Column 4 - DAVE TUCKER - KLIF - KITE - KBER - KFJZ - KXOL

DAVE TUCKER (Ft. Worth, TX). dvtckr2001@aol.com
Hey Jim, I really enjoy all the stories I've read via Radio Daily News and your web site. You have really kept up with what's going on in the radio community. The stories are great.

As for me I'm semiretired, living in Ft. Worth with my dog Jimmy. Still do voice work for CBS 11 and putter around with my old Porsches. I have a '76 911 and a '58 356 A. I drove the '58 to Indiana last year and entered it in the James Dean Run in Fairmount. Every year thousands of Dean fans gather for a long weekend of car shows, Rockabilly music, a little beer, look at artifacts from Dean's life and career and talk to locals who knew him. Seven hundred Harley's drove into town at once during last year's festival and it sounded like God coming to town for a Slurpee.

Otherwise I shoot a little video, edit and work on my little 'documentaries' about stuff I'm still interested in. Wow, this email is getting boring isn't it?

I'll close by wishing you and yours the best and drop me a line when you have the chance. Take care, Dave

DAVE, Our KFJZ days in the early 70's, were a long enough time ago to warrant at least a couple more emails just to begin to catch us up. Porshes are fun. Nice to see you're taking advantage of that remarkable voice in Cowtown. Tell us more of what else you've been up to. Any update about some of our friends would be nice, too.

1971 began an adventure into News broadcasting under JOE LONG at KBOX, TED AGNEW at KLIF and JOHN RHODES at KITE. It was like a whole new world had opened up. These were the Top News Directors in Texas soaking me wet in their vast knowledge. I told 'em to pour it on! Mobile News reports, interviews, voicers, Newscasts. They kept JIM ROSE busy. No University could scratch the surface.

TED AGNEW, KLIF's News Director planted me right in the center of the action.

After awhile, KLIF's Program Director, MICHAEL O'SHEA, brought in a revolutionary idea for News outros. MIKE said he "Was gonna make DJ's out of us Newsmen."

As with everything KLIF did, it was very flashy. When we gave Dallas' current temperature, we punched a button to launch the new outro cart from the KLIF Control Room. Over the very uptempo music bed, it was loudly proclaimed "JIM ROSE, KLIF News." up to the dramatic KLIF jingle, then straight into KLIF music. How much more excitement can there be? This was the most dramatic Radio fireworks one could possibly imagine. Made each Newscast a real spectacle in the KLIF tradition.

The legendary MIKE SELDEN was PM Drive DJ. MIKE was Tuff As Nails. A Pulse rating period ended declaring MIKE had 100% of Dallas' teens in his audience. Unheard of anywhere else. That's the power and domination KLIF had over Dallas for TWO decades. A copy of that portion of the Pulse rating was posted on every KLIF bulletin board in the building.

JOHN RHODES had just moved over from KTSA with big plans as KITE's News Director. JOHN called me in Dallas with An Offer I Couldn't Refuse. He granted me the title of Senior News Journalist and PM Drive Newscaster with a fifteen minute totally local Newscast. Travis Savings had been the sponsor. KITE wanted to get Travis Savings back.

KITE's general format was EZ Listening with a Contemporary touch. KITE's News was a strong feature with a devoted following. I had the entire KITE News staff to help supply voicers and feeds, but fifteen minutes is a long time to pack with nothing but local News. Especially with two Newscasts each hour to prepare and deliver. JOHN RHODES permeated each of my days with assignments all over every nook and cranny in Bexar County. This was nearly wearing my beloved car out. But, it was so much fun discovering odd News stories and bringing them home to KITE's listeners.

In just a short period of time, Travis Savings came back to KITE as sponsor of my fifteen minutes of fame Newscast. When at KBUC about a year or so earlier, I did a Travis Savings TV commercial that ran at 6 and 10 PM on all three of San Antonio's TV network stations for a solid month. Don't know if that had anything to do with Travis Savings coming back to KITE News or not. Who can say? But they did.

Political election time was fun. My girlfriend, ROZ, and I were invited to the homes of the most popular candidates. Truly exciting hob-knobbing with the Rich and Famous. OH! ROZ was impressed!

ROZ was one of the two voluptuous daughters of the owner of Garza's Western Wear on South St. Mary's, San Antonio's premere cowboy dud hangout. ROZ was my chauffeur. She had never seen anything like this. I was traveling in style. Ain't Radio something else?

We went to the homes of the Bexar County Judge, a Texas Senator and a Congressman. Tried to fit in as many as possible. This was all in just one evening's mad dash. As late results came blazing in during the noisy party time, I'd tape a brief interview. Then, call KITE's News Hotline for the News person to start the tape rolling, plug the cord into the machine, hook the aligator clips to the telephone's mouth piece prongs to send the audio back to KITE.

