Remembering The Big Six Ten (When)

[skyrocker]

Mine has been an all California career, by choice. Even though I was pretty young when I decided to keep it in the Golden State, the career path has been packed.
Yet, I go on record as NOT wanting back the good old days.
Been there, inhaled.
To assist in recalling it ALL wasn't just a bed of Roses (with the exception of Dr. Don) I posted the following:

http://bobby-ocean.blogspot.com/2011/09/before-corporate-radio-remembering-it.html

Doesn't this "Remembering It All" list seem short?

Don't you have a list that's at least twice as long?

 

[daryljones]

Bobby, you've taught me many lessons - probably without realizing it. One of the most important is that the radio business is very similar to running a carnival. About 1/3 show business, 1/3 selling tickets, and 1/3 engineering and admin. Bottom line, it's an ugly business. Maybe this is why it's so compelling?

It's time to move forward to next-generation broadcasting. What do you suggest?

 

[NoMoreLurking]

To assist in recalling it ALL wasn't just a bed of Roses (with the exception of Dr. Don) I posted the following:

http://bobby-ocean.blogspot.com/2011/09/before-corporate-radio-remembering-it.html

This is an excellent post, yet just one of many in this blog. Do yourself a favor and explore it. I especially loved a post titled "It's the economy, cupid"...and I'm off to read more.

Skyrocker, thanks for steering my mind in these directions.

 

[nitnitr]

Does this sound familiar. I love his blog. The things that appealed to me:

Being caught doing something I shouldn't have. I remember doing a helicopter (phony) report of traffic at my first radio job in Montana (like we even needed a traffic report, lol), and using phony SFX and telling people about the traffic in town (which I didn't honestly have). It was fun, but sure caught flak from the powers that be. Still, some listeners got it, and found it funny. Most of the response was positive from the listeners, but was I in trouble. I did keep my job, and wound up being the PD in another year or so. A year after that, I was off to the Golden State. Bye Montana, though it was a great place to live. Still have friends there after 30 years.

Cue burns. Ugh. You could tell when the other jocks were playing a single too much.

And how many times the head on a cart machine was misaligned and played through the stop cue and kept running, repeating over a new spot, jingle or song that was next up.

And working when sick! Reading more than 30 seconds of copy without coughing was a chore, let alone several minutes of news. Of course, spreading the germs to all the other jocks as well. It was bad when most of the station was under the weather.

 

[michael hagerty]

I'm sure we could all add to the list. Some of mine:

Being alone in the KIBS, Bishop building (at age 16) when the FCC dropped in for a surprise inspection. The GM was drunk at a bar about a mile down the road. I had to deal with his hangover the next morning when explaining 106 written violations (none of them on my license, thank God).

Finding myself in the PD's office at KSLY, San Luis Obispo (just having turned 18). The new morning drive kid (me), not fully grounded in the literal translation of Yiddish, decided to back announce Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods as "Billy, Don't Be A Schmuck."

Watching in horror as the new GM at KUKI, Ukiah fired the groundskeepers who kept the small front lawn with a duck pond and the big field out back where the towers were and replaced them with six sheep and two goats. Oh, yeah...he shot the ducks and left them floating in the pond.

Working for months to convince the GM at KOLO in Reno that our only hope against an FM that just flipped to our playlist in stereo with only 8 commercial minutes per hour was to cut our spotload from 18 minutes per hour. I'd argued for 12 (we also had to deal with a five-minute hourly newscast with two minutes in it that I wasn't counting), got an agreement from him to go down to 14, took it and ran...only to watch him five weeks later use the 1980 election season as an excuse to go to 22. And the ratings? They went from #2 to #6 to #9....and I went to TV.


BUT...the thing is...I could name fifteen great things about every one of those places.

That's the thing about the business as it was. It took emotion to do it right. And that meant high highs and low lows.

 

[DavidKaye]

I'm sure we could all add to the list.

KSOL 107.7 San Mateo (now KSAN), where we had to take an *average* of the swing of the tower readings because the wind up on King's Mountain was so fierce it kept blowing the STL antenna out of alignment.

KWUN 1480 Concord (now defunct) where even the sign-off was sold. "It's the end of another broadcast day at KWUN, but it's only the beginning of fine dining this evening at John Jawad's Pioneer Inn..." or words to that effect.

