Ron Jacobs (broadcaster)
Encyclopedia
Ron Jacobs is an American
broadcaster, author, record producer and concert promoter. He is best known as the program director
of KHJ
radio in Los Angeles
during its ground-breaking "Boss Radio" period (1965-1969), and as co-creator of the countdown show American Top 40
, and the seminal radio program The History of Rock and Roll(1969).
Jacobs was born in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
, on September 3, 1937. He began his radio career in 1953, upon receiving his FCC license. His first job was as the all-night DJ at Honolulu’s KHON
. He then went to KGU Radio, the NBC
affiliate in Hawaii, as the Honolulu correspondent for the network's new program, Monitor.
In 1957, Jacobs teamed with fellow KGU DJ Tom Moffatt to jump-start Henry J. Kaiser
’s new KHVH Radio. The young deejays brought the best young talent to perform concert dates in Honolulu; and developed relationships with the era’s best rock talent – including industry legends Elvis Presley
and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker
(they served as honorary pallbearers at Parker’s 1997 funeral).
In 1958, Jacobs was the program director at KPOA Radio in Honolulu. Then, in 1959, Jacobs launched and programmed K-POI Radio – Hawaii’s first Top 40 outlet. During this time, Jacobs wrote and produced the first Pidgin English rock ‘n’ roll records, among them: “Da Kine,” about Hawaii’s delayed entrance into the US, and local Hawaii rock hits by “Lance Curtis” (real name, Dick Jensen
).
At 23, Jacobs moved to the U.S. mainland. In 1962, he was promoted to vice president of programming for the Colgreene Corporation. From there he programmed San Bernardino’s KMEN Radio, and then, Fresno’s KMAK
.
In Fresno, Jacobs found himself competing head on with radio consultant Bill Drake
. They soon combined their talents to program RKO General’s KHJ Radio
in Los Angeles. Within six months, the Drake-Jacobs’ “Boss Radio” format was Number One in America’s second largest radio market, garnering national recognition for creating pop radio’s most influential sound of the 1960s.
Jacobs produced the 48-hour-long History of Rock and Roll. Radio’s first "rockumentary," which aired on KHJ
and subsequently other stations in the RKO chain, was accepted into the Library of Congress
as the “first aural history of rock and roll music.”
While programming the RKO radio chain from KHJ, Jacobs teamed again with Moffatt and Tom Rounds
to form Charlatan Productions to produce films featuring recording artists in weird, eye-catching settings.
After four years atop the L.A. radio ratings, Jacobs left KHJ to co-found and become vice president of Watermark
, Inc. In 1970, with Tom Rounds and veteran LA deejay Casey Kasem
, Jacobs co-created the syndicated radio program, American Top 40
.
At Watermark, Jacobs also produced the award-winning Elvis Presley Story, written by rock author Jerry Hopkins and narrated by broadcast personality, Wink Martindale
. Next, Jacobs produced a 13-album record series saluting pop radio pioneers, CRUISIN': A History of Rock 'n' Roll Radio.
Jacobs produced several other notable records at Watermark including "A Child's Garden of Grass", for Elektra Records; "Key: An Album of Invisible Theater", the debut album of performance artist Meredith Monk
; and, "Music From Another Present Era", the first recording by the jazz ensemble, Oregon.
Jacobs then went to San Diego to program KGB
AM/FM Radio. It was there that Jacobs conceived and produced the original Home Grown album. The KGB Chicken, later known to the nation as "The San Diego Chicken
" was also hatched from Jacobs' imagination.
In 1972, Ron Jacobs was honored by Billboard
as Program Director of the Year. Jacobs’ documentary about Max Yasgur
, on whose farm the Woodstock festival was staged, won Program of the Year honors and two years later, Billboard named KGB, Station of the Year.
During this time, Ron Jacobs continued concert promotions with Tom Moffatt and Tom Rounds. In 1964, the three men formed Arena Associates, staging the first rock show in the Honolulu International Center (now, the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena). In 1968, Arena Associates produced the Miami Pop Festival
.
In July 1976, Jacobs returned to an on-air position doing morning drive on KKUA Radio, in Honolulu, as “Whodaguy Ron Jacobs.” It was at KKUA that Jacobs introduced Home Grown, a radio station promotion in which contest winners had the opportunity to record their winning songs for release on a compilation album with the proceeds being donated to a local charity. Jacobs did three albums, Home Grown, Home Grown II and Home Grown III, while he was at KKUA.
