Top40 CHR Business.




http://airchexx.com/2006/04/17/composite-part-2-610-kfrc-san-francisco-may-18-1982/
http://airchexx.com/2006/04/17/composite-part-3-610-kfrc-san-francisco-may-18-1982/

 

[michael hagerty]

http://www.socalradiohistory.com/kkhr.html

http://airchexx.com/2004/11/04/form...flips-to-top-40-hitradio-93-kkhr-august-1983/

Todd Parker of KKHR 93.1 in 1983 sounds exactly like Harry Nelson of KFRC in 1982. Wow I thought only Jackson Armstrong of KFRC went to KKHR but I was wrong here.
But KKHR was a great station in LA but KIIS-FM 102.7 shut them down in the Top40 CHR Business.




http://airchexx.com/2006/04/17/composite-part-2-610-kfrc-san-francisco-may-18-1982/
http://airchexx.com/2006/04/17/composite-part-3-610-kfrc-san-francisco-may-18-1982/

You were right and wrong. Jackson Armstrong wasn't the only KFRC jock to go to KKHR. The Slim One did, too. But Todd Parker is not Harry Nelson, who at the time of KKHR's launch was PD of KKIB, Fargo.

Todd was brought in from sister station WCAU-FM in Philadelphia. While the vocal timbre and energy is somewhat similar to Harry Nelson's, they really don't sound that much alike.

 

[EasyBakeOven]

Todd Parker came to L.A. from KITS in San Francisco, which was doing Mike Joseph's "Hot Hits" format. Prior to that, Parker was heard in Philly at WCAU-FM and Hot Hits-WFBL in Syracuse. KKHR did not use the "Hot Hits" positioner, because KIIS-FM was already using it (in name only). However at the time, KKHR used many of the same tag lines and contests that were heard on other CBS O&O's (such as WBBM, WCAU-FM, WHTT, and KHTR). These included the "Free Ride" music sweeps, "Family Fortune" and "Name Game". After KKHR, Parker worked at Power 106.

 

[recto101]

By the Way the KKHR calls went to Texas as a Spanish music FM Station.

 

[michael hagerty]

Todd Parker came to L.A. from KITS in San Francisco, which was doing Mike Joseph's "Hot Hits" format. Prior to that, Parker was heard in Philly at WCAU-FM and Hot Hits-WFBL in Syracuse. KKHR did not use the "Hot Hits" positioner, because KIIS-FM was already using it (in name only). However at the time, KKHR used many of the same tag lines and contests that were heard on other CBS O&O's (such as WBBM, WCAU-FM, WHTT, and KHTR). These included the "Free Ride" music sweeps, "Family Fortune" and "Name Game". After KKHR, Parker worked at Power 106.

That's right. Forgot about KITS. Might be where Parker picked up a little Harry Nelson influence.

 

[ToddParker]

(I was clued into this discussion by an old colleague from Power 106. Thanks Lyle.) I've never been ashamed of stealing from people in radio that I admired...but until this morning I wasn't aware that anyone named Harry Nelson existed. (I *will* be listening to the KFRC airchecks now, though, to see if I really do sound like him!) I haven't heard the first minutes of KKHR since...well, since I went through them first hand back then (believe it or not, I didn't aircheck them at the time). I look forward to hearing what the almost-thirty-years younger me sounded like. My recollection was that it just wasn't a particularly good show--the pressure was enormous; there were TV cameras rolling, several National CBS executives staring through the glass, people running in and out of the studio. It was kind of a madhouse.

On the other hand, I've been surprised before by old airchecks. Some of the shows I thought were pretty great ended up being sort of...meh. And some of the shows I felt horrible about while I was doing them, actually turned out kind of entertaining.

KKHR was a...rather bittersweet experience. But I'm glad people still remember it.

 

[calguy]

Harry Nelson may have been out of SF by the time Todd worked there. Harry Nelson is fairly well known in Top 40 history working at stations like WRKO, KFRC and WAPP.

 

[recto101]

Who was the DJ in the Clip as MOR KNX-FM? What happen to him over the last 30 years.
before Todd Parker took over the studio?

Parker, Todd: KKHR, 1983-86; KNX/fm, 1986; KPWR, 1986-93. Todd has moved to Las Vegas and is working in the mortgage industry. He's still doing voiceovers, primarily in the field of audio books.
http://www.laradio.com/wherep.htm

 

[EasyBakeOven]

Who was the DJ in the Clip as MOR KNX-FM? What happen to him over the last 30 years.

