Randy Kramer, KAFY Bakersfield, 1977 (07:52)

. . . we found a way to keep our records cleaner . . .

Description by Uncle Ricky

Randy Kramer was the morning guy at KAFY/550 in Bakersfield, when I was PD with GM Gary Burns in 1977. Burns was replaced by owner Darren McGavren (McGavren Guild) in 1978.

I thought Randy was a great catch for the money I had to pay (pitiful, Bakersfield in 1977 and KAFY was no way to get rich.) I got him a small raise to be Music Director so he could frolick with the L.A. promoters that made the long drive over The Grapevine to woo us; after all, we did report to R&R. As a result, when KAFY got a Gold Record for Supertramp (Give A Little Bit), I was happy to let Randy take it when he left for a better opportunity.

Randy was very creative, dependable and professional when he worked with me. Randy also had epilepsy. He took a lot of medication to keep it under control, and it was never a problem at KAFY.

The last time I saw Randy was in the early '80's, in Sacramento, when he showed up unexpectedly at KROY (where I was Operations Manager) looking for a job. He was traveling with a battered old suitcase tied up with string, which he had stashed behind the dumpster at the station. He told me his ex-wife had the gold record.

Unfortunately, I had nothing for him at KROY, and at his request, I took him and his suitcase to the bus station in Sacramento. A few years later, I was told he died when he suffered a seizure in the shower. So, for all I know, this is all anyone will ever know about Randy Kramer.

Hey, this was a good aircheck, Randy. I don't remember if I ever told you that...