COLLECTORS EDITION OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE KFAC LISTENERS GUILD www.SteamPoweredRadio.Com IJJO AM / 91.J l'M C MAGAZINE I I a.,.....,"• \ ,·l,u,, r,1,1, , 11111 ~ , ... , ' •• , • ••1J1, ,- H () ' • <II I C. It I \I .-: ·:: t.t.1•0'~- ,,.\,~:.~ "' ,.:-•'' p " ~ ' -- , Q!>\ ~"· ,. ,.. - ,--- \ IW•· \ ~:;-_. \ l(o\oc• \ ·-· \~' \ (~ \ ·~·;=~-\ I :. - ,, -:-;:.:-- ', \_. \---- .:;:::,~::::-i JANUARY /FEBRUARY 1979 COVER PROFILE In one of our previous issues of the KFAC Several memories stand out for Calvin country which is not simulcast 100% of the Magazine we included a collage of prog­ Smith in his 31 year association with KFAC. time. rams and playbills of events which took He recalls the days when KFAC was a To achieve this undertaking, KFAC ac­ place from 1938 onward. A larger and more sports station carrying baseball games quired and developed a complex auto• encompassing display of this literature is often beginning at 8PM. During the winter mated FM studio system and, more Impor­ used on both the front and back covers of months the Southern California Gas Com­ tantly, produced the only taped classical this issue or our magazine to highlight the pany Concerts (now a tradition over these music library in existence - over 1500 celebration of our 40th year as a classical stations) were heard from 8-10PM, as they hours. music station. To how many of these events still are today. However, during the baseball Both our AM and FM signals cover most can you relate? I won't ask how many you've season the concerts were programmed for of Southern California. attended. the two hours preceding the game. The KFAC business offices and studios are Were you a KFAC listener during the 30's baseball broadcasts made up the last non­ located at 5773 Wilshire Boulevard and are when there were only nine radio stations in classical broadcasts on KFAC. open Monday-Friday from 9 :00AM to the Los Angeles area? Those were the days During one Sunday afternoon concert 5:30PM. when it was not unusual for two broadcast broadcast on what was known as the "Radio Our AM transmitter is located at 4567 license holders to share the same fre­ Chatauqu Show", a very pretty 11 year old Santa Barbara Avenue in the Crenshaw/La quency. In those smog-free days, the fre­ girl was singing on the program. The station Brea area operating on 5000 watts of power quency 1300 (later change to 1330) was received a hurried call to find out who she at 1330 Megahertz. Our FM transmitter is shared by "The Bible Institute" using the was, whereupon Eddy Cantor took her to located on Mount Wilson with an Effective call letters KTBI, and by the Reverend Universal Studios where she was summar­ Radiated Power of 59.000 watts at 92.3 Robert Schuler using call letters KLEF (call ily featured in the motion picture, ··1000 Megahertz. letters now used by an FM classical music Men and A Girl". Do you remember delight­ Carl Princi station in Houston, Texas). ful Deanna Durbin? In 1932, Erret Lobban Cord, creator and Another personality, according to Smith, manufacturer of the Cord and Auburn au­ "worked for a time on the All Night Show as tomobiles, was granted the licenses of both a classical announcer, but he wouldn't fol­ the Bible Institute and the Reverend low orders and was always doing the Schuler. A short time later the call letters craziest things. "I think he was with us six were changed to KFAC using the mandat­ months," recollected Smith. Apparently ory "K" followed by F-A-C which indicated those "craziest things" have done no dam­ the original owner of the building, FULLER, age to Steve Allen's career. plus "AUBURN" plus "CORD" Of the seven on-air staff personalities at In those earlier days of radio there was no KFAC. six have been with the station for 25 such thing as a station format of operation. to 36 years. Thomas Cassidy, Dick Craw­ Each station produced whatever type prog­ ford, Tom Dixon, Fred Crane. Bill Carlson rams they desired involving Western, Hill­ and I bridge much of the history of KFAC. billy (country) and popular intermingled We are told that our names are synonymous with sports, news etc. As the networks con­ with this station. If lt is so, we are grateful. tinued to grow with the same program fed Doug Ordunio spearheads another genera­ to several hundred affiliates, this changed tion of classical music program hosts, and the atmosphere in radio radically Increasing we are encouraged. the competition among non-network sta­ In 1963 the Cleveland Broadcasting tions. Company purchased KFAC from Mr. Cord. Calvin J . Smith, General Manager of The station operated under Cleveland own­ KFAC from 1932 until the station was sold ership and the watchful eye of General in 1963, recognized the competition and Manager Ed Stevens. The principal owner