Powerhouse AM Top 40 Station: KRLA - Los Angeles [Now with vintage KRLA surveys!]

Powerhouse AM Top 40 Station: KRLA - Los Angeles

Friends,

Time to move west and feature one of the more influential stations of the golden age of AM Top 40 Radio. When one thinks of vintage Top 40 Radio in Los Angeles, there were choices - the Bill Drake programmed KHJ with it's more tight playlists and and KFWB. However, based upon my research, the "cutting edge" Top 40 station in the "southland" was KRLA. KRLA [now KDIS] operated on a frequency of 1110kHz with daytime power of 50,000w and nighttime power of 10,000w [now 20,000w]. Both signal patterns are directional as KRLA has to "protect" KFAB in Omaha at night. Back the 1960's, KFAB complained to the FCC about nighttime interference from KRLA. Eventually, this mystery was solved. Here is an historical account:

"KFAB had demanded a cancellation array for KRLA because of ongoing "interference" being received at Omaha, hence the 90, 135, 135 and 180 night array.

"But, when the new array wouldn't prevent the observed interference, KRLA blamed it on the existing and new SCE 220 kV transmission lines running almost parallel to the KRLA night array. SCE said their transmission lines weren't the problem, and that the problem was actually self-caused, by the south towers (part of the new DA-D array) thereby compromising the DA-N array.

Ah, a clue.

Instability of the DA-N array was indeed observed and characterized. In order to prove SCE wrong, KRLA removed the two south towers! This was acceptable as KRLA always had a license to operate its night DA during days, and it always operated the night DA all day Tuesday, meaning, effectively, from local sunset on Monday until local sunrise in Wednesday, thereby giving them a LOT of time to take FIM measurements on the night DA.

After the south towers were on the ground, FIM measurements were taken and there was no DA-N instability. Therefore, the south towers were NOT the problem, and SCE was f**ced to detune all its 220 kV transmission towers."

The history of KRLA is not without some intrigue and drama. Here is an account:

"KRLA was a legendary station in the Los Angeles market. Perhaps, around the country KFWB or KHJ are better known. But in Los Angeles, there was no more creative a spot on the dial as 1110.

Especially during the late 1950s and early to mid-1960s, when it was battling KFWB for the "Top Rocker" spot, KRLA was indeed a major force. After KHJ introduced "Boss Radio" in 1965, KRLA found competing in the format rougher, and when the license was put in jeopardy, it got worse yet, financially. The license was "pulled" by the FCC and granted to Oak Knoll Broadcasting. This corporation was set up as a non-profit to hold the license when it was taken from Jack Kent Cooke for violations of the FCC Rules on contest fraud, and foreign control of a US radio station. Some of the most creative parts of KRLA history occurred during this time, both on the air and in the accounting department.Oddly, as is often the case, the financial difficulties opened the way for some very creative people to come through the station, and the programming in the later 1960s and 1970s ranged from "Bubblegum" rock to "underground" music to oldies and then talk. Possibly due to the "passing" of AM radio as a major music force, the station was never able to fully regain its former status, although several entrepreneurs made efforts to milk what they could from KRLA's image.

Today, 1110 in LA is an affiliate of Disney satellite radio, KDIS, and seems almost disconnected from the earlier station history. But for those who worked there in the 1960s and early 1970s, KRLA was as exciting to work for as to listen to."

Being located in the large and powerful southern California market, KRLA was blessed with some very talented on-air talent including: The "Real" Don Steele, Casey Kasem, Dave Hull, Bob Dayton, Chicago transplant - Dick Biondi and many others. You can listen to vintage KRLA airchecks here:

http://www.reelradio.com/findit/findit.cgi Just type in: KRLA

Personally, I never got to hear and experience KRLA. I would appreciate those of you who did to please share your remembrances of this "special" station with all of us. Many thanks!

Bob

Below is the KRLA nighttime signal pattern. Please note the directional nature of the signal and the extended propagation over the Pacific Ocean caused by the high conductivity of sea water:

 

Back in the the golden years of KRLA, the transmitter was located in El Monte [pictured below]. The transmitter is now located in Irwindale...

 

For a time, KRLA was automated and the main board was moved and set up at the transmitter site...

 

Great stuff Bob. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and I have very fond memories of KRLA from the mid 60's to the early 70's. Fantastic pictures!!!

 

Thanks Rocky!

