What Has Been Some of The Worst Radio In Los Angeles?

[snelson]

If I recall correctly, there was a time on KLSX where both Scott Farrell and "The Nasty Man" where back2back. Oy...

 

[failsafe]

Ed Tyll followed by the Greaseman on late nights on KLSX. Thank goodness John and Jeff replaced them.
I also vote for the psychic reader on KBIG. Replaced my THUMP RADIO. Bah.

 

[michael hagerty]

I believe it was in the '70s...

KADS 103.5 in Los Angeles

K-ADS - All Want Ads, All The Time.

I win!

It was 1967. Lasted less than a year. Gordon McLendon owned it...blew it up to become beautiful music KOST.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[michael hagerty]

This is ancient history, but a few old fogeys like Mr. Hagerty will remember:

KRLA/1110, when it was Top 40 in the 60s and 70s had occasional periods of brilliance, but there were a few embarrasing periods too. In 67-68, they voice-tracked all of the DJs outside of drive times, using what was probably the best technology available at the time. When it was working, it sounded as good to the listener as anything voice-tracked today. But the system had frequent glitches, so it wasn't unusual to hear the same song played repeatedly - maybe 3 or 4 times in a row, with Reb Foster's same into, then the system would go down and there would be nothing but dead air for minutes on end. I used to wonder why there wasn't a Board Op on duty who could go reset the system, or at least kick the temperamental thing.

A few years later, KRLA decided that "comedy-teams" would be big, so all the time slots were filled with 2 jocks at a time. Problem is - they obviously didn't hire any writers, and none of these guys were Bob & Ray or Lohman & Barkley. There was usually no chemistry between them. One exchange I remember:

Other jock to Lee Sims: "Hey, Lee - why do they call you Lee Baby?"

Sims: "Cause it sounds better than Lee Adult."

Truly awful.

Actually, Llew, although I'm (just barely) old enough, most of my KRLA memory comes from airchecks and research. I'd hear the station in the early-mid 60s when the people I was with had it on (so I heard Eubanks, Kasem and Hull), but I never found the station compelling enough to tune in myself until 1969. If I recall correctly, I got bored with some stretch of KHJ's History of Rock and Roll (hey, I was 12), and tuned to KRLA to hear some current hits. Johnnie Darin was PD and the station sounded fantastic. Lasted maybe two years...through Darin and Dick Sainte's PD gigs.

I have heard tape of the two-man concept (Reb Foster and Bob Dayton) from 1973...and it was pretty grim.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[chime]

Actually 2 items to mention. First on July 30, 1979,
during the final evening of country on 97.1,
each break of Nancy Plumb was
chopped by an automation--and-she did
make comments about an end
of country, but we didn't hear
much of it.
And speaking of format changes,
remember the quite hurried switch
of KZLA from Hot-AC to Country,
around September 13, 1980?
Just after midnight 1540 finishes an AP-Newscast,
begins country, but the FM
dumps out of a live shift to join
Tom Clay-and-an automation, which for
quite some time was a mess.
Obviously, once KZLA went live, they
would have some great radio

 

[LKellerIII]

This is ancient history, but a few old fogeys like Mr. Hagerty will remember:

KRLA/1110, when it was Top 40 in the 60s and 70s had occasional periods of brilliance, but there were a few embarrasing periods too. In 67-68, they voice-tracked all of the DJs outside of drive times, using what was probably the best technology available at the time. When it was working, it sounded as good to the listener as anything voice-tracked today. But the system had frequent glitches, so it wasn't unusual to hear the same song played repeatedly - maybe 3 or 4 times in a row, with Reb Foster's same into, then the system would go down and there would be nothing but dead air for minutes on end. I used to wonder why there wasn't a Board Op on duty who could go reset the system, or at least kick the temperamental thing.

A few years later, KRLA decided that "comedy-teams" would be big, so all the time slots were filled with 2 jocks at a time. Problem is - they obviously didn't hire any writers, and none of these guys were Bob & Ray or Lohman & Barkley. There was usually no chemistry between them. One exchange I remember:

Other jock to Lee Sims: "Hey, Lee - why do they call you Lee Baby?"

Sims: "Cause it sounds better than Lee Adult."

Truly awful.

