When Local Radio Was A Big Deal

SAN BERNARDINO - Driving east on Baseline in San Bernardino onward to Highland you may notice three mid-size radio towers and an unassuming shack building behind San Gorgonio High School, and probably not think much of it. There is much more to the shack building than meets the eye, because that little building behind the high school actually has quite a bit of pop musically history behind it.

That little building once housed radio station KMEN on 1290 AM, and at its peak in the 1960s that radio station was a powerhouse. Many big names in pop music history, and radio history, came through that little building.


A "K/MEN-DOUS-TEN" Survey Sheet ending January 24, 1964, and of course The Beatles are number one.

Sometimes lost or buried in radio broadcast history with much focus on stations like, 93/KHJ, 1110/KRLA, 77/WABC or 89/WLS, KMEN never quite received its due in broadcast history.

Known as K/MEN 129 with its deejay personalities known as The K/MEN this radio station broadcasting out by a cow pasture was once a force in the radio and music industry.

In an era of YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, Soundcloud and other forms of new media to check out new bands, for a younger generation it may be hard to imagine that radio was nearly the only place you can check out new bands. Even for new bands today, it may be hard to imagine the backing you needed from radio to have some sort of success. Back then, before the Internet, before cable television (if you can even imagine such a time), radio was one of the biggest forms of entertainment for kids, teens and adults. Bands back then did not have all these outlets to have their music heard, and bands knew radio was the place to go if you wanted to be heard.

Adding to bands wanting to be heard, competition from rival Inland Empire top 40 station 59/KFXM added to the sense of urgency on K/MEN's part to be the first in airing the newest bands.

Here are four things K/MEN 129 has in connection to music history.

1 - The Rolling Stones


A 1966 ticket stub of The Rolling Stones' performance at The Swing Auditorium.

It was K/MEN that brought The Rolling Stones for their very first U.S. performance at The Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino. How this radio station in San Bernardino brought them to the U.S. for the first time is a whole story in and of itself, which we will have in the not too distant future. The short story is, in the wake of The British Invasion K/MEN had a connection in London sending them the latest British hit-makers, and basically looking and hoping to find the next Beatles. Well, K/MEN's London connection sent them an album by "this group that is better than The Beatles," as their London connection described The Rolling Stones. Afternoon K/MEN personality Bill Watson played a cut from the album, suddenly the telephone lines were jammed, and "Mr. Kicks," as Bill Watson was known, did something extraordinarily out of the ordinary for top 40 radio and played the entire album.


Mick Jagger on stage at The Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino doing his thing.

The Rolling Stones had made plans to tour the United States, but Mr. Watson knew they needed to get this band now! Mr. Watson, calling across The Atlantic, finally got in touch in The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham. After some deals were cut, and told of the reaction of The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger and company soon took to the U.S. stage for the very first time in San Bernardino thanks to K/MEN.


Those are San Bernardino Sheriff's deputies keeping the screaming girls back from "attacking" The Rolling Stones.

2 - The Beach Boys

Many singers, songwriters and bands came through the small lobby of K/MEN hoping their tune will make it on-the-air. Among these many hopeful bands who came through was a group of brothers from Hawthorne who called themselves, The Beach Boys. Mr. Watson, who, by the way, was the program direction, really liked this band and told them to get their music properly licensed and they will play it. Once the guys from Hawthorne got all the legal stuff taken care of it is believed K/MEN was the first to play The Beach Boys. In later years The Beach Boys replied in kind by singing jingles for K/MEN.

3 - Up, Up and Away with Jimmy Webb

Not too long ago we wrote about Colton, and one of its well known residents was singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb, who was certainly influenced by what K/MEN was playing. One of Mr. Webb's biggest hits he wrote was, "Up, Up and Away," performed by The Fifth Dimension (and sung by other performers over the years). Well, K/MEN once had its own hot-air balloon, and Mr. Webb thought it was a very nice looking thing, and so he wrote a song about it, and that tune became, "Up, Up and Away." In fact, the song was originally meant to be part of a K/MEN promotion. Apparently, the story goes, Mr. Webb wrote the song in just one afternoon sitting in his car at the Robert Hall Clothes store parking lot on La Cadena Drive and Mount Vernon Avenue in Colton (after sitting empty for many years a 99 Cent Only Store now occupies the old Robert Hall clothing store).


