The Legacy of 610 KFRC

From 1991, the Legacy of 610 KFRC CD documentary is a great historical program that aired during the stations 25th anniversary celebration. Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame member Bobby Ocean narrates this 57:32 sound stream of signature RKO Radio production (Ron Hummel style) served up with all the stings and stabs...powerful promos...behind the scenes interviews and of course all those 610 KFRC airchecks that will keep you glued to your digital devices!

[@depaola63]

Absolutely wonderful memories ❤️I’m 58 soon, this was my youth 🌈

[@conga205]

Do you remember KDIA "Lucky 13"? Soul station out of the Bay....Man.....

[@depaola63]

@@conga205 Of course ! ✌️ “ You can call it what you want “ ( Bill Summers ) 1980 💎

[@conga205]

Came to Fairfield in 1970. Independent radio stations were the norm. If today's kids heard what we had back in the day, they'd be p.o'd at what they're being offered now. Or maybe not. You can't miss what you never had, i.e. radio that wasn't owned by 18 corporations, pre-recorded and music selections done by algorithms. Back then, radio stations were fighting to remain independent, and they lost. Badly. 1 company owns over 800 radio stations! Again, anyone born after about 1982 didn't have independent radio stations, and have no idea what they missed out on. I used to work at a Peaches Records and Tapes, and Wherehouse Records, and got to spin the latest tunes while folks dug thru those albums, 8-tracks, and cassettes. And yeah, I remember when it all changed. Thought it was going to be a new era, but it turned out to be something else. Spectacle, shock, violence, sex, and money over creativity rules the day now, and it's a shame.

[@peterkoulouris8900]

The only station that mattered. I was 14 when KFRC went on the air with their Top 30 format. The soundtrack of my youth. Not so much the music , but the DJs who made it fun for the listeners. Thanks for the memories: Charlie Van Dyke, Beauregard Rodrigues Weaver, Bobby Ocean, Sebastian Stone, Dave Diamond (and his diamond mine burning from Bush), Chuck "the Chucker" Browning, Steve Lundy, John Mack Flannigan and so many more.

[@AirchexxClassicRadio]

You said a mouthful! I’ve been preaching that very thing to radio execs- with little success -for a decade, that radio’s ONLY leg up on internet streaming services is the people behind the microphone. That’s what attracted you and I to radio in the first place. Of course, radio has been choking the life out of itself since the 1980s when the big companies started gobbling each other up and began their unquenchable thirst for cutting back on talent and getting rid of the very thing that made radio so special in the first place, an inexorable race to the bottom, of which nearly 40 years later, the floor is still dropping. My God, the magic we were privileged to hear- and some of us were lucky to help create! KFRC, KHJ, CKLW, WOR-FM (and later, WXLO 99X), WRKO… these stations and a slew of others in different cities owned by other than RKO General.. But yea. I’m sure back then, KFRC was the only station that mattered. To me, growing up on the Eastern Seaboard, the ones that mattered were WKBW, WRKO and WLS. I got to know KFRC after it was gone, when I began my trek into the world of radio broadcasting. I first heard an aircheck featuring Bobby Ocean in 1984 while I was on an FM station in central Massachusetts. From then on I looked high and low for anything I could find from KFRC. When I started Airchexx.com the world opened up and I got to hear so much KFRC… I was in Heaven. Even got to know one of my KFRC Heroes, John Mack Flanagan. I have dozens of handwritten letters that he exchanged with me. John was just one big furball of love and a passion for radio-- and surviving Vietnam, which consumed his thought outside of radio. I’ve rambled long enough. Your comment stopped me in my tracks because I’ve been saying for decades.

[@peterkoulouris8900]

@@AirchexxClassicRadio I was the perfect age for the Drake-Chenault assault on radio. I got my first transistor radio in 1962 when I was 10 years old. Fell asleep at night listening to my local stations KJOY and KSTN. Took it everywhere I went. Then the Big 610 happened. Changed everything.

