Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Gene Price 1974

  

This is another program from a nice cache of transcriptions I picked up last month, Gene Price's Country World

 

Ira Cook 1961

  

Ira Cook with Elvis Presley

Ira started with us in 1960, still there 20 years later.



Mary Helen Barro 1983

 


Mary Helen Barro with Joe Ortiz 1972

Mary Helen is back with some wonderful music.



Monday, October 14, 2024

Charlie Tuna 1978

 


Singing legend Bill Withers backstage at the Greek Theatre with Charlie.(June 16, 2007)

Charlie Tuna taught a lot of DJs how to do it right, pacing, topicality, personality.  Every day it was a textbook.


Joe Allison 1965

 





Joe Allison is back with more of your favorites from the Country Corner. Joe Allison was country music.  A performer, writer, producer and he brought back home to the radio.




Wolfman Jack 1975

 


Time for a 1975 look see with Wolfman Jack.  Much better if you play it loud!





Sunday, October 13, 2024

My Best Sounds update

  After a BUNCH of issues, the streaming station is back online.

www.mybestsounds.com

I'll be merging the best of MyBestSounds from before and "The Hook".  I'm very optimistic.

UPDATE: The biggest problem we've had before was scheduling programs to be heard every day.  There will be a schedule, to make it easier.  This can't be done with all of the shows, but...

Times are Central

0800 Charlie Tuna

0900 Roger Carroll

1100 Joe Ferguson

1:00PM Joe Ferguson

6:00PM Jim Pewter

9:00PM Roland Bynum

11:00 Chris Noel

More will be added.


Roger Carroll 1978

 


Today it is Roger, with the Happy Hour and memories of 1978.
 
"Thom there was a young attractive production lady who worked on a TV show I announced her boy friend was an artist at Disney. They both listened to me on KMPC It was a birthday gift I cannot remember what show it was or her name. I now walk a little slower, memory is not what it used be also repeat things Dad get a hearing aid (you want something at Rite Aid ) BUT I sure do remember she was very attractive I think many of the attractive production ladies maybe were hand-picked may be some of those ladies are on FB they would be old today the ones I worked with."
 
And it had a place of honor at Roger's
 
 
Thank you once again RC!
 



Mary Turner 1992

    



It was a scandal.  In the early 80s when the network started the Mary Turner show.  Loud Rock and Roll.  What will the generals say?  We'll find out.  Mary brought her KMET show to the world and it was a very good thing.



Friday, October 11, 2024

Herman Griffith 1965

    


"Hello Gang!  Here's Herman Griffith with exitement in sound and music in motion!! The rock AND the roll for the young and the old, the brave and the bold on the Record Caravan!!!! "

Don Browne shares some memories:

"When I first heard "The Herman Griffith Show" on AFRTS (at FEN in 1969), I was appalled.


He was "stepping on" the starting vocal (later called "the post") of every song, "talking over" the entire lyric of many songs, and worst of all, mispronouncing AFRTS. Griffith called it "Aye-Eff-Argh-ugh-Tee-Ess!

He was definitely relegated to the "vampire squad" (1 a.m. to 5 a.m.) on FEN!

It was two years later that I discovered what caused "the Herman Griffith syndrome".

I visited AFRTS-LA and took a closer look at their so-called "broadcast studios".

They had been designed as "recording studios" by a contractor who was told that "they were making records" at AFRTS-LA.
A true enough statement. But not making records like for orchestras and singers, with separate channels each with EQ, separate tape-recorder playback of selectable sources designed for multi-track, and combination of audio sources "down-stream" for multi-track. They initially didn't have "mute" when a microphone was "live" because "recording studios" didn't "mute" mikes.

A typical "recording studio", not for broadcasting purposes.

The multi-channel audio control consoles were manufactured by "Unidyne" for four studios at 1016 North McCadden Place in 1965.

When Herman Griffith recorded his show, he heard the music on playback from the tape recorder, two-seconds after the "live" recorder input. Playback was for confidence-only, to ensure that a recording was being made. Herman's voice was combined "down-stream", so Herman in natural radio procedure "cupped-his-ear" to hear his "live" voice.

Therefore, in real time, Herman stepped on every starting vocal.

The radio producers weren't experienced in the R&B format and thought this was normal.
The "Unidynes" were eventually replaced with "broadcast" consoles."

 This would have been the place to rock.  Roland Bynum said that Herman introduced him to the AFRTS gig.



Tom Campbell 1971

 


Tom Campbell, asking the great questions.  "Is there really a Denny DeWinter?




Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Roland Bynum 1973

 


Roland was keeping it real in 1973.  Phil had recorded some of his favorite AFN personalities from the Stuttgart station, some noise but that's how I remember it.



Downbeat 1946

 .



By 1946 Gene Norman (remember GNP records?)was building quite the name as a jazz promoter.  He was also doing Downbeat for AFRTS



Jim Pewter 1980

   

Gene Price, Charlie Tuna and Jim

More memories with Jim.  In 1980 I was at SCN in Panama and would hear the way that he'd craft a show.  Always something that I hadn't heard before...that was good.  Then it was off to the library.  At SCN the 'old library' was typed onto large index cards, with a huge machine that had them sorted.  Do you have a picture of it?  Apparently in the mid 80s it finally gave up.

It's 1980, today Jim tells you "What was Beethoven's favorite fruit?"

