Bill Drake
Encyclopedia
Bill Drake born Philip Yarbrough, was an American
radio
programmer
who co-developed the Boss Radio
format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault
.
University Graduate Studies:
Bill Drake received his Bachelor of Science Degree
in Music from Columbia University. (Liberal Arts Program).
in Fresno, California
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" (their new name for on-air radio talent).
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. Jingle
s, 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 that 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, while providing a bridge from song to song.
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. Although it was criticized, "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
, across the Detroit River from the city of Detroit.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Drake and Chenault formed Drake-Chenault
Inc., marketing the format in the form of similar customized Johnny Mann jingle packages used on KHJ. These jingle
packages were sold across the US and overseas. They also marketed "automated" radio format packages such as "Hit Parade", "Solid Gold", "Classic Gold" and "Great American Country". Disc Jockey voices heard on those formats included: the legendary Robert W. Morgan
, Charlie Van Dyke
and others.
In 1973, Drake left KHJ, along with Steele and Morgan, to program KIQQ-FM ("K-100") in Los Angeles. Bill Drake was a member of the nominating committee of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in 2007.
He died of lung cancer in Los Angeles
on November 29, 2008.
Gene Chenault died at 90 on February 23, 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
programmer
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
who co-developed the Boss Radio
Boss Radio
Boss Radio was the name of two radio programming formats, both launched in the early 1960s: One in the United States, and one in the United Kingdom. Although the names were the same, the formats were quite different.-Boss Radio in the United States:...
format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault Enterprises was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake , and his business partner, Lester Eugene Chenault...
.
Early career
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. Later, Bartell Broadcasting, who owned WAKE that he had programmed to number one, transferred him to KYA in San Francisco, which also became number one.University Graduate Studies:
Bill Drake received his Bachelor of Science Degree
in Music from Columbia University. (Liberal Arts Program).
Drake-Chenault
It was later at KYNOKYNO
KYNO is a News/Talk radio station broadcasting at 940 kHz in Fresno, California, United States of America.-Station history:KYNO from 1957 and throughout the 1960s and 1970s, was a Top-40 station, and was the #1 "Hooper" rated station in Fresno under the ownership of Eugene Chenault...
in Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
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" (their new name for on-air radio talent).
Drake-Chenault perfected the Top 40 radio format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
, 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. Jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
s, 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
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
, 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
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
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 that 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
Johnny Mann
Johnny Mann is an American arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, and recording artist.-Career:...
Singers to produce the Boss Radio
Boss Radio
Boss Radio was the name of two radio programming formats, both launched in the early 1960s: One in the United States, and one in the United Kingdom. Although the names were the same, the formats were quite different.-Boss Radio in the United States:...
jingles, ensuring a bright, high-energy sound that engaged the listener, while providing a bridge from song to song.
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
KHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, from a financial and ratings loser into a success. Drake hired Ron Jacobs
Ron Jacobs (broadcaster)
Ron Jacobs is an American broadcaster, author, record producer and concert promoter. He is best known as the program director of KHJ radio in Los Angeles during its ground-breaking "Boss Radio" period , and as co-creator of the countdown show American Top 40, and the seminal radio program The...
as program director, Robert W. Morgan
Robert W. Morgan
Robert Wilbur Morgan was an award-winning morning radio personality best known for his work at several stations in Los Angeles, California, in particular KHJ-AM....
in the mornings and Don Steele
Don Steele
Don Steele, born Donald Steele Revert , was one of the most popular disc jockeys in the United States, from the middle of the 1960s until his retirement in May 1997...
in the afternoons. KHJ quickly jumped from near-obscurity, to the number one radio station in Los Angeles. Although it was criticized, "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
KFRC (defunct)
KFRC was a radio station in San Francisco, California in the United States, which made its first broadcast on Wednesday, September 24, 1924, from studios in the Hotel Whitcomb 1231 Market Street. KFRC originally broadcast with 50 watts on the 270 meter wavelength , then moved to 660 kHz. in...
in San Francisco, WOR-FM in New York, KAKC
KAKC
KAKC is a sports talk radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications.-History:KAKC 970 first signed on the air in 1946 and was founded by Sam Avey....
in Tulsa, WHBQ
WHBQ (AM)
WHBQ is an AM radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States of America. Its frequency is 560 kHz. Although today it broadcasts sports news exclusively, the station became famous in the 1950s for playing rhythm and blues....
in Memphis, WRKO
WRKO
WRKO is a radio station based in Boston, Massachusetts, currently owned by Entercom. Its transmitter is located in Burlington, Massachusetts, next to the Burlington Mall.-1920-1940:...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and 50,000 watt CKLW
CKLW
CKLW is a 50,000 watt AM radio station broadcasting on 800 kHz and located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and serving Windsor and Detroit. Additionally, its signal can be heard as far west as Belding, Michigan; as far east as Batavia, New York; as far south as Edgewood, Kentucky; and as far...
, in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, across the Detroit River from the city of Detroit.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Drake and Chenault formed Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault Enterprises was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake , and his business partner, Lester Eugene Chenault...
Inc., marketing the format in the form of similar customized Johnny Mann jingle packages used on KHJ. These jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
packages were sold across the US and overseas. They also marketed "automated" radio format packages such as "Hit Parade", "Solid Gold", "Classic Gold" and "Great American Country". Disc Jockey voices heard on those formats included: the legendary Robert W. Morgan
Robert W. Morgan
Robert Wilbur Morgan was an award-winning morning radio personality best known for his work at several stations in Los Angeles, California, in particular KHJ-AM....
, Charlie Van Dyke
Charlie Van Dyke
Charlie Van Dyke is a former radio disc jockey who is best known for the voice work he has done for numerous radio and television stations....
and others.
After Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault was sold and eventually dissolved in the mid-1980s, but their radio specials are still available from a variety of sources.In 1973, Drake left KHJ, along with Steele and Morgan, to program KIQQ-FM ("K-100") in Los Angeles. Bill Drake was a member of the nominating committee of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in 2007.
He died of lung cancer in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on November 29, 2008.
Gene Chenault died at 90 on February 23, 2010.