KXL 750AM was owned by Les Smith and Hollywood stars, Danny Kaye and Frank Sinatra.  KXL was a
50,000 watt "daytimer."  They had a tremendous signal, but the FCC made them sign-off from sundown to
sunrise to protect other stations on 750 kilocycles, now known as kiloHertz (kHz).

KXL played the hits through 1958.  Bob McCarl was the mid-day DJ.  Don Porter was morning drive and
program director.  "Little" Bob Liddle did afternoon drive, and was famous for counting down the hits.
The countdowns rotated between national charts in Billboard and Cashbox, and a local Top 30 list
determined by listeners' postcard song votes.

Perhaps, Bob Liddle was even more famous for KXL's classic daily sign-off.  KXL would be rockin' along, when suddenly it was the FCC mandated time to shut down.  Without warning, Bob would launch into Frank Sinatra's "All The Way."  The sign-off copy fit perfectly over the instrumental introduction of the song.

Bob Liddle would read, "KXL is owned and operated by Seattle/Portland/Spokane Broadcasting…(pause)
...Frank Sinatra, Chairman of the Board."  At this point, Frank would sing "When somebody loves you…", then KXL would play the National Anthem and shut down the transmitter until sunrise the next day!!!

KEX 1190AM was most famous for Barney Keep, who did their morning show for 35 years.  Keep Time was the spot all parents dialed to check for official school closures.

I vividly remember Barney playing "That'll Be The Day" by the Crickets.  Why?  I hooked the alligator clips of my "rocket radio" to a heat register one day in grade school.  "Old Barn" was playing Buddy Holly!!!  He also played the "Liechtenstein Polka," perhaps a favorite of Barney's wife, "the old biscuit burner."

Throughout the day 1957- 61, the KEX Top 33 was played by DJ's such as:  Russ Conrad, Bobby Dean, Frank Benny, & Roger Ferrier.

1957- 58, KWJJ 1080AM was prone to play pop music, especially weekends.  Sammy Taylor was KWJJ's
big-voiced smooth DJ, a holdover from the Big Band era.

I recall Sammy having Bonnie Guitar of "Dark Moon" fame as a studio guest.  Margie Rayburn once sang along with her hit "I'm Available" live on-air, which I thought sounded "very cool."

KPOJ 1330AM was owned by the Portland Oregon Journal, hence the "POJ" in KPOJ.  Afternoon drive was handled by Bob Blackburn.  The Mellow Men, a barbershop quartet, sang Bob's theme:  "Here's our boy Bob Blackburn…".

After completing his afternoon show on KPOJ, Bob was the play-by-play announcer for Beaver Baseball, which was broadcast on KEX.  It seemed that Bob just migrated up the dial.

Road games were simulated, with Bob interpreting ticker-tape accounts complete with crowd noise and "the crack of the bat" sound effects.  Once the ticker feed went dead, and Bob filled color facts and stories for 15 minutes as he had a batter hit foul after foul.

KPOJ's real claim-to-fame was Dick Novak's Rhythm Room.  Dick broadcast live from Amato's Supper Club from 1954 - 56.  Parents made requests and
Dedications, often for their kids, from the club.

1957- 58 Dick broadcast live nightly from Scotty's
Drive-In.  Scotty's was where you picked up and
deposited your requests & dedications.  Dick also put kids on-air live from the Drive-In.

Dick Novak, "the swingin' fireman from Pistol Creek," was the first DJ to play a heavy concentration of
current hits.  The show was "listener driven," so it was first in Portland  to reflect true local popularity for the nightly radio audience.

In late 1958, KGW 620AM hired Dick Novak for PM drive.  A billboard campaign heralded Dick's arrival on KGW with "4th dimension sound."  This apparently was a reference to the echo chamber through which KGW ran Dick's voice!!!

By early 1959, Dick Novak had returned to KPOJ's night show, this time sponsored by Stacy's Cleaners.
You guessed it!  You picked up and deposited your
requests & dedications at Stacy's.  By 1960, the show was sponsored by Gillette Razor Blades.

Wait until you hear how you made your Gillette
dedications.  It makes "anthrax" seem like a picnic!!! 

