The KNBR "Class of 68," Circa
1973 FRONT ROW (from left):
Jane Morrison, Rosalie Allen, Bob Stephens; MIDDLE ROW (from left): Hap Harper, Gene
D'Accardo, Frank Dill, Tom Haggarty and friend; BACK ROW (from left): Ron Fell, Heber
Smith, Mike Cleary.
Photograph from the collection of Frank Dill.
Click here for more information about this
photograph.
KNBR general manager Bill Decker,
program director Al Hart and morning personality Doug
Pledger in a mid-1960s publicity photograph.
San Francisco's venerable KNBR (680 AM) traces
its origins back to April 1922, when it went on
the air as KPO under the auspices of the Hale
Bros. department store. After several years of
co-ownership with the San Francisco Chronicle,
KPO became the key station on NBC's Orange
Network, feeding affiliated stations on the
Pacific Coast.
In 1932, KPO was purchased by General Electric,
which leased the station to its subsidiary, the
National Broadcasting Company, beginning more
than fifty years of ownership by the
broadcasting giant. KPO became KNBC in November
1947, then — after the FCC denied reinstatement
of the original KPO calls — became KNBR in
November 1962.
Among the notable names appearing on KNBR's
airwaves during the NBC era were Doug Pledger,
Frank Dill, Mike Cleary, Carter B. Smith,
Ron
Lyons, Dave Niles, Les Williams, Chris Borden, Jack Hayes, Leo Laporte,
Jim Jones, Hoyt Smith, and newsmen Gene
D'Accardo, Ed Brady, Jim Titus and Bob Lazich. Dill
replaced Pledger as KNBR's morning man in 1965,
beginning a 32-year run on the wake-up shift. He
later paired with Cleary to create one of
radio's most enduring morning teams.
In 2006, Frank Dill was elected into the Bay
Area Radio Hall of Fame as a member of the first
class to be inducted. In 2007, he was joined by
Mike Cleary, Carter B. Smith and Ron Lyons.
In 1986, NBC's parent company, General Electric,
began the process of spinning off its
owned-and-operated radio stations and, on May
24, 1989, the FCC approved the sale of KNBR to
Susquehanna Broadcasting, which already owned
San Francisco's KFOG (104.5 FM). KFOG's general
manager, Tony Salvadore, became KNBR's GM at
that time.
KNBR's ace newscaster delivers
the top stories from San Francisco to the entire
NBC Radio Network, a common practice on weekends
when the network relied on its key
owned-and-operated stations to perform the task.
This may be young Mike Cleary's
debut at KNBR/68, serving as vacation relief for
Ed Brady on the venerable Saturday night big
band and swing music program. Having gotten his
start in Petaluma and San Diego before arriving
in San Francisco at 1260/KYA, Cleary had also
worked briefly at 610/KFRC (and as KBHK-TV
Channel 44's Sgt. Sacto) before getting the
fill-in job at KNBR, where he would remain for
25 years.
A public affairs forum, moderated
by 15-year-old Yvonne Davis of Lowell High
School and featuring San Francisco schools chief
Dr. Thomas Shaheen, whose controversial push for
desegregation of the city's school system would
lead to his ouster in 1972 after only two years
on the job.
Part 2 of the broadcast, which may be
accessed separately, concludes with an NBC
network newscast anchored by KNBR's Gene
D'Accardo.
Ron Lyons was known to his
audience for his impressive wit, extensive
knowledge on countless subjects and his engaging
personality. In the studio, however, he was
known as one of the best production men in the
business. In this tribute to the long and
illustrious career of Giants legend Willie
McCovey, Ron shows his production chops with a
montage of word pictures, ably assisted by
Giants play-by-play men Lindsey Nelson and Hank
Greenwald, and "Stretch" himself, who also
appears in-studio for an interview with Lyons.
With Frank & Mike anchoring the
coverage — if you'll pardon the pun — Carter B.
Smith steams in under the Golden Gate Bridge
aboard the mighty USS Coral Sea as it
returns to port at Alameda. The broadcast
includes news headlines with Gene D'Accardo.
A studio-grade recording starring
C.J. and Carter B. in the afternoon, playing a
few records, giving away some prizes ... and
sharing a few laughs over Carter's lunch entree
— let's just say that it was more likely
calamari tentacles. The broadcast, which
probably dates from June 16, 1983, also includes
a Bob Lazich newscast and, about 28 minutes in,
a spot for the Oakland A's telecast voiced by
Bill King.
In which Ron (Lyons) and Tom
(Brown) forgo their standard Foolery for some
Yuletide hilarity featuring a chorus of canines
calling in to accompany the old Christmas
chestnut "Jingle Bells" by the legendary Singing
Dogs.
In this studio line recording,
Leo is joined between four and six p.m. by Dr.
John The Night Tripper, KNBR news reports by
Gene D'Accardo and Bob Lazich (who also
contributes business reports), Mike Pechner on
weather, sports with Ralph Barbieri, "This Date
In Hollywood History" with Jan Wahl, and
airborne traffic reports by Cammy Blackstone,
plus a sports flashback with Bob Costas, in this
broadcast. Listen also for a news story about
the National Rifle Association by reporter Steve
Bitker, who would later become a longtime sports
anchor at KCBS/740. You may also enjoy the
second hour of the show on its own by
clicking here. (Please note that some
musical selections are marred by low sound
levels.)
BONUS
COVERAGE! The sale of KNBR to
Susquehanna Radio after 57 years of operation by
NBC was approved by the FCC only two weeks
earlier and, while the station maintains its
customary full-service format (and "Your NBC
Station" IDs at the top of the hour), changes
are being made behind the scenes to transform
KNBR into a news, sports and talk outlet under
new GM Tony Salvadore. Note some interesting
musical choices, including songs by Howard Jones
and Culture Club, that are a bit out of step
with the station's mainstream feel.
Meanwhile, as heard in this broadcast, Frank &
Mike continue to hold forth over the morning
program, assisted by Sherry Meek and Ken Duke
with news, Kim Wonderley on traffic and Mike
Pechner with weather. In-studio guests today are
the folk'n'roll parody band
Celtic Elvis. In
Part 2 of the recording, which may be
accessed separately, Frank & Mike's shift
concludes, and Steve Jamison takes over in the
ten o'clock hour following NBC News with Ken
Herrera.
— Exhibit includes text and
audio.
— Exhibit includes audio only.
— Jingle package. —
Edited version.
— Fair to poor reception quality.
CBS — Courtesy of
Carter B. Smith.
CS
—
Courtesy of Cathy Schezer (daughter of Gene
D'Accardo).
MS — Courtesy of
Mike Schweizer.
RL — Courtesy of
Ron Lyons.
Other recordings from the Bay Area Radio Museum
archives.
Real Player (free
download) is required to play these exhibits.
Special thanks
to Robert Faust and the family of Doug Pledger for permission to reprint
the photograph of Doug, Al Hart and Bill Decker as part of this
presentation. KNBR "Class of 68" photograph (detail from
Rusty Scupper promotion)
by courtesy of Frank Dill.
THE BAY AREA RADIO MUSEUM IS A
CALIFORNIA NON-PROFIT CORPORATION
DEDICATED TO PRESERVING AND HONORING THE HISTORY OF
RADIO BROADCASTING IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
— Exhibit includes text and
audio.
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