What's up in KTRB-land?

[BossRadioDJ]

I think you're onto something. Gordon McLendon made KABL #1 with a beautiful music format in 1959 when the Bay Area was saturated with rockers and top 40 stations.

Oooops! I almost missed my cue.

If you have a few minutes to kill and want to hear some of the most fun radio you'll ever experience, stop on by the museum and give a listen to a bit of prehistoric stunting, Gordon McLendon-style, as Oakland's KROW becomes San Francisco's KABL in 1959:

http://tinyurl.com/2g7h9w

When you realize that it's 1959, and that stunting was a fairly new thing back then, it's even more amazing.

[font=Arial,Helvetica]PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! [/font]


Bill Moen, who worked at KABL for 30+ years, joined the station from McLendon's KILT/Houston a few months after KABL went on the air. He can still be heard on the museum's Officially Licensed KABL™ Artificial Imitation Station at:

http://www.kablradio.com/

And now, back to trying to talk KTRB into picking up the Adult Standards format. Carter B., have they contacted you yet? :

DJ

 

[oaktree]

I love KABL on the Internet, incidentally, David ...

Ithink you're onto something. Gordon McLendon made KABL #1 with a beautiful music format in 1959 when the Bay Area was saturated with rockers and top 40 stations.

Reality check, DK ... this isn't 1958. "The Old Scotsman" is long revered, honored and passed. The Bay Area has now found FM, which it didn't in 1958 (nor could, actually,) and the generation behind the Magic 61, KABL, KSFO, KGO (MOR), KCBS etc is long over by about 30 years.

Those who DO (like me) remember the day (and enjoyed when that music was almost "current" at the time) are now (unlike me, but close) in their 60s, 70s and 80s.

Marketing has changed, television has changed even more with more channels than ever and the economy is horrendous. I'd feel that as much bright minds as are here can figure out, that those who get paid the really big bucks would already have "rediscovered" Adult Standards as a viable, above a 1.5 share by now if it was a money maker and appealing, especially on AM. Heck, on HD2, even (oh, that's right ... old people don't buy HD radios.)

It won't work in a major market because ... it just won't work.

I listen to a lot of that format, KAAM in Dallas/Ft. Worth (.09), KEZW in Denver (one of only three viable AMs in the market and it barely pulls a 2.5 share,) and several others via the Internet ... and it's a great format, but the bloom is off the rose. If the station were number one and not making any money ... what do you have?

Oh, if we could only turn back the hands of time. Jones Radio just launched their new Standards format last weekend...replacing Music of Your Life to another company. What's it sound like? ABC "Timeless Classics" ...

Tony "Left His Heart in San Francisco," but moved to MTV and does more dates without radio now than ever. And it's not because of XM or Sirrius.

OK...It's KABL on the Internet. I give....

 

[DeadAudicy]

If we take the demo down to 45+, they're not dying, not bed ridden, not pining for the fjords or their dead favorites. They do, though, (ripped from a random Timeless Classics format station website):

Own 77% of all financial assets in America
Purchase 43% of all new domestic cars and 48% of all luxury cars
Spend more money on travel and recreation than any other group
Spend more on health and personal care items than any other group and purchase more over-the-counter medicines (watch those robots, old folks)
Purchase 30% of all spa memberships
Spend more per-capita in the grocery store than any other age group (I'll give you the habit prone on that one, Oak...)
Eat out an average of three times per week
Gamble more than any other age group
Spend more on quality children's clothing for their grandchildren than the parents do
Show a higher concern for quality over cost
Are 20% who control 80% of all deposits in financial institutions
Control more than half the country's discretionary income
Are the lion's share of today's trust and retirement plan market

Harder to sell? Hey...life's a fight. If there is a hole that big in a market that flush, can nothing really be done to fill it?

Now to the subject of AM's ability to carry the weight...well tweaked systems appropriately geared are sounding better than ever...most of the recordings of 4 of the last 5 decades were, more than stereo, precision mixed and enhanced for mono. Besides, remember the old adage: the best stations were the hardest to pick up...if the program was there, the listeners forgave...unknown whether they still do. Still, no reason not to broadcast any am station in HD. No matter the age, if you're such an audiophile you're probably comfortable with the technology.

Not saying, of course, whether KTRB in particular would be up to the polish. As in shine...not sausage.

 

[DavidKaye]

Reality check, DK ... this isn't 1958. "The Old Scotsman" is long revered, honored and passed. The Bay Area has now found FM, which it didn't in 1958 (nor could, actually,) and the generation behind the Magic 61, KABL, KSFO, KGO (MOR), KCBS etc is long over by about 30 years.

