Radio Dots & Dashes (February 22 Edition)

Somewhat to my surprise on Tuesday morning, I dialled over to Sports Leader KNBR/680 and found Brian Murphy working with a new partner, Paulie Mack, previously with co-owned The Ticket 1050 (KTCT) and The Bone (KSAN/107.7). Former KNBR morning show co-host Tim Liotta moves back to his previous post as the station's creative director...

The fine folks at KFRC (99.7) have announced the creation of the Dr. Don Rose Garden at Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland, honoring one of our most beloved local legends — not to mention that he was a great radio man, too. More info is available on KFRC's website...

Jazzy Jim Archer, previously the assistant program director/music director at Wild 94.9 (KYLD), has been rehired by the station to serve as program director after about a year away. Jazzy Jim replaces the recently departed Dennis Martinez. Current APD/MD Travis Loughran had been holding the programming reins at Wild following Martinez' departure...

This Sunday afternoon (February 26), we bid farewell to another popular voice of Bay Area radio with the retirement of "Old Skin and Bones" Bob Jones, who is departing from KBLX (102.9). Bob has worked at KBLX for the past six years, hosting "Classic Soul Sunday." Prior to that, he worked for three decades at KDIA/1310 on the air and in management...

Ben Fong-Torres has promised to mention the Bay Area Radio Museum in his "Radio Waves" column, coming up in this Sunday's Datebook (the "Pink Section") in the San Francisco Chronicle. Your intrepid radio observer has played a small role in getting the museum up and running. (Sidebar update: BF-T called this particular bit of electronic babble that you are reading "breezy," which may be just a polite way of saying "filled with hot air.") ... The Bay Area chapter of Broadcast Legends has announced its latest lunch date: Thursday, March 30, at the DoubleTree Hotel on the Berkeley Marina. Guest speaker will be Richard Kencks, former president of the CBS Broadcast Group, who will discuss Edward R. Murrow's career as a trailblazing electronic journalist. More info at www.broadcastlegends.com.

All Access has reported that Results Radio is selling its North Bay stations — KRPQ (Country Q105), KSRT (Jammin' 107.1) and KMHX (Mix 104.1) — in two separate transactions. KRPQ, founded by longtime local broadcaster Ron Castro, will go to Maverick Media, while KMHX and KSRT go to Lazer Broadcasting. No sale prices were announced.

RIP: Del Courtney (1910-2006)

One of the monumental entertainment figures in Bay Area history, Del Courtney, died last Saturday (Feb. 11) in Honolulu. He was 95 years old.

Del Courtney was born in Oakland in 1910 and was a popular bandleader locally beginning in the 1930s. He had his own show on KWBR in Oakland (the forerunner of today's KMKY/1310) and was later a disc jockey on KSFO in San Francisco during its golden age as "The World's Greatest Radio Station," alongside Don Sherwood, Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins and Jim Lange in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

He also hosted a regular variety show on KPIX (Channel 5) in the 1950s, and was the producer and co-host of ABC-TV's "The King Family" variety series in the 1960s; Del's wife, Yvonne, was a King sister. He also co-owned radio station KSAN (1450 AM, now known as KEST) from 1964 to 1975 with Les Malloy, another Bay Area entertainment legend.

In addition, he was the leader of the Oakland Raiders band, which entertained during the team's home games during the 1960s and 1970s, and was the Raiders' director of administration for many years. He was also instrumental in the formation of the team's signature Raiderettes cheerleading squad.

Del Courtney's autobiography, "Hey! The Band's Too Loud," was published by AuthorHouse in January 2005.

Business 2.0: KYCY = "KBore"

On Business 2.0's list of the "101 Dumbest Moments In Business," published in their January/February 2006 edition (on newsstands now), KYCY/1550 made it to #53:

53. KBore.

In May, Infinity Broadcasting switches San Francisco radio station KYCY to an all-podcast format promoted as "KYOU Radio." Among the programming highlights: My Daily Commute" (a guy mulling his mortality while driving to work), "Rock and Roll Jew Show" (the latest hits from Israel), and "The Worst Music You've Ever Heard" ('nuff said).

Meanwhile, KYCY shows it's still fuzzy on the difference between podcasting and merely turning one's station over to amateurs: The "podcasts" are to be broadcast over the airwaves but are not made available for downloading.