None of the politicians wanted us to leave. It was like they wanted their own personal KITE News Reporter saturating KITE's airwaves with every word and reaction they had to say. ROZ wanted to stay and party. But my night was completely loaded to the brim with activities that had to be done. We had to Move On Down the Road.

We finished as many interviews as we could do in the short period of time we had. I took the wheel of my 1970 Dodge Charger RT/SE, with its powerful 440 Magnum engine. We zoomed as fast as possible to get back to the KITE studios, downtown San Antonio.

If there was a breath left, I still had to perform as one of the KITE News Staff Co-Anchors. JOHN told me to sit down beside him at the interview desk. We did a type of two-man News Show. JOHN RHODES, interviewed me about political News experiences in Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and other cities in Texas. Don't believe there has been Such A Night since. This felt like the big time.

Deep in the Heart of the activities, KITE's studios were jammed full of the six News staff members. Lots of moving and shuffling around. My hard work for the night was over. The others were very busy on the phones and tape machines. Whew! What a night! Some of us received a bit more dues paying than others. BRING IT ON!

Missed Programming and being a DJ. When A.V. BAMFORD, the owner of KBER FM-AM in San Antonio, called with an offer to become KBER's new Program Director, Music Director and AM Drive DJ, it was too good to be true. Here I was, back in San Antonio to Program KBER against KBUC, which was a Radio Station that I Programmed in 1968 as the new competition for KBER. Radio sure offers a lot of twists and turns. Keeps you on your toes.

A.V. BAMFORD was an old time Texas music promoter and booking agent, plus, he owned KBER. I had to work with what he hired and fired. It was a real challenge to get things on an even keel. Like trying to push a brick wall with one finger. KBER was still in its original transmitter location site way out in a cattle field about a quarter mile from Loop 410 in far southeast San Antonio. Two small buildings. One, for Management, Programming and sales. The other, held a tiny News Room. Things Had Gone To Pieces at KBER. This was right down my alley. I love taking broken things, piecing them back together and fixing them. Listened to and chose lots of excellent Country tunes and artists. A true JOY to behold.

Talked my deep voiced KLIF buddy, JOHN BUTLER, into recording some KBER DJ intros. I worked on giving KBER a slick, fast moving format, with smooth music flow transitions. After awhile, KBER's silver turned into gold. KBER sounded pretty good. Gave a sense of accomplishment.

Dad died, in Dallas, on my birthday, November 16, 1972. This left a huge void.

Early 1973, I hitched up my 1970 Dodge Charger RT/SE with its torrid 440 Magnum engine to another one of those infamous U-Haul trailers, blasted back to Dallas. Didn't have a job in sight. Rented a nice two bedroom apartment in North Dallas, bought a brand spanking new 1973 Dodge Charger SE. This became the first time I got out of Radio.

Kennedy and Cohen had opened two HUGE stores in Texas. One in Dallas, the other in Houston. K & C marketed every brand of appliance, TV, audio equipment and music. There were around 70 of us in the sales force. People from airline pilots to computer language experts. Did pretty good, but when Radio is as thick in your blood as mine, there is a pulsating tremble to leap-frog back into Radio's Wonderful Web.

RAY POTTER, KFJZ's Program Director, offered me week-ends. I shouted "YES!" Now, I was with true legendary Radio DJ's. GEORGE ERWIN, DAVE TUCKER, LARRY SHANNON, MARK STEVENS and LARRY JAMES. That was the lineup.

Here I was, my home was in North Dallas. Never calculated the miles driven back-and-forth, but they were a lot. MARK STEVENS put me to work spinning platters one night a week at a niteclub he owned. Met the daughter of a Ft. Worth City Councilman who offered to let me stay at her house on the weekends. This cut the driving down a lot.

RAY was a real gemto work for. RAY moved me to the full time all-night DJ spot almost immediately. Then, RAY left. 22 year old BEAU WEAVER flew in from San Fransisco, scooted me into the 9a-noon slot. Then, BEAU left. JON RIVERS came aboard, sent me packing.

Zipped over to KXOL as Music Director. Another legendary Texas Radio Station. This presented me with the finest office that I ever had in Radio. Only a double-paned sound-proof window to the left seperated my desk from the KXOL Control room.

Tuesdays were set aside for all day long weekly meetings with every Major Record Company Promotion person! Some came as far away as Los Angeles to meet and greet KXOL's new Music Director. This was another real dues paying learning process.

MICHAEL JAMES LUCAS later joined us as Program Director. We just had ourselves one whale of a good time. KXOL sounded GREAT.

A couple years later, KXOL switched formats from Top 40 to Country. Some people left. I was asked to remain as Music Director and 9a-noon DJ.

Don't go to the Circus for a Ride on the Roller Coaster. Get into Radio. You'll Never Regret It.Houston, Texas

That's pretty much the way I REMEMBER it.

JIM ROSE

Houston, Texas

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