[@awake7126]

I grew up with KFRC. It is still the best and most memorable as was Don Rose and Jane Dornacker.

[@brianmoss5483]

Man I wish I could turn on my radio and hear those call letters again

[@PaulLeevoiceactor]

Brian Moss Me to Brother ....ME TO...!!!

[@AirchexxClassicRadio]

Oh same here! Loved it so much I changed my ham radio callsign to K1FRC. NOW, I just need a jingle!

[@briansalisbury4764]

Who is doing this voice over?

[@wxsawxsa2941]

ENJOYED THE KYA 1260 KFRC BIG 610 WARS KFRC CLEAR WINNER

[@brendaharris401]

Brings back alot of great childhood memories in the early 70s and hearing all the call letters and sound effects....it was a great time to be a kid then, so much innocence. My friend Tommy and I were into rebuilding radios and adding speakers and boxes. I laugh now cause my mother never knew what to expect when she got in the car. I would sit there and crank the radio up to test everything...Dr Don Rose at the helm, god I miss him. He had a personality that was bigger than life. Thanks Doc....for the memories!!!

[@danadams596]

Today is National Radio Day and how fitting is it to spend an hour listening to what has always been the best radio station in the universe. Nothing came close. Hard to believe it was 32 years ago this month that The Big 610 faded away. Thanks for posting, Brian.

[@BrianRheaCommunications]

This composite is one for the ages. It's all good my friend! Long live 610 KFRC!

[@kyaradio1]

Ocean what a great tribute

[@derrickw3021]

I grew up listening to this station .

[@robin2012ism]

Hi all, SF Bobbie West here. Grew up with Soupy TV & Wolfman radio out of Mexico. Then KRLA/KHJ-AM, KIST-AM, K-RTH, KGB-FM before going heavy with KMET. I inturned at KROQ and wrote a couple on-air bits for my now friend, Reachel Donahue's Show. I missed SF radio till I moved and continued my career at five stations in the city. KFRC was still trucking in 1984. Was doing overnights at K101 when Dr. DON came BACK on the air doing his morning shtick. Truly a learning experience. I was in the studio when, after the PD yelled at Don in his office, the good doctor had a heart episode and was taken to the hospital. He never came back to radio. I quit K101 because of that idiot and his humiliating, "reverse psychology" tactics. So that's where that weird dude, Albert Lord came from. He was our production director after they fired the Canadian guy. What a management carnival that place became after the good guys from Price Communications left.

[@conga205]

They played KFRC on our school bus back in 1971-73. So much good music, and Dr. Don was magical. Sad to learn about how it went down.

[@monkeeman1966]

For the KFRC fans out there, the three + hour Thanksgiving day show from 11-24-66 is a must hear along with the appx six hour Big 100 countdown of 1966.

[@kathleenking47]

Dr don rose 😁

[@gmpitt71]

RIP John Mack Flanagan

[@kayandaeddings4803]

What? Are you kidding me? I liked listening to him back in 1993 when I was a teenager. I didn’t know that he passed. I would listen to him, Sue Hall, goss and Garrett, Chuck Geiger, and others that I might have missed.

[@tonymarzocco8962]

I visited SF in summer 1967 from NYC & taped as much as I could! NOTHING beats the sound of good Drake radio. 2nd visit was in 1972. Mike Phillips, Sebastian Stone would wind up in NYC. Jay Stevens, so much fun! Howard Clark went to KYA. The sing-a-long call letter songs were Joey Reynolds Up Your Ratings custom songs that Drake got for all his stations.

[@miggans21012]

KFRC with Dr. Don't Rose. What a bunch of great memories. On FM was KSAN and KMEL.

[@markcarbonaro6524]

I've always believed that IF RKO had not sold KFRC-FM the format would've moved over to the FM and kept rolling. I'd like to think that KFRC would be going on 50 years of being the CHR leader in NorCal.

[@CompetitiveAudio]

It was a shame the company had to divest themselves of KFRC back in the day.

