“KKDJ… With over Eight-Thousand minutes of music a week”
Before KIIS-FM, there was KKDJ. Beginning in 1971, KKDJ (which, according to sources, was indeed related to 97 WWDJ Hackensack, NJ) began an automated (we’d call it ‘live assist’ today) Top 40 format on 102.7 FM. It lasted until 1975, when the station merged with then KIIS AM 1150 and took the KIIS (FM) call letters and format identity). There are various write-ups about KKDJ available on the web and so I won’t attempt to write about a station that I don’t remember. One good place to start is KKDJ.net. The site seems to be full of much factual information, that is, if you can get by the glaring error of the mention of AM competitor KHJ being on 920 KC. Maybe someone will fix that now that I mention it. 🙂
You’ll hear a pretty unknown DJ, what sounds like ripped-off Johnny Mann Singers jingles, and the hits of the day. It’s still good listening. Hopefully, someone knows a lot more than I about this station and will post a comment or two.
I discovered KKDJ 102.7 in September 1973 while on a trip to Ventura, CA. I was there for a week and just loved listening to this station. Why? Simple! I couldn’t believe my ears because I had been wondering what in the world happened to T. Michael Jordan and Jon Peters who had been on 1470 KNDE Sacramento Program Director Rick Carroll. All of which I soon found right there on KKDJ 102.7. I soon discovered that the station had Jay Stevens on air in the midday. I have hours and hours of this station on tape the only problem is that they are all on 8-tracks and I don’t have a player that works any more. Bummer cause I’ve also have KMET with Dr. Demento’s live show recorded on them too. And K100 and KRTH 101.1 and KOLA the POP sound too.
I have 2 8-trac players and I would love to hear those recordings…..too bad you dont live next door
KKDJ was known as KRHM in it’s previous life (until 1971), playing MOR and standards. In 1976 the station became KIIS-FM, which it remains to this day. I too loved KKDJ as a teenager; it’s DJ lineup in 1974 included Charlie Tuna, Humble Harve, and Jay Stevens.
Don… nice to see you grace the airchexx pages! Thanks for the description of KKDJ.
Nice to hear myself on KKDJ. We all had a good time there. Just FYI, WWDJ (New Jersey) was owned by Pacific & Southern (also owners of KKDJ). They purchased WWDJ after KKDJ, and sent Rick Carroll to NJ for a couple of weeks to implement the format on WWDJ. So KKDJ was not a rip off of WWDJ. Though on a different level that’s like saying KHJ was a rip off of WRKO.
TMJ
Back in 1973 I was in L.A. answering the phones for the KLOS Community Switchboard…I was very interested in getting on the air as a rock jock– but didn’t really know how to get started..along comes this personal develpment program called EST…I enrolled in this weekend event and while there met T. Michael Jordan and Rick Carroll….T, if you’re reading this..thanks for selling me on the “sizzle” of radio…I ended up in the business for 12 years including a stint a KKRZ (Z-100) in Portland..I was only 23 when we partied at your condo in Hollywood..but I’ll never forget the great times up at KKDJ while you were on the air….here we are 30 years down the road….hope all is well with you my friend..take good care! Scott
Hey Scott. I’m living in Chicago now (past 5 years). If you ever come back to this page, drop me an email at tomntmj@earthlink.net
T
One thing I forgot to mention in my first post about KKDJ, the comment that the jingles (we only really used one), “sounded like a complet rip off of the Johnny Mann singers.” We cut them (it) at PAMS in Dallas, and remixed it (from an 8 track tape from PAMS) at the Buck Owens recording studios in Bakersfield. At the time one of the most sophisticated recording studios outside of Hollywood.
T
I listened to TMJ (T. Michael Jordan) on San Bernardino’s KMEN in 1967 – 1968 which I was in high school. A few years later in 1973 I found him on the dial at KKDJ while I was a college student in Northridge California. It was a real treat to come accross this clip.
I remember the KKDJ jingle! Shotgun jingles were always the best, that one wasn’t the best ever but it moved things nicely back into music. I don’t remember where I got the aircheck, but Humble Harv was the D.J. that day.
KKDJ came out in the early seventies with host Charlie Tuna. It was very popular when it changed its call letters over to KIIS FM and C.T. left the station. It was at that time when I stopped listening.
I’m a bit biased since I’ve known TMJ for many, many years, but as far as the comment about “a pretty unknown DJ,” I beg to differ. T. Michael Jordan, a veteran of the Southern California airwaves, was one of KKDJ’s best known jocks, doing the key 7 – midnight shift for many years with some very good ratings. Many of the jocks are still on the airwaves somewhere – Charlie Tuna is on KBIG-Los Angeles, Jay Stevens does voiceover work after retiring from weekends at KRTH (K-EARTH), Russ O’Hara on KDES-Palm Springs and //www.morganoharalive.com, and Pat Evans is the imaging voice of Fox Sports Radio.
