Friday was the first day of 40 days and 40 nights of celebrating KINK's history for its upcoming 40th birthday. They're taking 1 year per day, starting in 1968 and moving back to the present. Check out Yes.com(or possibly KINK's website)to get an idea of what they're playing. It looks like everything from Janis Joplin to Mama Cass!

It's been wonderful to listen to! KINK simply rocks!

They put together a top-notch KINK history website at http://www.kink.fm/History-of-Kink---Overview/3306349, including pictures, old TV spots and a 20 minute video tribute to Dorothy Bullitt.

Thanks for that link, Randy.

I was quite attached to KINK from their sign-on until I joined the service in 1975. It was great to hear such a remarkably wide and thought-provoking playlist.

There was plenty of live/local radio available at the time, so KINK's being automated didn't bother me. Of course, the station was a quirk of the times (a corporation staking out the undeveloped band at a loss).

I've been reading the KINK history and learning a lot. I love that it's so in-depth. The history has raised a question that someone might know. Was the "Lights Out" Scott Carter on KINK the same Scott Carter that would later host the program "Midday Monitor" on KXL?

I went to a concert by Misty River a bluegrass band in Vancouver and Jeff Douglas announced the group. I never got a chance to tell him that I woke up to him every morning on KINK. A former roommate of mine said he had a Kansas accent.

I don't remember if there was an "official" station ID to this effect, but I remember them promoting during the Christmas period in 1968 "...and unto all a KINK is born."

Its nice that KINK has the playlist so I can follow along. I am not always able to hear the station but thats all I have had on lately. Except when the commercials are on. I figured that in the space of 25 minutes they play 15 minutes of commercials and thats way too many!
Especially Tom Shane.

The concept, production and passion make this the most compelling radio I have heard in a very long time.

Survival for radio stations will be based upon great, local content. PPM underscores this perfectly. It is going to take talented people with innovative content ideas. This is a perfect example. Dennis and the team have really done a fabulous job.

"I've been reading the KINK history and learning a lot. I love that it's so in-depth. The history has raised a question that someone might know. Was the "Lights Out" Scott Carter on KINK the same Scott Carter that would later host the program "Midday Monitor" on KXL?"

Yes. One and the same.

Mike B

Thanks Mike! I wanted to add that info to the Scott Carter mention of the KXL History.

Also snagged Your other name mentioned in the KINK History for my AKA DJ Listing. Were you trying to keeping your original DJ name a secret? After all my pleads for aka names on that thread.

Scott was the one who started Lights Out.

also in its 40 years KINK has only had 4 morning hosts. One of which was Michael Baily.

Wayne:
You would think that when the guy writes his own name two posts ahead of yours, you could spell it right. "Say anything you want, but spell my name correctly." Sheeeesh!

Regardless of what is stated on the time line....Les Sarnoff was replaced temporarily by Jeffrey Clarke in the summer of '81. I was brought in for afternoons but quickly switched with Jeffrey. (His lifestyle association with "The-Pride-Of-Hoboken".....was not conducive to the morning radio discipline) I remained in mornings with Val Ring for about a year and a half before moving on to KRCK. (Where, oddly, I was hired to do afternoons, but was relegated to mornings when Michael Bailey left) Shortly after my departure from KINK, came the leaving of Alan Lawson and Jeff Clarke. Our brother in "Kink-dom", Rusty Kimball, handled Lights Out and many other presentations that made KINK so very special. With all due respect to those before and after, I have always been most proud to be a small part of that assemblage of talent. The most musically learned and sincere broadcasters I have ever been associated with. Having grown with the likes of Jeff Douglas, M.L. Marsh, Bruce Funkhauser, etc. it was an HONOR. KINK is still a true icon to me. Dennis and the crew have continued a very high level of broadcasting in spite of the increasing difficulties with our biz. They are to be commended. Peace.

I forgot about you. I worked the graveyard shift when Michael did mornings and moved to the swing shift in 1980 at the post office. I didn't wake up early in the morning much during those days. I remember Alal Lawson.and of course Jeff Clark. and Rusty too. That must have been just before Sean Martin came along. I was just saying that KINK must be a good place to work. The announcers sound like ordinary people and someone I would like to meet on the street.