I realize that reading is not your strong suit, so I'll direct you to the latter part of my post about KABL in 1998 and the dance party in Union Square. I implied that adult standards as a format can possibly be viable with a younger generation, BUT that they have to meet that audience with today's technology. I said it might work on FM, but implied that today's 20s and 30s folks go out to hear the swing and pop standards bands in person, and also hear them via technologies such as MP3s.

Really, I said that.

The important thing for people to remember about old music is that it can not be nostalgia. It must be presented on its own terms. That means that it must be fresh or freshly interpreted. Thus, it's okay to run a Frank Sinatra cut, but it's radio suicide to talk about Sinatra or to wax nostalgic about the Hotel Leamington ballroom.

And it would serve a younger audience well to include along with the Sinatra cuts recent renditions of songs, such as those done by, say, the Blue Room Boys, Kally Price, Weslia Whitfield, or even Bette Midler. Again, the old songs need to stand on their own merits and not be part of a nostalgia craze.

Another example: lounge music is in. The Project Pimento band has been playing lounge music live for years in the Bay Area, and they're a hit. They even have a theramin! It's cool! And Mister Lucky, a Sinatra-esque singer in his 50s, has been doing the lounge act for several years to great acclaim among the 20s and 30s set. But these guys are not playing the nostalgia thing: They are appearing at Burning Man parties, Squidlist events, etc.

Mister Lucky will be doing his lounge act at Doggie Diner Day at Rhythmix Culture Works in Alameda. http://www.rhythmix.org/doggie.html
The reason I point this out is that if people care to see who the audience is for adult standards music and they wish to reach that audience, attendance at this event will show them.

 

[CarterB]

Lets note that nobody listening to KDFC was alive when Wagner wrote his music. His music lives because of its quality. Its the same with Irving Berlin and his works. Standards does not mean constantly talking about yesterday. The material should be as fresh as anyother station.

 

[DeadAudicy]

Wagner's dead? Damn. Loved him in Austin Powers. Natalie should be happy now.

 

[Hunter]

Standards does not mean constantly talking about yesterday. The material should be as fresh as anyother station.

Great point CB. A few years ago, Emmis put a format on in St. Louis called [email protected] and what a great station it was. I live in L.A. but streamed it often. They took a hip, cool approach to executing the format and scheduling the music....I thought they did a great job targeting an audience in their 30's & 40's. It wasn't on too long before they sold or swapped it with Radio One and it's now an Urban format. They moved the format to the net, but someone else is or was programming it and it completely lost it's "swing".

About the same time, here in L.A., CC claimed to be executing the same format in a similar manner on KLAC then XTRA, but it didn't have the energy or vibe.

 

[DavidKaye]

Lets note that nobody listening to KDFC was alive when Wagner wrote his music. His music lives because of its quality. Its the same with Irving Berlin and his works. Standards does not mean constantly talking about yesterday. The material should be as fresh as anyother station.

Exactly. Well-said.

I remember when KABL did the standards/swing thing 10 years ago, and I noted in the ba.broadcast Usenet newsgroup at the time that some of the trendy stores along Valencia Street in SF were playing KABL in their stores. I'm talking about a clothing shop, a gallery, a cafe, etc. Even the little Cafe Venice, owned by Fred and his son Rami, was playing KABL all day, while they were yelling "Cousin!" to their various customers, pouring out espressos, and talking about goings on in the 'hood.

But, in 10 years the audience has drifted from AM pretty much. A KABL might (just might) be able to make a comeback on some handy FM...oh, maybe 106.9 let's say.

 

[DavidKaye]

If we take the demo down to 45+, they're not dying, not bed ridden, not pining for the fjords or their dead favorites. They do, though, (ripped from a random Timeless Classics format station website):

Own 77% of all financial assets in America
Purchase 43% of all new domestic cars and 48% of all luxury cars
Spend more money on travel and recreation than any other group [....]

Sounds like you've got the makin's of a new kind of ad agency. Seriously.

 

[DavidKaye]

If you have a few minutes to kill and want to hear some of the most fun radio you'll ever experience, stop on by the museum and give a listen to a bit of prehistoric stunting, Gordon McLendon-style, as Oakland's KROW becomes San Francisco's KABL in 1959:

http://tinyurl.com/2g7h9w

When you realize that it's 1959, and that stunting was a fairly new thing back then, it's even more amazing.