logically decided that a unique program was Raymond Miller who, among other ac­ format of lasting value was the only way to complishments, was one of the original survive without constant changes and ex­ "Seven Blocks of Granite" football fame and perimentation. A Classical Music Format a former mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. It was was the answer. The transition was neces­ under this regime that our commercial pol• sarily gradual beginning in 1938 and con­ icy underwent some changes. tinuing for about ten years till the transfor­ In December 1969, "The Music Stations" mation was complete and K FAC became to­ were acquired by ASI Communications. tally classical. Inc., a medium-sized multi-divisional I wonder how many of our listeners re­ broadcasting company. Under this owner­ member Alfred Leonard, a refugee from ship KFAC has developed into a major fac­ Nazi Germany who had an excellent know­ tor in the broadcasting industry of Southern ledge of musfc and a delightful manner of California. Toward this end, KFAC installed presentation, who titled his program ap­ new studio and production equipment and a propriately, "Gateway to Music"? It was not new FM transmitter, and acquired larger, exactly coincidental that a music store he remodeled office space. owned and operated in Los Angeles also Most notable among the developments was given the same name. was KFAC's decision to program and With the acquisition of a competent air broadcast its AM and FM stations indepen­ and library staff KFAC classical program­ dently of each other, rather than simulcast PHOTOGRAPHY ming experienced an era of trial and error them. AM features the lighter, more familiar which ultimately resulted in our becoming classics. white FM offers heavier. more BY McGOVERN the leading classical music station in the sophisticated selections. KFAC Is the only western half of the country. AM and FM classical music station in the 845•5186 2 www.SteamPoweredRadio.Com ANTHONY H. CO. INC. MAKERS OF LIMO' S CONVERTIBLES, CUSTOM MARK IV & V ALSO CAN INSTALL THE FOLLOWING: • RUNNING BOARDS • CHOP TOPS • MOON ROOFS & SUN ROOFS • T. TOPS • ALL TYPES OF CUSTOM PAINTING • COMPLETE AUTOMOBILE CUSTOMIZING • DESIGNED TO YOUR SPECIFICATIONS 7329 SANTA MONICA BOULEVARD, LOS ANGELES , CALIFORNIA OPEN MONDAY - FRIDAY - 8 AM - 5 PM (213) 851-7766 (ASK FOR TONY OR JOHN) 3 www.SteamPoweredRadio.Com Message from the Office of Community Involvem ent CARL PAINCI, Director The passage of time brings changes and, displays the temperament, personality and musical knowledge. Cassidy is also a fine it is intended, progress. You may have sincerity which are necessary to participate singer and a lecturer at So. California col­ noticed some of the changes in the "cre­ in every phase of KFAC affiliation. We wel• leges and universities, as well as for music dits" section of this issue. come her warmly. groups, When he has any free time, he de­ The names of two of the most valued In her greeting to us she has offered to votes it to the reconstruction of classic members of our organization are now no review our veteran staff of on-air per• airplanes, longer listed. Jan Jellins, our magnificent sonalities. She writes: FRED CRANE - To him, music is a artist, has felt the pressures of her multiple "The history of KFAC would not be com­ means of communication, a linkage to the activ1lies and was forced to give up her plete without a few words about the people past. And for 32 years, his baritone voice most appreciated artistic offerings 10 this you have come to know, your friends the has helped many listeners feel like they're magazine. announcers. part of an exclusive family of music lovers. Bobbi Grimm, who was our first adminis­ They are very special people. Unlike most Crame who, playing Brent Tarleton, spoke trative assistant when we opened this de­ on-air personnel, these men and women the opening lines in the motion picture, partment in 1972, has grown in stature share a common feeling. To them, KFAC is "Gone With The Wind," also appeared in through the years to the point of becoming not just a place to work, it is a way of life. many TV shows over the years. A learned Director of Promotion & Advertising as well They care about lhe station as though it devotee of classical music, Crane greets as my most valuable associate. She re­ were their own. They prepare carefully their our early rising KFAC·AM listeners every cently accepted an assignment with the respective programs and talk to you md1· weekday morning. KFAC Sales Department and is fast becom­ vidually as though you are a personal ing an equally valuable asset to them. We friend. TOM DIXON - He has been with KFAC miss her but we share her joy in her prefer­ for the past 32 years, broadcasting six hours day, Monday through Friday.