KHJ – Roger Christian – April 29, 1965 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
For years, if you lived in L.A. the two mainstays of Rock Radio for you were KFWB and KRLA. Sure, there were others, but KRLA and KFWB were the go-to stations; you listened for the exclusives, you tried your best to be the 8th caller or the 10th caller, and sometimes you won things. You were a loyal reader of The KRLA Beat or The KFWB Hitline – you were informed, and those two stations were the ones that informed you. You trusted them. BMR was your leader. Dave Hull knew John Lennon personally and was starting his own nightclub in Hollywood where the Moulin Rouge was on Sunset.
So when you started seeing billboards popping up around town advertising Boss Radio, you wondered what it meant. 93 KHJ, right next door to KFWB which was Channel 98. Another Rock station – only this one was AM and FM, and that meant it sounded really great. The trouble was, you didn’t have an FM radio – but your parents did on their stereo in the living room. Unfortunately, your parents hated Rock n’ Roll and the most you ever heard coming from the living room was 101 Strings and the odd Perry Como record. The Beatles were out of the question – that was relegated to your room and your transistor radio. And the sound was like any transistor radio. But it was the song that was important anyway.
This Boss Radio 93 KHJ would be officially starting in May – but a week before, they were trying it out, seeing if you would listen. Yeah – you listened. Kind of okay – nothing to write home about. You aren’t going to give up KRLA or KFWB anytime soon. You have loyalties. But on this particular April 29th in 1965, you tuned in around 11 in the morning and got Roger Christian. Maybe you’ll listen again – maybe you won’t.
It’s 1965 and you’ve got choices.
