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How The Legendary KHJ Kept "Boss Radio" A Secret Until Its Debut
You know how radio people are - many of us are terrible gossips and keeping anything about firings and format changes quiet for long isn't easy. This board is living proof of that!
So when you consider what one of North America's most famous stations pulled off in the 60s, you have to give them credit. This story comes on the heels of the sad news that the very first "Boss Jock" hired for 93/KHJ, Gary Mack, has passed away. He was long since retired but his final sign-off came April 14th at the age of 90.
In an obit about his passing, one of my favourite radio writers, Richard Wagoner, recounts how they kept the big change to Boss Radio quiet in L.A. right until the new playlist went on the air, with all those energized jocks.
He quotes Mack himself about how they did it.
“At the time, Steve Allen, and his wife Jayne, hosted the morning show from a studio in their home. Robert Q. Lewis did the afternoon drive show. They were phased out, and we ‘no-name announcers’ were phased in. During our air shifts, we played a lot of Tony Bennett and Rosemary Clooney, and tried to sound like mellow staff announcers. But as soon as our air shift ended, we headed to a production room, where the real work was — the new Boss Radio format was in rehearsal.
“It was grueling. Ron Jacobs and Bill Drake stood in the control room with an engineer, while the Boss Jocks practiced this new format. Every word and every nuance was critiqued on the fly. ‘More up! More energy! End up! Faster!’ I remember the distinct odor of flop sweat. But every day got better, and we made our mistakes off the air.”
It reminds me of what the first days of CHUM must have been like, although I wasn't around when that happened. I can only imagine what the inaugural rock and roll launch was like. Sadly, I don't think there are airchecks of that milestone.
- mace
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Re: How The Legendary KHJ Kept "Boss Radio" A Secret Until Its Debut
Another milestone passed recently. May 2, 1960 WLS flipped to Top 40. Alley Oop by the Hollywood Arguiles was the first song played. Dick Biondi was the only name I recognized from the original jocks.
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Re: How The Legendary KHJ Kept "Boss Radio" A Secret Until Its Debut
mace wrote:
Another milestone passed recently. May 2, 1960 WLS flipped to Top 40. Alley Oop by the Hollywood Arguiles was the first song played. Dick Biondi was the only name I recognized from the original jocks.
Dale Patterson's Rock Radio Scrapbook's feature aircheck this week is Dick Biondi celebrating the third anniversary of that big format switch.
Hear it here.
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Thread Starter- Doug Thompson
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Re: How The Legendary KHJ Kept "Boss Radio" A Secret Until Its Debut
Legendary KHJ Program Director Ron Kacobs wrote a book titled: KHJ: Inside Boss Radio. He tells the whole story with memos and some black and white (what look like badly scanned) photos. Interviews and memories from Bill Drake, jingle king Johnny Mann and many of the CHJ jocks.
I bought it when Jacobs first published it. The cost was 93 U.S. $$. KHJ was 930 on the AM dial. It's available on Amazon for free if you have a Kindle Unlimited membership.
Last edited by Doug Thompson (May 5, 2026 2:57 pm)
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- Dale Patterson
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Re: How The Legendary KHJ Kept "Boss Radio" A Secret Until Its Debut
You know how radio people are - many of us are terrible gossips and keeping anything about firings and format changes quiet for long isn't easy. This board is living proof of that!
So when you consider what one of North America's most famous stations pulled off in the 60s, you have to give them credit. This story comes on the heels of the sad news that the very first "Boss Jock" hired for 93/KHJ, Gary Mack, has passed away. He was long since retired but his final sign-off came April 14th at the age of 90.
In an obit about his passing, one of my favourite radio writers, Richard Wagoner, recounts how they kept the big change to Boss Radio quiet in L.A. right until the new playlist went on the air, with all those energized jocks.
He quotes Mack himself about how they did it.
“At the time, Steve Allen, and his wife Jayne, hosted the morning show from a studio in their home. Robert Q. Lewis did the afternoon drive show. They were phased out, and we ‘no-name announcers’ were phased in. During our air shifts, we played a lot of Tony Bennett and Rosemary Clooney, and tried to sound like mellow staff announcers. But as soon as our air shift ended, we headed to a production room, where the real work was — the new Boss Radio format was in rehearsal.
“It was grueling. Ron Jacobs and Bill Drake stood in the control room with an engineer, while the Boss Jocks practiced this new format. Every word and every nuance was critiqued on the fly. ‘More up! More energy! End up! Faster!’ I remember the distinct odor of flop sweat. But every day got better, and we made our mistakes off the air.”
It reminds me of what the first days of CHUM must have been like, although I wasn't around when that happened. I can only imagine what the inaugural rock and roll launch was like. Sadly, I don't think there are airchecks of that milestone.
The first exhibit on the page linked below has brief airchecks of the CHUM jocks in the very early days of the station in rock 'n roll mode.
"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
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Re: How The Legendary KHJ Kept "Boss Radio" A Secret Until Its Debut
Wow, thanks Dale. Never knew this was there. Can't wait to hear it.
I know these guys were not rock jocks and if I recall the story correctly, they were not happy about the turn to rock and roll.
But to be fair, everyone back then was simply feeling their way through this new format.
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Thread Starter- Doug Thompson
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Re: How The Legendary KHJ Kept "Boss Radio" A Secret Until Its Debut
Just to be clear, these early CHUM airchecks came from the CHUM Archives.
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