Jacobs’ TV career began when he hosted the Coca-Cola Record Hop on KHVH-TV, owned by Henry J Kaiser. In 1977, Jacobs expanded his television work, producing Home Grown TV specials; a one hour documentary on contemporary Hawaiian music entitled "Slack Key and Other Notes" (co-produced with the Hawaii Observer and Videololo), and a quarterly magazine-format series, "Pictures of Paradise", for CBS affiliate, KGMB-TV.
In 1980, after leaving KKUA, Jacobs launched KDEO Radio as Hawaii's only full-time country music station, "the Western-most country station in the nation."
In 1985, in conjunction with Hawaii's visitor industry, Jacobs conceived, wrote and produced a nationwide radio promotion, The Hawaiian Chief, that ran in 48 markets in the continental United States under the sponsorship of American Airlines
and Sheraton Hotels
.
In 1992, Jacobs was hired to produce and co-write the return of the radio show, Hawaii Calls
. It was once again broadcast live from Waikiki, but from a different location, and lasted for less than one year.
Ron Jacobs is also a published author. His first book, Backdoor Waikiki, was published in 1986. For seven years he was a contributing editor to both Honolulu and Hawaii magazines. More than 150 of Jacobs’ articles have appeared in both local and national publications.
In 1994, Jacobs returned to Los Angeles where he joined Radio Express as executive producer of The World Chart Show.
In April 1997, Jacobs returned to Honolulu where he produced Home Grown '97, a compilation album of contest winners' songs, for KRTR-FM and an inter-island network of stations, donating the profits from the CD of previous Island Home Grown to Habilitat, a rehabilitation facility located in Kaneohe, on the island of Oahu.
On February 9, 1998, Jacobs joined KCCN-AM 1420 as host of the morning-drive show. A year later, the station changed to an all-sports format. Jacobs left the airwaves.
In February 2002, Zapoleon Publishing, Stafford, Texas, released KHJ: Inside Boss Radio, a 407-page narrative by Ron Jacobs that included a series of oral-history interviews, memos and graphics covering Jacobs’ tenure at Boss Radio
.
With a broadcasting career spanning five decades, the Hawaii State Legislature recognized Jacobs for his cultural contributions in the area of Hawaiian music and the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu honored him with a “Ron Jacobs Day.”
Jacobs resides in Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii where he broadcasts Hawaiian music and interviews from his Kaneohe studios online at whodaguyhawaii.com.
Ron Jacobs newest book is titled, OBAMALAND: Who Is Barack Obama?, published by Trade Publishing, Honolulu, November 2008. The volume, including new photos, commissioned artwork and never-before published facts about Obama's youth in Honolulu, begins in 1959, when Barack Obama, Sr., landed in Hawaii and ends with Barack Obama
graduating from Punahou School and heading to California for college in 1979.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
broadcaster, author, record producer and concert promoter. He is best known as the program director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
of KHJ
KHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
radio in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
during its ground-breaking "Boss Radio" period (1965-1969), and as co-creator of the countdown show American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
, and the seminal radio program The History of Rock and Roll(1969).
Jacobs was born in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, on September 3, 1937. He began his radio career in 1953, upon receiving his FCC license. His first job was as the all-night DJ at Honolulu’s KHON
KHON-TV
KHON-TV is a Fox-affiliated television station in Honolulu, Hawaii. The station broadcasts on virtual channel 2.In addition to its Honolulu broadcast facilities, KHON has relays on all the major Hawaiian Islands to rebroadcast programs outside of metropolitan Honolulu: KHAW-TV in Hilo; KAII-TV in...
. He then went to KGU Radio, the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate in Hawaii, as the Honolulu correspondent for the network's new program, Monitor.
In 1957, Jacobs teamed with fellow KGU DJ Tom Moffatt to jump-start Henry J. Kaiser
Henry J. Kaiser
Henry John Kaiser was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. He established the Kaiser Shipyard which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel. Kaiser organized Kaiser Permanente health care...
’s new KHVH Radio. The young deejays brought the best young talent to perform concert dates in Honolulu; and developed relationships with the era’s best rock talent – including industry legends Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker
Colonel Tom Parker
"Colonel" Thomas Andrew "Tom" Parker born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, was a Dutch-born entertainment impresario known best as the manager of Elvis Presley...
(they served as honorary pallbearers at Parker’s 1997 funeral).
