Robert W. Morgan, KHJ Los Angeles, February 22, 1969 1AM-2AM (57:26)

. . . Pat Boone was still a college student when he recorded his first hit . . .

[Description by Uncle Ricky from notes by contributor Don Kent]

Pat Boone

Frankie Lymon
This is Hour Fourteen of the First and Original History Of Rock And Roll, as broadcast by KHJ between 1AM and 2AM on February 22, 1969. Our host is Robert W. Morgan.

This hour continues the "Pop Music" segment of the History, featuring artists that were played on radio along with the new "rock and roll" performers, some of them performing "cover" versions of what many considered to be "race" music.

This hour also includes a ten-minute KHJ newscast with Lyle Kilgore (at 1:40 AM!) The Sirhan Sirhan trial is underway in Los Angeles, and the Clay Shaw trial, dramatized in Oliver Stone's film JFK, was underway in New Orleans. And, this KHJ hour varies most significantly from the syndicated script used later, with the station's legal ID embedded in Robert W.'s copy. Also included: the lawsuit-encouraging first-time hit song parody by Buchanan & Goodman.

This was the first "Rockumentary", produced by KHJ Program Director Ron Jacobs. Following the unprecedented success of this legendary broadcast, Jacobs left KHJ later that year. RKO made the show available to the other stations in their group, narrated by station-specific talent. When RKO was done with it, Drake-Chenault offered a re-recorded version in syndication three times between 1972 and 1982. An edited version (no jingle) of the last release, narrated by Bill Drake, was still in syndication as of 2006.

The morse code REELRADIO "copymark" included (four times) in this exhibit is a reminder that duplication and distribution for trade or sale is illegal and inappropriate. Do not copy, do not trade, do not sell.

The opening song in this exhibit was restored from tape provided by Norm Garr.