93/KHJ
Jim Davis, 93/KHJ Los Angeles | 1976
Forget about Boss Radio. KHJ had a LOT going for it in the mid-70s, if nothing else, the programming and voice brilliance of Charlie Van Dyke at the helm of an L.A. legend. It’s difficult to outline the politics of radio in Los Angeles in this era. The staple KHJ jocks that listeners were used to in the Boss Era (1966-1970) were elsewhere on the dial, and that meant that a whole different group of professionals had to perform brilliantly. RKO management had told programming pioneer Bill Drake to take a hike a few years before this, so, this high-personality lightning fast presentation with it’s unique RKO style was in place at 93/KHJ in 1976. Van Dyke did mornings (until later that year when Rick Dees arrived from WHBQ Memphis), Beau Weaver had his time slot, and then there was...
“The Boss is Back!” Dick Whittington’s 1st Show as 93 KHJ Returns | April 4, 1983
93 KHJ returns as an Oldies station after a two year run playing Country music! Dispite the on air promo which mimics KHJ’s original Boss Radio launch in 1965, the first Dick Whittington show is kind of awkward, probably due to the fact that Mr. Whittington is unfamiliar with KHJs control room – and he makes mention of it repeatedly on the air. We know virtually nothing about Dick Whittington’s career but generally, former listeners have fond memories of him. The formatics are in place, however, and one can easily understand where KHJ was going with this in 1983. The bright spots on this recording are the original KHJ Johnny Mann Jingles, and the news department (although the first newscast features AP Network news instead of the local news team). Despite the technical gl...
Barry Kay, 93/KHJ Los Angeles | 1972
The Johnny Mann Singers are still playing in between the records on 93/KHJ. This is 1972 and while Drake is on his way out, the Boss Sound is still present. Listen now to Barry Kay, as he weaves in and out of commercials and records like a crotch rocket weaves through traffic at high speed. Its one spot, then a record, and it all seems so effortless. 1972 was not a kind year for KHJ, the station was on the verge of ending one era, and launching a new. But it does sound good to our ears, which are accustom to 6 minutes of commercials, followed by the same dozen songs heard the previous hour and the same liners said by the same under-paid voice track. Yes, it was so much better in ’72, and Barry Kay was one of the good guys we remember.
QuickCheck: The Real Don Steele, KHJ Los Angeles | 1971
“…You can trust your car to the man who wears the star” So begins this all-too-short, rare recording of RDS on 93/KHJ. We join things right in the middle of a commercial break (Texaco). We’re listening to KHJ in ’71, and while the Bill Drake era is all but over, the format is intact with all the familiar Drake formatics.
Machine Gun Kelly, 93 KHJ Los Angeles | November 7, 1975
Date of Recording: November 7, 1975 Station: 930 KHJ Los Angeles, California Featured Air Talent: Machine Gun Kelly Contributor: Robyn Watts Aircheck Entry: 1,420 Comments: This recording was recorded HOT! Hot recording levels to almost distortion levels, the tape ran very fast and I slowed it down as far as I dared (and still ended up with a bit of gurgle at the end of this 11 minute scope). There are some radio historians (yes, there are others besides myself) who feel that KHJ’s best era was during the 1965 launch of “Boss Radio” by PD Ron Jacobs, and Consultant Bill Drake. Certainly that particular format was a ‘first’ for radio, but best? Ask New Yawkers if they really thought KHJ in the 60s was better than Cousin Brucie or Dan Ingram on WABC? Its all in ...
Cavalcade of Hits – The “Pre-Boss Radio” KHJ Los Angeles | 1965
Among the many tapes laying around the airchexx studio is one Fuji DR 90 cassette, most of which has already been posted. On side 1, the first 30 minutes or so is a soon to be posted aircheck of Steve Jay on 1360 KGB San Diego. Next, sandwiched in between that and the historic format change to “Boss Radio”, is an interesting two minutes of Pre-Boss radio KHJ, with it’s “Cavalcade of Hits”. Its too short to identify the announcer or the date, and frankly, not having lived in Los Angeles nor being one who remembers much firsthand of that era, I know virtually nothing about this recording. You’ll hear a bit of a song, a long weather forecast, and the beginning of a full Newscast, with an old news sounder I’ve never heard before. Someone out there know...