OH...MY....GOODNESS! David, this is WONDERFUL! Thanks so much! I am too young to remember KROW and the early days of rock and roll. This transition aircheck is a masterpiece! I like the DJ making fun of all the radio schtick ("We'll have the news when we locate the echo chamber....") and the entire tongue in cheek style. And when that seemed enough they went into the over-the-top format change, pausing for 90 seconds and then opening with a McLendon's remarks. And just when I thought that was all, he goes and chides his fellow broadcasters for making it easy for him to become successful with KABL (obviously by them all going for rock and leaving the huge gap to be filled by beatiful music). Dang!

And I had to go back and listen to the two KABL airchecks, with reverb and positioners and the very elegant sound, punctuated with the incongruous singing commercials!

I remember KABL after that era, when they no longer announced selections and had pretty much stopped the singing commercials. But the guy with the positioner prose and the various other elements were all there.

Man...KABL sounded so elegant! It really seems like there could be a niche in the Bay Area for such a format today.

And one last thing: Gordon McLendon was only 26 when he founded KLIF and the Liberty Network. I'm amazed. He was like the Internet barons of today. If he were alive today he'd be 3 years younger than Paul Harvey!

 

[DavidSC]

I wonder what would be harder to sell...an adult standards with ratings or a talker without ratings?

 

[create]

Sadly enough, the no-ratings talker would actually be easier these days. The oldsters just get no damn respect.

On an unrelated Standards topic, when KABL switched over to 92.1 FM I was surprised at how much less I enjoyed that music when hearing it in FM sound. Something about the way those old tunes sounded with AM processing was just was much more pleasing to me. Even on a crappy signal like 960. I felt the same way about 610 KFRC vs 99.7 KFRC when they were simulcast.

 

[BossRadioDJ]

OH...MY....GOODNESS! David, this is WONDERFUL! Thanks so much!

And one last thing: Gordon McLendon was only 26 when he founded KLIF and the Liberty Network. I'm amazed. He was like the Internet barons of today. If he were alive today he'd be 3 years younger than Paul Harvey!

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I've heard more positive remarks about the KROW-to-KABL than just about anything else we've presented.

If you liked that one, try the KLX becomes KEWB recording from June 1959 at the top of the aircheck stack at:

http://www.KewbChannel91.com

I haven't had the time to write out the full story behind that one: the Oakland Tribune sold stodgy old KLX (910 AM) to Crowell-Collier, which infused it with the lively Color Radio sound, with Gary Owens (yeah, that Gary Owens) as the point man. This recording is equally priceless.

The KLX/KEWB switch happened just weeks after KROW became KABL, and around the same time that KWBR (1310 AM) became KDIA -- that's right, all three Oakland AM stations switched call letters and owners at nearly same time.

To further your point regarding Gordon McLendon: I remember seeing him on Tom Snyder's "Tomorrow" show early one morning many years ago, and I recall (vaguely, and perhaps incorrectly) that his moniker -- "The Old Scotchman" -- refered not to his age nor to his ancestry, but rather to his preference for ... drinking old Scotch.

DJ

 

[DavidKaye]

If you liked that one, try the KLX becomes KEWB recording from June 1959 at the top of the aircheck stack at:
http://www.KewbChannel91.com

Interesting. I'd never heard anything like it before. Until now I had never heard airchecks of KLX, KROW (or KWBR or KJBS for that matter). It isn't clear from the aircheck exactly what the context was for the phone book reading. Were these loyal KLX listeners or just alphabetical names from the book? There are a couple references to KLX but for the most part they're using the KEWB jingles underneath and are eventually referring to KEWB. It's very confusing. An interesting part of Bay Area radio history for sure.

I haven't had the time to write out the full story behind that one: the Oakland Tribune sold stodgy old KLX (910 AM) to Crowell-Collier, which infused it with the lively Color Radio sound, with Gary Owens (yeah, that Gary Owens) as the point man. This recording is equally priceless.

My mom, as I've mentioned before, had been a soap opera actress with Don Lee/KFRC, and was also quite a radio buff. She mentioned KROW often, but not much about KLX. She'd visit there from time to time, but I got the impression that she wasn't much impressed by KLX, either.

To further your point regarding Gordon McLendon: I remember seeing him on Tom Snyder's "Tomorrow" show early one morning many years ago, and I recall (vaguely, and perhaps incorrectly) that his moniker -- "The Old Scotchman" -- refered not to his age nor to his ancestry, but rather to his preference for ... drinking old Scotch.

Is there a video of this interview hanging around somewhere? That would be good to see (or hear, for that matter).

