Working the all-nighter at KBRD FM was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had in the broadcast business. This was one of the last of the “Beautiful Music” stations in the USA. Down the hall and around the corner, was 85 KTAC. These were the only Entercom stations in the Puget Sound region, in the days before the consolidation of radio and the growth of Entercom.
Bobby Simon worked the morning shift at the Big 850. Bobby disliked his gig at KTAC, so much that he counted off each day, on the air, at the beginning of each day’s show. Each day, just one more that he was “held hostage” to this career nightmare. Whether he saw Tacoma as a huge step down from Seattle radio or that there were conflicts between him and management, it was evident to anyone listening, that Simon didn’t want to be there.
Over the years, KTAC personalities included Don Wade, Robert O. Smith, Lee Perkins…[the list goes on & on]. KTAC went head to head with KJR, KING and KOL, pumping out rock ‘n roll to the Tacoma and South Sound area. Bobby Simon was a huge talent, legendary, to use that overworked title. With history at powerhouse Top 40 stations like KJR and KOL, Bobby Simon was certainly one of the major players in Pacific Northwest radio.
Then came the day when the shit hit the fan and Bobby Simon had words with KTAC management. Simon blew out of the Tacoma Mall Office Building, riding off on his motorcycle, probably relieved that he had finally gotten his freedom.
The next morning, I moved into the morning drive shift at KTAC. Ace news reporter at the Big 85 was Bill Ogden. We had a great time waking up the South Sound with the adult contemporary music mix and crazy banter, between Freeway Hero traffic updates and Bob Robertson’s sports reports. From Hollywood gossip to the one-liners from the Electric Weenie [great show prep, I know], we delivered our brand of good humor to the South Sound each morning for the better part of two years.
“Sugar” Bruce Cannon rode home with listeners each afternoon. Cannon had been afternoon drive host and PD at 85 KTAC for several years. Bruce Cannon will probably be remembered by most listeners as the heart and soul of 850 KTAC.
When Entercom brought the “Mountain” format [KMTT] to the AM/FM combo , I was offered a couple choices in shifts at the “new” station. I chose the all-night shift, which worked best in conjunction with my real job at the telephone company and some college courses at Pierce College.
Now, broadcasting from the Metropolitan Park West tower between downtown Seattle and South Lake Union, I was once again enjoying the all-night shift, with the glow of the console before me — and a great view of the city lights and the lake in the distance.
That was all toward the end of my radio career in Seattle, just before moving to Phoenix. KOOL FM/Phoenix, the Oldies station, was mostly liners and the same 100 records, played ad nauseum. That was the nature of radio in the early 90s and it is NOT EVEN that much fun these days. So, I have the good memories of radio — when it was FUN, and this weathered and discolored photograph of a much younger me. And neither this old DJ nor radio will ever be the same again.