They may be a little out of sync in this video, but the tune written by Colton's Jimmy Webb and performed by The Fifth Dimension makes for pure top 40 AM gold.

4 - John Peel

Before he began his legendary music show on BBC Radio 1 the man known as John Peel was across the pond here in the states hosting the morning show on K/MEN in 1965. Back then while in Inland Empire radio he was not known as John Peel, but rather he did something highly odd in radio, he used his real name on-air, John Ravenscroft. John Peel returned to England in 1967 and found a gig for a short time at Radio London aboard one of England's pirate radio ships (many of these England radio pirates were supported by U.S. record labels and had their radio jingles supplied by U.S. jingle makers). Mr. Peel would begin his BBC career later in 1967 and soon became a force in discovering and exposing England to underground, punk, new wave and alternative music. The Peel Sessions soon became, and still are, sought after albums.


The Peel Sessions record with The Smiths. Used under Fair Use.

Seven Random City Fun Facts: Colton

COLTON - Motoring rapidly along Interstate 10 perhaps on the way to Palm Springs for some sunshine and retro decor, or maybe you are driving all the way to the I-10's eastern terminus in Jacksonville, Florida, one of the many cities you come across is Colton. A fast glance at Colton shows no more than a typical Southern California suburb that is part of the puzzle piece making up the megalopolis that is the Los Angeles Basin.


The intersection of what is now Valley Boulevard and La Cadena Drive before the "development bomb" of the 1960s. Used under a Creative Commons license.

As is the case with many places across Southern California there is more to Colton than meets the eye. In fact, would you believe that Colton is connected to Mount Wilson, "MacArthur Park" and the Chicano movement. Sadly, as it also the case with many cities across Southern California, much of that has been erased in the name of progress.

The city, once called The Hub City, which is wedged between the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, has an interesting background, and here are seven random fun facts about Colton.

1 - The writer of perhaps one of the most perplexing pop songs, "MacArthur Park," made famous twice, first by Richard Harris and later as a disco hit by Donna Summer, lived in the Colton area for a time once upon a time, and his name is Jimmy Webb. Mr. Webb also wrote "Up, Up and Away" as performed by The Fifth Dimension, along with many other songs. Mr. Webb even wrote a song about Colton, "820 Latham Street," perform by The Fifth Dimension and The Brooklyn Bridge, which is apparently the Colton address where the girl of his dreams (and muse of many songs) lived. Turns out the girl of Mr. Webb's dream from Colton soon moved to L.A. and worked near MacArthur Park, which is where Mr. Webb and the girl from "820 Latham Street" in Colton spent many afternoons together.


"820 Latham Street" as performed by The Fifth Dimension and written by Jimmy Webb.

2 - Once upon a time the community of Agua Mansa, now in modern day Colton and the name of a historic cemetery, was the largest town between Santa Fe and Los Angeles, and was a very important place in the Californio era. One Benjamin Davis Wilson, or Don Benito Wilson as he was known to the Native Americans, and who would go on to become mayor of L.A. and whom Mount Wilson is named after, had his life saved here by Lorenzo Trujillo after Mr. Wilson was involved violent battle with a Native American named Joaquin.

3 - Jimmy Webb was not the only musically famous person to come out of Colton. Jim Messina of Loggins and Messina and The Buffalo Springfield is also from Colton.

4 - Virgil Earp, brother of Wyatt Earp, was Colton's first Marshall. The Earp house still stands at 528 West “H” Street in Colton. Please do not disturb the current residents.

5 - Colton was created by promoters of the Southern Pacific Railroad (known in fiction as, The Octopus, by author Frank Norris), and the name Colton comes from, David Douty Colton, who was the vice president of Southern Pacific Railroad. Southern Pacific intended to make Colton the railroad center of Southern California. Mr. Colton probably made a couple trips to the city named after him, but he lived in San Francisco.