KTHO in South Lake Tahoe, where you'd give the winter road closure report and immediately afterward people would phone in and ask which roads were closed, even after giving out the phone number for the station's 24/7 road closure report. Oh, yeah, and the studio rent was a trade: "KTHO AM and FM, South Lake Tahoe, with studios and offices in beautiful Tahoe Keys". The area was beautiful, but the development left quite a bit to be desired.

Speaking of trades, KJAY 1430 in Sacramento where your rent and some of your meals were trades, otherwise you'd be making less than minimum wage. And Jack apparently went to flea markets to grab Muntz 4-track carts because they were cheaper than getting real Fidelipacs and they sort of fit the machines.

KMUV channel 31 in Sacramento, where there was barely enough equipment to keep the station on the air, and the smaller VTRs had heat issues that kept making the picture roll. At one point, management (or as Eric would say, "manglement") told everyone that they'd no longer give make-goods for the rolling video. Seems that they had accumulated more make-goods than they had actual sold positions.

KKEY 1150 Portland, where we did live talkshows from Portland while the board op was in Vancouver across the river, and the call screener was an intern from a broadcasting school who often didn't show up. It was bizarre trying to do a talkshow with nobody to line up the calls, and you're trying to figure out which unknown caller was going to talk about what topic, and the board op saying in your ear over your program audio, "Oh, not THAT topic again" and you can't punch the board op in the mouth because he's 15 miles away, after all.

 

[nitnitr]

I'm sure we could all add to the list.

KSOL 107.7 San Mateo (now KSAN), where we had to take an *average* of the swing of the tower readings because the wind up on King's Mountain was so fierce it kept blowing the STL antenna out of alignment.

KTHO in South Lake Tahoe, where you'd give the winter road closure report and immediately afterward people would phone in and ask which roads were closed, even after giving out the phone number for the station's 24/7 road closure report. Oh, yeah, and the studio rent was a trade: "KTHO AM and FM, South Lake Tahoe, with studios and offices in beautiful Tahoe Keys". The area was beautiful, but the development left quite a bit to be desired.

I grew up in San Mateo, and remember KSOL. Funny about the readings. As a former station engineer, I know what you mean.

KTHO is where my ex brother-in-law interned as a news reporter. Regardless, I would live in Tahoe for enough to get me by now days. If I could land a radio job in Tahoe, it would be my dream job at this point in my life. Now living in Sacramento, and not liking it so much. Probably not something I should necessarily mention, but what the heck.

Hey, what about somebody barging into the studio when the mic is live and talking as if it isn't. Had had that happen from time to time, regardless of station.

Also had reel to reel programs go haywire at times due to equipment or "sticky tape" issues.

I also remember playing an LP program of Ralph Emery, and trying to take a dump before the side ran out. Missed it a few times in my tenure at the Country station I was working with at the time (not always due to bathroom issues). Also, sometimes the LP would skip. Nothing like having a built in scratch.

On another note, I grew up on 610 KFRC, and loved Dr. Don and the others. That was my station. Bobby's blog was entertaining to look at. It reminded me of what we dealt with in the days of vinyl and before.

 

[recto101]

Wow I only know the Big 610 KFRC when it went oldies and simulcasted on 99.7 in the 1990's used the boss jingles again.

 

[LKellerIII]

Wow I only know the Big 610 KFRC when it went oldies and simulcasted on 99.7 in the 1990's used the boss jingles again.

Recto - I assume you know about reel radio.com and the Bay Area Radio Museum. between them, you can hear many air checks from the Top 40 era of 610/KFRC, A good number from KYA, and even a few from KEWB.

 

[DavidKaye]

On another note, I grew up on 610 KFRC, and loved Dr. Don and the others. That was my station. Bobby's blog was entertaining to look at. It reminded me of what we dealt with in the days of vinyl and before.

During part of that golden era, I worked at KWUN in Concord. Being the Bay Area, there is a significant weather and temperature difference between SF and Concord. SF could be 59 and foggy and Concord might be sunny and 97. KFRC DJs would phone us to get the temperature in Concord and we'd get theirs. I'd pick up the phone and the earpiece would rumble with the voice of some brass-balls KFRC DJ.