Actually, Llew, although I'm (just barely) old enough, most of my KRLA memory comes from airchecks and research. I'd hear the station in the early-mid 60s when the people I was with had it on (so I heard Eubanks, Kasem and Hull), but I never found the station compelling enough to tune in myself until 1969. If I recall correctly, I got bored with some stretch of KHJ's History of Rock and Roll (hey, I was 12), and tuned to KRLA to hear some current hits. Johnnie Darin was PD and the station sounded fantastic. Lasted maybe two years...through Darin and Dick Sainte's PD gigs.

I have heard tape of the two-man concept (Reb Foster and Bob Dayton) from 1973...and it was pretty grim.

---Michael Hagerty

Sorry Michael...didn't mean to imply you're a fogey. But if I've done the math correctly (12 in '69)...you're coming close. Bob Dayton was a funny guy - if he couldn't make KRLA's team concept work, there was no hope.

If we can include worst formatics in this category, I'll nominate KGBS in 1969-70. Instead of musical jingles, the station used a group of voices that would say (loudly) "K-G-B-S!" or the worst: "K-G-B-S, in Love Angeles." . They would start the record, let the instrumental intro play, then stick in the spoken jingle (or whatever you would call it) a split scond before the singing started. Truly instrusive...especially on songs with long intros, like "Going Up the Country" (Canned Heat).

 

[Surfer]

The worst radio in Los Angeles??? The week of February 4th, 1980. That was the first week I was on the air...EVER! I sucked and I knew it. Imagine someone with the vocal speaking abilities of Michael Jackson (nothing personal) on a CLASSICAL AND JAZZ RADIO STATION!?! (KCRW). It was awful. As far as I know, no airchecks exist. If they do, my career is over! Oh wait, it already is!

Never mind.

 

[michael hagerty]

Bob Dayton was a funny guy - if he couldn't make KRLA's team concept work, there was no hope.

If we can include worst formatics in this category, I'll nominate KGBS in 1969-70. Instead of musical jingles, the station used a group of voices that would say (loudly) "K-G-B-S!" or the worst: "K-G-B-S, in Love Angeles." . They would start the record, let the instrumental intro play, then stick in the spoken jingle (or whatever you would call it) a split scond before the singing started. Truly instrusive...especially on songs with long intros, like "Going Up the Country" (Canned Heat).

The aircheck of Dayton and Foster only runs about half an hour...most of the talk time is them mock(?)arguing over whether it's Dayton and Foster or Foster and Dayton. About the only other line from Dayton of any consequence is billing Bette Midler as "someone who hasn't seen her feet in years"...over the intro to one of her ballad LP cuts...and still laughing about it coming off the end of the record. Reb doesn't seem all that amused.

As for the KGBS shouts...good jingles were expensive things. KGBS never had money. And around that time, Roger Christian was PD. Roger wrote some good Beach Boys songs, but I always found his air work oddly disjointed.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[jonbruce]

Bob Dayton was the funniest jock I ever heard on the radio and my all time favorite. The worst radio in L.A was in the mid 1970's when KRLA went to an all Johnny Hayes format. No they didn't call it that on the air ! It was all automated voice tracking with only Johnny 24/7. Evan Hanning was added later, but his voice sounded just like Johnny's. The exact dates and details of this can be found in Bill Earl's great book "Dreamhouse" which documents the history of 1110.

 

[Ken Greeb]

Worst radio in LA ? Turn on KABC right now........the emperor has no clothes.

 

[LKellerIII]

As for the KGBS shouts...good jingles were expensive things. KGBS never had money. And around that time, Roger Christian was PD. Roger wrote some good Beach Boys songs, but I always found his air work oddly disjointed.

---Michael Hagerty

I never knew Roger Christian had anything to do with KGBS. But if my memory serves, KGBS had dumped a perfectly good jingle package for the "shouts." And they came at the time they were starting to get good ratings with Hudson, Landry, and Ballance...so they should have had a few coins to rub together. Also, the formatics in this period had at least a couple of regulation jingles, also awful:

"K-G-B-S Nonstop music music music mmusic music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music (slow fade)..."

Its like the station was trying as hard as it could to drive away listeners.

 

[jonbruce]

How about 1460 KTYM for the past 45 of its 52 years on the air. But then again it's sold out just about 24/7.

