r&b comes to town (KLON #2)

But there were signs that the intended audience was listening...amazingly enough. A few calls came in the first day, a couple from a name or two I'd recognize as listeners for years. In a situation like this, a DJ literally never knows who's listening, until he gets some feedback, either of the timely variety or months, years or decades later. And all of those responses have happened.

However, on that very first day (Sept, 6, 1981), the following happened. I played these records (from the top):
Hour #1
1. Rock N Roll by Red Prysock (my opening theme for the decade)
2. Georgia Slop by Big Al Downing (famed black rocker)
set #1
3. New Orleans by US Bonds (later a guest)
4. Rip Van Winkle by the Devotions (the first doo wop on the show)
5. There's A Moon Out Tonight by the Capris (two white acts in a row!)
set #2
6. Heart Darling Angel by the Orlons
7. Later Alligator by Bobby Charles
8. One Night by Smiley Lewis
set #3
9. You Can't Catch Me by Chuck Berry
10. Come To Me by Marv Johnson (later, a telephone interview - he seemed to be in hiding)
11. Duke of Earl by Gene Chandler (a #1 hit)
set #4
12. A Casual Look by the Six Teens
13. The Girl's A Devil by the Dukays (see #11)
14. Devil Or Angel by the Clovers (Buddy Bailey later a guest)
set #5
15. Angel In My Life by the Jewels (Johnny Torrance later a guest)
16. Buick 59 by the Medallions (Vernon Green later a guest)
17. Motorhead Baby by Chuck Higgins (Higgins later a guest)
set #6
18. Jail Bait by Andre Williams
Hour 2
19. A Fool In Love by Ike & Tina Turner (Ike later a guest)
20. My Tears by Andre Williams (see #18)
set #7
21. We Belong Together by Robert & Johnny
set #8
22. We're Gonna Rock We're Gonna Roll by Wild Bill Moore
23. Willie & the Hand Jive by Johnny Otis (later a guest)
24. Cherry Lips by the Robins
set #9
25. Thumbin' A Ride by the Coasters
26. Lover's Lane Boogie by Little Esther
set #10
27. Blue Mood by Julie Stevens
28. Double Crossin' Blues by the Robins
29. Count Every Star by the Rivieras
set #11
30. Misery by Little Esther
31. Count Every Star by the Ravens
set #12
32. Don't You Just Know It by Huey Piano Smith & the Clowns
33. You Made Me Cry by Huey Smith
set #13 - hour #3
34. Bad Boy by the Jive Bombers
35. It Will Stand by the Showmen
set #14/15
36. Let the Good Times Roll by Shirley & Lee
37. I Am Lonely by the Silhouettes
38. Get A Job by the Silhouettes
39. Tutti Frutti by Little Richard
40. Billy's Blues by Billy Stewart
41. You're Down With Me by Huey Smith
set #16
42. It's Written In the Stars by Luther Bond & the Emeralds
43. Old Man River by the Ravens
set #17
44. High Blood Pressure It by Huey Piano Smith & the Clowns
45. Death Of An Angel by Donald Woods & the Velaires (Woods later a guest)
set #18
46. Don't Be Angry by Nappy Brown
47. Imagination by the Quotations
48. There's No Other by the Crystals
set #19
49. Tossin' & Turnin' by Bobby Lewis
50. Cupid by Sam Cooke
set #20
51. The Honeydripper by Joe Liggins (later a guest)

So there. The die was cast. It was firmly an R&B, not rock & roll, some doo wop, some blues, show, tho it would migrate. I guess the idea was to dabble into different artists, different labels, different sounds...can't remember now, all these years after the fact.

Discovery #2: I must've talked a ton, because 60 records is more like it for 3 hours. The Savoy LP was just about worn out during this debut broadcast, accounting for records 22, 26, 28, 30, 31, 33, 34, 41, 42 and 43.

A few months later, my engineer, Rich got a call on the hot line from a fan of the show who happened to be on the campus. I went out to meet the guy, Rich went with me, just in case. It was Don Haley, a prof at El Camino College whom I think was taking a CSULB class at the time, a friend for life, who now lives in Placerville.

But this wasn't the only one.