Thanks to Stoner for the heads up. This from All Access:

---------------------Report: Bill Drake Dead At 71----------------------

LARADIO.COM is reporting that legendary Top 40 programmer BILL DRAKE has passed away from lung cancer SATURDAY afternoon (12/29) at the age of 71.

The mastermind of the "BOSS RADIO" format and partner in the DRAKE-CHENAULT programming company, DRAKE, born PHILIP YARBOROUGH, counted KHJ-A and KIQQ (K-100)/LOS ANGELES, KFRC-A and KYA-A/SAN FRANCISCO, WAKE-A/ATLANTA, KGB-A/SAN DIEGO, CKLW-A/WINDSOR-DETROIT, WRKO-A/BOSTON, WOR-F/NEW YORK, WHBQ-A/MEMPHIS, and KAKC-A/TULSA on his long resume. He started his career at WMGR-A/BAINBRIDGE, GA while in high school, then worked at WWNS-A/STATESBORO while in college at GEORGIA SOUTHERN.

More details as they come in to ALL ACCESS...

The legend that changed radio is gone. Today we have pencil pushers. Sad,

Here, from another radio board, is a bit from Drake's long time companion, Carole Scott...

“I wanted to stop and say Hello to everyone on this board. Being Bill's companion for the last decade and losing him today is still too fresh to comment on. However, I did want to let everyone know that Bill passed away today, at 2:40pm, in West Hills Hospital, quietly, in no pain. It's not often that you hear grown men cry, but in answering my phone tonight and hearing voices that are never at a loss for words stop and have nothing to really say, except how much they will miss him helps ease his passing. Bill's friends were gentlemen and feel the same loss I do in many ways. I grew up to KHJ and it transformed my way of expecting what good radio sounds like. Or, should I say should sound like. I listened to his stories about what really happened during the Boss Radio days and watched him grin at what some people seemed to remember. I'll give you an anecdote to make you smile now. Bill told me how Phil Spector wanted to get together with him, back in the sixties, to create jingles for radio stations and was quite fervent about how great they'd be; Drake and Spector together. Bill had to remind Phil the only problem was that the stations would probably have to pay a couple hundred thousand dollars to get these jingles. Back to the drawing board. I thank everyone that loved him and everyone that's emailed. I thank Jhani for letting me know that Bill is still here, really here and anyone that wants to talk to him can summon him, when ever they want. But please.....keep it brief. Thank you all. “

Carole Scott

http://www.johnrook.com/

http://www.top40timeclock.com/

"The legend that changed radio is gone. Today we have pencil pushers. Sad,"

Truer words were never spoken.

In the 3 years that I worked for Drake-Chenault (at the radio automation production facility in Canoga Park), I only had one very short conversation with Bill Drake. It was while we were waiting to be let into K100 the day they took it over, and only about that building's elevator alarm bell. I was just there to be a helper for the engineer.

The primary thing I learned about radio from Drake-Chenault is to make sure the product is perfect.

I don't think many folks found fault with any of Bill Drake's products.

If you want to hear Bill's voice, and get a idea of the impact KHJ had on Los Angeles radio, dig out your copy of Everclear's Songs From An American Movie and listen to track #3, AM Radio. That's him after the KHJ jingle.

This from KCBS-TV Los Angeles:

Pop Radio Innovator Bill Brake Dies At 71

http://cbs2.com/entertainment/Bill.Drake.radio.2.876632.html

I worked with Bill for a number of years at K-Earth, when Beasley Broadcasting brought him in to work with Mike Phillips. (and Morgan, Steele, et al.)

He was a wealth of knowledge, which he shared generously. But he also had great respect and belief in the radio elements that are so often vilified here... elements like tight, diciplined jocks, and tight, well researched playlists. I can still see Bill trolling the halls with his Whitburn open in his hands like a radio bible, and then ambling in and folding his long lanky limbs into a chair as he asked..."Have we tested (title)? How'd it do? How about (title)? Was it weak across the board? How'd it do with P1s?" No tune made it on the air without strong research scores.

Here's an excerpt from one of his last interviews, with R&R publisher Erica Farber.

