The Cat on KHJ. That’s Bill Todd referred to himself on the most memorable of all Top 40 radio stations. Cat Simon, to be precise. Now, is a song by The Carpenters any way to start an hour? Well, you know, back in the heyday of Top 40, whatever song came up in rotation next got played – in just about any position!
When I posted the first Cat Simon aircheck in this series, someone had commented on our facebook page, that they didn’t think Bill Todd was on KHJ that long. We know for a fact that he was on 93 KHJ for at least a year and a half.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
First, a note about audio quality. The source tape this came from suffered from wear. This makes the recording sound a bit muffled. To be honest, I really detest having to touch these airchecks, but before manual audio processing that I had to do with tender loving care, the tape hiss was unbearable. I think you can listen to this without getting a headache in both ears!
No mistakes here! Bill Todd sounds smooth as glass and the format is executed perfectly. Most of the Bill Drake formatics left over from 1965 are still in place. Note that KHJ is no longer referring to the station as “Boss Radio”. The original Anita Kerr jingles are still in use, however. It’s also evident that Robert W. Morgan was still with KHJ at this point in time, before his infamous ‘vacation’.
Forward momentum! That’s a term that radio people understand and it was invented here at KHJ! What it means, in real time use, is waiting to talk on the first note of the new song without a back sell. Cat Simon doesn’t miss a beat. Now, don’t forget. Our audio player is just a small arrow just above the commercial above this line. I’ll get a better one down the road.
WAIT!
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