Michael Sheehy is the voice before the flip to Hit Radio 93. Sheehy joined KNX-FM in '76 as Air Personality, MD and eventually PD. Afterwards, he went on to do voicework and production of jingles, beds, show syndication (both radio & TV) and more.

 

[calguy]

Who was the DJ in the Clip as MOR KNX-FM? What happen to him over the last 30 years.

Michael Sheehy is the voice before the flip to Hit Radio 93. Sheehy joined KNX-FM in '76 as Air Personality, MD and eventually PD. Afterwards, he went on to do voicework and production of jingles, beds, show syndication (both radio & TV) and more.

He still does. That's usually the voice you hear on Sport Chalet spots.

 

[michael hagerty]

Harry Nelson may have been out of SF by the time Todd worked there. Harry Nelson is fairly well known in Top 40 history working at stations like WRKO, KFRC and WAPP.

Calguy: I'd forgotten that KITS didn't launch until February 1983...Harry's last show at KFRC was October 31, 1982.

By the way, so you can compare Todd and Harry, here's a link to a KFRC composite from 1982, with Harry Nelson leading off.

http://airchexx.com/2006/04/17/composite-part-3-610-kfrc-san-francisco-may-18-1982/


Good Lord, KFRC was smokin' back then!

 

[calguy]

Harry Nelson may have been out of SF by the time Todd worked there. Harry Nelson is fairly well known in Top 40 history working at stations like WRKO, KFRC and WAPP.

Calguy: I'd forgotten that KITS didn't launch until February 1983...Harry's last show at KFRC was October 31, 1982.

By the way, so you can compare Todd and Harry, here's a link to a KFRC composite from 1982, with Harry Nelson leading off.

http://airchexx.com/2006/04/17/composite-part-3-610-kfrc-san-francisco-may-18-1982/


Good Lord, KFRC was smokin' back then!

I hear the similarities. Yes, KFRC was one of the best Top 40's ever!

 

[michael hagerty]

Harry Nelson may have been out of SF by the time Todd worked there. Harry Nelson is fairly well known in Top 40 history working at stations like WRKO, KFRC and WAPP.

Calguy: I'd forgotten that KITS didn't launch until February 1983...Harry's last show at KFRC was October 31, 1982.

By the way, so you can compare Todd and Harry, here's a link to a KFRC composite from 1982, with Harry Nelson leading off.

http://airchexx.com/2006/04/17/composite-part-3-610-kfrc-san-francisco-may-18-1982/


Good Lord, KFRC was smokin' back then!

I hear the similarities. Yes, KFRC was one of the best Top 40's ever!

KFRC was one of the few Top 40s to make dramatic, fundamental changes and stay fresh and relevant rather than lose to newer competition (at least until near the end).

From straight-ahead by-the-book Drake 1966-1970 to its own brand of post-Drake beginning while Drake was still at RKO from 1971-1977....then to an album-rock influenced approach 1978-1980 and then to Gerry Cagle's brilliant blend of R&B and rock that ignored a bunch of hit records in favor of an overall sound and energy, KFRC always managed to grab the next wave.

Cagle's approach was probably the most daring. He could have tried to refine the AOR-ish approach he inherited from Les Garland (which worked brilliantly at the time), but he would have been competing with FMs and eventually lost. Same if he'd played the national hits of the early 80s...KFRC would have been another very soft Top 40 competing with AC's on FM. Instead, he saw two R&B stations with inferior signals but big numbers on AM (KDIA and KSOL) and ran after them...driving the 3 share he inherited into 5s and saving the station.

 

[calguy]

Cagle did what any smart programmer should do, find a whole and fill it. I never cared as much for KFRC under his command as I did with his predecessors, but I can't fault him for being a smart programmer. KFRC was the Madonna of radio. They always seemed to have their finger on the pulse of the bay area. KFRC was my favorite station of all time. I just wish that it was still on air.

 

[LKellerIII]

Michael. One correction (IIRC) - by Cagle's time at KFRC, KSOL was playing R&B at 107.7 FM, and had killer ratings. In fact, I believe it was #1 by 1985 or 86 - before KFRC became Magic 61. I don't remember the years exactly, but KSOL-FM remained #1 for quite awhile, finally losing out to KMEL, which had been faster to embrace Hip Hop and Rap.

