East meets West! Or, to put it a different way, try to imagine yourself in 1970-something, listening to Dan Ingram on 93/KHJ. Big Dan delivered a one liner better than Robert W. Morgan!
This proves something else. RKO General’s quick into and out of every element was far tighter than anything in the ABC chain, yet the best of the best never needed a snappy format to deliver! Nor did they need 15 minute talk-blocks in between songs for content. Dan Ingram is heard here doing a short-lived stint as K-Earth’s morning guy, filling in the enormous shoes of the late, longtime morning host Robert W. Morgan.
“Oldies Radio” K-Earth 101 was still playing the hits of the early 60s and 70s when this was recorded, much like Ingram’s second radio home for many years, 101.1 WCBS-FM New York. Here, Ingram sounds much like his old self from WABC. Upbeat, quick and sharp. Its part one of a two part aircheck that we’ll finish posting shortly!
BTW, if you notice a lack of description as to WHY Ingram was on the morning show, even with his own custom Charlie Van Dyke Top of the Hour Imaging-Jingle, watch our comments section. Those who were there (or in close proximity) will be along shortly to explain all about it!
Morgan died about a month before this (May 22, 1998). KRTH had already decided on Charlie Van Dyke as his replacement, but didn’t want to seem to be rushing it. Jim Carson (already on staff) subbed for the first month, then came this stunt week with Charlie Van Dyke, World Famous Tom Murphy, Dave Diamond, Charlie Tuna and Dan Ingram each doing one morning…supposedly auditioning on-air for the job (without every saying so). KRTH then took another month with Jim Carson and brought Van Dyke on board in August.
Given that, the suggestion that Dan delivered better than Morgan is in questionable taste (the full version of this aircheck begins with Dan expressing humility at being allowed to sit in the same chair). And Morgan didn’t need the RKO/Drake formatics to succeed, as he proved at KMPC.
There was no intent to denigrate Morgan. Merely a suggestion that Dan Ingram was better at that particular brand of one-liners. RWM was most certainly one of the best and nothing could lessen that.
I didn’t realize Robert W. Morgan had been dead that long. As per Wikipedia, he died May 22, 1998, and was born July 23, 1937, meaning he lived 60 years, 10 months and 1 day. I thought he died more recently than 1998. You’re no doubt familiar with the “Cruisin” series of airchecks, with different stations in different years. Somewhere at home I have a “Crusin’ 1965” cassette of Robert W. Morgan. He was one of a kind, to be sure.
I liked the tickertape sound during the news; also during the news, when Ingram said that his favorite group (the Dealers) wasn’t at Woodstock. If I’m not mistaken KRTH is now CBS-owned.
I must amend my previous post. Mr. Morgan died one day prior to being 60 years and 10 months old. Still, he died way too early.
as a New Yorker this is so weird….
At reelradio.com, back around 2001, there was a WNBC Don Imus aircheck. Morgan was either in NYC with Imus, or, they were communicating by phone (don’t remember which one). Morgan apparently had a skit where he “Morganized” people. I think that ‘check was from 1973, but I wouldn’t swear to it. A woman called in and she was Morganized (whatever that meant).
Actually, Ingram did a week of morning shows, and I’m guessing that this comes from cassette tapes I recorded for the musicradio77.com website so those who weren’t in Los Angeles could hear how Ingram sounded in LA (sounds like my edits of the music, keeping mostly the program elements and only a few seconds of the music).
I later heard Ingram turned down the job. A shame, because he was really good in this slot, although it was weird hearing him in LA (I grew up in New York and listened to Ingram on WABC-AM, WKTU-FM and on WCBS-FM)
At Wikipedia, there’s an article about Dan Ingram. There’s too much for me to go into here, but one thing was that he “doctored” songs. For instance, on Blue Swede’s “Hooked on a Feeling”, he added “ooga-chuckas” so that nobody could be positive of when the record would end. Also, he was a guest on NYC’s WAXQ for a 40th anniversary tribute (in 2004) of the Beatles coming to America. A rare talent, to be sure.
Michael Ackerman–You no doubt are aware that air check (Dan Ingram Auditioning for the “vacant” AM Drive dlot on KRTH) has been pulled from the musicradio77.com site–it’s a shamea sit displays Dan “adjusting” to the KRTH format…:(
robert w morgan and the real don steel both died from cancer caused from smoking a crying shame
Yes, it is. They were about the same age, Steele dying in 1997 at 60 or 61 (he was born in 1936) and Morgan at age 60 the next year. So many of that generation and before smoked. Not to be argumentative, but Don’s surname was Steele, with an “e” at the end. Still died way too young, I think anybody would agree.
Though RWM died in May of 1998, he had been off the air for several months I believe before he passed. I think the Charlie Van Dyke morning show lasted only a short while, something about him not being in LA and doing AM drive from Arizona, I believe. For a brief moment in the 1990s, K-EARTH was KHJ incarnate, with RWM and The RDS holding court. It was cool for us Angelenos to witness for that brief period in time. May they all (RWM, RDS AND Dan Ingram) RIP.