In 1958, Jacobs was the program director at KPOA Radio in Honolulu. Then, in 1959, Jacobs launched and programmed K-POI Radio – Hawaii’s first Top 40 outlet. During this time, Jacobs wrote and produced the first Pidgin English rock ‘n’ roll records, among them: “Da Kine,” about Hawaii’s delayed entrance into the US, and local Hawaii rock hits by “Lance Curtis” (real name, Dick Jensen
Dick Jensen
Dick Jensen , was a live musical performer of the Rhythm and Blues, Soul, and Gospel genres. His signature on-stage style incorporated strenuous dance moves similar to those of Jackie Wilson. He was born in Kalihi, Hawaii on the island of Oahu.-Biography:Jensen was a native Hawaiian athletic...
).
At 23, Jacobs moved to the U.S. mainland. In 1962, he was promoted to vice president of programming for the Colgreene Corporation. From there he programmed San Bernardino’s KMEN Radio, and then, Fresno’s KMAK
KMAK
KMAK is an American radio station licensed toserve the community of Orange Cove, California, United States. The station, established in 1990, is owned by founder Richard B...
.
In Fresno, Jacobs found himself competing head on with radio consultant Bill Drake
Bill Drake
Bill Drake , born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.-Early career:...
. They soon combined their talents to program RKO General’s KHJ Radio
KHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
in Los Angeles. Within six months, the Drake-Jacobs’ “Boss Radio” format was Number One in America’s second largest radio market, garnering national recognition for creating pop radio’s most influential sound of the 1960s.
Jacobs produced the 48-hour-long History of Rock and Roll. Radio’s first "rockumentary," which aired on KHJ
KHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
and subsequently other stations in the RKO chain, was accepted into the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as the “first aural history of rock and roll music.”
While programming the RKO radio chain from KHJ, Jacobs teamed again with Moffatt and Tom Rounds
Tom Rounds
Tom Rounds is an American radio broadcasting executive, founder and chief executive officer of Radio Express in Burbank, California.-Early years:...
to form Charlatan Productions to produce films featuring recording artists in weird, eye-catching settings.
After four years atop the L.A. radio ratings, Jacobs left KHJ to co-found and become vice president of Watermark
Watermark
A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...
, Inc. In 1970, with Tom Rounds and veteran LA deejay Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
, Jacobs co-created the syndicated radio program, American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
.
At Watermark, Jacobs also produced the award-winning Elvis Presley Story, written by rock author Jerry Hopkins and narrated by broadcast personality, Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
. Next, Jacobs produced a 13-album record series saluting pop radio pioneers, CRUISIN': A History of Rock 'n' Roll Radio.
Jacobs produced several other notable records at Watermark including "A Child's Garden of Grass", for Elektra Records; "Key: An Album of Invisible Theater", the debut album of performance artist Meredith Monk
Meredith Monk
Meredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. Since the 1960s, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording extensively for ECM Records.-Life and work:Meredith Monk is primarily known for her...
; and, "Music From Another Present Era", the first recording by the jazz ensemble, Oregon.
Jacobs then went to San Diego to program KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
AM/FM Radio. It was there that Jacobs conceived and produced the original Home Grown album. The KGB Chicken, later known to the nation as "The San Diego Chicken
The San Diego Chicken
The San Diego Chicken, also known as The Famous Chicken, the KGB Chicken or just The Chicken, is an advertising mascot played by Ted Giannoulas, which originated as an animated TV commercial for KGB-FM Radio in San Diego...
" was also hatched from Jacobs' imagination.
In 1972, Ron Jacobs was honored by Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
as Program Director of the Year. Jacobs’ documentary about Max Yasgur
Max Yasgur
Max B. Yasgur was an American farmer, best known as the owner of the dairy farm in Bethel, New York at which the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held between August 15 and August 18, 1969....
, on whose farm the Woodstock festival was staged, won Program of the Year honors and two years later, Billboard named KGB, Station of the Year.
During this time, Ron Jacobs continued concert promotions with Tom Moffatt and Tom Rounds. In 1964, the three men formed Arena Associates, staging the first rock show in the Honolulu International Center (now, the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena). In 1968, Arena Associates produced the Miami Pop Festival
Miami Pop Festival
The Miami Pop Festival was the name of two different music festivals that took place in 1968 at Gulfstream Park, a horse racing track in Hallandale, Florida , just north of Miami....
.
In July 1976, Jacobs returned to an on-air position doing morning drive on KKUA Radio, in Honolulu, as “Whodaguy Ron Jacobs.” It was at KKUA that Jacobs introduced Home Grown, a radio station promotion in which contest winners had the opportunity to record their winning songs for release on a compilation album with the proceeds being donated to a local charity. Jacobs did three albums, Home Grown, Home Grown II and Home Grown III, while he was at KKUA.
