The Real Don Steele
KEWB Channel 91
Oakland
Sunday, August 16, 1964
“How the devil are ya?”
The remarkable Real Don Steele (born Donald Steele Revert, 1936-1997) — a/k/a “Your Mighty Leader” and best bud of Tina Delgado — spent only a brief time at Oakland’s Channel 91-derful on his way to landmark status as afternoon god at 93/KHJ in Los Angeles, but he shined brightly during his short stint in “Kewb Country,” wearing two hats: one as on-air personality, and another as program director.
This scintillating Sunday afternoon example of his frenetic, distinctive patter is a preview of things to come less than a year later when Boss Radio — with RDS’ KEWB teammate Robert W. Morgan anchoring the morning shift — was unleashed on L.A. by way of KHJ in the Spring of 1965.
The gently ‘scoped aircheck that accompanies this exhibit has much of the music edited out, but manages to show both Steele and KEWB at their very best.
[…] Oakland, CA and the Bay Area was introduced to the New Sound of Top 40 Radio with one of the better ‘rock and roll radio’ platforms earlier than most markets when the Oakland Tribune sold KLX to Crowell-Collier Publishers for $750,000 in the summer of 1959. The fading publishers had the foresight to pick up on the ‘new sound’ and hire some of the top voices -many yet established- such as Gary Owens, Casey Kasem, Don MacKinnon, K.O. Beachin (real name: Bob Elliott, later known as K.O. Bayley on KFRC), Bobby Dale, Robert W. Morgan, Ron Lyons, Chris Borden, Don Bowman, Ken Knox, Ron Reynolds, Ted Randal, Michael Jackson (the talk show host, known as Michael Scotland at KYA) and the one and only Real Don Steele. […]