"I guess we were doing something right. It was the whole package, the idea of the forward momentum, the a cappella jingle to faster pace, the cleaner sound, what I called 'jock logos': 'Robert W. Morgan, 93 KHJ, boom!' I think people liked that. And we didn’t play a lot of stiff records. Disc jockeys weren’t allowed to talk too much. I always said if you’re going to say nothing anyway, say it in as few words as possible. We would drill them and train them. We customized it by market. We didn’t play the same music lists. Detroit was very black, San Francisco was another thing and L.A. another. Actually the best test market we ever found was Fresno. For some reason, if it made it in Fresno, it would make it just about anywhere, and that wasn’t necessarily true of other markets."

R.I.P Bill. You were the greatest.

This from R&R, very extensive report:

-------------------------Bill Drake Dead At 71-------------------------

By Mike Boyle

Legendary radio programmer Bill Drake (pictured) of KHJ/Los Angeles "Boss Radio" fame and other stations in the 1960s and 1970s, and who along with his business partner Lester Eugene "Gene" Chenault formed the radio syndication company Drake-Chenault in the late-1960s and early-1970s, which specialized in jingle packages and automated music formats for FM radio stations, died from lung cancer in Los Angeles on Nov. 29. He was 71.
Drake, born Philip Yarborough, got his start in radio in the late 1950s on WAKE/Atlanta, where he worked as a programmer and air talent. Because of his successful tenure in Atlanta, Drake was transferred by WAKE owner Bartell Broadcasting to its station, KYA in San Francisco.

Moving on to KYNO/ Fresno, Drake met Chenault and the two began to formulate programming strategies that included streamlining the CHR/top 40 format and coining of the term "Boss Jocks," which was their newly branded name for disc jockeys.

After KYNO, Drake oversaw the programming at KGB/San Diego before heading north to Los Angeles in 1965 to take on what would become he and Chenault's most famous challenge, KHJ, a station they turned into a CHR/top 40 monster with "Boss Jocks" such as Robert W. Morgan and Don Steele and PD Ron Jacobs. Drake left KHJ in 1973, along with Morgan and Steele, to program crosstown KIQQ (K-100).

Drake's programming resume also included KFRC/San Francisco, WOR-FM/New York, KAKC/Tulsa, WHBQ/Memphis, WRKO/Boston CKLW/Windsor, Ontario.

Drake, a 2007 inductee into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame, was also credited with creating the infamous late-1970s and early-1980s Drake-Chenault syndicated rock documentary, "The History of Rock &Roll." Drake-Chenault was sold and eventually dissolved in the mid-1980s.

In a Dec. 2007 R&R "Publisher's Profile," Drake explained to R&R president and publisher Erica Farber why he thought he had such a successful career:

"I guess we were doing something right. It was the whole package, the idea of the forward momentum, the a cappella jingle to faster pace, the cleaner sound, what I called 'jock logos': 'Robert W. Morgan, 93 KHJ, boom!' I think people liked that. And we didn’t play a lot of stiff records. Disc jockeys weren’t allowed to talk too much. I always said if you’re going to say nothing anyway, say it in as few words as possible.

We would drill them and train them. We customized it by market. We didn’t play the same music lists. Detroit was very black, San Francisco was another thing and L.A. another. Actually the best test market we ever found was Fresno. For some reason, if it made it in Fresno, it would make it just about anywhere, and that wasn’t necessarily true of other markets."

Drake is survived by a daughter Kristie Philbin and his domestic partner, Carole Scott.

A memorial service for Drake will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. at The Little Brown Church, 4418 Coldwater Canyon Blvd., Studio City, CA.
______________________________________________________________

This from All Access:

It's a huge loss for the radio industry, as ALL ACCESS reported on SATURDAY that radio legend BILL DRAKE died from lung cancer at age 71 in LOS ANGELES. DRAKE passed away SATURDAY at WEST HILLS HOSPITAL in the SAN FERNANDO VALLEY.

DRAKE, born PHILIP YARBROUGH, chose his last name from among his relatives' surnames, because it rhymed with "WAKE," the station in ATLANTA where he worked as a programmer and disc jockey in the late 1950s, writes WIKIPEDIA. Later, BARTELL BROADCASTING, which owned WAKE -- that he had programmed to #1 -- transferred him to KYA in SAN FRANCISCO, which also became #1. It was later at KYNO in FRESNO that he met GENE CHENAULT, who became his business partner. Together, the pair developed highly influential radio programming strategies and tactics, as well as working with future "Boss Jocks."

