The career of Gary Owens was so long, and filled with so much success that the written work about him fills volumes. Gary Owens is heard here at almost the start of his long broadcasting career, at 910 KEWB Oakland. We have very few airchecks from the 1950s at all, and earlier ones are hard to come by.
Gary Owens died on February 12, 2015 after a long illness. You can read the article from Dateline Hollywood on his passing HERE.
About this aircheck:
This begins with at fairly long news segment. Perhaps the most unique thing about Top 40 stations at the beginning of the Top 40 era was the staccato pace of the entire format. Listen to the beep beep beep sounder before every headline. Was that really necessary? Apparently back then, it was. Then, listen to Gary Owens. What struck me as I produced this, was the voices that Owens was doing. Of course, Owens is a great straight-man as well, and this aircheck sounds fantastic, flows well, and is lightning-fast paced!
