DJ Ben Fong-Torres

Last year I wrote about how under-represented Asian programming is on American media outlets. [Link] About 5% of Americans are of Asian origin. While that is a smaller group than African-Americans (12.6%) or Hispanics (16.4%) that's still 14 million people. So in light of that demographic data. Ben Fong-Torres is one of those names in radio that you don't know, but you really should.

Before we start the story let me tell you that Ben Fong-Torres is alive and well today. His own website is here. I first encountered his his name when he was managing editor at GAVIN. He was there from 1993 to 1997. He left that position to write the book The Hits Just Keep On Coming: The History of Top 40 Radio, which is a must-own among radio men. He wrote four more books since then, including Becoming Almost Famous, which brought his tally to 9 books I believe.  Note about that last title... his character does appear in the film Almost Famous, he's portrayed by actor Terry Chen. Did I mention he was also a DJ?

Let's back up.  In 1966 Ben graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in radio-TV-film. While enrolled there he was DJ on KRTG-AM, the universities closed-circuit AM station. What got Ben into the music industry, and therefore radio, was Rolling Stone magazine. He was one of their original writers in 1967. He wrote for the magazine until 1981. In the mid 1960s he was a night announcer on KFOG-AM. But in 1970, while still writing for Rolling Stone he became a DJ for KSAN-FM.

Ben remained at KSAN from from 1970-1980 arguably the station's peak years. After Rolling stone he joined the San Francisco Chronicle, where he was  radio columnist until 1992. He came back in 2005 to write the bi-weekly column "Radio Waves." In 1994 he began hosting the program Fog City Radio, on KQED-FM. If that's not enough Reel Radio lists that he has guest DJ's on KUSF, KIOI, KPOI, KTIM, KVYN, KFRC, and KRQR.

SFO

I drove up I-880 to Oakland. I noticed that on 87.9 was an FM station and as I navigated the sloping curves of the interstate I realize that there wasn't one, but two. One had to be 97.9 KSFH, a high school station in Mountain View. KSFH was initially licensed on 90.5 but in 1982 moved to 88.1 FM. They moved to 87.9 MHz in 1999. There are only two FM station in America licensed for 87.9 (KSFH and K200AA)so the other must be a pirate. The bay is loaded with more pirate radio than any other part of the world. But Google let me to Pirate Cat Radio a recent winner of a $10,000 FCC fine. Pirate cat was running some wild Ethiopian Jazz, KSFH some trite Active Rock.

I continued north, and visited Berkley to hit Amoeba Music. The neighborhood being what it is, warranted stops at several bookstores, (where I got a copy of Screwjack) and also Rasputin Music. Some parking terrorist saw fit to give me a ticket even though I had minutes on the meter so I fled Berkley feeling unwelcome. I'll take my tourist dollars elsewhere if the commies don't want it.

Why hit only one Amoeba when there is one on each side of the bridge? I crossed the bay bridge and four dollars later I was in San Francisco. Once you pass Presidio and roll downhill, reception changes drastically.
With the heights between me and the bay, San Jose simply vanishes. The band is just KALX, KPOO, KUSF and KQED. I stopped at Ocean beach for a bit and found a sand dollar, then headed back down skyline drive onto Route 1 stopping only once for tacos. KCSM started coming in again before I got to Pacifica. I headed east on Route 92 heading back to 280, to San Jose airport and as I got into that valley KFJC came in again and the first song I heard was "Teenage Enema Nurse." I wasn't ever able to hear KLSI but that might be for the best.