Back on April 16, 2013, I published a blog post called CHICAGO’S WLS AND RENO’S KDOT RADIO IN THE 1960s. In that post, I said that WLS-AM, one of America’s all-time most influential pop/rock radio stations, had a huge impact on my life and the lives of my friends when we were growing up in Chicago. I added some anecdotes from longtime Reno radio personality Bob Carroll, who worked at KDOT-AM in the Biggest Little City during the same era.
About a week ago, I was delighted to be contacted by Paul Michels, a blog reader with strong ties to Reno and some insider info on the local radio scene in the 1960s.
Michels wrote in an e-mail, “I lived in various places in Northern California, but consider Susanville, which is 85 miles northwest to Reno, to be my ‘home town.’ As a child, we often went to Reno for shopping, doctors, etc. Then in 1965 I got a job working at a radio station (KCBN) and lived in Reno for about two years until I was drafted into the Army. Those were two very special years and I look upon Reno as my second home town.”
Here’s an image of Michels’ business card from KCBN. Notice that Reno had a different area code then!
Michels continued, “KDOT was the predecessor to KCBN on the 1230 frequency and it was Reno’s first full-time top 40 station in 1959 when it was bought by Paul Schafer, an electronics guy who is considered the ‘father of radio automation.’ He had that station completely automated with reel-to-reel tape machines and the music played out from special-purpose Seeburg jukeboxes. I remember going there one night in 1962 and taking a look at it. The station was on Commercial Row, near the Reno Arch. It was one sight to behold … and one screwed up mess. There was always something going wrong. Schafer finally sold the station around 1963 when it had served his purpose as a test for his automation system. For a while it became an ‘MOR’ [middle-of-the-road] station, but changed back to Top 40 in 1965 (without the automation) and that is when I went to work there.”
As shared by Michels, here’s an ad from when Reno’s KDOT was fully automated:
And here is a copy of a KCBN survey of pop and rock hits from the week of July 4, 1965, as provided by Michels. You can see his name (spelled incorrectly) in the line-up of on-air personalities.
Getting back to Michels’ comments, he said, “Bob Caroll, who you mentioned in your blog, once worked for KSUE in Susanville — the station where I started my radio career in 1962 — before getting a job in Reno. In addition to KCBN, I worked for a time at KOLO 920-AM which in the early and mid-1960s was a very good ‘adult’ radio station. No rock n’ roll!”
“Yes, WLS was a monster back in the day. WCFL [a rival pop/rock station in Chicago] was great, too. They are both legendary AM top 40 radio stations,” Michels added.
Michels currently resides in Raleigh and is employed by Curtis Media Group, North Carolina’s largest independent owner of radio stations. He said he still thinks of Reno and Northern California as “home” and tries to return to the region as often as possible. He attended his 50-year high school class reunion in Susanville last September.
Last but not least, Michels mentioned a couple of Facebook groups that may be of interest to those who lived in Reno in the 1960s or ‘70s or are curious about those decades in Reno.
They’re called “You are probably from Reno if …” and “You lived in Reno in the 60s and 70s if you remember …”.
“The latter was started by former KCBN DJ Phil Harvey who worked there around 1970. Lots of great pictures and stories on both these groups,” Michels remarked.
Sincere thanks to Paul Michels for sharing his knowledge and images from his Reno radio days in the 1960s. Michels also sent me some interesting images of Reno’s historic movie houses, which I hope to use in a future blog post.
Also, here’s a fun “aircheck” clip from KCBN in the ‘70s, with the voice of Phil Harvey, snippets of vintage radio commercials, a groovy Lava Lamp and the intro to ABBA’s hit “Waterloo,” as found on YouTube:
Do you have stories to share about listening to pop/rock radio in Reno or Chicago in the 1960s or '70s? I would love to hear from you. Please e-mail me at maryd89521@gmail.com.
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