{"id":598142172,"date":"2015-04-22T09:24:51","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T16:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goulartonline.com\/?page_id=598142172"},"modified":"2026-02-07T09:42:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T17:42:44","slug":"music","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/hollywood-rock-and-roll-radio\/music\/","title":{"rendered":"Music"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

By design, the main focus of the Boss Radio format at KHJ was the music. In Los Angeles during 1965 when the new format was launched on KHJ, what singer\/songwriter Joni Mitchell would later call \u201cthe star-maker machinery\u201d was in full gear. A very high output of recording industry product in those days coincided with the arrival of the new format.<\/p>\n

So many unforgettable recording artists were consistently producing and releasing new rock and roll music at that time. Their product was perfect for being showcased on Boss Radio KHJ.<\/p>\n

The legacies continue into the present day of recording artists such as The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Cher, Marvin Gaye, Dianna Ross, The Rolling Stones, and Stevie Wonder\u2014whose songs were popularized on the new KHJ in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

Here are the number one songs played on Boss Radio KHJ in the late 1960s after the station had become LA\u2019s most popular station:<\/p>\n

–1966–<\/b><\/p>\n

Just Like Me\u2014Paul Revere & The Raiders
\nThese Boots Are Made For Walkin\u2014Nancy Sinatra
\nCalifornia Dreamin\u2019\u2014Mamas & Papas
\nSoul And Inspiration\u2014Righteous Brothers
\nBang Bang\u2014Cher
\nMonday, Monday\u2014Mamas & Papas
\nWhen A Man Loves A Woman\u2014Percy Sledge
\nA Groovy Kind Of Love\u2014Mindbenders
\nSearching For My Love\u2014Bobby Moore
\nStrangers In The Night\u2014Frank Sinatra
\nLil\u2019 Red Riding Hood\u2014Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs
\nSummer In The City\u2014The Lovin\u2019 Spoonful
\nSunny\u2014Bobby Hebb
\nYellow Submarine \/ Eleanor Rigby\u2014The Beatles
\nYou Can\u2019t Hurry Love\u2014The Supremes
\nCherish\u2014The Association
\nPsychotic Reaction\u2014Count Five\u202896 Tears\u2014? & The Mysterians
\nI\u2019m Your Puppet\u2014James & Bobby Purify
\nGood Vibrations\u2014The Beach Boys
\nDevil With A Blue Dress On &Good Golly Miss Molly\u2014Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels
\nI\u2019m A Believer \/ Steppin\u2019 Stone\u2014The Monkees<\/p>\n

–1967–<\/b><\/p>\n

Ruby Tuesday\u2014The Rolling Stones
\nHappy Together\u2014The Turtles
\nThen You Can Tell Me Goodbye\u2014The Casinos
\nThere\u2019s A Kind Of Hush \/ No Milk Today\u2014Herman\u2019s Hermits
\nSomethin\u2019 Stupid\u2014Nancy & Frank Sinatra
\nI Think We\u2019re Alone Now\u2014Tommy James & The Shondells
\nThe Happening\u2014The Supremes
\nGroovin\u2019\u2014The Young Rascals
\nSociety\u2019s Child\u2014Janis Ian
\nLight My Fire\u2014The Doors
\nThe Oogum Boogum Song\u2014Brenton Wood
\nI Was Made To Love Her\u2014Stevie Wonder
\nCan\u2019t Take My Eyes Off You\u2014Frankie Valli
\nAll You Need Is Love \/ Baby You\u2019re A Rich Man\u2014The Beatles
\nSan Franciscan Nights\u2014The Animals
\nOde To Billie Joe\u2014Bobbie Gentry
\nThe Letter\u2014Box Tops
\nApples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie\u2014Jay & The Techniques
\nHigher And Higher\u2014Jackie Wilson
\nHow Can I Be Sure\u2014The Rascals
\nIt Must Be Him\u2014Vicki Carr
\nExpressway To Your Heart\u2014Soul Survivors
\nI Say A Little Prayer\u2014Dionne Warwick
\nDifferent Drum\u2014Stone Poneys
\nI Second That Emotion\u2014The Miracles
\nHello Goodbye \/ I Am The Walrus\u2014The Beatles
\nBoogaloo Down Broadway\u2014Fantastic Johnny C
\nItchycoo Park\u2014Small Faces<\/p>\n