MAN! Those were the days. I remember being a kid with a radio job in Concord, living in SF (counter-commute to a lot of SF DJs), and I'd go out and party on Friday and Saturday nights in SF and be up until 3am, get a couple hours of sleep and be at KWUN at 6:00am for my weekend shifts. For years I had a really really really terrible aircheck of walking all over the beginning of a song ("Sally Go Round the Roses") because I was punchy and delirious from lack of sleep. I don't remember doing it, but I did have the aircheck running, so I definitely did it.

Speaking of which, it's 11:14pm and I haven't been out to party yet. Gotta go...

 

[nitnitr]

On another note, I grew up on 610 KFRC, and loved Dr. Don and the others. That was my station. Bobby's blog was entertaining to look at. It reminded me of what we dealt with in the days of vinyl and before.

During part of that golden era, I worked at KWUN in Concord. Being the Bay Area, there is a significant weather and temperature difference between SF and Concord. SF could be 59 and foggy and Concord might be sunny and 97. KFRC DJs would phone us to get the temperature in Concord and we'd get theirs. I'd pick up the phone and the earpiece would rumble with the voice of some brass-balls KFRC DJ.

Yep. That is how the weather is in the Bay Area. I grew up in San Mateo, and though still much cooler than Concord, was substantially different temperature wise from SF. I'm now in Sacramento, and even more of a temp swing from SF here. Only 90 miles away too.

I remember listening to Marvin Gaye, then Tower Of Power, Chicago, Kansas, or whatever, and really enjoying it on KRFC. I suppose we can reminisce for the good times, but things have changed. There are challenges to Terrestrial radio, or for that manner, Satellite and Internet radio too, that require the personal touch that has somewhat gone away from radio in general, Not too many Bobby Ocean's and Dr. Don's left. The originality of individual stations has left the mainstream, in my opinion.

One of the things I remember from Dr. Don is the quote, "The thing I really enjoy about AM radio is the fact that while you are driving underneath an overpass, you lose me."

 

[DavidKaye]

The originality of individual stations has left the mainstream, in my opinion.

Talkradio. KGO 810, KNBR 680, KKGN 960. Each has its own unique style and the hosts are for the most part unique as well.

 

[recto101]

Wow I only know the Big 610 KFRC when it went oldies and simulcasted on 99.7 in the 1990's used the boss jingles again.

Recto - I assume you know about reel radio.com and the Bay Area Radio Museum. between them, you can hear many air checks from the Top 40 era of 610/KFRC, A good number from KYA, and even a few from KEWB.

Yes I went to the Bay Area Museum for KFRC 610 back in the Top 40 era and it was very interesting where Don Rose and Beau Weaver, Chuck Geiger was there. Although Bobby Ocean went to KFRC between stints at KHJ and KCBQ. Later Ocean went to KFRC again as the announcer for station ID's and promo's in the 1990's when KFRC went oldies.

 

[LKellerIII]

Wow I only know the Big 610 KFRC when it went oldies and simulcasted on 99.7 in the 1990's used the boss jingles again.

Bobby Ocean went to KFRC between stints at KHJ and KCBQ. Later Ocean went to KFRC again as the announcer for station ID's and promo's in the 1990's when KFRC went oldies.

Aside from being the image voice of 99.7 and 610, Bobby Ocean was also the afternoon drive time DJ for a few years - ending around 2005, when CBS decided not to renew his contract in a cost cutting move.

 

[recto101]

Wow I only know the Big 610 KFRC when it went oldies and simulcasted on 99.7 in the 1990's used the boss jingles again.

Bobby Ocean went to KFRC between stints at KHJ and KCBQ. Later Ocean went to KFRC again as the announcer for station ID's and promo's in the 1990's when KFRC went oldies.

Aside from being the image voice of 99.7 and 610, Bobby Ocean was also the afternoon drive time DJ for a few years - ending around 2005, when CBS decided not to renew his contract in a cost cutting move.

I grew up when Goss and Garret was on the Big 610 and 99.7 mornings and when Ron and Kammy blackstone had the Big 610 on the Evening drive during the oldies era of KFRC. I do remember back in the 1990's 610 was home of the Oakland A's and San Jose Sharks on 610 while 99.7 kept doing music. I was not born when 610 meant top 40. I was born a few days later when 106.1 FM KMEL was CHR top 40.