Nov 30, 2008 11:40 am US/Pacific
Pop Radio Innovator Bill Drake Dies At 71
WEST HILLS (CBS) ―
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Drake was the first rock programmer for that FM outlet, then known as KHJ-FM, in 1968. It's automated "Hit Parade" format spread to FM stations across the nation, carrying with it Drake's voice. (File)
Bill Drake, credited with streamlining the Top 40 radio format into the rock voice of the 1960s, has reportedly died of lung cancer. He was 71.
Drake was program director at such major Southland radio stations as 136 KGB in San Diego in 1964, and 93 KHJ in Los Angeles in 1965. His ear for hits was credited as making stars out of such then-obscure Los Angeles rock groups like the Doors, the Byrds and Sonny & Cher.
Drake was the radio programmer who first used market research and a tight, polished format, which reached its zenith with "Boss Radio." That format hit the Los Angeles airwaves in April 1965, and quickly turned KHJ from an also-ran into the biggest radio station in the nation's most-important music industry market.
Drake hired "boss jocks" with a distinctive style, who ruled the Los Angeles radio ratings. The DJs included "the Real" Don Steele, Robert W. Morgan, Charlie Van Dyke and others.
He also hired the Johnny Mann singers to create smooth jingles, as opposed to typical 1960s jingles that were designed to startle the listener
into remembering the call letters. Trumpet heralds composed by Drake are still used at the top of each hour on Los Angeles FM station K-EARTH 101.
Drake was the first rock programmer for that FM outlet, then known as KHJ-FM, in 1968. It's automated "Hit Parade" format spread to FM stations across the nation, carrying with it Drake's voice.
Drake died of cancer yesterday at a hospital in West Hills in the San Fernando Valley. He was 71.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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