 

[radio124]

Probably in the late 70's when the automation at KRTH would go haywire and they would come out of a Beatle record with "KRTH 101. What a great song by the Beach Boys, all about those California Girls."

 

[oldies76]

KRTH throughout the 1990's....rampant repetition and a very small playlist...enough said.

 

[westfield60]

Hands down KRLA ever since they took over the old KIEV. Does anyone actually listen to that station? Is Roy Masters still on?

 

[michael hagerty]

As for the KGBS shouts...good jingles were expensive things. KGBS never had money. And around that time, Roger Christian was PD. Roger wrote some good Beach Boys songs, but I always found his air work oddly disjointed.

---Michael Hagerty

I never knew Roger Christian had anything to do with KGBS. But if my memory serves, KGBS had dumped a perfectly good jingle package for the "shouts." And they came at the time they were starting to get good ratings with Hudson, Landry, and Ballance...so they should have had a few coins to rub together. Also, the formatics in this period had at least a couple of regulation jingles, also awful:

"K-G-B-S Nonstop music music music mmusic music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music music (slow fade)..."

Its like the station was trying as hard as it could to drive away listeners.

Llew: I remember that jingle. There was also: "Never more than a minute away from Muuuu-sic. KGBS!"

Roger was the PD who took KGBS from beautiful to Top 40 in '68. He left there to be the first PD of XEPRS (after the call letter change from XERB) in '71. It was after he bailed that KGBS really took off with Bill Ballance's Feminine Forum, teaming Bob Hudson with Ron Landry (they'd been doing mornings and afternoons separately), and bringing Dave Hull in for afternoons.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[LKellerIII]

As for the KGBS shouts...good jingles were expensive things. KGBS never had money. And around that time, Roger Christian was PD. Roger wrote some good Beach Boys songs, but I always found his air work oddly disjointed.

---Michael Hagerty

Llew: I remember that jingle. There was also: "Never more than a minute away from Muuuu-sic. KGBS!"

Roger was the PD who took KGBS from beautiful to Top 40 in '68. He left there to be the first PD of XEPRS (after the call letter change from XERB) in '71. It was after he bailed that KGBS really took off with Bill Ballance's Feminine Forum, teaming Bob Hudson with Ron Landry (they'd been doing mornings and afternoons separately), and bringing Dave Hull in for afternoons.

---Michael Hagerty

[/quote]


Interesting info, Michael. So then Roger Christian must have been PD when they used the perfectly good jingle package I speak of. During that period, they weren't yet into the personalities - the station was very music intensive (more or less light rock, as I remember), lots of long music sets with minimal DJ involvement. It was more like current day FM.

KGBS-AM was daytime only, but the FM format matched the AM exactly, and they tried to get you to tune over to 97.1 FM when they signed off the AM at sunset. I had just gotten an expensive new AM/FM radio (Christmas present), and I remember that the stereo indicator light was never on when KGBS-FM was tuned in, despite a strong signal. So I guess it was one of the few LA FM stations around that time that still broadcast in monaural.

 

[michael hagerty]

KGBS-AM was daytime only, but the FM format matched the AM exactly, and they tried to get you to tune over to 97.1 FM when they signed off the AM at sunset. I had just gotten an expensive new AM/FM radio (Christmas present), and I remember that the stereo indicator light was never on when KGBS-FM was tuned in, despite a strong signal. So I guess it was one of the few LA FM stations around that time that still broadcast in monaural.

KGBS-AM threw a strong signal up the Owens Valley into Bishop about half an hour before local sunset...so I'd listen until they'd shut it down (as early as 4:30 in winter). I'd hear them making the plug for the FM...but even after I discovered you could hear L.A. FMs by putting the radio next to the cable for the TV, it didn't matter for me...the cable only carried Mt. Wilson signals, and in those days 97.1 was on Flint Peak. It has since moved to Wilson.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[briancraig]

"KGBS from beautiful to Top 40 in '68"

I believe Michael that KGBS went from beautiful to country in 1965, so the switch to top 40 in 1968 would have been from country.

 

[michael hagerty]

"KGBS from beautiful to Top 40 in '68"

I believe Michael that KGBS went from beautiful to country in 1965, so the switch to top 40 in 1968 would have been from country.

Brian: Absolutely right. Thanks!

---Michael Hagerty