[@kathleenking47]

KFRC also had the "do-re-do-sol" tune in many AM stations..in late 60s KTKT in Tucson

[@stevemaraccini3062]

Thanks Brian! Got to meet you when I engineered Sunday nights for the late, great, Russ "The Moose" Syracuse in his brief stint at the Big 610 before it became Magic 61. Nothing compares to Top 40 AM radio. This was a special time. I feel so blessed to have had a little part of it, working with the Moose and doing my own show in the North Bay. So glad we have these wonderful audio memories.

[@brittonnewmedia2424]

+Steve Maraccini Russ "The Moose" was the best...great voice with more personality than most and very funny but what I liked most was how he created a "visual" show you could picture in your mind. How great you got to work with him. An engineer who worked his shift had to be on their game. As you said wonderful memories!

[@dman030]

Grew up with KFRC as a child / teen in the 60s and 70s and went on to do radio hosting myself for 6 years (3 in Hawaii and 3 in Europe). Good ol' crazy rockin San Fran radio, puts a smile on my face. Nice to hear this, thank you Brian.

[@magform]

dman030 I too grew up listening to KFRC. Spent twenty years in the South Bay doing high tech. That went away for me in 92, and I was blessed to find someone to give me an opportunity in radio. I spent five years on the air in the Salinas and Central Valleys. Great times for me, hard on the marriage. No regrets. Never give up your dreams.

[@miggans21012]

Michael Forsythe which stations in the central valley?

[@magform]

+michaelriggins - KLUE 106.3 King City/ Salinas Valley and KUBB 96.3 Merced/ Mariposa. Worked with some good jox. As I said, Good times.

[@gxgolden1]

Love this stuff. I grew up with KHJ/Los Angeles, but it was always a treat to get some fresh "air" when visiting the Bay Area and digging KFRC.

[@conga205]

Doctor Don!!! Grew up listening to him in Fairfield California. Back then, they actually played his morning show on the bus ride to school. That was radio!

[@MikeTeaveeJr]

In SE Michigan, Dr. Don was a bit of a kidvid icon as continuation announcer for WKBD-TV's afternoon children's programs during the late 70's and early 80's before he handed the reins over to Sam Starr.

[@depaola63]

Absolutely ❤️I’m from The East Bay Area ( Pittsburg) 58 in May and this was my youth!

[@kathleenking47]

7:23 After sonny & cher, in 66, they stopped using it

[@gonstotwriter]

Back in '85, I met Bobby Ocean and Turi Ryder when they did remotes in S.F. I was a radio wannabe back then, but once I met BO and TR and saw that they were about my age, I realized that they were vastly more talented than I was and I had no business (literally and figuratively) trying to compete against them.

[@kathleenking47]

Died in late 80s But not to me😁I kept listening to OLDIES😊👍

[@MrStug48]

Hi Brian, Don't know if you remember me from my 40+ years in media (recently retired), but thanks for the great KFRC piece. I have heard it before, but not for quite a few years. It is absolutely FANTASTIC!

[@BrianRheaCommunications]

Sure do Stu! I go back to the Gill Cable days as a young DJ working for KSJO/KXRX when Ron Sorergel (miss him) and John Cotter (now in New Mexico) ruled the Marketing roost - remember? Good to hear that you've rowed to the other side and enjoy your retirement.

[@magform]

The only game in town? Like many of the era I was a button pusher, and they were tuned to my favorite stations. KSFO for the Giants, KGO for Cal football, KLIV in the South Bay. As an East Bay resident, KYA 1260 was a viable alternative. When Dr. Don came along though, the morning competition was over.

[@kathleenking47]

All, the old teletype for news😁👍

[@DateTwoRelate]

WOR-FM (New York) used the same jingle package. It was NYC's RKO General station so it's no coincidence.

[@signjoey]

Dave Diamond discovered the Doors and anchored the Diamond Mine RIP

[@sptinydancer]

What a blast from the past! - Stacie (Purcell) Pearson ~ Miss U !

