I have it on the best authority that Tom and KPAM have had a parting of the ways. Apparently Joy Browne will now will now fill that prized timeslot.

The way the old (for gawd sake Danner don't call them old) KGW legends have been popping up on stations around town recently, I don't imagine Tom will be driving his wife nuts for long.

It will be fun to see where he ends up. Great talent that needs to be in drive time somewhere.

back to k103 maybe???

Morning co-host opening still on KEX....

I'm going to miss hearing Tom overnights on KPAM.
As Victoria Taft might say, I was his fifth listener.

Herb

Herb you must be a night owl or early riser. Tom will probably miss you too.

Well, there's always Eve, right Herb? :-)

HE PARKER,CAN BE ON 620 AFTERNOONS,WHEN THE SUPER62 FORMAT COMES BACK SOON!!!!

Hey, maybe Eve, Tom and Victoria could do a show.
That would be heaven.

Herb

Within the last hour or so, Tom is now OFF the KPAM website completely

Boy is KPAM a sinking ship or what???

Now there is a moist dream if I have ever heard one !

......" The sixtytwo KGW format back on 620.....

As long as we are dreaming...dont forget the fake drake jingles allah...lets say....1972 or so...Ya, that be about right..I liked the 'you package' not as well...

WE DO IT FOR YOU ON SUPER 62?

All aboard! The bus back from Fantasyland (the only place where Super 62 would EVER come back) leaves in five minutes.

Hey, if I could just jump in with a word about Tom...the guy defines pro. I've known him for over thirty years and seen him do some amazing things. We rode the Spring Break Quake together and went into continuous coverage that I'd put up against anyone's--Tom's San Francisco experience was a big plus there. He was the designated alternate for two of radio's legends--Dr. Don Rose at KFRC, and Craig Walker at K103. He board-opped Craig's last show, at my request, even though he was already signed across the street. He did it flawlessly and selflessly, and that's Tom. Whoever gets him next is very lucky.

Hear Hear John.

Wish I had written that post.

To put things in perspective, TOM PARKER was hired by KPAM, because he was Tom Parker. Everyone knew he could succeed at whatever he chooses to do. After arriving, KPAM wanted him to become an "attack talk jock," instead of allowing him to develop a "Portland show" based upon his vast knowledge.

When he reasoned with management on this point, they were unreasonable. That's why they buried him in the late night slot. Being the class act that he is, he took the slot and did a show he felt appropriate for the time slot.

I believe his contract ran through August 2008, so I'm betting he's getting paid. The good news is Tom is now a "free agent" and could turn up somewhere else on the Portland dial doing the kind of show that grabs people by the ears.

I'll bet he's cautious about his next opportunity, making sure that he will be allowed to win.

God, I wish I had half of Pamplin's money. (Half of which today is much less than what it was 8 years ago.)

I want to jump in just long enough to echo John's comments about Tom. I left the air three years ago this coming week (I can't believe it's been 3 years!!). In one of the most class gestures I ever experienced, Tom agreed to run the board during my last shows just to be sure everything went off as well as possible. Keep in mind that he knew he wasn't my replacement...he knew he was leaving the same day I was going...and he held off making any announcement about his departure because he didn't want to do anything that might effect my farewell. Add to that the way he conducted himself and maintained his professionalism during the KPAM situation, and you have an example that we could all strive to equal. He is one of the best....friend and radio personality.
Now...let's stop talking about him like he died and start wishing him the best. He deserves it.

Tom is a true professional and probably has that next gig lined up right now. Tom, don't forget to bring back Parker's Pictures and the 5 at 5. Good luck.

I've known Tom for 35 years...and all the posts on this thread attesting to Tom's professionalism are all true. Tom is a quality person who is sure to land on his feet. KPAM should be ashamed of how they treated him. But, enough of the plattitudes...time to bring Tom back down to earth. Here's your chance to hear Tom's very first airshift at KGW during the summer of 1972 filling in for the vacationing all-night jock, Dan Martin...Enjoy!
http://www.mediafire.com/?3eox9shb1lv

KPAM placed Tom Parker in a no win situation. KPAM’s marketing department did little if anything to promote his program. Tom Parker deserved much more from KPAM. Bob Miller in the Morning is the only program on KPAM that seems to get any real attention from KPAM’s marketing department. Compare KPAM to KEX. KEX promotes the heck out of both the Morning Update with Paul Linnman and the Mark and Dave Program. KPAM has more than just one locally produced radio program -- and they all deserve more and better promotion. And too, the KPAM website needs to be reworked to better promote local programming. I’ve seen many news/talk radio station websites from around the country that do a vastly superior job than KPAM’s website.

I really do hope KPAM learns a lesson from this and gets more creative when promoting its local programming and personalities. But most of all, I hope Tom Parker’s next radio adventure turns out to be a success.

Steve thanks for posting TP's first aircheck on KGW.

Thank God my first aircheck is in safe keeping.

That aircheck is intriguing. He actually gives the date (June 27, with a weather report) and also mentions it being Tuesday morning (which 6/27/72 was; this shift appears to begin at 2am). But he plugs the upcoming drag and speedboat races and Merrykhana parade (which was incidentally the last one). Anyway, if I heard the date right, some Rose Festival events must have been scheduled for later than usual that year.

I've long thought that a dynamite duo on KPAM would have been the two highly intelligent and witty evening hosts together...Tom Parker and Victoria Taft. They would have had a terrific chemistry, don't you think? Now, unless someone snaps Victoria up along with Tom, we may never know.

Herb

Actually the KGW aircheck was posted by Bill Cooper. Here's a aircheck from my collection. It's Tom on KFRC (1978).

http://www.divshare.com/download/3366851-8f8

Love the sound of Tom's voice on the overnight shift - the kind of energy you just don't hear at 2am any more. Overnight jocks like him got me through many a graveyard work shift. And in the '70s, it was always sixtytwokaygeedoubleyou.

As I said in a different thread a few years back,
I would tune into listen to Tom just to hear that voice. What a set of pipes... He could be reading the hog futures for all I care.

Yep, his very first words on the aircheck are a dramatically descending reading of the clock: "Two ... Oh ... Seven!" in the confident, muscular tone I associated with KGW.

Trying to imagine that kind of immediacy applied to hog prices is mind-boggling.

I'm always amazed at the collection of airchecks this group is able to share! Thanks so much for archiving all these moments!

What memories Tom's voice brings back...and associations that come with them. In the early 70's, we chose our friends by "KGW or KISN?" Always 62 for me, also.

Interesting social divide, there. Youth culture shifted dramatically around '67-69; one station was basically pre-, and the other post-.

Also, Stumptown itself changed considerably during the decade.

Thanks for all the kind words - both written and via phone. I do feel a bit like Tom Sawyer & Huck when they snuck into the church gallery to witness their own funeral!

To invoke Shakespeare, "All's well that ends well", and that chapter has ended well.

On to great future adventures for us all.

For Tom and anyone else who likes classic KFRC, here's a Fred Magazine station composite from 79.

http://www.divshare.com/download/43798-d56

did tom's show on 860 oveernites do as well as coast 2 coast on 1190??

I'm sure it didn't... but I didn't have the benefit of the aluminum hats.

Tom's show was waaay better.

Herb