Those Were The Days My Freinds; San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area 1970's; 415 Media Remembers a Trip Down Memory Lane

THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIENDS

When you'd wake up to Dr. Don Rose on KFRC and laugh your butt off in spite of extreme banality and corny audio. KFRC, AM radio --610 on the dial with "Marvelous Mark", Don St. John, Bill Lee, John Mack! Flanagan !

"Dr. Don, you son of a ..."


Wow, AM Radio in the 70's. Bill Graham. Days on the Green. Peter Frampton. The Doobie Brothers. The Hookers Ball. The "Streets of San Francisco" -"A Quinn Martin Production!"

And savior of the '75 Ford LTD police cruisers! Whoa baby.

I remember walking in Chinatown in the spring of 1976; god, time flies. I was listening to the Four Seasons' Oh What a Night, played, yes, of course on the magic 610, K-F-R-C!

We ate dim sum and waited to see the Freedom Train. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. You could see the Transamerica Pyramid without any other buildings obscuring its distinctive look. Parking was difficult but not impossible. The streets were clean. A walk down Market Street was not an adventure --finding a seat at the counter at Woolworth's was; the fried chicken was worth the wait for this bright-eyed 14 year-old. "Can I get a corn dog to go, miss?" Thank You. Don't forget the mustard.

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away."

My favorite year, 1976: sure, we had issues. We always do, it's called life but somehow we seemed to work it out and even if we couldn't, we'd find a way to offer compromise. What an age-old relic, compromise. BART was so cool that a trip through the underwater tube was like a Disneyland ride. On time and straight to the Embarcadero station. We had a destination to the old, old KGO studios down in the Tenderloin off Golden Gate Ave, 277 to be exact near St. Anthony's and Fox Plaza. Up a couple blocks and you were there: Jim Dunbar, Ronn Owens, Van Amburg, Monte Stickles, et al. Don't forget the "Studio Cafe" across the street. I didn't. Monte bought me breakfast there. The best greasy eggs ever.

KGO, TV and Radio. The top of the heap, 415 style. Highest-rated radio and TV. Tenderloin: birthplace of "News Scene" and Happy Talk advent. Peter Giddings and his "letter from home" and corny but sweet, "Little People Fishing Program."

Quick Industry joke: Pete on the boat with the little ones; goes to a kid and tells him to behave otherwise, "you'll never fish in this town again!" Timeless. Memo to Pete: hey, you were a weather icon so please, hold the angry e-mail. I could go very low and bring up the 12,000 times you showed us your skiing highlights down Heavenly Valley. But hey, I watched. Van did too.

*San Francisco Bay Area in the 70's: Alcatraz became the favorite high-school field trip. Journey was just getting ready and about to become the coolest of cool. There was a vibe. Steve Perry was high-tuning the voice while the Great American Music Hall was preparing a George Benson show. Oh what a night!

We were all pretty mellow; the kids were alright even if our parents weren't and the country as a whole was steady if not a bit solemn. Remember, we were just coming off Watergate and Vietnam; Jimmy Carter, a fine man but a lousy president was beckoning. There was no such things as AIDS and crack was considered a part of your anatomy.

Jerry Ford brought the country together; even in San Francisco; although he almost got waxed here by some crazy lady named Sarah Jane Moore. He wasn't hit --but it was close.

Ford; good man too just lousy tactics and a pardon that cost him the election. We could use a Jerry Ford today but that's another story.

San Francisco in the 70's: a burger at Clown Alley; I thought Bill's Place was way overrated, sorry Herb Caen, and besides, Clown Alley was faster and tastier and why have to go all the way out to the avenues when you could just grab one across from the Pyramid.

Mayor George Moscone. Best SF mayor ever. I lived in Oakland as a kid but Moscone was old school and got things done.

Big stories:

International Hotel eviction. Ouch. Scary. Richard Hongisto's worst nightmare. We had a lot of those weird incidents. Patty Hearst was old news having already been discovered alive and breathing with Bill and Emily Harris in a house on Morse Street. The end, unofficially, of the SLA and the beginning of a winnable trial but unfortunately for Patty, she picked a lousy attorney, F. Lee Bailey, who did a lot better with O.J.

*I'm just getting started.

Halloween, 1975: the Hookers Ball at the Cow Palace. I heard all about it across the bay as I played my Spinners songs on the turntable.

Not your normal crazy SF event but everyone went hog wild over news that Police Chief, Charlie Gain was there --apparently not just to monitor the goings-on. It made for fine SF tabloid fodder. Herb Caen had a week's worth of columns and the Examiner (remember those guys?) was positively giddy. In hindsight, considering the mish-a-goss of today, it was rather funny and poignant. Just another rather wacky and wonderful ess-eff story but Gain was a good cop even if his officers didn't think so. Gain was a libby and to get back at him the officers on motorcycles began putting American flags on their antennas --yeah, that'll rile him. (No)

We laughed a lot and cried. The latter, during Giants games at Candlestick Park which was not that hated as it was later. Bobby Murcer was more onerous than the stadium. Yeah, they (the Giants) sucked but they had a guy named Lon Simmons in the broadcast booth that made up for it.

