90 Years Ago Today, KOL was born in Seattle

[jon]

Today, (K)KOL-1300 turns 90 years of age. KOL spent most of its Top 40 years trying to beat KJR. The funny thing is that KOL beat KJR in one fundamental way: they played Top 40 (Rock and Roll) 24/7 several years before KJR did. In fact, by the time KJR arrived, they made it into a "three horse race", going up against both KOL and KAYO.

Another KOL first was snagging Lan Roberts for Morning Drive. Lan had great ratings doing Mornings in New Orleans, but was made an offer he could not refuse, by a DJ he knew in New Orleans, to come to KOL. But, within 6 months, he moved to KJR, where he spent most of the rest of his Seattle years. But he did return to KOL in 1969, as Program Director and Morning Man, before returning to KJR in 1972. His web site, as it was when he died, has recently returned at http://lanroberts.com

KOL was also first in Seattle with the Drake style Much More Music formatics. Although hired as Morning Man, a month later, Dave McCormick found himself Program Director. His second task, after moving himself to middays, was to standardize the station's format to the Boss Radio style that he, Bill Drake and Ron Jacobs had perfected in Fresno before Bill and Ron moved to Los Angeles, leaving Dave behind to mind the fort.

When Drake formatics did not work, KOL tried to out-"personality radio" KJR. Robert O. Smith on Afternoon Drive and Lan Roberts on Morning Drive, each with a stable of character voices, with Production Manager and DJ Terry McMannis adding a few of his own: most notably, two Jimmy's. Jimmy Stalwart, his Jimmy Stewart imitation, and Jimmy of the recurring Lan feature, Mr. Science and Jimmy.

KOL was also the first AM station to play full length long album cuts in Afternoon Drive. As PD, Robin Mitchell found that he could manipulate the ratings by playing very long songs at certain points in the hour, locking in listeners for two quarter hours. From the start of Robert O. Smith's PM Drive shift, until Overnights, you could hear 5 to 15 minute album cuts a couple of times an hour.

Personally, I spent more time listening to KOL than any other Top 40 station -- or any AM station, for that matter -- in my life so far. Unfortunately, CHQM being on 1320 ruled out any listening in a car radio in Vancouver, but my Lafayette HA-230 communications receiver delivered KOL to me in East and South Burnaby without a trace of KOL. On day pattern. At night, KOL was a mess of phasing issues as the ground wave and skywave signals played havoc with each other.

Although I was not a personal fan of his housewife radio style on KOL middays, who can forget guys like the late Bobby Simon with that immortal branding "B.S. for the Great North West"?