6 - The Chicano movement was, and still is, very strong in Colton. In fact, in clashes with police in 1943 there was even, sadly, a "Colton Zoot Suit Riot." This soon lead to a larger Chicano movement in Colton with protests against the police and demands for better services from the city. The protests were heard, and in the early 1950s a Chicano councilman was elected. By 1979 Colton elected a Chicano mayor and two Chicanos on the City Council, as well as a Chicano school board member. Colton was one of the first cities in Southern California to have such a strong representation of Chicanos in government.

7 - If you have driven through Colton in recent years, or really, for the past 20 years, you may notice it looks nothing like the photograph above. So what happened to Colton's downtown as shown in the photograph above? Well, the short answer is Colton made the decision (or mistake) many cities around the country made, and that was redevelopment. It is way too easy to say today that they should never have bulldozed their downtown, but remember when malls came in vogue that resulted in shoppers and businesses leaving city centers and downtown areas en mass for these new shiny, modern malls. The shoppers and businesses took their dollars with them to these new malls, and many cities, like Colton and even nearby San Bernardino, took the redevelopment route and basically wiped out their old downtown for what was suppose to be a new, modern shopping area that was going to bring business back. In Colton, and San Bernardino, it never quite worked and many long time residents regret the decisions their city leaders made. Some locals and former locals call it, "the development bomb."

Seven More Facts About Knott's Berry Farm, and Then Some

BUENA PARK - Since there was such a big response to the five facts about Knott's Berry Farm post here are some more interesting facts about the park in Buena Park that (another) Walt built.

Hopefully this will help bring about some interest in Knott's Berry Farm's history, which, quite frankly, tends to get overlooked and overshadowed by the big mouse in Anaheim. All the blame of course cannot be on the mouse who lives on Harbor Boulevard as Knott's Berry Farm's current owners, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, have done more than a few things to erase the rich history Walter Knott and his family created.

For a lot of people who grew up in Southern California they have great memories of Knott's Berry Farm when it actually was a farm and free to get in, or exploring the jungle across the street, or perhaps dancing the night away at Studio K. 

While the Knotts' many of us grew up with has gone away we shall always have the memories. To maybe help with those memories here are seven interesting facts about the farm off La Palma Avenue and Beach Blvd. that you may or may not have known about.

1. Busy Beach Blvd. is still California State Route 39, but back in 1920 when the Knott family started their roadside stand the street they were on was known to many then simply as Highway 39. Walter Knott must have known that location is everything, because before Interstate 5 came into existence Highway 39 was the main artery between Los Angeles and Orange County.

2. One of the most beloved rides at Knott's Berry Farm that is no longer there, and has not been there for a very long time, is Knott's Bear-y Tales. Knott's Bear-y Tales was apart of the new Roaring 20s section that opened July 4, 1975, but Knott's Bear-y Tales was almost wiped out. An arsonist set fire to Bear-y Tales as it was under construction. The creators of the ride were able to recreate much of the ride designs in about six weeks, and all was well in Bear-y Tale land. The fire was believed to be the result of a nasty a union dispute. In 1987 Bear-y Tales was no more and became Kingdom of the Dinosaurs, and that ride closed in 2004. The former Bear-y Tales ride now stands empty. It remains unclear, at least publicly, if Cedar Fair will do anything with this empty building.

Some Bears and kids in front of the Roaring '20s fountain. Circa 1978. Photograph courtesy of the Orange County Archives.


Some Bears going on Knott's Bear-y Tales. Circa 1978. Photograph courtesy of the Orange County Archives.

3. Many people may remember Knott's Berry Farm used to have cable cars surrounding the parking lot. Did you know those were actual San Francisco cable cars that the Knott family bought from the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI). The cable cars ran around Knotts' until 1979, and two of the cable cars were returned to MUNI, and two other cable cars were sent to The Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris.

