The Real Don Steele, KRTH K-Earth 101 Los Angeles | Date unknown

Thanks again to the massive Robyn Watts collection, the late Don Steele is featured in this 7+ minute scope of K-Earth 101 from sometime in the early 90s, we’re guessing around ‘91 or ‘92. Charlie Van Dyke’s pipes are lower than ever in the incredible imaging, and the jingles…. well, KRTH has used a variation of nearly the same jingle sing for well over 30 years now so what does that tell ya?

Very few radio stations have had the same format or call letters, especially on FM, and with the exception of a small stretch of time in the early 80s when it was AC, KRTH has been blasting Oldies to Southern California. As of this writing, it still is.

Charlie Tuna on KRTH K-Earth 101 Los Angeles | February 11, 2008

This article on the OC Register really says it all:

There was good news and bad news at CBS Radio Thursday. The bad news: there were budget cuts and the elimination of jobs across the U.S., including Los Angeles. We’ll have more on that in a moment. The good news: Charlie Tuna is on board at oldies KRTH/101.1 FM to do weekends and also fill-in for the other personalities.

Tuna was the “Mystery DJ Voice” heard on K-Earth until he was identified and introduced to listeners on the Gary Bryan morning show.

Starting Feb. 9, he will be on K-Earth 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. His first fill-in assignment: replacing Joshua Escandon 1-4 p.m. weekdays for a week starting Feb. 11.

One really doesn’t have to know the storied history of the many legendary west coast stations Tuna has worked at to recognize his name – he’s been on television and even had a syndicated weekly top 40 countdown show in the 80s. Said Tuna about his new gig:

“I am so thrilled to be playing ‘The Greatest Hits on Earth’ on K-Earth 101!,” Tuna said in a press announcement. “This is music I played on Top 40 stations in Los Angeles for many years, and I love the station and its tremendous listeners. It’s an honor to be here.”

The fact that we have audio of that first afternoon show is a tribute to a fan who remembered to hit the record button and save it for us.

One audio aspect amazed me – after all those years of listening to Charlie Tuna on KHJ, you’d think his voice would DROP an octave or two with age, not rise…. nope, it was the incredible processing. And you all wondered why the voices sounded larger than life on the old AM top 40s… now you know.