Issue #216 - Humble Harve hosts the replay of “The History of Rock & Roll” this weekend on Boss Radio.
KHJ Boss 30 - August 20, 1969
93/KHJ Boss Radio: A Look Back
Issue #216 - Humble Harve hosts the replay of “The History of Rock & Roll” this weekend on Boss Radio.
9 comments:
I always liked "Make Believe." I didn't know for several years that Tony Orlando was the voice of Wind (a studio band).
This version of "MacArthur Park" was the first time I ever heard of Waylon Jennings. It's an unusual cover of the Jim Webb song, even considering the Richard Harris version from a year earlier. Jennings' version is not a single I would have expected KHJ to play.
I always wondered why Humble Harve took over the announcing duties on the reairing of the first "History of Rock and Roll," and now, seeing its airdates in context, I think I know why: Because KHJ wanted to reair it but didn't know if original announcer Robert W. Morgan would be back at the station after his holdout. So I'm assuming Harve just redid all of Morgan's work. Can anyone verify if this was the reason?
Steve:
Given that the event had to be scheduled in advance, and that Morgan was out until August 1, I think it's a very good bet that Harve was chosen for that reason. He was also the narrator for the expanded 52-hour version a couple of years later, but of course, Morgan was gone to WIND, Chicago by then.
All of this begs the question...why not Charlie Tuna?
Good question. Tuna's voice was much better suited to such a documentary than Harve's. But Tuna was still relatively new to KHJ at this time, correct? So maybe Harve got it on seniority reasons.
Steve:
Actually, Harve beat Tuna to KHJ by only 9 months...Charlie was approaching his second anniversary here, so that wouldn't be a factor.
KHJ's new PD, Jim O'Brien, had fairly limited choices: Even if Morgan was back when the decision was made, making it clear he was replacable might be a good strategic move. The same could apply to The Real Don Steele (who also, truth be told, wasn't very good at straight announcing stuff with no personality...the occasional voice-tracking jobs on KHJ-FM's Hitparade '68, '69 and '70showed that).
Scotty Brink was a relative newbie in his second tour at KHJ (though I think he would have been perhaps the best choice), Sam Riddle was an on-again, off-again presence at the statio (though I think he could also have been very good)...and Johnny Williams probably was never considered simply because he was the overnight guy. Ditto Bill Wade as the weekend and fill-in jock.
That left Harve and Tuna. With O'Brien long dead, we'll probably never know.
And yet there was no way that KHJ would re-air the documentary with Morgan's original narration, even if he'd stayed away? Seems like a lot of trouble to go to, but I suppose management was trying to show him that he COULD be replaced, even on such a prestigious documentary. It must have been a blow for Morgan to lose the HORR.
Steve:
If Morgan had stayed out, KHJ would have been airing a former Boss Jock, reminding the audience of what they were missing and keeping his visibility high for whatever station hired him next. All things they simply wouldn't do.
And the newly posted Boss 30s above this one answer my Scotty Brink question...they were preparing (pending RWM's return) to bump him from middays to 9PM-Midnight.
Harve was flat out stronger. Guys, Tuna wasn't a big deal in 1969. Harve was. Harve had a hipper sound to say the least.
It was around this time that Philadelphia radio station WIBG premiered the 48-hour History of Rock and Roll (same script, same songs) narrated by former WIBG deejay Harvey Miller. I guess he wasn’t known as “Humble” in Philadelphia, but perhaps one of the reasons HH was chosen was that he was known in multiple major markets.
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