You mailed your requests and dedications to Dick at KPOJ.   One "used razor blade" had to be stapled or taped to each dedication.   YIKES!!!  Hopefully, Dick and postal employees were getting "hazard pay."

Novak played everything from the Diamonds "She Say" to Stan Freberg's "Bang Gunleigh, U.S. Marshall Fields."  The latter was pure comedy...sponsored by "Puffed Grass."  Remember:  "If it's good enough for Bossy, it's good enough for me and you."  You can
Always tell a Puffed Grass eater by his green teeth!!!

KGW 620 was owned by Pioneer Broadcasting, which also owned KGW-TV Channel 8.  This combo lured
Canada's #1 DJ, Red Robinson to Portland in early '59. 

Red was Canada's first DJ to play Rock'n'Roll and Rhythm'n'Blues in 1954.  Only 16, Red would hurry from High School to do his afternoon show on CJOR
in Vancouver, BC.

In 1957, Red emceed Elvis Presley's Vancouver, BC concert.  The audio is electrifying and will be heard on this website in the future.

Red joined KGW to handle 2-6pm and host
Portland Bandstand, a weekly Teen Music Dance
show Saturdays on Channel 8. 

Gene Brendler's "High Time" had been going strong weekday afternoons on KPTV, since 1958.  Local High School and Jr. High cliques booked time in a crowded studio to dance to the hits, and be seen on local TV.  The show also featured national artists "lip synching" their hits, & being interviewed by Gene.  Red handled those duties on KGW-TV's new Portland Bandstand.

Red's Teen Canteen Show was touted as the fastest growing club in North America.  When Red came to
the U.S., he already had 25,000 - 30,000 members.

Red featured instrumental themes throughout his
show including "Rebel Rouser" by Duane Eddy, and even "The Happy Whistler" by Don Robertson.  This
whistling theme was used later by Portland TV clown, Rusty Nails during stints with both KPTV and KATU.


Red was Portland's connection to the recording stars.  They did testimonials for his show.  A prime example is the Connie Francis sound file on your left.

I actually believed Red spent his time on the phone talking to the stars when he got home at night.  He made you afraid "not to listen."  Why?  He was always popping "rabbits out of a hat." 

If you couldn't listen, you were afraid you were missing something great... like Bobby Darin dropping by!!!

Many emerging rock stars got their start at
Portland's Division Street Corral.  Bobby mentions
he's appearing in Longview and at "D Street."

The "recording session" Bobby mentioned "in about 2 weeks," yielded America's #1 hit of 1959, "Mack The Knife."  You've heard of "must see T.V."  This was truly "must hear radio"!!!

Meanwhile, 1957-1959, KVAN 910AM featured upbeat DJ's playing the hits, with a marginal signal licensed to Vancouver, Washington.  K-VAN's  night show
began competing with Dick Novak's KPOJ franchise.

It was Uncle Bill's Bandstand with Bill Howlitt.  Like Dick, Bill took requests and dedications by mail,
BUT YOU DIDN'T EVEN NEED A RAZOR BLADE. 
(How many kids were shaving, anyway?)

I'll never forget one of those KVAN dedications: 
"Dear Uncle Bill…please play (such & such) for
(so & so) & for you too, Uncle Bill, if you like it. 
'Well I don't…but thanks anyway'."

Several years later when I met Bill Howlitt and told him I wanted to get into radio, Bill replied:  "Kid, why don't you do something safe like drive a nitroglycerin truck." 

I thought, "These radio people are so zany."  Little did
I know, there was a modicum of truth in his words.

One thing many of the  aforementioned stations had in common was the DJ's were mostly "hold overs" from the big band/jazz era. 

In some cases, there was only one DJ shift that was hit oriented, as was the case with Dick Novak at KPOJ.  Suburban stations, such as KVAN, were handicapped since their signals were marginal in parts of the metro. 

Big signaled KGW made the first bold move by
raising the profile of Rock'n'Roll in PM Drive with Red Robinson.

This move made it possible to get Top 40 from KGW
2-6pm, then move to KPOJ or KVAN 6pm-Midnight
for Top 40.

To date, there had not been one station imaged around Top 40, and dedicated to playing it 24 hours a day,
7 days a week, 365 days a year...year after year...
THAT ALL CHANGES SPRING 1959 IN PORTLAND.