*A Bay Area radio GIANT; a truly great morning personality and pioneer (someone who'd make mincemeat of Murph and Mac) Dr. Don Rose passed away 11 years ago this month. Dr. Don was not only a cool craftsman but a very, very nice gentleman too. 
As we read of the apparent, soon-to-be demise of FM ALT Rocker, "Live 105", I'll always remember one of its biggest alum, Alex Bennett, a Bay Area broadcast veteran now doing a nation podcast in NYC.We talked about Bennett a few years back extolling his contribution to Bay Area radio.
For all his personal peccadillos (and he had many; still does) Bennett was entertaining as all hell and quite a presence.
His morning extravaganzas --known as "Breakfast with Bennett" was a big-time radio event. Scores of VIP, mainly SF-area comedians and local media figures made the BWB; a major part of the Bennett cog; a key negotiating tenant of Bennett's repertoire; staple entertainment and must-listen radio on "Live 105" in its heyday.
Who knows how a 2016 BWB would fare today in the world of Internet and Satellite radio but it was certainly a big part of Bay Area radio and precisely the type of vintage broadcasts that defined Live 105 and will always be a part of its heritage.
*The idea of CBS selling its radio division to essentially satisfy its shareholders and use it as a means to lift up less profitable CBS divisions is, at the very least, disgusting, and worst, beyond the pale. Just awful.
*Does FCC mean anything? --better yet, does FCC do anything?
*Advertisers aren't dumb; they know fully well that scores of listeners LEAVE stations like KNBR when said outlet bombards the airwaves with over 10 minutes of commercials in one cluster; (although in KNBR's case, about 12); nobody denies KNBR its right to make a ton of money but at what cost? Short term, a wad of green; long term diminishing listeners and diminished profits at which point NOBODY WILL CARE.
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| KNBR's Morning Show mutts, "Murph and Mac" --Brian Murphy (left) and Paulie Mac |
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Your comments on the two KNBR AM knotheads are spot on. The sad part is the listeners cherish every word they say. The sadder part is knowing the listeners are a bunch of braindeads who can't think for themselves and follow whatever everyone else is following.
ReplyDeleteIn the mornings I will listen to a podcast by either Adam Carolla, Tom Leykis or Bill Burr over Bert and the Dude dude... It's not even close.
DeleteI don't even listen to Tolbert that much anymore because of all the commercials. You can see it coming, they go to break at around 5:50-53, come back for a quick nothingness, then it's break time traffic and weather and maybe about 6:08 they're back on for a bit. By then I'm gone. Who needs another mattress, my pillow or cars for kids.
Live 105 could very well be finished but I'm surprised there's not more talk about KFOG's future. DIdn't they fire the OM/PD a month ago?
ReplyDeletei now listen to the game in the morning because those two dudes on KNBR are just unlistenable (not to mention a gazillion commercials). i can deal with Lowell's many mispronunciations (athleke??) just to not have to listen to the stupid non-sports crap spewed on KNBR. Will this CBS sale affect the morning show on Radio Alice?
ReplyDeleteAlex, you still owe me $20!! Jew!!!
ReplyDeleteRigelski, sniff sniff, a smelly Pollock!!!!
DeleteThe Murph and Mac Show = Homer Central.
ReplyDeleteThe most unsophisticated 4 hours of radio in America.
I listened to Dr. Don Rose when he worked in Philadelphia at The Famous 56 WFIL and was the voice of Channel 48. For those of us who worked in radio wanted to be like him, but you find out that you can't. Great talent and truly missed.
ReplyDeleteDr. Don Rose owned the Bay Area radio airwaves from late 1973 well into the 1980s, making KFRC a destination go-to station during morning drive time. Lots of laughter and zaniness to get you in the mood for the day ahead. Loved his show.
ReplyDeleteDr. Don, a Bay Area radio legend? To quote the man himself: "That's right...that's right.....THAT'S RIGHT!"
ReplyDeleteHe was a force of nature, and radio in this area is not as fun without him.