I believe 1450 AM became KEST sometime in the 70s, with an eccentric mix of old classic radio shows and old fashioned "coffee-klatch" style talk shows.

There was one other AM soul station though for awhile in the 80s, competing with KDIA and KFRC - it was 1400 KRE-AM (or maybe KBLX-AM by that time...can't recall), which shamelessly copied KDIA, branding themselves as "14K." I don't recall that it lasted long.

 

[michael hagerty]

Oops. You're right, Llew...so KFRC's success was mostly at KDIA's expense.

Back to the topic of KKHR...in '85 or so, PD Ed Scarborough had an interesting music mix going...about one-third mass appeal CHR, one-third Urban and one-third modern rock (the most accessible stuff KROQ was playing at the time).

Personally, I preferred KKHR to KIIS-FM, but CBS never gave it the budget it needed to win against KIIS.

 

[recto101]

Its interesting that CBS in 2009 or 2010 went back to the CHR business in LA where 97.1 was flipped from FM Talk to AMP CHR KAMP 97.1.

 

[calguy]

Its interesting that CBS in 2009 or 2010 went back to the CHR business in LA where 97.1 was flipped from FM Talk to AMP CHR KAMP 97.1.

They probably looked at the revenue that KIIS was earning and thought they could grab a big bite for themselves. AMP hasn't killed KIIS off, but it did force them to focus a little more, and AMP is still holding it's own. But you really cannot compare what CBS did in LA before. KKHR was actually a great sounding station with a shoestring promotional budget. Some of the talent that went through KKHR was impressive, but the timing was awful. KIIS was a juggernaut in the mid 80's that no one seemed to be able to beat until Power 106 came along. But that's apples for oranges. Power being urban and KIIS as a CHR. They still battled it out though.

 

[michael hagerty]

Its interesting that CBS in 2009 or 2010 went back to the CHR business in LA where 97.1 was flipped from FM Talk to AMP CHR KAMP 97.1.

They probably looked at the revenue that KIIS was earning and thought they could grab a big bite for themselves. AMP hasn't killed KIIS off, but it did force them to focus a little more, and AMP is still holding it's own. But you really cannot compare what CBS did in LA before. KKHR was actually a great sounding station with a shoestring promotional budget. Some of the talent that went through KKHR was impressive, but the timing was awful. KIIS was a juggernaut in the mid 80's that no one seemed to be able to beat until Power 106 came along. But that's apples for oranges. Power being urban and KIIS as a CHR. They still battled it out though.

25 years has changed a lot. KIIS-FM couldn't mount a promotion campaign these days the way they did then because Clear Channel won't give a market manager the kind of autonomy Wally Clark had. And CBS is a different company, too...with different owners and different people running it.

 

[calguy]

Its interesting that CBS in 2009 or 2010 went back to the CHR business in LA where 97.1 was flipped from FM Talk to AMP CHR KAMP 97.1.

They probably looked at the revenue that KIIS was earning and thought they could grab a big bite for themselves. AMP hasn't killed KIIS off, but it did force them to focus a little more, and AMP is still holding it's own. But you really cannot compare what CBS did in LA before. KKHR was actually a great sounding station with a shoestring promotional budget. Some of the talent that went through KKHR was impressive, but the timing was awful. KIIS was a juggernaut in the mid 80's that no one seemed to be able to beat until Power 106 came along. But that's apples for oranges. Power being urban and KIIS as a CHR. They still battled it out though.

25 years has changed a lot. KIIS-FM couldn't mount a promotion campaign these days the way they did then because Clear Channel won't give a market manager the kind of autonomy Wally Clark had. And CBS is a different company, too...with different owners and different people running it.

All true. Even Jingle ball isn't what it used to be. Now it plays at much smaller venues, not that that's bad, but the days of playing Dodger stadium are long gone. So are the big cash and car giveaways. Now a car promotions will have a grand prize of a 2 or 3 year lease on a car. From what I've heard, KKHR and especially the later oldies formats were hampered by interference from the suits in New York. Promotions, now more than ever are really just smoke & mirrors. Major and minor prizes are usually trade outs and most stations don't buy TV time anymore either. Plus the national contests are making a comeback at Clear Channel, so everyone gives the same thing away across the country.