[@BrianRheaCommunications]

Yes sir re Bob - This tasty piece of AM curation is even more memorable today. These carefully crafted memories sizzle in a polished "popumentary" for all to enjoy. The beat goes on and on and on in a way few could have imagined. Don't forget the OSH-Tunes that made their world-wide debut as work parts in the layers of this rich Hummel masterpiece. I'm so glad to have a snippet in this symphony on a Classic Weekend. Working with you at 415 Bush and later 500 Washington was and is my dream come true!

[@davespolerich6501]

The only other station that came close was xerb in l.a. they had the wolfman

[@paulaharrisbaca4851]

Anyone remember KITS in San Francisco? They were in the early 1980’s. The people at National Auto Supply, mostly ABC’s in a largely black neighborhood, loved KITS “10 at 10:00” which were ten oldies, I think, they’d pick a week from some earlier year or a the most popular tunes, I forget….I think they were oldies. Everyone in the store and the warehouse beside us would get all grooving, Asians and whites and the 5 girls…. Music United people before the big elites made hip hop and rap and a whole bunch a rude violent types of music became only black American music… angry and frustrated and violent… scary.

[@gusvespa]

totally awesome, brian.

[@voxpert]

There are STORIES behind this documentary! Misplaced money trails to follow...I'll share some of the least libelous ones as we roll, but for now - bragging rights. The Bobby Ocean Mysterious Ways Studio is responsible for writing this, too. Ron Hummell in his studio on one side of the San Francisco Bay and I on the west side in my home studio, collaborated in the production for an upcoming KFRC anniversary. As we had worked together for so many years on KFRC, it was like we just picked up where we left off and marched through the entire story intuitively. Then collapsed like the damned Adobe Flash plugin when the deadline was met...

[@robin2012ism]

Bobby Ocean hi Bobby, from one of the Three Bobbies in SF radio in the 80's. You were the only famous one, Sweety.

[@noahjuan2234]

Dave Diamond!

[@brentmann2988]

21:40 Brief snippet of a very funny Mug Root Beer commercial voiced by Michael Bell. "Here is your one-minute elephant training lesson for today."

[@JesseHancock6400ba]

SIMPLY, Awesome. This was RADIO, I only wish Atlanta Could have kept our W Q X I . But it died and went sports and now after all those years, its only a tiny simulcast of the FM. SUCKS, to be kind..

[@bobjlv]

I'm glad I rolled tapes of WQXI during their hay days in the '60s. Most I've donated to reelradio. They are all unscoped. Also one of my favorites was Tom and Paul Collins doing overnights in Dec 64.

[@miketheshanmanmangan]

Will we ever find another station that even comes close to THE LEGEND KFRC probably not.Amidst all the talent that put there efforts together and created a labor of love.Sadly like all good things it had to come to an end.Will there ever be a new beginning in radio that will come close to equaling KFRC,That answer is No NO NO mainly because consolidation and bean counters have warped creativity.I look back at my 54 years in Broadcasting with fond memories of the past,The future for radio will never be what it once was .Simply put Radio People can create and build.Bottom line monet grubbers cannot.Say No More just go back and listen to this again to see what good radio is all about!!

[@auhs70]

Well...for pure listenership....WLS Chicago, was THE pure smoking Rock super station.

[@conga205]

Now that 8-10 people own ALL the radio we listen to, those days, as much as I miss them, are long, long gone. Along with anything resembling real innovation....

[@JayJay-lc5qq]

Unfortunately, all contemporary music is (c)rap these days. Nothing positive, all spurring on violence.

[@MikeTeaveeJr]

It's not true. Such acts as Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Adele, and Meghan Trainor stray clear of such issues. My only problem with the Bay Area is that AT40 needs to move from Star 101 to Wild 94.9!

[@kathleenking47]

9:19 I remember that chime, with teletype for news They still use it on KYNO FRESNO for news

[@kathleenking47]

It's why, some people 13-30 are listening to oldies and country western

[@nxtyrjrslm]

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