The Legendary Bill Drake

[michael hagerty]

Mixed feelings about Mr. Drake.

His stations were slick, really pro and beautifully produced.

But musically? Well, he had the shortest playlist in the country and was generally the last to add a new song.

Personality? It is my understanding that he reigned in his jocks and boiled them down to pretty much card readers. There may have been exceptions, but I don't remember anyone (outside of Dorman in the morning) on WRKO Boston who said anything but slogans and teasers.
I don't think that personalities flourished (generally) under Mr. Drake.

Actually personalities flourished BIG TIME under Drake. Robert W. Morgan, The Real Don Steele, Dr, Don Rose, Roger Christian, Charlie Tuna, Gary Burbank, Walt "Baby" Love, Charlie Van Dyke, Super Max Kinkel, Bobby Ocean, True Don Bleu, Shadoe Stevens, Dale Dorman, Humble Harv, John Landecker, Joey Reynolds and many more!!! Not only did Drake ENCOURAGE personality his stations probably produced more legendary jocks than anyone ever!!
He didn't stop air talent from taking more than a few seconds to make their point.....he found ones who had the ability to do it that well!!

Amen. Though a few names didn't work for Drake they came from similar environments, entertain in the fewest words possible. It can be done and it produces amazing radio.

And...HHH is wrong about the music. Drake may have been first to get to 30 songs instead of 40 or more, but while Drake was still at RKO, others dropped to playlists of fewer than 30...in some cases 25, even 22.

Last to add a new song? Certainly not at KHJ or KFRC. Those stations were early...and quite often, a song was over at RKO when WABC and WLS were just starting with it.

USSR: You nailed it about the legendary jocks, though I'm not sure Burbank, Bleu, Landecker or Reynolds ever worked for Drake.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[radioman148]

>>Last to add a new song? Certainly not at KHJ or KFRC. Those stations were early...and quite often, a song was over at RKO when WABC and WLS were just starting with it.>>

So very true. Having lived in the midwest I'd make several trips to LA to find KHJ playing records that I had never heard on WLS. About a month or two later WLS would finally play some of them. WABC wouldn't play anything until it was a certified hit.

 

[Bob1370]

What Bill Drake accomplished was not to take the personality out of radio (anyone who listened to CKLW or KHJ knows that)...there was plenty of personality and humor, it was just done with an economy of words and a high level of energy at a quick pace. No WASTED words.

I don't know if Bill Drake ever studied what Dan Ingram was doing on WABC in New York's afternoon drive show starting in the summer of 1961 (and continued to do every afternoon for the next 21 years)...but his brisk, witty style which said a lot in a few words and kept the show constantly on the move, was a perfect anticipation of a Drake approach. Most Drake jocks couldn't make you laugh like Ingram did with a quick remark over a record intro--then again, neither could all but a handful of personalities in ANY format.

 

[skippertthomas]

I will chime in, that Bob has a valid point... I was taught that it was makin' that :30 second morning show bit, or :15 second midday-afternoon-evening bit work with well placed wording and banter... NOT RAMBLING, yada-yada-yada.. Be creativ e.. Bob Richards of WNAP/WGBF work was king at this... "Hey? Have you seen the blown out sign at the Pepsi Bottling Plant on Diamond? When are they going to fix that?" Main commuting four lane and many had just drove by, driving by or going to drive by... They think listening; "Wow! Is he in my passenger or back seat?"

 

[Frank Ferreri]

Many here "get it". Prior to Drake some confused being a "personality" with simply talking and telling bad jokes. Talking "at" the listener instead of talking "to" the listener and being timely. Doing that in a structure that was forward moving. Revolutionized our business for sure.