oldies' modern era, a concise history - r&b comes to town (KLON #1)

For me, it began in 1981 when I wandered into the local Ruth Bach Library branch with nothing particular on my mind. Hell, back then, I didn't even know that Ruth Bach was the mother of Jonathan Livingston Seagull Richard Bach and had died almost mysteriously after she became the first female city coucil woman (to be redundant) in our town of Long Beach, CA...can that be true...in the relatively late year of 1955 or so?

Currently, our all-male bastion on the coast now has a female mayor and city council majority and is deep in debt and can't hire any more cops...but that's now and this was then.

Within Ruth Bach, I squinted, then scanned the holdings, quickly spotting a program guide to a radio station I'd never really listened to and barely heard of (and that's generous)...fm88.1, KLON. Like I cared. Inside of it, the newly hired general mgr. of KLON, Dave Creagh (he wasn't actually in it, just his words - he as a person was too large, though he was really just an average sized man with glasses and prematurely gray hair) had put in a little blurb about how the station intended to begin a full-time jazz operation. Jazz, I don't care about jazz. It's too creative. I've always loved the 2 & 1/2 minute conciseness of a good commercial r&b platter. Some jazz goes on for 10-12 minutes and noodles all over the place. Not to mention milkshake with a beat enterprises like the Wave (KTWV)..."Katch The WaVe?" for god's sake?

I have no rational or idea that can be verbalized as to what possessed me to think that these KLON-type folks would be interested in my idea of an r&b show, but I called Creagh, and asked for him, though I couldn't pronounce him. Creagh picked up, ignored how I butchered his surname, not to mention Dave, and this Creagh guy encouraged me to visit the station - that he used to enjoy a soul music show in Washington D.C. (he mentioned Chubby Checker - ecch!) and wanted something like that on KLON. I knew I had a shot. I think it was my idea to bring in records for a sort of an adult show & tell. After all, I was still 39.

Until I did my demo, that is. Ken Borgers set it up and ran the board in the station's production room and I guess I kept tapping the side of table woodpecker-like as I spoke. Did I hope it would mask my weak sort of irritating voice, an obvious defect which I recall mentioning, albiet hestitatingly to these radio pros, because when I opened my mouth, that sound came out, couldn't be helped. I think the hesitation bothered them more. Should've. Both of these radio guys chuckled knowingly, assuring me that we were well past the era of "golden throats." I pictured the great announcers of our age. Actually, not quite, since I'd never seen pictures, photos or even rough drawings. Nobody cares what an annoucer, much less a DJ, looks like. That's why it's called radio. That might be, but my only gold had been labeled fools by those who can spot the difference, and my only silver was the last name of a past landlord I had right after I got married. I was somewhere between zinc and copper - not the kind in uniform with a gun. And names? Would a name like Steve Propes do? And if it would, what would it do?

Despite my lingering doubts and shortcomings, Creagh told me he took the tape home and actually listened on a Sunday morning with the Sunday Times in front of him as if he were a KLON listener and despite my stupid tapping, I broke through into the ranks of the KLON staff...Bernie Peal on Saturdays and me on Sunday. Oh, oh, Bernie's a big deal, I knew that, or at least I thought I did, so I was careful to worry about no "stepping on his toes." Shouldn't have worried, he didn't give a damn.

And I was off. Sept. 1981 was my first show. Speaking of off, I was horrible, self-conscious, stuttering, trying to be cute, sounding stupid. That part wouldn't change essentially, but I was getting ears. But first, I had to get past the bomb threats.

That's right. Ken Borgers came in to field calls, and local legend Ski Demski began calling in bomb threats, because I had replaced his favorite polka show. Welcome to KLON, thought I, is this really a good idea? I brought in a treasured Savoy label LP and some assorted 45s...I'll post playlist #1 next. Stay tuned.