Wayne:
You would think that when the guy writes his own name two posts ahead of yours, you could spell it right. "Say anything you want, but spell my name correctly." Sheeeesh!

Sorry I left out the "E". I remember him saying he was Bob Marx.

KINK actually played a jazz tune earlier. There is still hope in this world!

You can get all the Smooth Jazz you want on KKCW HD2. That includes most of the people who were on KIJZ.

More historical notes:

Charlie Busch actually getting Ron Saito to smile by questioning the size of his unit.

Ash trays full of roaches each morning.

A going away party at the tropical place in Oldtown (names escapes me) where every guy in the place was drooling over Valerie Ring.

Segue for lunch.

A GM and PD stealing at least six months worth of alcohol while leaving early from a PAF lunch.

The cot in the ladies' room next to the coffee shop.

The fart tape.

Ron Massey squaring off with Greg Smith over rates between KINK and KGW. (RM is still breathing.)

The midday air personality/music director swearing to the cop who had pulled him over in the upper parking lot that he would not drive home after over doing it on the drink. Then driving home after the cop left.

Nothing changes, eh?

Thanks Cweaklie! Jeez....I just shot some of the "Busch Blend" through my schnoz! I cannot count the number of times story of the Segue for Lunch from RS(the tall one)has been repeated. And the tape recorder was always charged & ready on the corner of the MD desk to "capture" biological statements from RS (the shorter). Certainly one of the weirdest editing sessions ever. BTW...was Lawson in the yellow Gremlin? What a chick magnet that was. Thanks again. Take care. See ya at the Leaky. CB

A few more things:

Being part of Neighbor Fair w/62KGW & Channel 8.

Actually playing local artists (like Craig Carothers) in regular rotation.

The Euphoria.

Robin Forrest.

Lee McCormick ("Howdy pilgrim")

Did anyone ever collect a lunch for a segue? Where?

Lee McCormick ("Howdy pilgrim")
Bourbon Presbyterians at Cassidy's.........

When anyone called, "Hey Lee?"...
He replied... "and the Comets."

A lot of us called Lee "Grid." Grid Leak. He'd ask dummies like me to go check on the "fallopian" tubes and I'd try to find them in his office/xmitter remote control room. Wise guy. Good, cranky, old-time engineer, like they don't make anymore. God love 'em. RIP. He lent me ten bucks when I first moved back to PDX in 1979, and, boy, did I need it (did pay him back, BTW). This was when I was occasionally crashing overnight on the fabled, legendary chaise longue in the women's room, adjacent to the cafeteria. Or was I living there? Lean times, but good times.

What roaches in what ashtrays? Smoking of various things was so common it was unnoticed. I remember the time that Rick (the PD between Minck and Carl Widing) discovered a hemostat that had been secreted on a window ledge in the control room. No one else would have spied it, but Rick was very tall...

"There'll be no more of this in the KINK control room," he loudly commanded at a staff meeting, holding up the offending medical implement often used as a roach clip.

"No more what?" I inquired, "Major surgery?"

Well, I was thinking it.

Rick was, eh, quite a character. He replaced the irreplaceable Bill Minckler in '81 (or '82 -- it was all so long ago). There was quite a purge, a bloodbath even, in the wake of his taking over; nearly the entire air staff was either fired or resigned. I don't know how but I somehow managed to remain, to get along with him, even to sort of become friends. This convinced me that I had the ability to adapt, to work with or for anyone. Almost.

Not to pick on Rick Scott but he absolutely astounded me once or twice. On one occasion I switched my "A" category with a "C" (or some such, whatever--does it really matter?) in order to do a very cool segue, to try to be creative, to try to make it flow, back when that was still part of the deal. He came raging into the control room, face beet red, arteries throbbing and pulsating in his neck and head, absolutely livid, screaming, "Don't you eff with me and don't you eff with the format."