Jacobs’ TV career began when he hosted the Coca-Cola Record Hop on KHVH-TV, owned by Henry J Kaiser. In 1977, Jacobs expanded his television work, producing Home Grown TV specials; a one hour documentary on contemporary Hawaiian music entitled "Slack Key and Other Notes" (co-produced with the Hawaii Observer and Videololo), and a quarterly magazine-format series, "Pictures of Paradise", for CBS affiliate, KGMB-TV.
In 1980, after leaving KKUA, Jacobs launched KDEO Radio as Hawaii's only full-time country music station, "the Western-most country station in the nation."
In 1985, in conjunction with Hawaii's visitor industry, Jacobs conceived, wrote and produced a nationwide radio promotion, The Hawaiian Chief, that ran in 48 markets in the continental United States under the sponsorship of American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
and Sheraton Hotels
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is a hospitality ownership and management organization, headquartered in White Plains, New York. One of the world's largest hotel companies, it owns, operates, franchises and manages hotels, resorts, spas, residences, and vacation ownership properties...
.
In 1992, Jacobs was hired to produce and co-write the return of the radio show, Hawaii Calls
Hawaii Calls
Hawaii Calls was a radio program that ran from 1935 through 1975 that featured live Hawaiian music conducted by Harry Owens, the composer of "Sweet Leilani"...
. It was once again broadcast live from Waikiki, but from a different location, and lasted for less than one year.
Ron Jacobs is also a published author. His first book, Backdoor Waikiki, was published in 1986. For seven years he was a contributing editor to both Honolulu and Hawaii magazines. More than 150 of Jacobs’ articles have appeared in both local and national publications.
In 1994, Jacobs returned to Los Angeles where he joined Radio Express as executive producer of The World Chart Show.
In April 1997, Jacobs returned to Honolulu where he produced Home Grown '97, a compilation album of contest winners' songs, for KRTR-FM and an inter-island network of stations, donating the profits from the CD of previous Island Home Grown to Habilitat, a rehabilitation facility located in Kaneohe, on the island of Oahu.
On February 9, 1998, Jacobs joined KCCN-AM 1420 as host of the morning-drive show. A year later, the station changed to an all-sports format. Jacobs left the airwaves.
In February 2002, Zapoleon Publishing, Stafford, Texas, released KHJ: Inside Boss Radio, a 407-page narrative by Ron Jacobs that included a series of oral-history interviews, memos and graphics covering Jacobs’ tenure at Boss Radio
Boss Radio
Boss Radio was the name of two radio programming formats, both launched in the early 1960s: One in the United States, and one in the United Kingdom. Although the names were the same, the formats were quite different.-Boss Radio in the United States:...
.
With a broadcasting career spanning five decades, the Hawaii State Legislature recognized Jacobs for his cultural contributions in the area of Hawaiian music and the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu honored him with a “Ron Jacobs Day.”
Jacobs resides in Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii where he broadcasts Hawaiian music and interviews from his Kaneohe studios online at whodaguyhawaii.com.
Ron Jacobs newest book is titled, OBAMALAND: Who Is Barack Obama?, published by Trade Publishing, Honolulu, November 2008. The volume, including new photos, commissioned artwork and never-before published facts about Obama's youth in Honolulu, begins in 1959, when Barack Obama, Sr., landed in Hawaii and ends with Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
graduating from Punahou School and heading to California for college in 1979.
Sources
- 440:Satisfaction, The DJs, news people and unsung radio heroes from out of our past! http://www.440.com/440sat.html Go to J, scroll down to Ron Jacobs
- Pod Jockey – the talk industry’s media station: http://podjockey.com/category/podjockeys/ron-jacobs/
- ReelRadio.com – Reel Top 40 Radio Repository: http://www.reelradio.com/rj/index.html
- http://www.93khj.com
- http://www.93khj.com/buyitnow.htm
- Honolulu Star Bulletin, November 13, 2007 http://starbulletin.com/2007/11/13/features/story02.html
- Tarnished Gold: The Record Industry Revisited, by R. Serge Denisoff, William L. Schurk , 1986, pg. 251
- Solid Gold: The Popular Record Industry - by R. Serge Denisoff, 1975. Pg 236
- Blast from the Past: A Pictorial History of Radio's First 75 Years by B. Eric Rhoads, 1995. Pg. 307
- like a joyful bird: A Memoir by Glenda Chung Hinchey, 2003. Pg. 31
- Elvis in Hawaii by Jerry Hopkins, 2002., pg. 14
- The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley by Alanna Nash, 2003. Pg. 340
- Generations magazine, May 2008 issue, article by Lynn Cook