When Power 106 danced

Power 106 has been playing rap and hip-hop for so long, many may not remember that it was a totally different station when it first went on the air … not even close to what it is now.

It was January 11, 1986. After about few years playing adult contemporary hits as Magic 106, the decision was made by then-owner Emmis Communications to take on market leader KIIS-FM directly, playing dance-leaning top-40 music with a high-energy approach.

I was there for the switch, and I distinctly remember DJ Mucho Morales as one of the new format’s biggest fans. He loved the music, and felt that it would attract an audience that was underserved by the current popular stations, especially listeners in East Los Angeles.

Interestingly this was the very same audience to which programmer Chuck Martin programmed when he brought KHJ (930 AM) back from the dead in 1979. One of the DJs during the Martin era? Mucho Morales.

I have no idea what Mucho is up to these days, but he was a fun DJ to work with; he had some great radio stories and we spent a lot of time talking while I was an intern at the station. At Powerhouse I, a listener appreciation party held at the Palace in Hollywood, we spent the night walking around and getting really drunk in the VIP section open bar. Well at least I was drinking a lot. I swore off alcohol after that night for a time. And for the record, Mucho is one of my favorite DJs.

I bring this up because I happened to be looking around on Facebook and found an old recording of Mucho on Power from October of 1986, at about the time that Power had begun to seriously challenge KIIS-FM after that station’s domination in the early 1980s; I believe it was only a few months later that power knocked KIIS out of the top-spot for the first time in years.

Make the “Power Switch” to “72,000 watts of Music Power” and the “Fresh New Music Mix” by heading over to tinyurl.com/PowerMucho. And if you happen to know the whereabouts of Mucho Morales, please let me know.

Cold

“We’re letting people who can’t think do our thinking for us.”

That was the reaction by Roger of Pacific Palisades when he read on social media that WDOK/Cleveland had pulled the song “Baby it’s Cold Outside” from the playlist during its around-the-clock holiday music format it currently airs.

A call from a listener stating that the song is inappropriate for 2018 is the reason, according to news reports. A poll on the station’s Facebook page showed that, as of press time, 94 percent of listeners disagree with the decision to pull the song, voting “yes, it’s a classic” to the posted question, “Should we Play “Baby it’s Cold Outside” during the holiday season?”

The tune, released in the 1940s, “really pushes the line of consent,” says Cleveland Rape Crisis Center President and CEO Sondra Miller in a story posted on the WPIX-Television/New York website. Miller said the organization supports the decision to pull the song.

Go Country 105 FM played the Dean Martin version on Sunday evening, so it’s not banned in Los Angeles.

Shortest On Record

Not sure if it was real or not — KFI’s (640 AM) evening star Tim Conway, Jr. didn’t confirm or deny when I asked — but if true it has to count as the shortest interview on record.

It happened on November 30th. Introducing comedian Louie Anderson after giving a brief bio by saying, “Louie, it’s so great to see you … that you’re not eating and gambling yourself to death anymore. Welcome to KFI!”

“f-ing interview” (or something close to that) is heard on the phone, followed by a click and a dial tone. As I said the shortest interview ever.

As I also said, I am not sure if it is real. My gut says no, but regardless … it was probably better than it would have been if Anderson actually did it.

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