I was a little kid in Oakland in 1972 and caught my first taste of Ira Blue and Owen Spann.
I gravitated to Jim Eason and "Mayor" Art Finley and Jim Dunbar and Ted Wygant.
I listened to Joe Starkey and Monte Stickles and way back when, Gregg Jordan doing Saturday morning sports-talk before Cal football.
I heard Ronn Owens and Joe Kapp get into an on-air argument. I was not only at Memorial Stadium for "The Play", I was in the press box sitting next to Bruce Magowan listening to Starkey's crazy play-by-play call.
My mother, RIP, listened to KGO and took it to sleep. I would visit her and when I heard the radio on, I sort of knew she was in comfort and OK because KGO was on.
Mom loved listening to Ronn and she got a kick out of Jim Eason, a one-of-a-kind host, maybe the greatest interviewer ever.
When mom passed a few years ago I was like, obviously, out of it. Still to this day.
Me too.
*Dedicated to the memory of Ms. Anne Landau, my mother, who was my best friend in life and stood by me, no matter what.
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KGO killed itself. Blame Corp. America all you want, but KGO was a progressive sewer that people quit listening to. I miss the old KGO too, but nobody at the modern KGO did.
ReplyDeleteCouldn’t agree more. I haven’t listened in a long time for that reason.
DeleteAgreed, if the old model worked (made tons of cash for Cumulus) they would never have abandoned it.
DeleteKGO made money back in 2011 when they changed format. There would have been changes anyway, Gene Burns most likely would still and sadly have died, he had health problems for years, Ray Taliferro would also have died and Ronn's health is not good, not sure he could have continued to do 3 hours a do. However, they could still have kept the format, even if the added a syndicated show, Bill Press use to fill in for Ronn, I liked him, he actually have roots in Marin, but now lives in DC, he knew politics though, so he would have been a good addition.
DeleteKGO made money for ABC with great talent and under the leadership of Mickey Luckoff. KGO was an O & O, owned by ABC at the time. Cumulus had no FUCKING clue what they were doing with a 50,000 watt radio station that had great talent and incredible ratings. When they blew it up in 2011, Gene Burns had agreed to a deal with KNEW 910 to do his talk show and also his Saturday food show. Then Gene had some health issues, (stroke and/or heart). He was never able to return to radio. Cumulus is a joke. They are now headed for the 2nd bankruptcy.
DeleteI wish Bernie Ward didn’t have that dark disgusting secret that destroyed his career. As a fearless host he performed a public more than once. Most memorably, in my opinion, he warned against invading Iraq.
ReplyDeleteSeparating his personnel life from his professional, he knew how to do radio. I found him entertaining. Of course, a very liberal bias to his shows, but I always took that in to account.
DeleteThe world is alive with the grandeur of God! Bernie Wards sign off.
DeleteSomeone who needs to be mentioned is Duane Garrett, a wealth of knowledge of everything who's show preceeded Bernie Ward who was a political consultant who ran Diane Feinstein's successful campaigns who had a side sports memorobilia auction business when it was discovered much of the stuff wasn't authentic he was in deep financial and legal doo doo and after he did his last sign off he got into his car, drove to the north parking lot of the Golden Gate Bridge,got out and jumped off.
DeleteThanks Rich, great & thoughtful commentary!
ReplyDeleteAfter 2011 their was no KGO, I made peace with that years ago. What it became after that was nothing less then an embarrassment. I'm actually surprised it went on for so long.
ReplyDeleteMy fondness childhood memories were when we would troll Dr Wattenburg on Saturday and Sunday nights, because we didn't have dates.
ReplyDeleteWe would "load up" all the phone lines, and pepper him with weird and just plain dumb questions. I was always fun when He would hang-up on one of "us"...
I know your Mom heard us...she would have laughed.
Back when the John Lennon/Stephen King guy trolled KGO, I called Dr Bill and asked him what John Lennon had to do with pine trees. He called me an a-hole and cut me off. Best call ever.
DeleteSeamus O’Felch
Rohnert Park
That guy wasn't trolling KGO. I've seen and heard him elsewhere. He believes it.
