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Larry King's Radio Years
As noted in an earlier thread, I had some old Larry King airchecks from his Mutual Broadcasting System overnight show. They took awhile to digitize, but if you've ever wondered what his radio work sounded like or why he became so popular, these are two excellent examples.
The first is a tremendous and surprise appearance by comedian Albert Brooks. It's around Sept. 1988, and Ben Johnson's steroid scandal is big news around the world, Hurricane Gilbert has just struck parts of the U.S. and there's an American presidential election heating up. Brooks proceeds to ad lib his way through an hour of programming and has King in hysterics, as he tears the show to shreds. It's a wonderful look back at a forgotten time.
The second check has the bonus of also being about radio. It's an interview with an author of a book called "The Voices of The Game," about the great play-by-play announcers who have made radio and baseball synonymous with each other. This one dates from sometime around 1991 or later, and while I have no idea where I got it, it sounds like a direct board feed off the satellite. A nice keepsake that mentions a lot of names who are no longer around - and some who still are.
Among the highlights - Jon Miller calling in at one point, to recount his hilarious story of hearing a Vin Scully wanna-be broadcasting a game in Japan.
Albert Brooks On Larry King
The Voices Of The Game On Larry King
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Re: Larry King's Radio Years
i remember listing to the first national, satellite delivered (to stations), open line show host (also on the mutual broadcast system) in 1975. it was herb jebco (and his nitecap show) and going national was ground breaking. when herb's contract was up (in 1977) mutual wanted him to be more controversial. the answer was no, so a husband and wife team were the new national hosts (long john nebel & candy jones). that lasted a year. then came larry.... and the rest is history.
it was obvious the all night show was taking its toll because there were a few times when larry dozed off. here's an example:
Last edited by the original hank (January 24, 2021 5:00 pm)
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Re: Larry King's Radio Years
I remember Herb Jepko and his "Nitecap" show. And yes, it was the first national show of its kind, primarily thanks to two 50K flamethrowers, KSL in Salt Lake City and WHAS in Louisville. Outside of taking calls from all over the country, which was very novel back then, it was an absolutely horrible program.
Nothing - and I mean nothing - controversial was allowed to be talked about, leaving politics, religion, news stories and other topics off limits. Listeners would basically call in, say hello to Herb and the gang, perhaps talk about how their weather was or what kind of flowers they'd planted and then it was on to the next caller.
They also had this weird little bed that played softly in the background if someone had been on too long. When the callers heard the tune, called "Tinkerbell," they wrapped up their breathless comments about nothing and they went to the next caller from somewhere else in the U.S. - who then proceeded to also talk about nothing. It was like listening to paint dry. I guess it was the uniqueness of it at the time, but how it stayed on the air as long as it did has always baffled me. It did nothing but put people to sleep, which may have been the point.
It even had a terrible theme song, which has, of course, turned up on YouTube.
As for Long John Nebel, he was a fixture on New York City radio, and had a very bizarre but usually entertaining show. But to me, his best moment came in what is now a legendary night, when - with a panel of otherwise very serious guests, including a prominent physician - he stopped to cold read a spot for a porno movie called "It Happened In Hollywood."
What started as a one minute spot turned into a five minute giggle fest, when he simply could not stop laughing at the stupid copy and plot of the film. There is one moment when he reads out the star's name and I can honestly say I have never heard anyone lose it on air like he did at that point. It's a famous piece of tape, but no matter how many times I've heard it, it always makes me laugh, I suppose because it was so genuine and so unexpected.
The piece below starts with an actual spot for the film, followed by Nebel slowly realizing what he's launched into. (But the spot did its job. Thanks to this surreal commercial, one day I hope to actually see this film.)
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Thread Starter- the original hank
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Re: Larry King's Radio Years
i agree that it was, at best, a "lonely hearts" type show... and let's not forget about the membership cards. but, in my opinion, it did fill a niche. how profitable was that niche? well, it obviously wasn't enough.
as guy in his teens (with dreams of being a broadcaster) a show featuring callers from across the continent was the hook for me. albeit, old herb was no larry glick. not by a long shot!
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The L.A Daily News reveals a story behind King's radio show that I never knew - and may explain why it was carried on 500 stations at its peak.
"The show’s appeal at its inception was that it was free, offered on a barter basis so stations could trade advertising time for the opportunity to carry the show. This gave stations across the country big-name talent and respectability overnight without a huge commitment."
Interesting to think that it was the free aspect - and not the quality of his guests - that may have initially been the biggest draw to his national radio success.
Remembering Larry King and the success of his nationwide radio show
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Thread Starter- Prod Guy
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Re: Larry King's Radio Years
That's quite common in the US today. The national commercials are packaged within the show and you fill out an affidavit saying you ran them.