ALSO, a few years ago, when Ben Fong-Torres wrote his book about Bay Area radio (and especially his memoirs of working at KEWB as a kid), he hosted a panel in Los Angeles to help promote the book. On the panel were both Chuck Blore and Bill Drake! Do you or does anybody have a video or audio of this historic gathering? I'd love to hear what they had to say about their competition and those days of radio.

PS: I'm putting up a separate post of observations about KEWB elsewhere here.

 

[oaktree]

To further your point regarding Gordon McLendon: I remember seeing him on Tom Snyder's "Tomorrow" show early one morning many years ago, and I recall (vaguely, and perhaps incorrectly) that his moniker -- "The Old Scotchman" -- refered not to his age nor to his ancestry, but rather to his preference for ... drinking old Scotch.

It was "The Old SCOTSMAN."

Ben-Fong Torres, Ronald Garay and many other concur. Google it under McLendon's name and "the old Scotsman."

Gordon McLendon: The Maverick of Radio - Google Books Result
by Ronald Garay - 1992 - Language Arts & Disciplines - 264 pages
Gordon McLendon Drama | Broadcasting | Radio broadcasts | Biography ... but "I frankly just don't have the time to do it" (" 'Old Scotsman,' " 1980). ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=031326676X...

 

[BossRadioDJ]

It was "The Old SCOTSMAN."

No, it wasn't. It was "The Old SCOTCHman."

You can Google whatever you want, but:

Time magazine, which checks its facts, says Scotchman.

McLendon's own right-hand man, Don Keyes, the national program director for McLendon's stations, who was like a brother to McLendon, says Scotchman.

The book "Gordon McLendon: Maverick of Radio" details the origins of The Old Scotchman.

The National Radio Hall of Fame references him as The Old Scotchman.

Oh, and I just pulled my copy of Ben Fong-Torres' "The Hits Just Keep On Coming" off the shelf ... you guessed it: Scotchman.

I'm sure I have a copy of one of McLendon's baseball recreations in which he repeatedly refers to himself as "The Old Scotchman."

Bottom line: it was The Old Scotchman.

 

[SFStatic]

If he had any concept of his roots at all, the Scotchman nickname would refer to the booze. No Scot would EVER refer to himself as a scotchman, as anyone with Scottish blood, or who has lived in Scotland or spent any time there would tell you.

One of the first things you hear is scotch is the whiskey, we are Scots.

 

[paulsecic]

I think you're onto something. Gordon McLendon made KABL #1 with a beautiful music format in 1959 when the Bay Area was saturated with rockers and top 40 stations.

Oooops! I almost missed my cue.

If you have a few minutes to kill and want to hear some of the most fun radio you'll ever experience, stop on by the museum and give a listen to a bit of prehistoric stunting, Gordon McLendon-style, as Oakland's KROW becomes San Francisco's KABL in 1959:

http://tinyurl.com/2g7h9w

When you realize that it's 1959, and that stunting was a fairly new thing back then, it's even more amazing.

[font=Arial,Helvetica]PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! PLUG ALERT! WARNING! PLUG ALERT! DANGER! PLUG ALERT! DUCK AND COVER! [/font]


Bill Moen, who worked at KABL for 30+ years, joined the station from McLendon's KILT/Houston a few months after KABL went on the air. He can still be heard on the museum's Officially Licensed KABL™ Artificial Imitation Station at:

http://www.kablradio.com/

And now, back to trying to talk KTRB into picking up the Adult Standards format. Carter B., have they contacted you yet? :

DJ

Great clip!

 

[DavidKaye]

If he had any concept of his roots at all, the Scotchman nickname would refer to the booze. No Scot would EVER refer to himself as a scotchman, as anyone with Scottish blood, or who has lived in Scotland or spent any time there would tell you.

One of the first things you hear is scotch is the whiskey, we are Scots.

Not only that, but what Scot would spell the name "McLendon"? That's an Irish spelling. The Scottish spelling would be "MacLendon", would it not? Who said that Gordon McLendon was of Scottish origin anyway? Given the photos I've seen he looks more Irish anyway...

PS: I'm close friends with a direct descendant of Robert the Bruce (founder of Scotland). He was in England not long ago and had lunch with Queen Elizabeth II, took a tour of the family castles, etc. He said that while he liked the area, it was quite a legacy to be expected to keep watch over the family history. He wouldn't want to do that.

 

[SFStatic]

Actually, you find both Mac and Mc in Scotland, and the early folks seemed to go back and forth between there and the Emerald Isle. I don't know anyone who knew the Queen, but was fortunate enough to have tea in the Royal and Ancient Club House, thanks to a neighbor who was a member. BTW, he had flown with the RAF, and did spell his name MacDonald, not Mc.