The 93 KHJ-LA Complete Boss 30 - 1966

Blank Frank Notes: 1966 is a fine, if not the best year ever. This 389 track 14 hour set compiles EVERY boss-30 song that appeared in the weekly KHJ-LA survey for 1966, in the order of its appearance. Some minor changes were made to accommodate airchecks, but they all stayed in the same survey week. Thanks to the help of Dave, Rory, and Kevin, the sound quality is outstanding and virtually all original single mono mixes, some of which have never been released since the original 45s were pressed. Thanks too for Kwai Chang for his essay and support/advice. Without their help, this collection would not have turned out as nice. Thank you all!! About airchecks, finding them in good quality and sufficient quantity was very difficult. They are what they are, but they do add to the overall KHJ experience.  I hope you're able to take this for your daily commute or listen on a long drive once we're all free of this quarantine. Surveys, tracklist, and essay included.

Kwai Chang - 1966:
To understand what radio was like before BOSS Radio is nearly futile because its creation was a well thought out campaign. The people responsible for its inception had a huge vision that was pure genius for it was clearly institutional in scope. It was as if Disneyland was a station on the radio yet, it was personalized to appear as though the individual listener could feel a part of it.

This is incredibly clever. It allowed for belonging on a constant basis...round the clock. It provided real personalities for the entire day with which the listener could identify and trust. It was a never-ending finger on the pulse of a genre that was clearly new and refreshing...new and colorful...new and ALIVE. As if by an undeniable force there was endless excitement from the once dead realm of radio. Forget the novelty of television...it had nothing so tangible for the modern consumer to do except the latent dormancy that accompanies catatonic immersion into the medium.

The beauty of BOSS radio was that it seemed fluid and constantly flowing. So much so, that TV was used as a self-serving gimmick that turned the television viewer into active participants as KHJ listeners. Contests were regularly held on KHJ that would offer prizes of meeting TV stars, visiting the sets of the productions, eating lunch with celebrities. So, you could be the biggest Batman fan on the planet...but, it would require a certain amount of radio participation to realize.

All the while, each KHJ Disc Jockey would use such promotions to continue building their own respective personalities into lovable identities that were more well known locally than Adam West or Burt Ward would ever accomplish. This is a heady accomplishment and may be based entirely on the irony that radio had returned from the dead. Was everything radio HAD BEEN before 1966 actually mundane and pointless?

By KHJ's game-plan, that assessment may be the only premise for the new format that exacted such sentiment. The BOSS Radio daily experience certainly made THE MOMENT the most important point on ANY chronology. 1966 was a very rich year for music. It must have been the most promising year of all for ANYONE that connected with the station...directly, or indirectly. That merely begs the question...was it better to be a KHJ DJ, or a KHJ listener?

THAT is just how good things were for everyone. The tinsel was everywhere...and everything was still new. Like a dream!!!

1965 to 1966   Yandex  Zippy

1966 Part 1 (Jan-Feb)  Yandex   Zippy

1966 Part 2 (March-April)   Yandex   Zippy

1966 Part 3 (May-June)  Yandex   Zippy

1966 Part 4 (July-Aug)  Yandex   Zippy

1966 Part 5 (Sept-Oct)  Yandex    Zippy

1966 Part 6 (Nov-Dec)  Yandex    Zippy