Thursday, August 27, 2009


BROADWAY BILL LEE returned to NEW YORK radio in the late 90's (these days he does PM Drive at Classic Hits WCBS-FM); here he is in a 1999 pic from WKTU. Previously Bill had been at WQHT, KMEL, KFRC, KPKE, WLOL and others in the 80's and 90's. Picture courtesy California Aircheck www.californiaaircheck.com

Friday, August 14, 2009


STICK is the big afternoon drive DJ in Orlando, at legendary Top 40 XL106.7 WXXL. He's SO GOOD that his shift is 4-midnight! Luckily, he gets to track the 7-midnight portion! Phto courtesy California Aircheck www.californiaaircheck.com Video of Stick doing his PM Drive show available on Video #115 from California Aircheck

Thursday, August 13, 2009


KHJ published a slick Top 300 of all-time booklet in August 1966. On the front was a collage of the artists they played. On the rear are drawings of the KHJ Boss Jocks Robert W. Morgan, Frank Terry, Gary Mack, The Real Don Steele, Johnny Mitchell, Sam Riddle, Johnny Williams, Steve Clark & Tommy Vance. This was one of those rare items not distributed through record stores but by mail to those who wrote to KHJ requesting one. Courtesy California Aircheck www.californiaaircheck.com

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Gary Burbank was the big dog in Afternoon Drive for WLW-AM/Cincinnati for 20+ years until he retired in September 2007. Gary also owned a chain of BBQ Restaurants in Cincinnati (Burbank's Real Bar-B-Q) but there's only one left now in Sharonville Ohio. Great food. Check it out when you're in Cincinnati! www.burbanksbbq.com Gary was a giant in Top 40 radio (WAKY-WKLO-CKLW etc) and AC and Talk Radio at WLW. One of radio's legends for sure. Photo is from July 2007 Courtesy California Aircheck www.californiaaircheck.com



In the early 70's, KXOA morphed into KNDE (Radio KaNDiE)after the station was sold. At first the station ran an AOR format but later flipped it to Top 40 to once again compete with KROY. When this survey was out, KNDE jumped to the #1 spot in Top 40 radio in Sacramento (April-May 1976) but dropped back to #2 behind KROY in the fall book that year (Oct-Nov 1976). The nicely printed survey folders were gone by 1977 and the cash wasn't flowing in 1977 like it had been when the station was #1 in 1976. Survey courtesy of California Aircheck www.californiaaircheck.com which also has many audio samples of KNDE from the 70's.

KXOA and KROY were the big dogs of Sacramento radio back in the 60's. This is one of the cheaper looking KXOA music surveys published in 1967. 147KXOA is back though on the Internet, streaming live audio 24/7 at www.147kxoa.com Survey courtesy of Gene Knight, KYXY San Diego


KERN/Bakersfield started a "Super Comics" weekly publication that included their Top 40 survey on the rear back in the Summer of 1975. This is the first issue from August 1975 that had drawings of their DJs on the front cover and inside this 8 page "Super Comics" first issue; Russ Gerber, Johnny Mitchell, Dudley Do-Wrong, Chris Squires and Jay J. Jackson.

Legendary Shotgun Tom Kelly, on the air at KRTH/Los Angeles, on his afternoon drive show. Shotgun was a total Top 40 screamer back in the 70's at such stations as KAFY, KGB, KCBQ, KRIZ and others. Picture courtesy California Aircheck www.californiaaircheck.com

Here's of the music being played by the new KXOA this summer. www.147kxoa.com
Ronnie Kaye. legendary Top 40 jock in Oklahoma City since the 60's has done stints at both WKY and KOMA. These days he is on the air middays at KOMA-FM playing 70's Oldies and still sounds awesome. Picture courtesy of California Aircheck www.californiaaircheck.com

Legendary Top 40 giant KXOA/Sacramento has returned to the airwaves as an Internet station, playing "Classic Rock & Roll and Soul" Oldies from the 60's and 70's. Unlike most Internet stations, it is not a juke box but has DJs on the air 24/7. Live streaming from the website at www.147kxoa.com

Legendary Top 40 jock Jack Armstrong pictured in the WMQX/Greensboro NC control room in 2002. Big Jack passed away in 2008 and is no longer with us. Picture courtesy California Aircheck www.californiaaircheck.com A video aircheck of Jack in action is available from California Aircheck.

KERN/Bakersfield single stick in 1979 on Planz Road (tiny KERN building with studio/offices/transmitter was between the tower and the street. Tower has since been moved and this location had cheap housing built on it. Photo courtesy of http://www.bakersfieldtop40.com/

1976 picture at KERN/Bakersfield of afternoonDJ/Program Director Johnny Mitchell with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts. If you blow up the picture you can read the super secret KERN programming info on the control room wall. KERN photos courtesy of http://www.bakersfieldtop40.com/

The KERN/Bakersfield control room hadn't changed much in the 70's -- at the time that they were usually the #1 station in the market. That's a cheap Electro Voice (EV664?) mic in the control room, but it actually sounded pretty decent on the air.