Unlike today, in the 1960s there were no orbiting satellites to permit the live distribution of radio or television programming. The first satellite delivery of an NBC Today Show segment happened in early May 1965, but full-time use of satellites to deliver radio, television, and cable programming would be several years in the future. The most cost-effective means in that pre-satellite era to distribute syndicated radio programming was to produce it in a studio, then transfer it to open reel audio tape, and then ship it physically to hundreds of radio stations. Drake-Chenault was a pioneer in this form of radio programming.

Today’s more convenient audio cassette tape technology had not yet been developed. But, there was available technology to play open reel audio tapes in a computerized system that diminished the need for a board operator to be on duty at the radio station. Toward the end of 1968, three RKO Radio FM stations, KHJ-FM, Los Angeles (which in the 1990s became KRTH 101); KFRC-FM, San Francisco (which changed call letters quite often, from its original calls to KFMS to KKEE and back again to KFRC-FM); and WROR, Boston (originally WRKO-FM) all switched formats to Drake-Chenault’s automated tape service called “Hit Parade ‘68.”

Drake told me that it was important to keep AM and FM programming separate for a very good financial reason:

“Initially what we did was started with sort of a middle-of-the-road type of thing not to really compete with ourselves. The next logical step was to make it more Top-40, or a combination of currents and oldies which was as far as a rock thing for specific markets. And from there we figured, ‘All right, you’ve got rock,’ and we wanted to do the oldies thing.”

One early Drake-Chenault format failed. Annie Van Bebber, one of the most singularly influential Drake-Chenault employees in their syndication wing, told me about the very unsolid emergence of the “Stereo Rock” syndicated format:

“Drake was never really into that kind of music. Basically, the whole format was put together by myself even through we had meetings with Bill. I don’t think Bill wanted that format. I think it was Chenault who did. Chenault started to run a little scared when he saw all these progressive rock stations popping up. He figured they’d better jump on the bandwagon. Drake at the time wasn’t into that at all, had no idea about the music.

“’Stereo Rock’ went on KPHD [in Fresno.] They changed KYNO-FM’s call letters to KPHD and at the time they had just bought KXOA [FM in Sacramento, California] with Mike and Willett Brown, so ‘Stereo Rock’ previewed on those two stations and one other station in Milwaukee, I think...So it went on the air and came right off. It was a good format. It’s just that Bill was never behind it, so it just didn’t last. They just sort of shelved it, tucked it away. It could have worked.”

Six other syndicated formats worked rather well for Drake-Chenault, in fact. By 1975--ten years after Boss Radio--Drake-Chenault radio had nearly 200 stations running automated radio programming in markets from small to large. The Drake-Chenault radio formats were “Hitparade,” “Solid Gold,” “Great American Country,” “Classic Gold,” “Super Soul,” and “XT-40.” Learn more at a website that preserves the history of Drake-Chenault syndicated radio programming on tape.

Annie Van Bebber put into perspective why the Drake-Chenault automated radio programming proved to be so successful:

“You have to remember at the time there was no competition for Drake-Chenault. I mean, I knew it was going to be successful. There was nothing around like it. There were no 24-hour music syndicated services that stations could buy. I thought it was a great thing for a small town to be able to pay $400 to buy the mastermind Drake’s format, put on the air and have these professional disk jockeys for the amount of money and cut their overhead at the stations like that.”

Clearly, Drake-Chenault had a central role in permanently establishing FM as the dominant radio medium for rock ‘n’ roll music. This crucial historical accomplishment often gets ignored because Drake-Chenault usually is remembered primarily for Boss Radio, which was strictly an AM radio thing.

Hear a demo of “Hitparade 68” (one of the earliest Drake-Chenault taped syndicated radio programming services) narrated by Bill Drake, himself.  This will give you a real taste of how KHJ-FM in Los Angeles and KRFC-FM in San Francisco sounded in the late 1960s: HITPARADE 68 DEMO (3:49) MP3, 3.5 MB

After The Real Don Steele reappeared on Los Angeles radio in the early 1970s on K100, Drake-Chenault produced the “The Real Don Steele Top 20/20” syndicated show for him.  Hear the lively and upbeat 1973 demo of STEELE TOP 20/20 (11:16) MP3, 10.3 MB

“The History of Rock and Roll” is famous for being the first rockumentary when it was originally produced for and broadcast on 93/KHJ in 1969 as a 48 hour program.  A decade later, Drake-Chenault crafted a derivative and updated 52-hour version that was distributed on tape on a syndicated basis to other radio stations.  The syndicated Drake-Chenault version should not be mistaken, however, with the first and original version from 1969 narrated by Robert W. Morgan.  You can listen to the opening couple of minutes from the Drake-Chenault syndicated version narrated by none other than Bill Drake, himself: HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL OPENING (2:29) MP3, 3.43 MB

You can explore more about Drake-Chenault syndicated radio programming on tape at the website DrakeChenault.org.