 
Cable Cars at Knott's Berry Farm. Circa 1960. Photograph courtesy of the Orange County Archives.


Cable Cars at Knott's Berry Farm. Circa 1959. Photograph courtesy of the Orange County Archives.

4. Now here is a not-so-fun fact that exemplifies the problems with Knott's Berry Farm's current owners. For decades visitors to Knotts' could see and feel the original berry stand Walter and Cordelia built that started it all. Well, in what is frankly an appalling decision, the stand was destroyed when Cedar Fair built the Silver Bullet roller coaster. (Why it was not moved to somewhere else in the park or even offered to a museum is unclear.) The original berry stand that started it all was not the only thing destroyed to make room for this roller coaster, the Inspiration Church was also a victim. Furthermore, also a victim of this "extreme" ride was the nighttime water light show as the lake has been totally drained.

Cordelia and Walter Knott in front of the stand that started it all. Date unknown. Photograph courtesy of the Orange County Archives.

5. One of the things that helped make Knott's Berry Farm a success was the boysenberry, be it boysenberry sauce, boysenberry jam or boysenberry punch. The boysenberry was created by Rudolph Boysen, and Mr. Boysen was the Anaheim City Park Superintendent from 1921 until 1950.

6. One of Knott's Berry Farm's most iconic rides that is still standing is the Timber Mountain Log Ride. The very first person to ride the Log Ride when it opened in 1969 was John Wayne. Of course when The Duke rode the ride it was not the Timber Mountain Log Ride, as it is known today, but was called the Calico Log Ride.  

7. Probably one of the most famous attractions at Knott's Berry Farm is Mrs. Knott's Fried Chicken Restaurant. This began in 1934, and Cordelia Knott was not too keen on the idea of making fried chicken and serving it on their family's fine China. However the Great Depression was underway and the Knott's roadside stand was not always doing a brisk business, and so Mrs. Knott began, rather reluctantly, making and serving fried chicken to help make ends meet. It seemed to work out for the Knott family.

The famous Chicken Dinner Restaurant. Circa 1955. Photograph courtesy of the Orange County Archives.  

Here are some things that are no longer apart of Knott's Berry Farm.


Middletons Train Supply House and Toy Museum at Knott's Berry Farm. Date unknown. Photograph courtesy of the Orange County Archives. 

The Cordelia K. out on the lake. The Cordelia K. is one piece of Knotts' that will never come back, because a few years back whoever Cedar Fair put in charged of moving the boat broke the Cordelia K. in half. 

The Cordelia K., taking a ride out in the lake. Date unknown. Photograph courtesy of the Orange County Archives.


The Cordelia K. out on the lake along with train ride in the background. Date unknown. Photograph courtesy of the Orange County Archives.

Have You Ever Wondered: Why Is The Freeway Name This Way?

LA PUENTE - If you are one of many regular commuters who drive between Los Angeles and Orange County and the Inland Empire, have you ever wondered why State Routes 60 and 91 have the names that they do?

Why is the 60 freeway named The Pomona Freeway when it goes well past Pomona and directly into downtown Riverside?

Why is the 91 freeway called The Riverside Freeway when it does not go into downtown Los Angeles, but through Orange County? 

The 91 somewhere along the L.A. and Orange County line kind of becomes The Artesia Freeway. Seems to have made more sense to name it The Torrance Freeway.

A Commentary: Thoughts of Southern California

LOS ANGELES - As the first turbulent decade of the new century draws to a close next year in 2010 a question for us at home remains, what is Southern California and where is it going?

Depends who you ask.

Some geography fiends consider Southern California to be from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border in San Diego, and everything in between Santa Monica and Blythe.

Depending where you are at in Southern California that could be debatable.

Us in the Los Angeles Basin (or is it Greater L.A.?) view Southern California as the entire city of L.A., the South Bay and Long Beach, San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire and north Orange County, with maybe parts of the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys.

This past decade south Orange County has been viewed by the world through the bad interpretation of drama by horribly stereotypical rich kids, in a place otherwise know by its unofficial United Nations designate, “The O.C.”