Don Rose had an audience of 12-19 year olds when he was rolling high on KFRC. (I was part of that demo)
ReplyDeleteAlmost everyone else was listening to Frank & Mike on KNBR or the great KGO Morning News.
I have fond memories of Dr. Don.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Gene Nelson and his sign off,
"Put on the coffee, Bubbles, I'm
on the way home."
I think of both, often.
Murph and Mac couldn't even get through the first item of their Top Six this morning without TWO movie references. C'mon, guys, this is SPORTS talk, not Films From the 80s Talk or Music Talk.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the Alt format does just fine in the more sophisticated markets like LA,SD, Seattle, Vegas etc..
ReplyDeleteThose are on legacy stations....and in SD and LA they support 2 Commercial alt stations in both markets not including college radio.
anon at 11:18, Vegas is a more sophisticated market? Seriously? LA and Vegas markets have a large percentage where terrestrial radio is their only choice due to economics...the digital divide, think of people who had 8 tracks when most everyone else had migrated to cd's at that point. Sophistication and Vegas are two things that will never be mentioned in the same sentence.
DeleteI wouldn't characterize those markets as more sophisticated but rather different. LA and SD with KROQ and 91X essentially started the Alt Rock format in the '80s. The type of music (heavy on electronic/techno. Brit.) played well with the care-free beach/surf lifestyle down there. It took awhile before that format worked up here (although, it never achieved anything close to the success of So. Cal.). On the other hand, a more artist-driven format like KFOG has never worked in So. Cal. Today, the Alt format is not popular in the High Schools and Colleges like it used to be. The heavy influx of Asians has shifted tastes to more pop and hip hop vs. Green Day and New Order. That said, a properly run station, with the right talent could and should still have a place in the Bay Area.
DeleteI use to listen to Alex Bennett and Laurie Stone, his sidekick, every morning. I was a big fan of stand up comedy and Bennett had almost every stand up of note guest on his show, regularly. I used to go to the Punchline, Cobb's and other places almost as much as I went to clubs to see music. I really do think Bennett was a reason for the early '80s comedy boom and for SF being a jumping off ground for national comedians. If you look at the writers for cartoons on Cartoon Network, you'll see tons of ex SF comedians. Heck, Tom Kenny is the voice of Spongebob.
ReplyDeleteIt was Lori Thompson, not Laurie Stone.
DeleteI used to listen to KNBR all day. I'm now down to the first segment of Gary - 9:04 to 9:20 provided Superfan Larry doesn't whine about baseball. KNBR has made me hate baseball.
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only one! I couldn't agree with you more.
DeleteI recall Bennett as a popular force but I couldn't get into his show ever, maybe I thought it was just some exclusive club and I didn't want to be a member.
ReplyDeleteDr Don was so silly I couldn't ever enjoy the content. I liked Gene Nelson, a nice mix of fun, John Madden, pop music, and news.
I think Murph hit his peak back over 5 years ago. His ego and frenetic rushing like he's on speed as he's always carping about how late they are for spots, it's just no longer any good. His shelf life is up. I had been a fan, but his Cumulus sucking is unforgivable.
Dr. Don was the reason I took Broadcasting in school. Listened to him way before I hit the target demographic age. Lots of laughs! He was a ray of sunshine. :). A genuinely nice guy with a heart as big as his personality.
ReplyDeleteKNBR needs to be careful about pimping the Online Trading Academy. On the weekends, they air their one hour infomercials. Have you read the complaints on the internet ?
ReplyDeleteIn order to become a Rich Uncle, you have to scam others. http://www.reviewstalk.com/complaints-reviews/online-trading-academy-l22442.html
DeleteDr. Don and family used to have a house at Tahoe Keys, a sign on the front named it "Ta-Ho-Ho-Ho", his kids used to ski Heavenly where he did an occasional zany hilarious ski report on the local radio station. They were great fun.
ReplyDeleteAlways a fan of Alex Bennett. I grew up listening to him in New York on WMCA
ReplyDeleteEnjoy, Dr Don fans http://bayarearadio.org/site/audio/kfrc-radio/dr-don-rose-1934-2005/
ReplyDeleteDr Don and Alex Bennett are my two favorite morning djs in Bay area history.
