“Position 93, your California JAM Station…”
Curator’s Notes:
Contributor Mike Donovan sent this in about 7 years ago, but it’s as relevant now as it was then. Legendary Top 40 station 93 KHJ still had it’s array of 1970s high-powered jocks, but “The New Sound of KHJ” was trying to compete with L.A. area FM stations and their more music, less talk approaches (specifically, the two major Album Rockers that gained much of the AM audience by 1978), and unfortunately, those now legendary personalities were muted, for the most part; relegated to liner cards and a format that restricted as to when they could speak at all. Just like today, right (speaks volumes as to where the business was headed even back in 1978)?
It may be quick, at under 5 minutes, but you certainly get a feel for the pace of KHJ. At least that was left intact!
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This is phase one of John Sebastian’s year at KHJ. In June, “Position 93” became “All Music 93″…the almost-AOR sounding format you mention.
Machine Gun Kelly left before that for KTNQ…Charlie Tuna put up with it for a week or two, then joined the Gunner at TenQ.
In fact, the only KHJ jock to survive the changes and see the (too little, too late) rebirth of KHJ in 1979 was Bobby Ocean, though he didn’t make it all the way to the end and the flip to Country in October 1980.
Calradiopd – please provide a current, valid email address. I’d like to contact you. My email address: steve@airchexx.com
I remember this…it came into the small radio station I worked at on a flimsy disc. Not sure if it came in a copy of Billboard or what, but I remember it exactly
Me too Brad. What a great memory!
Cal Radio PD: Do you what the lineup was once MG left?
Kelly was replaced by “The Unknown Disc Jockey”. Next to leave was Tuna. The True Don Bleu took his place.
I never heard of Position 93 until I found the aircheck on this site.
I have heard other samples of KHJ when they went country and years later when they called themselves Car Radio but never Position 93.
They had great jocks. Charlie Tuna, Bobby Ocean and the Gunner. All true talents that could make many different formats and stations successful.
Thanks for one of the many attempts KHJ made to try to keep a viable audience on the AM dial in Los Angeles.
Listening to Charlie Tuna on the Position 93 aircheck, you could tell he had checked out! Def not the same Tuna!