DRAKE-CHENAULT perfected the Top 40 radio format, which had been created by TODD STORZ, GORDON MCLENDON and other radio programmers in the late 1950s, which took a set list of popular songs and repeated them all day long, ensuring the widest possible audience for the station's music. Jingles, news updates, traffic and other features were designed to make Top 40 radio particularly attractive to car listeners. By early 1964, the era of the BRITISH Invasion, Top 40 radio had become the dominant radio format for NORTH AMERICAN listeners and quickly swept much of the WESTERN world.

DRAKE streamlined the Top 40 format, using modern methods, such as market research and ratings demographics, to maximize the number of listeners. He believed in forward momentum, limiting the amount of disc jockey chatter, the number of advertisements and playing only the top hits, as opposed to less-organized programming methods of the past. DRAKE created concepts such as 20/20 News and counter-programming by playing music sweeps, while his competitors aired news.

DRAKE-CHENAULT controlled everything, from the specific DJs who were hired, to radio contests, visual logos, promotions and commercial policy. DRAKE essentially put radio back into the hands of programming, instead of sales. DRAKE hired the JOHNNY MANN SINGERS to produce the BOSS RADIO jingles, ensuring a bright, high-energy sound that engaged the listener. The jingles were used going into music, either in sweeps or out of stop-sets ... to associate the station with music, not commercials.

A memorial service for DRAKE is set for WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3rd at 3p at The Little Brown Church, 4418 Coldwater Canyon Blvd., STUDIO CITY, CA.

just got this in my email, thought you might enjoy...

Remembering Bill Drake.

by Mike Kinosian

Los Angeles -- Radio did indeed exist before Bill Drake arrived on the scene and it continues even after his much too early passing this weekend. Make no mistake, however, that our beloved medium would be hard-pressed to find a solitary individual who put such an emphatic, indelible stamp on it than the larger-than-life programmer, consultant and entrepreneur. “Boss Radio” and the “Drake Format” became part of the industry vocabulary. Simply put: Bill Drake became a role model and influence to countless individuals in this business. On-air personalities and programmers who claim to be Drake disciples read like a veritable “Who’s Who” of radio.

Unquestionably one of the industry’s most underrated/unheralded individuals is Jim Kefford, who in the mid-1970s to mid-1980s was Vice President/General Manager of Los Angeles-based (Canoga Park) Drake-Chenault Enterprises. Programming czar Denny Adkins was equally unsung in that Drake operation. “Bill was the most creative talent I had the privilege to work with in my 35 years in radio broadcasting,” Kefford comments to Inside Radio. “When he was focused, ideas and concepts sprang forth like fireworks at a celebration. He was the supreme editor, presented with drafts on special programming or our ongoing format business. He could easily hear the right direction to take. Disciplines he popularized in on-air presentation will live on.”

Noted Country programmer Jaye Albright was brought aboard in the early-1980s as DC’s specialist in that specific format genre. “Everything I do today was developed, mentored and nurtured by the great managers and consultants put together by (Bill) Drake and (Gene) Chenault,” Albright remarks to Inside Radio. “I'll never forget our occasional meetings around the pool at Bill's Encino home. He’d encourage his format experts to strategize about threats and opportunities ahead. Today's concept that programming is nothing but a service bureau for sales would’ve horrified programming purist Drake. PPM data shows how smart [his approach] was and provides a renaissance of his tactics and strategies. I need to tell you Bill, [wherever] you are today, you still live in me.”

KMXZ, Tucson PD Bobby Rich was a KHJ, Los Angeles air talent in 1973 just as Drake was turning over programming control to Paul Drew. “I met Bill Drake in 1968 at [an industry convention],” Rich recalls to Inside Radio. “I learned about music clocks and categories. Yes, that was `innovative’ [then].” The only other time the two met was when Rich worked as a Drake-Chenault format consultant in 1980. “I was carrying an armload of records when I noticed him approaching me. I immediately thought I should find someplace to set them down so I could shake his hand. Before I could do that, he spotted me and immediately said, `So Bobby, stealing albums again?’”

The Drake Doctrine.

Especially when it’s someone of the enormous stature of Bill Drake, people are very likely to mix fiction with truth in their recollections. One of the greatest misconceptions of the peerless programmer was he was anti-air personality. If that were the case though, the supreme upper echelon of talent, including the sterling likes of The Real Don Steele, Robert W. Morgan, Charlie Tuna and on and on, would never have flourished they way they did. One of Drake’s most frequently-uttered responses to questions regarding his programming success was that he played music listeners wanted to hear without all the clutter and garbage. So if something compelling couldn’t be uttered in seven seconds, it was probably not worth saying.

