KLOS hits the ocean again
The emails started arriving sometime early Saturday of Labor Day Weekend: Was I listening to KLOS (95.5 FM)? Have I heard the “yacht rock?” So I tuned in; yes, indeed, they were playing it again. Apparently the April Fools Day prank went so well, that they figured it would make for a fun weekend.
The reason for the mention, though, has less to do with KLOS doing it, but the reasons behind it. My thoughts mirrored some of the posts on RadioDiscussions.com, which had a spirited discussion on the topic revolving around the effect that the weekend could potentially have on station ratings … were regular listeners be turned off by the sudden change, all three-days long?
Reader emails sent to me said no; in fact they were 100% positive. Kevin Broderick from Long Beach was direct and to the point, saying only “yacht rock is awesome!” A station spokesman told me that the calls and letters they received were 90% positive.
So what gives? Why would “classic rock” listeners enjoy “yacht rock?”
Over at RadioDiscussions.com, responding to a similar question, member TheBigA answered succinctly:
“Huh? They’re not playing country music. Yacht rock IS rock. These are songs they played when they were currents. Back when the audience was more open to hearing the full diversity of the genre than they might be now. Back before everyone was a critic, artists like Steely Dan were revered for their ability to weave jazz and rock together.”
And, I might add, many “album rock” or the more primitive “freeform” stations of the past even played country.
Also mentioned by TheBigA: “(On a holiday weekend) there are fewer people listening, so there’s less risk. Holiday weekends themselves are a break in the routine. You can sleep late on a Monday, or maybe go to Las Vegas for a few days. They were going to take a hit anyway. Might as well have some fun.”
Amen.
Catching Up on Email
The best thing about writing this column is reading the responses you send me after a topic sparks your own special memories. This letter from Brett Hood speaks to his radio listening in Orange County:
“Just read your articles about KRTH and KEZY in the Press Enterprise! I was born and raised in Orange, and the articles brought back a flood of memories! Riding in my mom’s 1970 Dodge Dart listening to KRTH…and as a teenager in the early 80’s listening to KEZY. We lived about three or four miles from the station, so I used to drive by it all the time.
“One time I was driving about 100 yards from the station on East Ball Road, and they announced on the air that the first person to walk into the studios will win tickets to see Smokey Robinson! I pulled in 10 seconds later; I never enjoyed a concert more than that time with my free tickets from KEZY!!! Thanks for the articles … they put a smile on my face!”
I mentioned air personality Pat Evans in the KRTH story, and he saw it, bringing a new twist to the call-letter change. Is it true? I’ll be checking. Let me know if you can confirm:
“While I won’t dispute the ‘Earth Day’ connection, I had always heard that in 1972, prior to the change from KHJ-FM, a potential new name for the station was said out loud, in a bar (Martoni’s), by Bill Drake,” Evans wrote, adding, “Unfortunately, once overheard by someone else in the bar, a request was filed by another station with the FCC for those call letters … KROQ.”
Keep in mind this was not the KROQ (106.7 FM) we know today; it was for a top-40 format on 1500 AM, that would eventually evolve into the KROQ we all know and love. Charlie Tuna was at KROQ, and had been with Drake at KHJ. Probably went to Martoni’s. Maybe? …
Russ from Glendale — among my most loyal readers — has his own memories of KRTH, including a brush with … Pat Evans!
“I got my first FM receiver in 1969, and KHJ-FM was one of the first FM radio stations I listened to. I totally remember when in October of 1972 KHJ-FM changed its call letters to KRTH and their format became oldies. Jim Pewter was the program director and an on-staff personality at the time. I enjoyed listening to Brian Beirne, ‘Mr. Rock N’ Roll,’ and Brother John … I liked his show called ‘Heaven is in Your Mind.’ I actually met Pat Evans when I was at the DMV with my mother; He recognized my voice and came right over to say hello!”
Bill Cosso has some memories of The Wolfman that are kind of fun from when he was at KDAY (now KBLA, 1580 AM) in Santa Monica. “Being a student at Art Center College of Design, I was often up very late at night working on assignments, and his entertaining show was a welcome diversion. Who else, then or since, howls on the radio?
“He must have had an interesting relationship with management though. They used a cheesy slogan every time the station call letters were announced that went: “Rock–no schlock! K-D-A-Y!”. The problem was, pretty much every time Wolfman said the line, it came out “Schlock–no Rock!”
He passed along another memory: “Wolfman announced he was going to have a very special program: the first ever totally nude radio show! He and his cohorts spent the entire evening playing up this bawdy bit, all supposedly buck naked, and broadcasting live what came off as a wild and raucous late-night party.
“I have no idea whether any of it was real, but when it came to memorable radio, Wolfman Jack took the prize.”
Bruce Dobos writes of howls … and shirts! “I found a very weak Wolfman Jack radio station — XERB — like the rest of my Junior High friends in 1964,” he said. “We loved how he would insert a ‘howl’ usually during an instrument portion of a slow, romantic song.
“I was the first and only of our group of friends to send in $2.50 for the iron on Wolfman Jack T-shirt decal. Everyone said I would never receive it; well, it did come and Mom ironed it on one of my T-shirts. I was the envy of our troop. It was a picture of a sophisticated wolf in sports clothes holding an adult beverage … I was cool.”