DeleteRich, this post explains perfectly why you have written so much about KGO, and now I get why you care as much as you do. My folks are now both in the early 80's, and watching them lose parts of their history is just as rough. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI listen to Ira Blue, Owen Spann and Jim Eason regularly. They interacted respectfully with their callers. Callers were civil and not crazy. This feels like light years ago.
ReplyDeleteJust think, Rich, someday someone is going to be writing about how they miss the comfort of YouTube so much...
ReplyDeleteSome old news talk 81 jingles from the 1980s and 90s available in SoundCloud
ReplyDeletehttp://soundcloud.com/loopala/kgo-newstalk-radio-81-jingles
It's Jim Eason man of the season...talk talk..newstalk.
DeleteI liked Dr Bill but he was a grouch
ReplyDeleteAlso an arrogant, condescending know-it-all.
DeleteYes he was, that Bill, but the irony was he did know, if not all, an awful lot.
DeleteFinally, Christine Craft has chimed in at 9:04, as always not afraid to put her name behind her words. But I want to hear her thoughts on the format switch.
DeleteHe was a grouch, but he kept bashing the Forest Service and warning us about forest fires.
DeleteShows originated at KGO were syndicated around the country including Owen Spann and Dr. Dean Edell. They were a class operation.
ReplyDeleteRonn, double N, tried to syndicate in LA but failed. I don't know why because he was one of the greatest hosts ever. So smart.
DeleteRonnnnn got on the air during the 2011 bloodbath and said he was "really excited at KGO going to an all news format". Said it with a straight face. Knowing full well that covering news takes a lot more $$$ than a talk format. Lowenstein is a slimy dirtbag.
DeleteRonnnnnnnnnnnnnnn is all about Ronnnnnnnnnnnnnn.
DeleteThe young Ronnnnnnnnn with all his chest hair showing off from the 70's
DeleteKGO has been dead since 2011. Too biased and liberal and mocked any conservative viewpoints, like KSFO mocks leftists. But worst of all was that KGO was boring. Boring kills every time.
ReplyDeleteHow KGO lasted for 11 years after the purge is beyond me. They have been awful since then and their numbers have been rock-bottom for years but I expected KSFO to fall before KGO. This is not surprising but gambling? No one will listen to that poison. I will keep KGO on my radio preset Monday but after that, they are gone forever. Thinking about driving to SF, resetting that for 960 Bloomberg, if I can get them, and then driving home to Palo Alto to see if it is still listenable there. If so, great but if not I will try streaming them.
DeletePosts like this remind me why I think of Rich as family. Take care brother.
ReplyDeleteSaddest part of the death of KGO. Mark Thompson was the last voice heard.
ReplyDeleteI'll say. One of the least appropriate hosts ever.
DeleteWonderful commentary as always Rich. It really touches me (and others) how much you pay tribute to your mother and this part relating to KGO felt touching and a little bit emotional.
ReplyDeleteLosing KGO was like losing a best friend or even a close family member.
Although neither my mom nor I or my dad cried about KGO changing, I felt a lot of emotions running through my mind asking “what happened?” and to some degree almost cried but didn’t. It’s more like leaving where we grew up (Bay Area) and never coming back too. I didn’t think KGO would wound up like this. Certainly going to miss the John Rothmann show among with all others (and the good balance with traffic, weather and ABC National News).
When I was a kid, Dad used to listen to news radio in the AM. I would hear it from bed, and when I heard the “top of the hour news” chime, I knew that he was on his way out the door and it was time for me to get up for school.
ReplyDeleteAs I grew up, I consistently listened to them and that station for all of my radio news. (Of course, the anchors of my childhood — Jim Dunbar and Ted Wygant are long gone.)
Anyway, that station, that chime, and those anchors are an indelible part of my memory growing up. I can still smell the coffee, hear Dad jingling his keys, the screen door opening, the whole thing.