Don Tracy 1980

  


It somehow doesn't seem like it could ever be Monday with Don Tracy on deck.



Sunday, October 6, 2024

Chris Noel 1966

 


Date With Chris evolved from a late night program of mostly dinner music to the a lot more rock.  This is from the first week of the show in 1966.  



Pete Smith 1969

   




Pete Smith has your favorite easy listening music and cool stories...


Thursday, October 3, 2024

Charlie Tuna 1983

 


Is that what they mean by disk jockey?

Charlie Tuna comin back at you for another 60 minutes in the radio.

It was always great stuff.  Easy to see why Charlie entertained the troops for a quarter century.
Today, it's 1983 and great once again.



Joe Allison 1965

 




Display honoring Joe at the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, Texas.

Joe Allison wrote Jim Reeve's biggest hit "He'll Have To Go".  With a credit like that a lot of performers could coast but not Joe.  Writer, performer, DJ, executive and succeeding every time.  He was a giant.  We lost Joe in 2002.


Wolfman Jack 1978

 



Wolfman did some of his best radio for us.  This is a 1978 visit.




Roger Carroll 1977

 


Roger Carroll with a Monday show, transfer is a little rough but the music's great and so are the memories.  Thanks Roger!!!



Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Rebel Randall 1051

  

Rebel Randall

After GI Jill and the "GI Jive" and before Chris Noel and a "Date With Chris", we had Rebel Randall and "Jukebox USA".  It was a Korean War program.  Downbeat magazine had said that her show was cancelled after high ranking officers had decided that she was sounding too sexy.







Vance Graham 1974

  


"Vance Graham", was a radio announcer, on-the-scene news reporter and later disc-jockey. He was born in Denver, Colorado. In 1927 he received a scholarship from the United Daughters of the Confederacy to attend the University of Virginia where he studied journalism. After graduation he traveled to Los Angeles. Soon after his arrival, he worked as a cook in a downtown hotel.


Blessed with a deep, clear and resonant voice, he soon found work at radio station KMPC in Hollywood as an announcer, newscaster, interviewer and disc jockey.
During World War II, he worked as "Assistant News Editor" for KMPC and because he was bi-lingual, speaking both English and Spanish, he recorded Latin American music shows for the Armed Forces Radio Network. He did live reports for the station in both Los Angeles and San Francisco.


In the 1950s and 60s, there was a huge surge in the popularity of Latin music with the "cha cha cha" and "bolero", so he had a radio show called "Bolero Time" heard every Sunday on KMPC.  A recorded version of Bolero Time was also heard on AFRTS.   He was married from 1954 to 1958 to Estrellita Santos who acted as co-host for his radio program during that time.

In the 70s he had 2 more Latin American shows on KMPC, KFI and KTYM. Graham hosted the shows called "Latino" and "Viva" as a character he named "Victor".

We lost Vance Graham in 1984, his ashes were spread over the Pacific.
(a more complete version of the above is at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=49068615  )

But now, from 1973, here's Victor and Latino!


Herman Griffith 1965

    


"Hello Gang!  Here's Herman Griffith with exitement in sound and music in motion!! The rock AND the roll for the young and the old, the brave and the bold on the Record Caravan!!!! "

Don Browne shares some memories:

"When I first heard "The Herman Griffith Show" on AFRTS (at FEN in 1969), I was appalled.


He was "stepping on" the starting vocal (later called "the post") of every song, "talking over" the entire lyric of many songs, and worst of all, mispronouncing AFRTS. Griffith called it "Aye-Eff-Argh-ugh-Tee-Ess!

He was definitely relegated to the "vampire squad" (1 a.m. to 5 a.m.) on FEN!

It was two years later that I discovered what caused "the Herman Griffith syndrome".

I visited AFRTS-LA and took a closer look at their so-called "broadcast studios".

They had been designed as "recording studios" by a contractor who was told that "they were making records" at AFRTS-LA.
A true enough statement. But not making records like for orchestras and singers, with separate channels each with EQ, separate tape-recorder playback of selectable sources designed for multi-track, and combination of audio sources "down-stream" for multi-track. They initially didn't have "mute" when a microphone was "live" because "recording studios" didn't "mute" mikes.

A typical "recording studio", not for broadcasting purposes.

The multi-channel audio control consoles were manufactured by "Unidyne" for four studios at 1016 North McCadden Place in 1965.

When Herman Griffith recorded his show, he heard the music on playback from the tape recorder, two-seconds after the "live" recorder input. Playback was for confidence-only, to ensure that a recording was being made. Herman's voice was combined "down-stream", so Herman in natural radio procedure "cupped-his-ear" to hear his "live" voice.

Therefore, in real time, Herman stepped on every starting vocal.

The radio producers weren't experienced in the R&B format and thought this was normal.
The "Unidynes" were eventually replaced with "broadcast" consoles."

 This would have been the place to rock.  Roland Bynum said that Herman introduced him to the AFRTS gig.



Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Andy Mansfield 1964

 

Bust outside of the Corn Exchange in Bedford, England

Andy Mansfield has the final part of his tribute to Maj Glenn Miller on the 20th Anniversary of his passing.



Tom Campbell 1971

 


Always grateful when our AFRTS family can share the shows they did for us way back when. Tom Campbell Stateside is on the air!