Less talk/more music, in 1978 at the legendary KHJ. Position 93 – This high-energy composite aircheck features Charlie Tuna, Bobby Ocean and Machine Gun Kelly. KHJ was promoting the second California Jam concert which was to feature several big name bands during a one-day event March 18, 1978. Aerosmith, Foreigner, Heart, Dave Mason, Santana, Ted Nugent, Bob Welch and others would perform. I found this aircheck in the production room at Country KBAM/Longview. It also circulated among the students at L.H. Bates Voc-Tech during that time. It was one of the motivators for aspiring broadcasters.
Position 93 KHJ – Composite: Charlie Tuna, Bobby Ocean and Machine Gun Kelly (4:03)
The aircheck was apparently a promotional piece sent to advertisers and dubbed to tape at radio stations across the country. California Jam 2 was attended by more than a quarter of a million concert-goers.
Sad hearing the brilliant talent and incredible mind and voice of a Charlie Tuna reduced to reading mandatory positioning liners.
Not just representative of the quick fall from grace of AM Radio, but the end of the Radio Personality as we all had known them. Fortunately we have the QZVX archives to reminisce on how it was…
Two years later, KHJ went Country. KTNQ was set to go Country (as KKAM), but sold (and went Spanish) before it happened (its format initially transferred to KHTZ [97.1], which quickly moved to Adult Contemprary). KFI became the beneficiary.