Initially I thought it was a gag, that he was putting me on, but he couldn't have been more deadly serious. I guess he wanted to make absolutely sure that I knew who was in charge, although I assure you that I had no doubt of who was at the helm of that regime from the outset. I almost responded in kind, considering walking out and telling him to finish the shift, but, well, I didn't: I liked working at KINK for a lot of reasons, was proud of it. Rick wound up being the only PD to ever get me a bonus (at KINK or anywhere else), plus he also arranged to send me on a trip to Hawaii. So, he wasn't all bad, and even contributed positively to the station in some ways. Some great people left after he took over. But some other great ones came in. What can I say? It's radio.

But that's enough strolling down memory lane; nostalgia isn't what it used to be. All that really exists is "right now," and that's where I am, such as it is, wherever, whatever it is.

More power to KINK and Dennis and his crew. Congratulations on their 40th. I was and remain proud of having been around KINK and part of the program for about twenty of those years.

Peace out.

Jeff Clarke--KINK, 11/1979 -12/1984 -- 02/1987-11/2000

Wow its good to hear from you Jeff. I was away for awhile but am back. I still don't know why they let you go.

Do you suppose Rose City is launching a cease and desist campaign?

The time I worked with KINK was hella fun, even though I worked right at the end of the Bullitt years through the sale. That part was extremely sad.

I wonder if the audience is being tracked night to night during the retrospective.

What I'd hope is for someone to discover an audience exists for the 1983-85 stuff (featured over the past three days). I still miss it.

(And I'm not sure why ... I was 29-31 those years, so it's not your typical teen nostalgia thing.)

"the 1983-85 stuff" - Yeah, some good, some not so good.

Electronic drums should have never been invented.

It was when punk rock started. I stopped listening to current music at that time. Well except for KINK.

Yes, that was a discouraging turn.

I just felt the end of the '70s/early '80s yielded music a bit more melodic and less glandular than before or since, and am not sure why. Perhaps it was because Disco had played out, and during the transitional vacuum some wry, ironic and thinking stuff enjoyed a brief prominence before music returned to biz as usual (romantic schlock and PAR-TAYYY!).

Multitrack analog recording had matured, might have had something to do with it. And then-new MTV, experimenting to find its market, probably nudged things in a slightly different direction for a while (kind of like the rebirth of FM had brought us alternative rock).

I don't hear that many party hits anymore. At least at the dances I go to they don't play much in the way of the newer music, except for country western.

I have noticed that KINK is sounding a lot better these days. Its mixing the older stuff in with the newer which is great. I sure miss the "Ocean Sets." are they on at all? why did they stop doing it? I looked forward to hearing that. I know they have a new evening guy since Sean Martin took over Les's spot.

also my dentist told me that Tom Shane went bankrupt which is great news to me. I sure don't miss his voice.

We're glad you dug up this old thread to tell us you don't mind radio taking a hit in revenues.

For the record, Jeff Douglas was the PD and John David was the Manager when "KINK....the underground Link" debuted at Christmas time in 1968. It actually may have happened on Christmas day....I wasn't in Portland then. The station was in an area that had been carved out of the 2nd floor at 1501 SW Jefferson. Although it was always an album oriented station, it was playing a list that was almost top 40 at the beginning, but when we put KGW into the top 40 format in September of 1969, KINK "moved over" into the niche it has occupied since.

Jeff was very knowledgable about music and did a masterful job creating the KINK sound. John was not too far out of college and was able to relate what the station was doing to advertisers. KINK always had good revenues.

The KINK automation system was not highly sophisticated, but Jeff and our studio engineer, Emmett Bernards hit it off, and Emmett made some excellent modifications that really helped the sound and operation.

In the early 70s, Kink's ratings were good and the station had an excellent reputation in Portland. I really enjoyed knowing and working with John and Jeff.

And now the rest of the story....

"John & Jeff" have their own overnight talk show on KINK's sister station KCMD - The Talker!

Jeff can be seen on OPB channel 10 during their pledge drives. and last year he mc'd a Misty River concert.

He's on OPB's Oregon Art Beat weekly.