Bob

 

Great Info Bob. Really jogs my braincells.

My most vivid memory of KRLA was listening to Dave Hull "The Hullabalooer" about the time the Beatles made their appearance. If memory serves me correctly, they claimed exclusive debut to Beatles songs in the LA area. At least that's where I heard most of them first.

Didn't KRLA turn to "talk-radio" in the 70's?

 

I believe KRLA went through a number of format changes after it's Top 40 run...

Bob

 

Thanks for the KRLA lowdown, Bob! The first time I heard of KRLA was from the Bobby Fuller Four "KRLA King Of The Wheels" LP.

Sounds like they had a pretty colorful staff out there. LA radio must've really been something back then.

If somebody could only come up with a time machine, mid-1960's LA would definitely make for a nifty visit!

 

I think most of us would enjoy this opportunity!

Bob

 

Yeah, maybe a stop by Philly for an episode of American Bandstand, too!

 

Cameo/Parkway Arin! Getting back to KRLA, I read where KRLA DJ Dave Hull would "throw out" the regular playlist on his afternoon drive time shift and play strictly British Invasion tracks during the mid-60's. Anyone remember this?

Bob

 

Steve,

Very interesting and informative post! Your "relationship" with KRLA is very simliar to what I experienced with WLS in Chicago during the same time period...

Bob

 

Here is a photo of a then KRLA engineer and their 50kW tube-based transmitter...

 

Steve,

Nice site and one I missed while doing my research. It is interesting to note than in the station's earlier days, Tennesee Ernie Ford and Cal Worthington were announcers there...

Thanks!

Bob

 

All of my LA radio memories from 60s are from the perspective of a part time listener who could only hear KRLA -KFWB-KBLA and KHJ when travelling in the area or visiting friends and relatives with the family. Lucky for me my family made several trips per year.

KFWB always sounded good circa 1960-65. Very professional and tight. I always thought KRLA sounded more "with it" , more cutting edge and slightly more vibrant compared to KFWB. KRLA had an aura of excitement about it. You kept listening because you never were sure what they would do next. Many of the KRLA DJs sounded more in tune with the younger set than the DJs over at KFWB. Of course the KFWB fellows were still some of the best in the biz . But the loose cannon approach of KRLA really sounded better to my (then) young ears .

However when "Boss Radio" KHJ popped up April of 1965 I was totally converted to the Drake format as it was then.

The introduction to the Beatles by KRLA DJ Dave Hull at the Hollywood Bowl mentioned earlier by Steve is quite amazing.

A good read on KRLA is a book titled "Dream House" by Bill Earl a life long KRLA fan . Lots of photos and memorabilia and a complete history of KRLA up to early 1989.

Charlie

 

Yes . The book is kind of an amateur job ( I could not do any better) . The author is a long time KRLA listener who got tons of help from the station and people who worked there. This is an obvious labor of love from a man KRLA named as the officia " KRLA Historian" at some point in the 70s or 80s. It is long out of print but can be found searching used book stores , online at Gemm or even better online at Abebooks.com .

Dream House by Bill Earl M.A. circa 1989

Printed by Delta Lithograph Company

I can't find a Library of Congress number or an ISBN number anywhere on my copy.

Charlie

 

Charlie,

Great memories and that book sounds like a fun read...

Bob

 

Big brother, to me. Cousin Brucie, Dick Biondi, Dale Dorman, Dan Ingram, Harry Harrison, many others....what a time that was!

 

What an incredible site. I just spent over an hour listening to airchecks! KRLA definitely had some great jocks on their station. I have to say though the ones I enjoyed most were the KHJ airchecks with "The Real Don Steele". Not only for his personality and energy on air, but he played excellent music as the airchecks show. What a wonderful time it had to be to listen to the radio then. Only downside, too many commercials!!!!

 

I've got that Bobby Fuller tune runnign through my noggin - "K-R-El-Yay, Keeeeeeeng of the Wheeeeeeeeels"...... Big city radio sure was fun - I'm with Bob on the WLS wavelength, although my memories are more 70's oriented.

 

To this day everytime I hear "New York's a Lonely Town" by the Tradewinds I expect to hear a voice come on at the Pasadena part and say something about missing KRLA (you only heard that on KRLA). And Dave Hull introduced me to all the new Beatle songs. And before KHJ KFWB was also really big...Channel 98. Color radio.