Topless Radio tapes

[jacobsmith]

Hi, I'm a professor in the Radio-TV-Film Dept. at Northwestern University, and I'm working on a project about the "topless radio" phenomenon of the early 1970s. I am desperately searching for audio tapes of full broadcasts of Bill Ballance's "Feminine Forum" from KGBS in LA, or "Femme Forum" from WGLD in Oak Park, IL, or some other talk show using that format from that time (early 1970s).

Does anyone know where I might look, or who I might contact to try and find recordings of those shows?

I have found two LPs of Balance’s shows, but they are brief excerpts of the shows, not the full broadcasts.

Thanks for your time and help,

Jake Smith

 

[RPowers]

I'm not sure if this is what you already have or not, but there are about 10 copies availble of these LPs on ebay..

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=Fe...allance&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

I'm curious about him now, I don't remember him.

 

[RPowers]

... and here's a 7 minute run of audio.. http://chirb.it/E4nmm0

Ok, now that I've heard it my curiosity is satisfied.. I probably would have liked that when I was 13

 

[michael hagerty]

... and here's a 7 minute run of audio.. http://chirb.it/E4nmm0

Ok, now that I've heard it my curiosity is satisfied.. I probably would have liked that when I was 13

That's NOT the Feminine Forum show Jake's asking about (hosted by Bill Ballance on KGBS, Los Angeles from 1971-1973). The clip above is from God knows where and much more recent (closed caption reference), not to mention crude.

Ballance's act was to sound like he was cutting edge and talking dirty when he in fact, wasn't. Adult women responded to it. Enough so that KGBS, which was tied for 24th in middays in the fall 1970 ratings, was #3 in 1971 and tied for #2 in 1972.

Here's an hour and 40 minutes from Ballance later in his career in San Diego, but it will give you an idea of how unlike the above clip he was:

http://www.billballance.net/media/bb2.asf

Chuck Blore (KFWB's original Top 40 PD, who worked with Ballance there in the late 50s) claimed to have invented the "Feminine Forum" in a 1972 Billboard interview: http://books.google.com/books?id=Bw8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=Bill+Ballance+Feminine+Forum&source=bl&ots=4XV8rw4NFp&sig=SgKwh_gdoEfjTnCpHBgUTfjZ1hM&hl=en&ei=oIq1Tfe8CYeDtwfmoYHqDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFAQ6AEwCTgU#v=onepage&q=Bill%20Ballance%20Feminine%20Forum&f=false

 

[RPowers]

Well thanks for that clarification..

I can't find any audio on the web from his Feminine Forum days either.. It seems rather surprising that a program of his which is apparently so well known doesn't have some archives available somewhere.

 

[michael hagerty]

Well thanks for that clarification..

I can't find any audio on the web from his Feminine Forum days either.. It seems rather surprising that a program of his which is apparently so well known doesn't have some archives available somewhere.

Not really. 1971-1973 on a daytimer in L.A. Very little in those days that wasn't Top 40 got airchecked. That KFMB material in the link is pretty close to what Feminine Forum sounded like, Richard.