Across the bay, the Swingin' A's were just coming off 3 straight World Series victories and the Warriors were groovin' after beating the Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals of '75. A series played in the Cow Palace because the Coliseum arena was booked for an ice show. Who would have thunk!

Oakland was king of sports. I didn't even mention the R.A.I.D.U.H.S. 

Bill King, Superbowl 11, Pasadena, 1977: "Old man Willie, Touchdown Raiders!"

What a day it was. Finally, the Raiders won the "big one." And Herb Caen, the kid from Sacamenna had to scribble a positive Oakland item. Which was weird since Herb was buddy-buddy with Al Davis, who was merely eccentric back then. He also knew football.

Oakland; great sports, a lake and the Quik Way near the Grand Lake Theatre. If the line was too long you could head to Telegraph and Broadway and get some Doggie Diner. The very best and tasty bad hamburgers but fine eating cuisine for the student bodies of Oakland High, Skyline, Tech and Mack, we thank you for such awesome 39 cent cheeseburgers with the sauce fit for a king.

What a time. What a cool time. Even if at times, terrifying and befuddling. The Black Panthers were renegade but they were considered cool. The Hells Angels too if not a bit more crankier. My late brother, Michael, had met Sonny Barger, the Angels' chief leader; his house was near the Oakland Zoo (appropriately) and one day the cops found a shitload of money in the backyard. Wonder where that came from? Next.

Oakland was second fiddle to "The City" and was saddled with "the mysterious East Bay" -ism, thanks again, Herb Caen, but we owned the sports world and had Lake Merritt. We were proud of being sidekick to SF even though Bill Fisset wasn't Caen but the Tribune Tower was far superior to the dreck at 5th and Mission, take that! Art Hoppe.

Yeah, Oakland: Ken Stabler. John Madden. Silver and Black. Del Courtney and the band. The Oakland Coliseum; Curt Gowdy of NBC named it "The House of Thrills"; sea of hand catch; The great George Blanda. Dinner at the Grotto in Jack London Square later. ( A quieter Fisherman's Wharf)

When we went to Spenger's in Berkley for dinner it was maximum pleasure. We could eat and eat cheap. I wasn't old enough, yet, to drive a car but my mom and dad loved Spengers not just for the food but there was a giant parking lot across the street, FREE parking. Huzzah!

Spengers was great but there was always a long wait; I mean LONG, like if you were lucky, an hour was considered a bargain.

My brother would have nothing to do with that program; he managed to get all of us a table in "The Teak Room" within 5 minutes. Later on, I sort of knew what he was doing. Whatever, we rocked. Grab an extra loaf of sour dough French bread and extra butter. Huzzah. "I'll have the 'Captain's Plate, mom." $8.95 --a bargain even in those days.

And those Days on the Green? It was artful, colorful. Grateful Dead. Frampton. Boston. The Rolling Stones. I once saw Bill Graham in his '68 silver Mercedes go bonkers at a couple trying to climb a fence and crash the Beach Boys and Dolly Parton DOG the summer of '76. It was a little spooky but vintage Graham who was straight businessman --no time for freebies, the guys and gals in blue tops would see to that. Graham had a kind heart but that too is another story.

He built up the Oakland venues and promoted the East Bay like it was his own and we appreciated it. The Coliseum stadium and arena was his stomping ground; the Paramount Theatre his Carnegie Hall; the old Oakland Auditorium (Kaiser Arena) he and BGP helped restore and get back to life.

Oh, what a time it was. Friends and family. Good food. Bonding with all even though dad wasn't all that supportive but he was there on time when you needed him. Mom was just in her prime. Oh mom, I  miss you.

Mom worked for the phone company on New Montgomery and had an office facing the back entrance of the Palace Hotel; in 1976, Gerry Ford, the POTUS was there making a speech (six months after nearly being assassinated in the same city) invited me and my buddy from junior high, Chet Gohd, to come over to the city and see Ford get into his limo. Chad struck pay dirt with a great picture and I hugged mom for the invite. Never forget it.

YES WE HAD A BLAST.

No selfies. No smartass phones. The Bay Area was unique. San Francisco-Oakland, there was a genuine symmetry even if it involved turf wars but there were always gonna be. We just made it more civil.

Ah, KYA! KDIA, "Lucky 13." Art Finley, Owen Spann, Jim Eason, Joe Starkey, Sonny Buxton, John L. Wasserman, Mickey Luckoff, Jack Swanson, KRON on 1001 Van Ness, Tommy's Joynt, the Marina Green; Ronn and Mill Valley Don and some kid from Oakland reciting "Rock Trivia" tidbits.

Crazy and happy times. Frivolity and Bizarro, sure, but established chaos. We could actually make a phone call to and not be frowned upon like today. Those were the days my friends I thought they'd never end.












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