“KGO radio news time: 7:00”
Do-doot-do-do-do-doot-doot-doo
Used to listen late-night to Ray Taliaferro on a transistor radio with an ear plug. As a kid, the topics and talk were mostly over my head. But it was the first sense that I got of: “While I’m here in bed, someone is out there…talking.” Made me feel notUsed to listen to its late-night talk show (Ray Talieferro) on a transistor radio with an ear plug. Political stuff, mostly over my head. But it was the first sense that I got of: “While I’m here in bed, someone is out there…talking.” Made me feel not so alone at night and I think is where my whole romantic notion of a “lone voice in the dark” stuff came from so alone at night and I think is where that whole romantic notion of a “lone voice in the dark” stuff came from.
TV went off the air…but radio? In the middle of some small room in a remote building with an antenna on the roof — somebody was talking, or choosing which song to play next. Magic.
Certainly a lot of mean-spirited jerks on this board. For a democracy to thrive you need a myriad of voices and viewpoints. Now the Bay Area has just one radio point of view. Putin would love this.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I don't think anyone mentions Jim Moore when recalling the roster of excellent KGO hosts. He was a class act.
You are so right, I have posted several comments pretty much saying the same thing. I understand if someone conservative does not want to listen to Pat or John (although some do) but, to constantly suggest, they shouldn't have a voice, suggest, to me, they don't really believe in democracy.
DeleteI'm a Republican and I say bring on all opposing points of view, provided it is an open and substantive discussion. Neither Pat nor John were capable of open and substantive discussion; they said the same things every day (OMG, Trump!) and treated callers as foils to launch into their personal screeds. Gene Burns and Ronn Owens never behaved that way.
DeleteReading these comments , one would think we were in the south. I loved the old KGO and the new one as well. Pat Thurston and John Rothman provided a progressive perspective that reflected the Bay Area. Of course the so called progressive perspective was and is needed as we face the attempted overthrow of our democracy given Trump and January 6. Cumulus is owned by right wingers so not a surprise it’s shut down right before the elections. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. The Bay Area deserves a progressive perspective. Fortunately , we can pick up other radio through streaming.
ReplyDeleteWhat local elections within KGO's reach needed to be discussed ? None of the dicey and determinative elections in other parts of the country are within KGO's range.
DeleteIf you think a progressive/liberal/left-wing station would sell, start your own. Everyone has been a failure because left-wingers are always wrong. See acid-rain, climate-change, global warming, reparations, Black Lives Matter, Russia hoax.
DeleteHow about Sonny Buxton, Noah Griffin and Roy Elwell. There was an English guy that did late nights. Then there was an entertainment guy that did weekends. I think he had a heart attack on air.
ReplyDeleteI listened to the sports gambling show for a couple of minutes this morning. Where do I go to get those two minutes of my life back? Never thought I’d miss Pat Thurstons monotonous Trump trashing, but it was appointment radio compared to the mumbling dice-jockeys of the “new KGO”. There’s going to be a massive audience who won’t listen to this station. Bet on it.
ReplyDeleteMe too & I’m just upset where it has landed. I need to work on changing the radio station dials in all my vehicles.
DeleteThe next point of the matter is what will happen to this station when sports betting propositions are voted “No”? I hope the majority of the votes are “No” so that we can see where the direction of this station heads in
Sad day for 810. Sad day for radio in general.
DeleteThanks for the trip down memory lane. I’ve not found a station I really love. KFI is where I spend a lot of listening. Maybe I feel better cruising 280 only to hear that the 405 is packed or Tim Conway Jrs coverage of police chases and such.
ReplyDelete810 kHz long gone. Dr Bill was the best, sorry - he didn’t suffer fools well. Bill followed by Ray T. on Sunday made for a sleepless Sunday night. Gene Burns and Bernie weekdays appointment radio along with Bernie’s ecumenical God Talk. Excellent news coverage with the morning and evening crews. Dunbar, Wygant, Rosie and Ed, Leo and LLY in the weather lab. Christine we loved you too. Aloha.
ReplyDeleteI remember I used to correspond with Dr. Bill on USENET. He was great when he stuck to talking about science. His politics left a lot to be desired.
DeleteI hope we, your loyal readers, can count on you to let us know if Pat or John surface anyplace. Thank you.
ReplyDelete