Cavalcade of Hits – The “Pre-Boss Radio” KHJ Los Angeles | 1965

930 Los Angeles, KHJ, KKHJ, KRTH, Don Lee, Robert W. Morgan, The Real Don Steele, Charlie Van Dyke, Roger Christian, Gary Mack, Boss Radio, 93/KHJ

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 knows a whole lot more about this than I do, and comments are highly encouraged!

930 Los Angeles, KHJ, KKHJ, KRTH, Don Lee, Robert W. Morgan, The Real Don Steele, Charlie Van Dyke, Roger Christian, Gary Mack, Boss Radio, 93/KHJ


Aircheck #1,367 since May 2, 2002

14 Comments

  1. Richard Wagoner

    Isn’t that Dave Diamond?

    • Gary Kerns

      I agree, it does sound like an MOR station. Also, what’s the name of the tune that plays starting at 1:19? I’ve wondered about that for decades.

    • Richard Wagoner

      It was. This is the transition period from the old format to the new Boss Radio format, using the DJs on air to get them used to the boards, etc. off the air they practiced using the production room,. Can you imagine anyone taking the time to launch strong like that today?

  2. Nick Sarames

    I didn’t recognize the Maryann Faithful record, but the instrumental was Swinging Safari by Billy Vaughn.

    • Gary Kerns

      Nick, thanks so much for giving the name of the instrumental. As I posted last night, I’d wondered about it for decades.

    • Mark O.

      The Marianne Faithful song is Come and Stay With Me, which made it to number 4 in the UK and cracked the top 30 in the U.S., at around the time of this show in 1965.

  3. CalRadioPD

    The jock is Dave Diamond. The “Cavalcade of Hits” was Bill Drake’s placeholder format, bridging the gap between the firing of the old KHJ talent and the launch of Boss Radio. It ran most of April, 1965, playing hit songs from 1951 to the then-present, with a definite adult lean. The soon-to-be Boss Jocks did their shifts without saying their names. During that month, they also did a second shift, in a KHJ production studio, off the air, practicing the Boss Radio format.

    The news sounder is what KHJ used until it began its “Sneak Preview” of Boss Radio on April 27.

    • CalRadioPD

      Nope. It’s Davey Diamond.

  4. Doug Prochaska

    That’s Dave Diamond on the air. I remember listening to KHJ’s Cavalcade of Hits which served as a buffer between when KHJ ended its talk radio format and when it began Boss Radio.

  5. Walt Jacony

    I don’t think Bill Drake did much pre Boss Radio with the format, since it pretty much already existed. I have a survey from KHJ circa 1963, they played the Popular Adult Hits, not exactly MOR in the old fashioned manner. Also “Swinging Safari” is the hit version performed by Bert Kaempfert (a top ten song).

    • CalRadioPD

      KHJ backed out of the 1963 format in 1964. Drake had to re-invent the wheel for Cavalcade. Also, “Swingin’ Safari” is the Billy Vaughn version, which was the hit, peaking at #13. Kaempfert’s original failed to chart. They’re very similar, but the ending is the giveaway….Billy Vaughn has horns with the “bomp” at the end…Bert didn’t.

  6. Bob Maslen

    Yes… I listened a lot to the Cavalcade of Hits during late March and April of ’65. Rumors were plentiful about KHJ going rock and I wasn’t sure if the Cavalcade of Hits was their idea of rock or if something else was to come. Made a few airchecks myself of other jocks besides Dave Diamond doing this format which included Gary Mack, Don Steele (doing this version of MOR), Roger Christian and others. If you like the kind of music they played, it was great.

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