“The Boss is Back!” Dick Whittington’s 1st Show as 93 KHJ Returns | April 4, 1983

930 Los Angeles KHJ KKHJ KRTH RKO General

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 glitches, this really is an historical recording. It’s the beginning of a new era at KHJ, even if the station is trying to recapture lighting in a bottle (WE would have just played airchecks of the first day of KHJ in 1965 for the first day of KHJ’s Oldies format – but Airchexx wasn’t around in 1983!). There would be one more after this attempt: Car Radio, which would last until 1986, and a call letter change. That story, we’ll present at another time. Listen for important news items – Columbian earthquake relief, Economic Recovery (doesn’t THAT hit home!), Space Shuttle delays liftoff, and the anniversary of MLK’s assassination.