Issue #1 - The first Boss 30 survey available to the general public and featuring Boss Jock Sam Riddle on the cover. Issued roughly two months after the start of the Boss Radio format.
At first glance the survey appears to list 30 records. There are actually 31 listed due to two records being tied for the same position. This was a common occurrence for the first two years or so. Exactly one-half of the first 100 surveys contain 31 records. This practice was abandoned in late 1967, with Issue #122 being the last to contain a tie.
This is the final week on the survey for Lesley Gore’s “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows.” It has the distinction of being the shortest song to appear on a Boss 30, checking in at a mere 1:37.
11 comments:
At least one bit of information on this first printed Boss 30 that's incorrect is where it shows 5 weeks on the survey for "Satisfaction." Any hardcore KHJ fan knows the song was number one on the Boss 30 for 6 weeks. In fact it was mentioned often the first few years the station was on the air. They especially made a big deal of it in January 1967 when the Monkees broke the record, spending 8 weeks at the top.
I hope that someone out there has the Boss 30 lists that started the week of May 7 and will one day share them. They would have most likely had to listen to the station and write down the numbers (or have access to in-house lists). I'm not sure if there was an on-air countdown the first few weeks. I do, however, know what songs were number one each of those weeks prior to July 9, from listening to the station during those weeks (they often mentioned what song was number one) and also because they frequently mentioned the station's chart history during the Wednesday Boss 30 countdowns and specials (Top 300, Boss 93 of the year, Hall of Fame, etc.)
The early number ones were as follows:
Wooly Bully - Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, 3 weeks (May 7, 14, 21)
I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops, 1 week (May 28)
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones (June 5, 12, 18, 25, July 2, 9)
Happy 47th anniversary to the Boss 30! Not only are there two #6 songs n this initial chart, but "last week" featured two #2s and two #7s. And whatever was at #4 the previous week fell completely off the chart!
That's got to be a typo for the second "last week" #2, "I Can't Help Myself." I'm sure it's the missing "last week" #4. Still, it doesn't explain having two current #6s, which means the first official Boss 30 was really 31.
The KHJ Boss 30 DESIGN was copied by scores, possibly hundreds of radio stations.
Who designed the survey?
I know there are KHJ surveys that go back to 1963, called Very Important Platters (VIP's). Anyone have knowledge about these surveys and all the number one songs from 1963 through July 1965?
http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/surveys_item.php?svid=37902&lidx=0<tl=438&lcnt=30&srt1=chartweek&srt2=tsc_psv DESC&vqry=khj
I was 9 yrs old in the summer of 1965 and got my introduction to Boss radio that July on the ride to and from Camp Kinneret, summer day camp. The young counselors that would pick us kids up would have KHJ blasting on the car radio. It's exciting to learn from this site that I was introduced to KHJ near the beginning of "Boss Radio" format. Those songs will forever be my nostalgia "base" for my lifetime love of 1960s POP/Rock. I was hooked and tuned my transistor radio to KHJ at home every chance I could. Wonderful memories of endless summers...That somehow ended.
I'm The Live Earl Jive.
I have a bit of a correction here.
I recall when SATISFACTION debuted at #1 on the Boss 30. It stayed there for 6 weeks. You'll notice that the first 3 issues of the Boss 30 used the Weeks On Survey system where a dash was indicated when the song debuted, since it hadn't been on the chart a week yet. This was very common at the time. So, in its 2nd week at #1 SATISFACTION would have shown 1 in the Weeks On Survey column. Hence, the 6th week would show a 5 in that column.
I was music director at KRLA when KHJ Launched and was surprised at how similar the Boss 30 was to the one I compiled that week (in May 1965). In 1973, I was sitting with Rob Jacobs in his Pacific Beach home in San Diego, and we were talking about the first week of Boss Radio, and he said KFWB had started saying Boss Radio on the air, so KHJ had to launch right away, unprepared. He told me they had to use KFWB's or KRLA's chart, so they decided to use KRLA's, and MD Betty Brenneman purchased 2 copies of each single at Wallach's Music City (Sunset & Vine) for use on the air. GLORIA by Them was #1 that week. I believe Ron also mentioned this in his book. I love looking at these charts and seeing what happened in months that I was away from LA.
The method of counting “Weeks on Survey” changed with Issue #4 (July 28). The dashes for “Weeks On” were no longer used for newly listed songs; they immediately showed as “1” week on. Note that “Satisfaction” Weeks On jumped on this Survey by one week (to “9”).
Jack Campbell
I worked for KHJ Radio & TV from 1965 thru 1967. Bill Drake was the music program master mind behind the song line ups. Don Finnegan was the promotions director and Mel Kline was the station General Manager. Together they were able to have the # 1 Radio station and TV Rock Shows from San Diego to Santa Barbara. The TV side of music was also top Rated with Hollywood A Go Go, Ninth Street West, Boss City and Groovy, my favorite. Thanks to Sam Riddle, Don Steele, Michael Blodgett, Kam Nelson and producer Yale Farer, they kept the popularity on top. Working there were some of my favorite times of my life.
Jack Campbell
Something I did not mention before were some of the contests they had on the Radio that helped to keep the station on top.
Honda A Day Motorcycle-Giveaway, Last train to Clarksville, The Big Kahuna, to name a few.
Jack Campbell
Earlier before me, “Eddie” asked if there was a list of # 1 songs from 1963 tHru 1965.
There was a list made by Bill Drake from 1965 to 1971 I believe that he had it air on KHJ Radio.
It played excerpts from each song and it was an Awesome production.
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