–1968–<\/b><\/p>\n

Spooky\u2014Classics IV
\nNobody But Me\u2014Human Beinz
\nGreen Tambourine\u2014Lemon Pipers
\nLove Is Blue\u2014Paul Mauriat
\nThe Dock Of The Bay\u2014Otis Redding
\n(Theme From) Valley Of The Dolls\u2014Dionne Warwick
\nMighty Quinn\u2014Manfred Mann
\nYoung Girl\u2014Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
\nCry Like A Baby\u2014Box Tops
\nHoney\u2014Bobby Goldsboro
\nA Beautiful Morning\u2014The Rascals
\nThe Good, The Bad And The Ugly\u2014Hugo Montenegro
\nTighten Up\u2014Archie Bell & The Drells
\nThis Guy\u2019s In Love With You\u2014Herb Alpert
\nMony Mony\u2014Tommy James & The Shondells
\nJumpin\u2019 Jack Flash\u2014The Rolling Stones
\nHurdy Gurdy Man\u2014Donovan
\nGrazing In The Grass\u2014Hugh Masekela
\nHello, I Love You\u2014The Doors
\nClassical Gas\u2014Mason Williams
\nPeople Got To Be Free\u2014The Rascals
\nBorn To Be Wild\u2014Steppenwolf
\nOn The Road Again\u2014Canned Heat
\nHarper Valley P.T.A.\u2014Jeannie C. Riley
\nHey Jude \/ Revolution\u2014The Beatles
\nGirl Watcher\u2014O\u2019Kaysions
\nThose Were The Days\u2014Mary Hopkin
\nMagic Carpet Ride\u2014Steppenwolf
\nLove Child\u2014The Supremes
\nStormy\u2014Classics IV
\nFor Once In My Life\u2014Stevie Wonder
\nLo Mucho Que Te Quiero\u2014Rene & Rene
\nI Heard It Through The Grapevine\u2014Marvin Gaye
\nSoulful Strut\u2014Young-Holt Unlimited<\/p>\n

–1969–<\/b><\/p>\n

Crimson And Clover\u2014Tommy James & The Shondells
\nEveryday People\u2014Sly & The Family Stone
\nYou Showed Me\u2014The Turtles
\nMendocino\u2014Sir Douglas Quintet
\nBaby, Baby Don\u2019t Cry\u2014Miracles
\nTraces\u2014Classics IV
\nIndian Giver\u20141910 Fruitgum Co.
\nTime Of The Season\u2014Zombies
\nDizzy\u2014Tommy Roe
\nAquarius \/ Let The Sunshine In\u2014 The Fifth Dimension
\nMore Today Than Yesterday\u2014Spiral Staircase
\nHair\u2014The Cowsills
\nOh Happy Day\u2014Edwin Hawkins Singers
\nBad Moon Rising\u2014Creedence Clearwater Revival
\nGrazing In The Grass\u2014Friends Of Distinction
\nLove Theme From Romeo & Juliet\u2014Henry Mancini
\nWhat Does It Take (To Win Your Love)\u2014Jr. Walker & The All Stars
\nCrystal Blue Persuasion\u2014Tommy James & The Shondells
\nMy Cherie Amour\u2014Stevie Wonder
\nIn The Year 2525\u2014Zager & Evans
\nRuby, Don\u2019t Take Your Love To Town\u2014First Edition
\nA Boy Named Sue\u2014Johnny Cash
\nHonky Tonk Women\u2014The Rolling Stones
\nSugar, Sugar\u2014The Archies
\nEasy To Be Hard\u2014Three Dog Night
\nHurt So Bad\u2014The Lettermen
\nOh, What A Night\u2014The Dells
\nLittle Woman\u2014Bobby Sherman
\nSuspicious Minds\u2014Elvis Presley
\nHot Fun In The Summertime\u2014Sly & The Family Stone
\nTake A Letter Maria\u2014R.B. Greaves
\nSomething \/ Come Together\u2014The Beatles
\nSomeday We\u2019ll Be Together\u2014The Supremes
\nRaindrops Keep Fallin\u2019 On My Head\u2014B.J. Thomas<\/p>\n

The question needs to be asked: Did the music played within the new format on Boss Radio KHJ make the format and the station so successful? Or, was it the other way around? Was Boss Radio KHJ a channel for the transmission of pop culture? Or could pop culture have been transmitted to the people in some other way without this radio station?<\/p>\n

In the 1960s one radio station in one American city could more easily distinguish itself from all the rest across an entire nation compared to today when that accomplishment would be almost impossible. For one thing, in those days there were far fewer radio stations on the air than we have today. There were also many more mom-and-pop owners of radio stations in contrast to today\u2019s mega corporation control of radio stations in many markets across the United States.<\/p>\n