The True Don Bleu, 93 KHJ Los Angeles | 1979
Restored from mud (because thats how it sounded at first playback), here’s a micro-aircheck of The True Don Bleu, who sounds more upbeat somehow on a subdued 93 KHJ. The clock was ticking toward the upcoming (but nobody knew just yet) Country format the following year, and KHJ still managed to play the hits. I’ve been posting a wealth of KHJ/KTNQ/KFI recordings in recent weeks, and the comments really teach our visitors much. If you’re just itching to hear some great L.A. radio, here’s a link to most of our exhibits. Aircheck #1,347 since May 2, 2002!
Bobby Ocean & John Sebastian, “Position 93” KHJ Los Angeles | April 14, 1978
It’s simple, we want to be YOUR radio station – KHJ …Which they WERE, for a very long time. One has to wonder what line of thinking lead to the days of “Position 93”. Top 40? Yes. Exciting? Not really, if you’re judging the station by this aircheck. The music, especially during Bobby Ocean’s show, is mostly slow, Adult Contemporary fare – although that format name didn’t actually exist in 1978. Osh is… well, himself. Perfect timing, that voice smooth as glass, but something seems missing. Perhaps the indicator of how dreadfully boring KHJ was under this ‘new format’ is just about 3 minutes in, just a singular, “KHJ” is spoken. Nothing else, no song intro. Nothing. No jingles, either. What were they thinkng?...
Pat Garrett, 93 KHJ Los Angeles | April 13, 1978
The beginning of the end for KHJ could probably be traced here. Pat Garrett is a capable and really good sounding jock, but blends in a bit TOO well with the music and elements that together were called “The NEW Sound of Position 93 KHJ”. POSITION 93? Actually, quite a bit has been written about this, final part of the Top 40 era at KHJ elsewhere, and the general consensus was that by taking the personality out of the station’s on air delivery, the audience escaped to other stations like Ten-Q (which was literally on fire in 1978!) KFI and even KMPC. FM was emerging as a power as well. This is not to say that KHJ was without personality. One has to take these kinds of comments in perspective of the time period in which they refer to. Compared to radio in 2015, This versio...
Charlie Van Dyke, 93 KHJ Los Angeles | May 5, 1977
Van Dyke & Company is how the show was identified when Charlie arrived at 68 WRKO in Boston. But here at KHJ, CVD simply shined! A man who was funny and had a great set of pipes (which nearly everyone has heard due to his TV station imaging), Charlie Van Dyke was perfect for the morning show at the great 93/KHJ! This aircheck features it all! Not much in the way of music… we’ve had to scope it out, after all, but lots of Van Dyke wit, a few bits, phone calls and for historic sake, the commercials are all left intact. This was Charlie’s final show on KHJ, before parent company RKO General sent him east to take over the morning slot on the afore mentioned WRKO. We’ll leave the rest of the description blank, because it’s you, our listeners, who will judge th...
Beau Weaver, 93/KHJ Los Angeles | 1976
Sometime way back in 2002, I struck up an internet friendship with Hollywood TV and Voice Actor Beau Weaver. Beau is a fascinating person; an uber talented (and accomplished!) TV voice actor, a Ham Radio operator (more on that in a moment), and a great radio DJ back in the days when creativity on the mic, being spontaneous and funny with no liner cards and running a tight show mattered… all on the AM radio dial! Yep. Beau Weaver was and IS all that! One of the really cool things about how Beau and I struck up that friendship all those years ago was that we share this love of amateur radio. Both of us found it fascinating that we both have vanity call signs that honor great radio stations. I chose K1FRC some 15 years ago or so, in homage to the Big 610, KFRC San Francisco. Beau, to my...
Composite: Rick Dees, 93 KHJ Los Angeles | 1979 – 80
Courtesy of new contributor Leo Knott comes this reasonably low-fidelity recording of various Rick Dees morning shows during his time at 93 KHJ. Dees fans note that this is so tightly scoped down that there’s barely a hint of KHJ jingles, no music and is otherwise somewhat boring to the average listener because of the stark lack of station programming elements. But, you’ll get a good feel for what the Rick Dees morning show was and how it evolved into what it became when he transitioned over to KIIS after this, the next-to-last morning show on the old Top 40 KHJ. Here’s what the contributor writes about this recording: “Rick has a cast of characters on this tape and great impersonations. Starts out with a take on Bette Davis, absolutely hilarious. Plus, Willard Wise...
