Chuck Blore and “Color Radio”

By the time Chuck Blore switched on “Color Radio” in Los Angeles, on KFWB in January 1958, Top 40 had been around for several years. It was Blore, however, who gave it a polish that elevated his stations—and those that imitated them—beyond the ultimately limited confines of a teenage audience. Originally a deejay and program director under Gordon McLendon—the famed Texas broadcaster known as one of the founders of Top 40 radio—Blore sought out disc jockeys with distinctive personalities who were willing to devote extensive preparation time to their duties. He added inventive contests and promotions, along with swinging, sophisticated jingles that sold his announcers as a team of “Good Guys.”

One of the best of his deejays was Gary Owens, who found success on KEWB in Oakland, California, before moving to its sister station KFWB in Los Angeles in the early 1960s. Owens soon gained fame as the announcer on NBC-TV’s Laugh-In and for his thousands of cartoon character voices and commercial voice-overs.