As the Elton John hit Crocodile Rock<\/i> asks, \u201cDo you remember when rock was young?\u201d The year 1965 was that time. It was the first full year after The Beatles initially came to the United States, and the entire recorded music industry on both sides of the Atlantic was supercharged by a high-energy competition between British and American rock and roll music artists.<\/p>\n

This made the mid-1960s a major turning point for rock and roll music, which during this particular time became big business for major record labels that wanted to cash in on the exploding audience interest. The new format on Boss Radio KHJ was launched within this social and economic context in Los Angeles, a nexus for the North American record labels.<\/p>\n

Who would have noticed, for instance, if this rock and roll radio approach had been launched anywhere else but in the entertainment capital of the world? I posed this question to Bill Drake, the one person whose name is most often linked to Boss Radio KHJ in Los Angeles. I ask Drake whether he thought that there was something inherent in California that allowed for growth in the creative sense in radio programming as compared to other states.<\/p>\n

Drake, who was from Georgia, said, \u201cI think that Boston and Detroit are pretty much like LA as far as operating a [rock and roll radio] station. I think it wouldn\u2019t have made a whole lot of difference [had Boss Radio started in the east instead of in the west]. I\u2019ll tell you this: I sure as hell would rather have been living here and going to New York from time to time than living in New York and going anywhere. I\u2019m sure that if I\u2019d lived in New York at the time, I\u2019d probably have been on the road 300 days a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about the differences between radio programming in Los Angeles versus San Francisco? After the success of the Boss Radio format in Los Angeles on KHJ in 1965, the parent company (RKO) had Drake and company bring the same sound to San Francisco on KFRC. Prior to making a success of the Boss Radio format in Los Angeles, Drake had previously worked in San Francisco, so he had a high familiarity with all that was San Francisco radio in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

One well known and uniquely San Francisco style or sound belonged to Tom Donahue in the 1960s. Drake told me that he knew Donahue quite well. \u201cWe were doing two different things,\u201d Drake said. \u201cDonahue and I had worked together at KYA. When I was program director at KYA, he was a jock there, and a damn good one.\u201d Drake explained to me that the trade magazines\u2019 commentary in those days about Donahue\u2019s \u201caesthetic appreciation\u201d of music programming versus Drake\u2019s \u201cproduct oriented\u201d approach was a mischaracterization. Drake said, \u201cI don\u2019t think that I could ever try to explain away what I did by saying I was doing it for art\u2019s sake. That\u2019s bullshit. I think that anybody in this business who says they are\u2013I don\u2019t care if they\u2019re a liquor company or a radio station or whether they are an artist or [musical] group or anything\u2013anyone who says they\u2019re doing it for art\u2019s sake is either lying or a failure, one of the two.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly, what Drake did for radio programming was not about art for art\u2019s sake. Rather, the sum total of what Drake did for radio programming was always all about reaching Drake\u2019s own extremely high professional standards. Drake\u2019s business partner, Gene Chenault (pronounced shuh NAULT), provided for me a unique inside view about how he evaluated his partner, the legendary radio programmer: \u201cDrake is so much of a perfectionist that he is sometimes unhappy because perfection is not easily attained,\u201d Chenault told me.<\/p>\n

It is very difficult for me to envision the same kind of financial success of this rock and roll radio format on AM radio in any other market than Los Angeles. It also is difficult to imagine how the reputation, identity, and brand of this particular Los Angeles radio station could have been any more carefully pinpointed or executed, at least at the launch in May 1965.<\/p>\n

Drake and Chenault are no longer living today. However, many of their most important thoughts and comments have been preserved in text form both here on this website, in my eBook, and in my primary research document.<\/p>\n

\n

^^^^^
\n<\/a>
\n^^^^^<\/p>\n

Boss Radio Links:<\/h3>\n

Boss Radio Forever<\/b><\/a> (main page)
\nArchives of Boss Radio Forever<\/a>
\nBoss Radio Inner Workings<\/a>
\nCollege Radio KCPR<\/a>
\nGallery of Photographs<\/a>
\nHollywood Rock and Roll Radio<\/a>
\nKHJ Music<\/a>
\nKHJ Timeline<\/a>
\nMy Work in the Radio Industry<\/a>
\nStudying Radio<\/a><\/p>\n

Back to top of page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By design, the main focus of the Boss Radio format at KHJ was the music. In Los Angeles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":598142203,"parent":58,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-598142172","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/598142172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598142172"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/598142172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":598148304,"href":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/598142172\/revisions\/598148304"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598142203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodygoulart.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598142172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}