Wednesday, April 15, 2020

EP170: The Golden Era of Radio


By popular demand, Ken shares an audio documentary he made for a UCLA class with fellow classmate, Bill Pearl. It traces Southern California Top 40 radio from the ‘50s to the ‘70s. We got an A.


Listen to the Hollywood & Levine podcast!

14 comments :

Jeff Boice said...

That was different-ooh I heard some dirty words! Definitely 1971. You later became friends with Ron Jacobs- did he ever offer his opinion of this? And if he did, did he cuss you out for not mentioning him, or did he thank you for not mentioning him?

Mark Moretti said...

What stands out most is how tight and well produced this is, especially given it was done pre digital editing software. Really good stuff.

I didn't think the writing was all that bad. I did think Ken's voice was terrible.

Thanks for posting it Ken. It was a lot of fun.

Andy Rose said...

Did all the clips in this documentary come from your own collection, or did you obtain them from elsewhere?

By Ken Levine said...

All the clips were from my collection.

Troy McClure said...

I don't think your voice was bad.

tavm said...

The way you mentioned you had edited all that was the same way I edited my Jack Benny radio show tribute back in 1988 or '89 on real-to-reel for my college radio class. Probably took me an hour and a half. I don't remember getting a grade for it though maybe it was near the end of the semester and my teacher forgot to tell me...

MSOLDN said...

Tremendous fun, Ken, and what strikes me is how important the evolution in “rock” formats seemed back then, and how meaningful the same period still is today, to those of who were young back then! Contrast that with any progression in, let’s say, modern-day CHR or Alternative stations that might have occurred between 2008 and 2020.... I can’t imagine anyone devoting 5 minutes to preparing or listening to a study on the topic because: (a) not much evolution has really occurred, and (b) commercial radio just seems so much more “disposable” these days.

I totally agree with your shout out to Rich, what a great guy and Rich Bro Radio is, in my mind, one of the all-time feats in the industry because of the unbeatable enjoyment it provides to Oldies lovers today! It’s unfortunate that there don’t seem to be any first-class unscoped airchecks available on the net of Rich’s explosive early 70s shows at KCBQ. I guess listeners were simply too excited to run any tape!

John Hammes said...

Remembering how Top 40 Radio, throughout the 1970s, would cut to a network news roundup at the top of the hour. A lot of these stations were affiliated with either ABC, CBS, NBC, Mutual, or whatever other network was around at the time.

This radio newscast would only run maybe five minutes or so, a decent capsule version of international/national news.

To this day, will be listening to some favorites anywhere from the late '50s well into the '60s, and halfway imagine or "expect" the song to cut short early. Then, I am remembering... growing up with 1970s Top 40 Radio, the DJ had to have something, anything, playing, leading up to when they had to cut away to that top of the hour network newscast. More often than not, they would be running short on time. It would be unfair to play an up and coming artist or song, and then cut everything two minutes short. Plus, no DJ would want to field all those angry phone calls from young, current, devoted fans, whose new artist or song had been cut short.

Obviously, '50's - '60's Top 40 Radio hits were already well established, and while not really "oldies" at that time, were still familiar and appreciated. These songs had already enjoyed their premier days in the sun, and were not going anywhere, anytime soon. Ergo, the DJ's life was now a little easier, at least as this issue went. Just play as much of this established "newer oldie" as one could, allow this established song to cut short as the network newscast came on, everybody was happy, plus you could catch the latest news on inflation. Good times.


"... stand by for ABC Radio News at the top of the hour... here is Little Peggy March..."

... And, Little Peggy March (or contemporaries) would inevitably be cut short.

Buttermilk Sky said...

Thanks, Ken. The Firesign Theater makes a lot more sense to me now.

You've never mentioned a DJ named Jim Hawthorne. Did you ever listen to him?

Jrandall said...

WOW - great job! I was born in Burbank in 1956 and got to live a lot of this - When I went to Pepperdine my project was a documentary on the Eagles...guess I'll have to dig out that 7" reel and give it a listen!
I really loved that you surprised Buzz with your insight and I really enjoyed listening to a blast from the past! Thanks!!

David Grudt said...

Loved it. Thanks for sharing! David A. Grudt, Long Beach

DwWashburn said...

Ah you fooled me. When I read the title I thought you would be talking about Jack Benny, the Shadow, Fibber McGee, etc.

Mike McCann said...

Crisp and streamlined. Yet, the entertainment value of AIR TALENT was still there. Drake reeled things back from the excess but still sought and promoted originality.

Morgan, Terry, Steele, et al were empowered by the challenge of being clever within a structure. What happened roughly a decade later, was replacing the clever, energetic personality with repetition of structure and talking points which led to boredom and mediocrity.

Mean Mr Mustard said...

‘Twas brilliant. Listened twice, cheers !