As you may recall from a previous column, I am on a quest to fix old electronics that have been waiting for some TLC. I started with a really cool Wards Airline wood radio as described back in April, followed by others for which I had not documented the repairs — an RCA pocket radio from about 1960 (note to self: those early transistor radios sound terrible), and then changed out some parts from a (working) Delco tube radio that had been a gift from my father to my mother some time around 1947.
A local musician, Ned Evett, was singing and playing the piano recently at Think Prime in San Pedro, and he gave me his recently released vinyl album called “Strange Kind of Freedom” under the promise that I had a turntable to play it on. Of course, I have a turntable, I told him, which is true. I’ve had one since I was about 12. I just hadn’t used it lately. As it turned out, it too needed a bit of repair, mainly cleaning and lubrication, and a new stylus. The album from Evett — who invented a fretless glass guitar — is quite good, and sounds great on the “restored” turntable.
But turntables have nothing to do with radio, right? Well, you might be surprised. As I was looking through my record collection, I realized I had a few albums that were released by radio stations, from a long bygone era in which stations, often bigger than life, put their promotions departments to work creating special treats for listeners.
These are not cheap productions. The quality of these matches or surpasses most of the commercial releases of the time. One even includes a game! And of course, they include station information to help bond with listeners.
The oldest I have is “KFWB’s Battle of the Surfing Bands,” released in 1963. Filled with songs from various performers including The Lively Ones, The Challengers, and Bruce Johnston, the cover features some photos of unknown surfers along with a photo of the KFWB (980 AM) DJs on a “surfboard set” — Joe Yokam, Gene Weed, Wink Martindale, Earl McDaniel, Elliot Field, Bill Ballance, Bobby Dale, and Roger Christian — all “surfing” on the same board.
I found out this was not specific to KFWB — there were versions from KPOI/Honolulu and KYA/San Francisco as well, with the same photos (each station had their own DJs on the fake wave surfing), the same songs, and even the same quotes describing the album … but credited to each station’s respective personalities.
In 1965, KHJ (930 AM) released “KHJ Boss Goldens Vol. 1,” which is described as “the best of 1965,” the same year that KHJ launched the Boss Radio top-40 format. It features a description of the station, photos of the DJs, and some really good songs: “Gloria” by Them, “Lies” by the Knickerbockers, and “Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire.
Next up is the 93/KHJ “30 Boss Goldens.” Released in 1967, this one is the real deal, with 30 popular songs including “Cherish” by The Association, “98.6” by Keith, and “The Oogum Boogum Song” by local boy (he attended San Pedro High School and graduated from Compton High), Brenton Wood.
This one is a slick, double-album production, including “hippie” art on the cover and DJ bios and station promotional photos on the inside.
KHJ did it again in 1970 with the release of “Sound of the Sixties,” 30 hits including “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals, “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison, and “Venus” by The Shocking Blue. Shadoe Stevens’ “shoe print” is on the cover, which is interesting since Stevens was only at the station for six months! The inside of the cover features the aforementioned game, complete with rules; unfortunately, my album does not have all the pieces and cards needed to play. On the board, there are “landmarks” that cause you to lose a turn (you have to vacation, after all) if you land on them — MacArthur Park, The Queen Mary, Catalina Island, and Malibu. The player who first reaches the “Disc Jockey of the Year” star wins the game.
KHJ sister station KFRC/San Francisco released albums, as well. The one I have is from 1967: “21 Golden Rocks,” including “Hey Joe” by Leaves, “Little Red Book” by Love, and “Solitary Man” by Neil Diamond.
And finally, a while back, reader Richard Koenig of Torrance sent me a promotional album released by then AOR station K-WEST (now KPWR, 105.9 FM). This one was not actually designed to promote the station, but it did have local bands providing songs to help raise money for local public radio stations. The cost? $1.06, reflecting the station’s frequency.
These are but a few of the albums released by stations around the country, and they represent a time when stations put as much emphasis on marketing as they did programming. Budgets would most likely not allow it now, but wouldn’t it be great for a station to at least try it once more? I’d love an album of music from Go Country (KKGO, 105.1 FM), for example. Or maybe The So Cal Sound (KCSN, 99.5 FM) could make one as a fundraiser. Vinyl, of course.
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com.