KFI's "THE GORILLA" (1980)

"THE GORILLA" was a voice character created by KFI air talent Jack Armstrong, and heard heavily on Armstrong's show, during 640 AM's late 70s/early 80s Top 40 format.
For baby boomers, gorillas have always been cool.
WE used to always like TVs "Great Grape Ape" cartoons by Hanna-Barbera.
Remember them?

KMET "Rat", 1972

KMET hired Neon Park to draw the rat.

KMET "Underground Sunshine", Summer 1968

KFWB "Bomp", 1965

KCBQ's CHICKENMAN (Summer 1967)

KCBQ's CASEY B. QUACK (1963)

"Casey" picked I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND (by an obscure English band called the Beatles) as a DJ pick in December 1963.
What appeared to be a NOVELTY became a PHENOMENON!

KCBQ's JOE LIGHT (December 1969)

KFWB's "My Mommy", 1959

KGB 1360 AM "Beachboy", 1964

Long before the chicken, the ORIGINAL "mascot" of Top 40 KGB was the "KGBeachboy," first appearing in April 1964.

KTNQ 1020 AM "Waitress", 1977

KRLA "Face", 1971/1972-era

KCBQ's JACK VINCENT (1966)

KMEN's "BERNARD" (1962)

KDUO "Knight", 1966

KLIV's "Norman", 1960s

This San Jose mascot was created by Mikel Hunter, best known for his 9-Midnight jocking at KRLA (Los Angeles) during the Shadoe Stevens AOR era in 1971 & 1972.

We thank David Ferrell Jackson of the San Francisco Radio Museum for this image display.

KBBQ's DON ELLIOT (1967)

Production director(and sometime fill-in and weekend air talent) DON ELLIOT stayed on 1500AM after the flip to new calls KBBQ and a country format in June 1967.

93/KHJ's GARY MACK (Spring 1967)

KGBS's RON LANDRY (1971)

KRLA's JIM MEEKER (1971)

It is conventional wisdom that when Dick Sainte left the program director chair in 1971, had production/weekender JIM MEEKER taken over as the new P.D. INSTEAD OF Shadoe Stevens, arguably KRLA COULD HAVE lasted as a major Top 40 station in Los Angeles for as long as KHJ did (to 1980) possibly longer.

We'll never know, but those who were "there" (under Dick Sainte) have made comments like these for many years.

KGBS's CHRIS CHARLES (1969)

KRLA's MURRAY ROMAN (Fall 1968)

KRLA morning man Dave Hull had accumulated much vacation time by September 1968, so he took a few weeks off in early fall 1968, leaving cutting-edge comedian MURRAY ROMAN to take over the morning-drive shift during Hull's absence. Roman was a personal favorite of KRLA program director Cecil Tuck.

KRLA's FILBERT E. YARBOROUGH (December 1968)

"Filbert E. Yarborough" joined Dave Hull's morning-drive show in December 1968 as sort of a
junior partner and straight man to the veteran comedic Hull.

"Yarborough" was really the new KRLA production director, Johnnie Darin, moving to KRLA from 136/KGB, San Diego.

The name "Filbert E. Yarborough" was an inside joke.

Darin had been working under the Bill Drake (real name: Phil Yarbrough) "Boss Radio" format at KGB.

Later in December 1968, Darin began using his "Johnnie Darin" name, dropping off Hull's show, doing fill-in work for Bob Dayton on the 3-7pm show.

KRLA's WILLIAM F. WILLIAMS (December 1968)

WILLIAMS replaced Roy Elwell in the voice-tracked 10am-3pm midday shift in late December 1968. After a few days in January 1969, Williams was moved into morning-drive, jocking "live."

KRLA's ROY ELWELL (July 1968)

Elwell returned to KRLA (after leaving in early 1963) in July 1968, replacing Johnny Hayes in the voice-tracked 10am-3pm shift. He left KRLA in late December 1968, replaced by voice-tracked William F. Williams in the midday shift.

93/KHJ's FRANK TERRY (1966)

KRLA's JOHNNY HAYES (January 1971)

93/KHJ's FRANK TERRY (1966)

93/KHJ's JOHNNY MITCHELL (1965)

KRLA "Eleven-Ten Men," Summer 1970

From KRLA's weekly newspaper GATHERS NO MOSS.

KFRC's DAVE DIAMOND (1968)

KFI's DAVE HULL (1969)

93/KHJ's DAVE DIAMOND (1965)

KRLA "sunface" logo, 1970

KACY's LEE RICHARDS (1965)

KRLA's BOB DAYTON (August 1967)

KHJ's DICK SAINT, Summer 1971

KCBQ's JOHNNY HOLIDAY (1965)

KRLA's SHADOE STEVENS (1971)

The KRLA DJ booth, 1971, at the Huntington-Sheraton "Carriage House", Pasadena CA

KROQ-AM, 1973

L to R: Jimmy Rabbitt, Sam Riddle, China Smith.