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Bill Drake, legendary programmer
Bill Drake was born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer. He 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.
After turning around the fortunes of Fresno’s KYNO, Drake applied similar tactics to take KGB, from 14th to 1st in San Diego. KGB’s owner, Willett Brown, suggested to his fellow RKO board members, that Drake could turn KHJ around.
In the Spring of 1965, Drake-Chenault were hired to turn KHJ in Los Angeles, from a financial and ratings loser into a success. Drake hired Ron Jacobs as program director, Robert W. Morgan in the mornings and Don Steele in the afternoons. KHJ quickly jumped from near-obscurity, to the number one radio station in Los Angeles. “Boss Radio” moved faster and sounded more innovative than the competition, making it the #1 choice over competitors in Southern California.
Bill Drake also programmed KFRC in San Francisco, WOR-FM in New York, KAKC in Tulsa, WHBQ in Memphis, WRKO in Boston and 50,000 watt CKLW, in Windsor, Ontario.
Bill’s contribution remains to the day: time clock, jingles, tight format, and other behind the mic production values that remain a staple in today’s radio.
(Wikipedia contributed to this story.)
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