ReplyDeleteKFOG will soon be history IMO. Time for KNBR-FM
5:01
ReplyDelete91X was my favorite radio station back in the day. I don't know if it was due to the laid-back San Diego vibe, but all of their DJ's/personalities were more laid back than practically any on air across the nation--and I really appreciated that.
It's just getting tiresome to comment about KNBR's morning shows, but I'll just keep adding my two cents because I used to care. Totally agree with Uppercut@2:02PM, when you start breaking down the actual minutes of talk vs commercials it's just not worth listening anymore.
ReplyDeleteAs for Murph and Mac - the worst of the worst. Gary and Larry - after many years of listening (mainly because I thought the Bruno segments use to be pretty entertaining), it's simply too painful to endure the commercials and Larry's endless blathering about the Giants. Now find myself tuning into Fitz and Brooks just so I can hear someone talk about the Warriors - the biggest sports story in the country.
Are the decision-making people paying any attention to what we're saying about Cumulus? I don't think so. Just continue to maximize profit until it runs dry. Then move on. This is just the way it is now.
But, how much can you talk about the Dubs. It is all about the 3 point shots and there's only the few players that make up the entire squad. You cannot break down and analyze the plays that much. It is boring radio.
DeleteSon of Bennett! Alex had a huge following at both The Quake and Live 105. Credit him for making Bay comedy nationally permanent!
ReplyDeleteTa-Ho-Ho-Ho. Sacratomato. San Raquel. Beserkeley. Hayweird. Freakmont. The Gold Standard for 1970s Bay Radio History will always be Dr. Donald D. Rose. That's all you need to know about KFRC's peak period. Yes, there was also John Mack, Marvelous Mark, Rick Shaw, etc. But everybody knew where their bread was buttered at The Big 610.
In summary today, I grab a couple of disc records and play. Terrestrial radio has been overcommercialized all millennium long. Advertising is more reckless and clueless than ever. Don't need Giant grubby hands to prove that. A shame, too, because Tim Roye is one super cool radio play-by-play dude, and was even before the NBA became Splash Central. Instead, too many ads have made radio insufferable as a whole.
That's riiiiight! We all miss Dr. Don.
This morning was particularly bad on the KNBR morning show as Murph and Mac fawned and guffawed all over Jim Nantz's surprise call in - unctiousness personified. I almost drove into someone's lawn when Murph called Paulie's songs, "legendary." I actually said out loud to myself in the car, "Yeah, legendarily bad." They make Rick Dees' Disco Duck sound like Beethoven.
ReplyDeleteBasically, you're right Anon@8:57AM. There's only so much airtime for talking about Basketball and depending on their preferences, you might hear the morning guys talk about all the major Bay Area sports teams, but since KNBR is the "Giant's Station," the shills come out to play. And boy, they play hard. It's just too much.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of interesting"off-the-court" stories going on with the Warriors to carry an hour or two during the show. Just as there usually are with the Giants or Niners. Now it's necessary to promote middle class "profit scamming" (thanks rich uncles and property-flipping assholes). What happened to "Fair & Balanced" coverage? Ha!
Murph & Mac - They're HOMERIFFIC!
Dr. Don Rose, Don Sherwood, Tom Donohue, Gene Nelson, Bobby Dale, and Alex Bennett- seems like a good starting point...
ReplyDeleteTalk radio. I use to mute all the commercials and listen to whoever was the host. Now I mute all the hosts and listen to the commercials!!
ReplyDeleteI know I'm late to the party, but no one mentioned that Alex Bennett was replaced by Howard Stern's show. I vastly preferred Bennett - as I recall he tried to make his show available over the internet in those pre-podcast days.
ReplyDeleteBennett goes back a long time -- he was in the National Lampoon Radio Hour if I'm not mistaken.
Lori Thompson was a hot piece of ass!
ReplyDeleteSmurph and Mac drive most sports fans to drink in the morning. Smurph is a Jock sniffing frat boy with a decent vocabulary and Mac's song parodies are punishing and unfunny
ReplyDelete