Such things are highly subjective but The Real Don Steele is perhaps Los Angeles’ alltime quintessential air personality. Eleven years ago, the magnificently-gifted Steele, 61, succumbed to lung cancer – the same cause of death for 71-year-old Drake who died this past weekend. “Don loved Bill like a brother - or perhaps a father,” Steele’s lovely widow Shaune McNamara Steele confides to Inside Radio. “He respected Drake as he respected no one else in his life.”

When Charlie Tuna was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame last month, the KRTH “K-Earth 101”, Los Angeles personality thanked Bill Drake, Ron Jacobs, and Robert W. Morgan for believing in him. Just before making his acceptance speech though, Tuna was told the broadcast was running long and he was politely asked to keep his remarks as short as possible. “My comment to the crowd was, `I didn’t realize I’d have to do the Drake format to be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame too.’ The crowd laughed, because they knew exactly what I was talking about four decades later.”

Mushrooming in radio mythology is Drake’s penchant for hot-lining on-air talent but Tuna, who did 9am-Noon on Drake’s insanely popular “Boss Radio” KHJ, Los Angeles, declares to Inside Radio, “I never once got a call from him. It was the benchmark experience of a lifetime working for Bill Drake at KHJ. Unfortunately with the state of radio today, we will never even come close to seeing that success duplicated again.”

Abundantly more, well-deserved platitudes for the extraordinary programming icon will most assuredly abound at tomorrow afternoon’s memorial service in Los Angeles. Reach Mike Kinosian at 818-985-0244 or mike@insideradio.com

From JacobsBlog...

Last weekend's news that "Boss Radio" creator, Bill Drake, passed away struck me as both sad and ironic. As the radio industry goes through its difficult gyrations to stay alive and vital, the guy who helped redefine the industry, while making it come alive in the '60s, has left us.

If you're over 40, you probably grew up with a Bill Drake station - or certainly one that he influenced. Whether it was CKLW here in the Midwest, or KHJ on the West Coast, Drake's impact on radio was indelible - and still says a great deal about how radio is programmed today.

Drake was the guy who brought discipline and tight music lists to radio. In many ways, radio programming has devolved in recent years to a point where Drake couldn't have liked what he heard. I never met the guy, but I did some work for Paul Drake and Rick Sklar in the '70s - both of whom were Drake disciples and/or heavily influenced by his doctrines. They were both tough programmers, strict disciplinarians, and insistent that a station's sound and packaging be executed to the letter.

Drake's style of radio was big, bold, and exciting - very different from how much of radio is perceived and programmed today. Drake stations didn't apologize - they were leaders, they set the tone, and they made hits. They were also disciplined - during the day, at night, and on the weekends. When so many stations today are mailing it in, and hoping no one notices, those Drake Top 40 stations sounded tight and bright whenever you tuned them in. It was all about the presentation.

And they were seemingly everywhere. You could make the case that Drake was fortunate that he crafted his format at a time when there were no iPods or Internet. But you get the feeling that he would have figured out how to make his stations sound big and brash, digital or not. The good news is that his influence still abounds and his theories were right on the money. It still makes sense to "play the hits," as evidenced by the fact that the most successful satellite radio music channels - despite all the "variety" on those niche "Long Tail" stations - are the ones that are most Drake-esque. And with Internet streaming stations like CBS' "#1 Hits," Drake's influence is still coming out of speakers - and ear buds.

But so much of what Drake espoused - excellence, tight and bright, that big showbiz sound - is slipping away, as programming is downsized, consolidated, repackaged, combined, economized, commoditized, and simply shred. Drake realized the importance of content, long before that term was redefined in the '90s.

Bill Drake has died, and if we aren't careful, so will many of the great things he brought to the medium of radio.

I grew up in Flint, Michigan listening to Detroit and Chicago radio. Cklw was by far the most exciting station back in the day. Turned 16 in 1966, and the Big 8 was always on in the car and at home. Were there any stations in Portland doing the Boss Radio format with the Drake jingles back in the late 60's? Sure would like to hear what Portland radio sounded like back in the late 60's-early 70's. Haven't been able to find much from that era. I had worked with Gary Lockwood back in Indiana in 1972, heard he came to PDX after that and then to Seattle. Anyone out there have an aircheck of Gary from his PDX days?

