The First Black Radio Announcer (Part 3)

Bass Harris was the first black radio host on the west coast. Each book, and article states that he first was on air at KING-AM in Seattle. Every source I can find repeats that claim. the problem is that either the year of the call letters are wrong.  The biographical information is so spare that it's no help.  He was the son of a local minister, and his program was at least initially brokered time. Hard data is so elusive that I sometimes doubt he existed.  The book Entrepreneurs of Profit and Pride put him on air in the Seattle market for 15 years. Despite the absence of Terra-firma, Radio Ink listed him as one of the 16 African American DJs who were on air in the 1940s. 

In that era many of the few programs hosted by African Americans were on brokered time. That's how Harris broke into the radio biz. He paid his way, then sold enough spots to make it profitable by running a show that attracted those dollars. All sources claim that his program debuted in 1933 on KING-AM in Seattle. But there was no KING-AM in Seattle in 1933, or even 1943. KING-AM didn't sign on until 1949, which did sign on at 1090. White's Radio log lists the station at 10,00 watts actually in the Spring of that year. In the Broadcasting yearbook for 1949, KING is listed as having been started inexplicably in 1927.  But it fills in some small details. They were clearly a share-time broadcasting only 6:00 AM to noon.

Interestingly KRSC-AM and KIRO-AM were founded in 1927. KOMO-AM launched in 1926. KFOA-AM was on as early as 1923. Another source puts him on 1300 KOL-AM in the 1940s. But KOL-AM wasn't on 1300, it was on 1270. On the upside, at least KOL existed in 1933 all 1000 watts of it. KOL-AM is presently on 1300 so I am assuming that's a failure of memory and not of math. regardless the KOL reference cites the program as called Bass Harris's  House of Joy. He mixed pop sides with swing and played both black and white artists in 15-minute blocks.

Some of the confusion may come from a rather unpleasant set of frequency and call changes in the Seattle market painfully shuffling heritage calls around the metro. For several decades the 1090 kHz frequency in Seattle was home to KING-AM, founded in the late 1940s by broadcasting pioneer Dorothy Stimson Bullitt. KING-AM was known as the "Mighty 10-90," featuring great radio personalities such as Frosty Fowler, Ray Court, Mark Wayne and late night talk with Irving Clark.  It became a talk station in 198s.  As of 2004, 1090 became KPTK-AM still airing news/talk.

After all the conjecture I find Bass Harris in a radio schedule in the Long Beach Press-Telegram Newspaper.  He's listed on 710 KMPC-AM October 11th 1952 at 8:00 PM between the St. Francis Hour and a program called "Dance Time." The Book Swingin' on the Ether Waves identifies his KMPC program as "Bass Harris At Home." An article in the Los Angeles Sentinel called him a "longtime star of stage and radio."  If true, he would have already been on air for about 20 years. His program was described as follows:

"Harris will intersperse his own humorous and philosophical poems and monologues with the latest recordings and guest stars."

He appears on 1330 KFAC-AM .according to the August 22nd 1953 issue of Radio Today he had a program at 9:00 AM that Saturday following Unity View and preceding the Federation of Churches program. KFAC was largely classical during the week. In 1955 in another issue of Radio Today I find him on air at 640 KFI-AM at 8:00 AM on a Saturday after the news and before a program called "Jump Jump."  There the trail ends after two long and mysterious decades.

Quadrophonic Radio

Quadraphonic sound was one of the earliest consumer offerings in multichannel audio, (i.e. more channels than stereo) It was introduced to the American market in the early 1970s. Quad was not a single format; but actually an array of several different incompatible formats. Quadraphonic media was available on vinyl records, eight tracks, and reel-to-reel and yes, even broadcast radio. It was uncommon, but some brave and bullish broadcasters bought into it. Some Quad Hi-Fis can be found here

In Seattle back in 1977, an experimental Quadrophonic broadcast was attempted at 92.5 KZAM and 98.1 KING. In conjunction with Windham Hill records. In a very MacGyver-ish approach, this required two separate stereos and tuners. Each station broadcast two channels of the quadrophic audio. If you did, you got to hear 360 degrees of John Klemmer. [Not sure if that's worth it] (KZAM is now KLSY)

In Chicago 97.9 WLUP broadcast one live quadraphonic concert in 1979. It featured Joe Jackson, Rainbow and the Blue Oyster Cult.
In Detroit Quadrophonic radio was attempted by several stations 102.9 WWWW, 101.9WDET, and WABX at different times.

As early as 1975 WQIV in New York City attempted full time quad broadcasting. They broadcast live concerts, including the earliest syndicated Rock Around the World shows, whole albums, and other things unusual at the time on commercial radio. It was very much a product of the free-form FM era. It eventually flipped to become classical WNCN, the calls and format it had previously. (Currently 104.3 WAXQ )

In 1969, WCRB radio in Boston collaborated with WGBH to present a series of Boston Symphony concerts live in quadraphonic sound. Two channels being transmitted on WGBH and the other two on WCRB. Oddly WCRB continued to broadcast some of its recorded music in quad for several more years.

In 1979 Amex tape did promotion with San Francisco's KRON and KIOI with KRON broadcasting the front two channels and KIOI taking the rear two channels. For this first Quadraphonic broadcast, The Greatful Dead performed. It was televised on KQED and simulcast on KSAN.

Quad was killed by the advent of the CD and completely stalinized with the birth of surround-sound. Skip Pizzi at RW online continually writes propaganda in favor of surround sound for radio. I have not bought into this cult yet. Radio has been struggling to push HD radio for 10 years now, I doubt surround sound will fare any better. Feel free to read up and judge for yourself [Link here]


...And here is the surround sound system that could have been, The Ambsonic Sound System...