Often considered to be the jewel of Southern California, within the past ten years Santa Barbara has broken away and allied itself with the majestic Central Coast.

Agriculturally rich Ventura County seems to find itself torn between wanting to be apart of the peacefully elegant Central Coast and chaotic Southern California.

Meanwhile San Diegans long declared “America’s Finest City” to be located "south of Southern California."

What about lonely Imperial County? Tucked away in the southwest pocket of the Golden State its small farming towns give it a feeling of being somewhere in the mid-west where maybe the excitement for a warm summer Saturday night is going down by the stinkiest river in America, The New River, which flows out of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico into the Salton Sea, and wondering how many beers and dares does it take to jump into the river.

Maybe it is numbers that define Southern California.

There are many who ardently claim they are from 90210, and several who will adamantly deny residing in the 909, and others who bare it all for the harsh truth of the camera lens and moan, “I don’t date, 818!”

Does that make the Southland just one big vapid wasteland?

Maybe, but in the past decade something different has been occurring. Instead of long-winded complaining about nothing perspicaciously about how life here should be, such complaints are finally turning into genuine action promising to change and reshape Southern California in next decade. Residents tired of seeing their piece of Southern California ripped apart and replaced with heartless stone and steel have taken political action in preserving their old neighborhoods, which has brought neighbors and government officials together to fight the homogenization of big-box stores and symmetrical track-houses, save the few remaining orange groves and improve public transit.

After all have you seen the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s transit projects for the next decade? By the end of the next decade Southern California should finally have the beginning of a comprehensive public transit system.

Amazingly in the past decade (destructive fires aside) Southern California has not experienced an ”smog alert.” As younger children prepare for their first day of school parents tell of their school days in the 70s and 80s with stories of how some days we were forced to stayed inside the classroom during recess, because the air was so bad, and people had to be hospitalized.

Maybe us Southern Californians could be defined as a cyclical people. Decades ago we fled our urban cores, shredded our Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway lines and split neighborhoods apart building freeways (or as long time locals around the Santa Monica Freeway refer to it, the Berlin Wall) to the suburbs as we willingly sit in traffic for an hour driving back to the urban core working in the office and back another hour on the freeway home. The suburbs have been growing like an urban fungus in all directions clearing out citrus groves and farmland. Now with a new generation being fed up wasting life sitting on a freeway, urban cores have come back to life while many conversations ask why in the hell did we demolish the best transit system in the country.

Ironically attributing to the renewed preservation of Southern California has been one of our biggest economic forces, “Hollywood,” which has not so subtly been leaking out of the state and into new entertainment industry hubs around the world. The idea of “Hollywood” has brought many former high school drama club president hopefuls on a Greyhound Bus to Cahuenga Boulevard hoping to land the Emmy winning role and be bestowed with wealth and power, while living in an isolated gated community north of Sunset Boulevard.

The closest to such wealth and power is often found becoming the shift manager at some restaurant in Los Feliz as the idea of Hollywood has proven dreams have a knack of just not coming true, resulting in Southern California becoming a transitory place for broken hopefuls, who bring with them no respect or civic pride for the city they call home, for this month.

The next decade shows as the romance and fantasy of Hollywood leaves Southern California to whatever unfortunate place has the honor of being the new “Hollywood,” the empty vacuum will be filled with residents, many born here and others welcomed here from around the world, who see us as more than an dream breaking town, but a place and people ultimately searching, rediscovering and preserving its rich cultural past, or at least creating an idea of past that exists in our own fantasyland, all while cultivating an new image.

Sure, Santa Ana Winds will not blow all our vapid identity out to the Pacific, as human nature desires to create and serve such people, but a renewed hopeful Southern California is on the horizon for the new decade.

Just what the end result will be, along with the happiness and tragedy of the new decade, remains to be seen.

One thing is certain, as the years go on one person has transcended the decades uniting Southern Californians, Cal Worthington still encouraging us to come on down to Long Beach accompanied by one of the most hilarious unintentional misinterpreted catchy commercial jingles.