In January 1966 KGAR began its Top 40 format and was known as "Boss Radio". I don't believe they used Drake jingles. KLSC began Drake's "Classic Gold" format on December 1, 1973. This ended on April 30, 1976.

I wonder if KYMN might have gone to a Boss Radio format if their planned switch back to Top 40 had taken place instead of being sold at the last minute.

KGAR simply copied the slogan...It was never even close to authentic Drake "Boss Radio"...

I was hired for the new KYMN Top 40 assault Fall '66. Was actually moved to Portland from KEED-Eugene. The PD was former KIMN AMD jock Gary Todd, who I later worked with at KOL-Seattle.

Though the ownership rug was pulled out from under us before the launch, I do have some additional insight since I returned to Eugene as PD of KASH, and Gary Todd joined KASH as Operations Manager.

Gary focussed on Music. We followed format clocks rotating 45's by category according to those clocks. 3 new songs were made Sneak Previews each week. 1 of these was played every hour, so there was a focus on launching the strongest new songs. We tracked retails sales,
and song requests to determine popularity.

Gary's other strong suit was promotion. When 2 stations are playing basically the same music, it is personalities, promotion, and presentation that make one station stand out over the other.

It is possible KYMN might have launched with acapellas, because we were close to the launch with no jingle package in house yet. However, it is also possible KYMN might have utilized some
"KIM" Denver material. By this point, Denver was using acapellas with a logo of
"Ninety-Five Fabulous KIM."

One of Gary Todd's best friends was Jim Hilliard, who launched WFIL - Philadelphia.
Therefore, I believe KYMN would have used similar strategies...embracing a number of Drake Principles, while maintaining a "unique" KYMN approach. One of the few elements produced when
we arrived at KASH were jock logos, which were
(non-Drake) SonoVox: http://www.rma1.com/Robin's-Radio-History/GaryToddSono.rm
http://www.rma1.com/Robin's-Radio-History/MightyMitchellSono.rm
http://www.rma1.com/Robin's-Radio-History/RichardW.RobbinSono.rm

...Richard W Robbin became more famous under
Buzz Bennett KCBQ tutelage as Rich Brother Robbin. (If links don't work, try pasted them into your browser to her realaudio.)

Don't know about you. I always felt KISN sounded better in their pre-Fake-Drake era. They
were a unique tree in the radio forest. When you make up your own rules...and you're right...
it's hard for the competition to counter-program you.

Thank you, Robin. That's far more than I expected! I don't know when the "fake Drake" era was.

By 1966, KISN had dumped the PAMS packages and gone to acapellas: 91 K-I-S-N, adding 20-20 news, morphing from their original News Live at :55, etc. Everything they did from this point on was a very poor copy of Drake. The main thing that hindered its success was:
1) the spot load was consistenly much heavier than Drake would allow, 2) the acapellas were second-rate knock-offs vs. Drake's Johnny Mann jingles, 3) too much jock talk, etc.

Interestingly, it would be KGW that would bring the Drake discipline and Johnny Mann acapellas to Portland...and ultimately bury KISN. KGW launch in December of '69. While not launching with Johnny Mann acapellas, they had a decent package, and More Music...really!!! I'm guessing the Johnny Mann Drake packages debuted in late 70 or early 71.

They went back to the "yours truly" package for awhile around 1968.

I found this sight(http://www.sfradiomuseum.com/pages/jingles.shtml) with some great jingles.KFRC - "Big 610" Drake Series I with acapellas (1969) This is a pretty complete Johnny Mann package. They also had a Series 2 Drake package I never heard it on CKLW. A lot of stations that tried to copy Drake's programming got it all wrong. It wasn't just "more music". It was an overall sound that he created with truly talented people on the air that could entertain in short bursts of humor, and then it was back to the best music.An era when programming ran the station, not sales. Commercials were woven into the overall presentation, they had great production values when it came to local commercials. And a lot of local spots were creative and humorous. Seems like a lot of people have always been critical of liner cards. The way they use them today deserves criticism. I really hate hearing those pre-recorded liners used on most stations. Those were meant to be sold to the listener by the jock,part of the station image, not just read. Perhaps with all the financial mess the industry is in, we'll see a lot of properties sold to new small companies that can re-claim what used to be a wonderfully fun, creative industry.