Drake passes away...
National News:Legendary Top-40 programmer Bill Drake passed away November 29 of lung cancer. He was 71. Drake, whose real name was Philip Yarbrough, streamlined the Top 40 format using market research and demographics to maximize the number of listeners a station had. He also created the concept of "20/20" News and counter programming - playing music while the competitors broke for news. As his Wikipedia page states, "Drake essentially put radio back into the hands of programming, instead of sales. Along with Gene Chenault, Drake is probably best known for the "Boss Radio" jingles sung by the Johnny Mann Singers. Today, these jingles are closely associated with KHJ radio in Los Angeles. Although the company dissolved in the 1980s, the jingles are still available.
Readers’ Forum
If anyone recalls the time K-104 in Erie first aired Bill Drake’s “History of Rock and Roll” in the 80’s, it was unlike anything I had ever heard and to this day has yet to be topped. I was hooked because it was so well done and covered everything up to 1981 I believe. I think every radio I heard that Memorial Day weekend was locked on K-104. It also aired on WRIE 1330 and even this year in segments on WYNE 1530. To hear a 48 hour program like that was also mindblowing. I also recall a similar program hosted by Ralph Emery called “The History of Country Music” which aired in hour segments on the former “820 CHAM” from across the pond.
Tom Lavery (URL) - December 03, 2008 at 10:06 am