Great to have found this site!
By the way, Billy Pearl, also on the aircheck, went to KHJ (and was featured in a full-length article in the L.A. Times), then became a consultant with Tom Greenleigh before switching gears becoming an attorney. He was part of the “Dueling Bills” (with commentator Bill Press) on KABC radio.
Actually, KKDJ split the FM top-40 audience for much of its life with K-100 (KIQQ), which was Bill Drake’s attempt to redominate the market after leaving KHJ.
FM still hadn’t done much in the ratings yet in Los Angeles — five of the highest-powered signals in the market were still Beautiful Music — and K-100 took more listeners away from KKDJ than it did from the AMs.
The ratings actually went down after the call letter change to KIIS-FM (and daytime simulcast with recently acquired KIIS-AM 1150) and it wasn’t until the 1980s, when they changed to CHR after a disastrous couple of years as a disco music station, that they achieved market dominance.
That said, I loved the Rick Carroll years at KKDJ, and I’m still in touch with T. Michael Jordan, Billy Pearl, and Jay Stevens, all of whom are among the nicest people in the business.
It should also be pointed out that Rick went on to create the hugely successful “Rock of the 80s” format on KROQ.
Oh, and what’s with the KKDJ Fresno logo? The Los Angeles KKDJ was 102.7 …
T Michael, larry Groves Jim Stanley (enginerr) Mark Dennis John Petters, Mike Wagner Paul Friedman, I’ve heard about Rick Carolls Passing, there is so much about that man who affects my life to this day! Can anyone help me locate any of them to day? I hope! Thanks Bobby Nicholl, I was only 15 yeaars old back then so much fun!
Yes those were the good old days! Whoever said the 1971 automated station KKDJ 102.7 was poorly executed was correct it was a nightmare. I was the first 7-12 Midnight guy at KKDJ 102.7 and can tell you many horror stories about a wacky automation that we were sitting with. We were actually in the station when Our show was on the air but for some very strange reason they wanted the automation to do all the work. You see it worked in Atlanta at WPLO FM under the tuteledge if Ed Shane who actually hired me and was fired before I could leave KNAC in long Beach for KKDJ in Hollywood. Theres’s more to my story on kkdj.net.
KKDJ is why I’m in radio today! I was one of those who, at 14, used to call in and win everything – well, not the big prices… those always went to Linda Lipton and Jack Black! – but plenty of vinyl! T. Michael, Rich Brother Robbin, and Pat Evans also let me record instant requests, and even a sports update or two. What a sad day it was when Pat Evans told me to read the LA Times article that talked about the end of KKDJ.
Then in 1976, Rick Carroll and many of the KKDJ air talent ended up at KEZY Anaheim, and a Broadcast Workshop began at the station. In spite of only being 16 and a junior in high school (you were supposed to be a graduate), I was accepted – and the first night any of us were on-air, I had the honor of being one of the first three! We had 50-minute on-air shifts between 2-4:30 in the morning. I still have those reel-to-reels… in fact, after my second song (“Maybe I’m Amazed” – live version) I walked down the hall to the music library to T. Michael who told me, “You look horrible (nervous!), but you sound great!”
I still have a cassette tape of all the KKDJ air talent end-of-year 1973 (?)
T. and Rich actually at Midnight.
Also somewhere in a stack of stuff, I have a college video interview I conducted with Rick Carroll in his first stint at KROQ – probably 1981-82.
Pat Evans helped me put together an audition tape at KRTH in 1984. It helped me get my first job.
I had the chance to work with Russ O’Hara at both KPSI and KDES in Palm Springs in the late 80’s-early 90’s. (actually replaced him in afternoon drive once at KDES!)
And I had lunch with Rich Brother Robbin when he was in Nashville a few years ago – finally had a chance to thank him.
T. Michael or Pat Evans, if you read this, I can’t thank you enough for all you did as well.
So here I am today – Operations Manager for Salem Music Network in Nashville. All because I decided to call in and win a few things, and those working at KKDJ were nice enough to give me the time of day.
P.S. there was a Mason Proffit song called “Voice of Change,” that KKDJ used a portion of as part of their Legal I.D.
THIS IS TOTALLY AWESOME!!! HOW AMAZING ARE ALL OF YOU PEOPLE THAT WOULD HAVE THIS HERE!!!