Saturday, December 18, 2021

Comfort Food Radio a Bygone Era in Bay Area; Saturday Used to be a Gem But No Longer

SATURDAY used to be a great day on Bay Area radio; remember? There was no such thing as a break from the week because the weekend was chock full of satisfying programming. I call it "comforst-food radio."You had idle time? KGO, KCBS, KNBR, KSFO was right there on the radio. And the shows were right there for you to listen to and more importantly, enjoy and take in. They didn't compromise on quality and you knew it.

KGO was Sonny Buxton, John Wasserman, Bill Wattenburg and interesting and informative radio. KCBS would be the "all-news" staple it earned; it didn't matter if it was 3 PM on a Saturday or 3 AM for that matter. It was LIVE and it was most definitely LOCAL. Bob Donelly, Clancy Casell, no matter the anchor, it was NEWS and it was, yeah, COMFORTING. Like a good pastrami on rye at Tommy's Joynt!

Wattenburg was one of a kind. He was obviously interesting, a genius, and entertaining as all get-go. His quirks and mannerisms, both irritating and annoying, became cause for laughter and intrigue. He would inform and broadcast but even when he insulted and lectured, it was DAMN FUNNY radio. I miss Bill Wattenburg. I miss the lucid tones of Sonny Buxton who could opine (even today on KCSM) about great jazz and politics. You didn't always agree with him but you LISTENED because it was cool. Ditto, the illustrious Wasserman who was both fantastically gifted as a Chronicle movie critic and KGO talk-show host from 4-7 PM.

Comfort-food radio is all but gone in Bay Area radio today. It's a shame. But that's life.

27 comments:

  1. Loveddddd Dr. Bill. He put the liberals in their place and called out their bullshit. He told us for years that these fires were going to happen because of their policies and leadership. Great man!

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    1. Agreed 100%. Bless that man!

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    2. For decades every attempt to clear was met by lawsuit after lawsuit. All of those poor people whose lives were lost, homes lost. All of those poor animals. Karma is going to be a bitch.

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  2. That pastrami sandwich looks sooo good

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    1. It's 11:26 p.m. and now I'm hungry.

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  3. Yep. I remember listening to him and thinking he was being hyperbolic about the fire threats, but at this point, I think he understated it. His property (and occassional broadcast studio) in Plumas County burned up this year to wildfire. I lost mine last year in Butte County due to fire.

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  4. "KYA radio, twelve-sixty...San Francisco...", (not talk radio).

    I remember listening to Wattenberg. I don't remember what things he was talking about, but it all sounded scientifically valid, true, and believable.

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  5. Thanks for the good ole memories Rich. Day, Night, Weekends KGO was great listening even if you didn't agree. I was awake many workday nights listening to Ray Taliaferro. Even the mornings with Jim Dunbar and Ted Wygant which I almost drove my work truck off the side of the Benicia Bridge one morning laughing so hard from those two. If we had radio like that now we would be in a better place...

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  6. I miss that gardening show. I think it was on KSFO AM. I have a hard time picking up AM with my sound system, so a rarely ever leave FM.

    Is 'the world's happiest gardener still on the air?
    Clue..For his theme song he used "Tip Toe Through The Tulips as sung by Tim Tim.

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  7. I miss hearing Barbara Simpson and Rabbi Lapin.
    They were big part of my Saturday Experience.

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    1. Here's a news flash: Rabbi Lapin would NOT have been part of your "Saturday Experience." Not on the radio. Not KGO, not any other station, not ever. He was an orthodox rabbi, and he would never even entertain the idea of breaking Sabbath to appear on a radio program. I doubt he would have even picked up a phone, except in the most dire emergency. The ONLY way he might be part of *your* Saturday experience was if you were a member of his family or his congregation, seeing/speaking/praying with him in person.

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    2. Rabbi Lapin filled in on Sunday mornings occasionally, for Bernie Ward. I wasn't impressed. Seemed to be rather rigid and bigoted in his thinking as I recall.

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    3. Bigoted Lapin was on KSFO on Sunday mornings for a while. He thought his forced over the top South African accent gave him more credibility and authority but instead it made him sound more like the pompous blowhard he is…

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  8. Bay Area Radio is like the
    Sahara Desert without an
    Oasis.

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  9. KYA, KFRC, even KDIA from the AM side; KSAN, KSFX, KOME from the FM side all kept the 1970s weekends interesting in their own distinguishing ways. Miss them all.

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  10. I love listening to Sonny Buxton, Dick Conte and Michael Burman on KCSM-FM every Saturday.

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  11. Gene Burns was great on Saturdays!

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  12. Gee forgot how much I miss Jim Dunbar and ted,Ted, a golden Era on radio

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  13. Don Chamberlain's "California Girls".

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    1. California Girls was groundbreaking for all the right reasons. However, I don't think it was on KGO......maybe KNEW ?

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  14. Loved it when Bill W. used to rail against the "BUREAUCRATIC BUNGHOLES"!!!

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  15. In the 90s I'd listen to Bob O’Donnell's computer show on KSFO on Saturdays. Late 70s it was the Saturday Night oldies show with Candi Chamberlain on KYA. The old days...

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  16. Hey we still have KSCO’s Saturday special with that ego maniac Mickey Zwerling. The guy spends half his show hacking like a dog into the mic. Wow so cool dude!

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  17. Bill Wattenburg indeed provided a good show, provided he stuck to science and related topics. At one point his show was mostly helping fix their cars; he later stopped doing the car repair topic, which was unfortunate b/c that's where he was most interesting. When he ventured into politics, all talk, no listen. Worse, when a caller disagreed w/him, he often ventured into unprofessional rhetoric.

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  18. Two of the best for info and entertainment.
    1.) Bill Wattenburg who told us you could put all your family's energy needs for the next 100 years, into a shoe-box. Then bury the waste in a Utah salt cave for 12,000 years.
    2.) Dr. Dean Edell who taught us that "supplements" that promise to help or cure every imaginable illness are guaranteed to be a fraud.
    (Pat Thurston needs to talk to him regarding Balance of Nature)

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  19. I want to know where that sandwich came from.

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