Farewell, Wally Clark, who made KIIS-FM a hit
One of the absolute greats of radio — Wally Clark — died
Nov. 14 at age 84.
Clark is one of the crew that brought KIIS-FM (102.7) to prominence starting in 1982 when he was named general manager of the station, which was then owned by Gannett. Teaming with programmer Gerry DeFrancisco, Clark had a tremendously talented on-air staff including Rick Dees, who had recently moved over from KHJ (930 AM); “Big” Ron O'Brien; Bruce Vidal; Paul Freeman; and more, plus a strong music playlist and a can-do attitude that brought excitement back to radio. It almost didn't happen. KIIS-FM was all-disco for a time before Dees' arrival, and when Dees got there, it was a sleepy (honestly pretty awful) adult contemporary station that barely registered among listeners. Had management at K-WEST (now KPWR, 105.9 FM) given master programmer Chuck Martin more support, K-WEST would have dominated and KIIS-FM may never have moved to Top 40.
But K-WEST didn't support Martin; management apparently felt that Top 40 was a dead format and moved to adult contemporary as Magic 106.
Meanwhile, Gannett sensed that it could make a mark and put into place a powerhouse staff, relaunched KIIS-FM as Top 40, and not only saved the station, it saved Top 40 radio itself.
Clark was absolutely a major reason for the station's success. Through his tenure, he supported his staff, protected them from corporate managers, figured out ways to appease the bean counters when he blew the promotional budget, and allowed creativity to thrive.
In an era marked by stations that thought being “good” was good enough, Clark and his team believed that they could do better. A goal was set to not only make KIIS-FM No. 1 in the ratings locally, he wanted to be No. 1 nationally. Under his leadership, the station increased its ratings into and beyond 10 shares, and the station soon set a record for commercial advertising rates in much the same way KHJ had done more than 10 years prior.
He once told me that it was fairly easy to hold back corporate suits from causing problems. “When you're the No. 1 station in the nation, they tend to leave you alone, even when you're way over budget,” he explained a few years ago.
And they went over budget a lot. Again, much like KHJ, they were the king of contests … daily cash payoffs, cars, trips. They paid their talent handsomely, in recognition of the work they did. They got out into the community with “weekend warmups,” getting to know listeners directly and personally. They did charity work, and had community events and concerts, and a top-notch news and public affairs staff. They hired the best engineers and had the best jingle package. In essence, they were unstoppable.
Until they weren't. When Clark left in 1986, things started declining. Power 106 launched and started taking listeners with its “fresh new music mix” highlighting new dance tracks. KIIS-FM overreacted and started losing its way. Was it a loss of leadership, or just the first direct competition KIIS-FM had seen since it launched as Top 40? Probably a bit of both.
Clark left to start a consultancy and production company, and he consulted with KIIS-FM for many years after he left. He helped launch “Rick Dees Weekly Top 30,” which still airs nationally. I met Clark years after he left KIIS-FM when he happened to be among a group at a radio and records reunion; I was seated next to him during lunch and we hit it off right away. He was one of the good guys in radio, with a genuinely positive outlook on things and an uncanny ability to see and develop talent among those he worked with. I don't think I would be exaggerating to state that without Clark, KIIS-FM probably wouldn't exist today. And if it followed his examples, it would be far better than it is today, even though it's still a great station.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Clark also saw the talent in Howard Stern; he directly hired Stern at WWWW/Detroit for one of Stern's first radio jobs and later was instrumental in getting him hired at WWDCFM/Washington, D.C., the station that helped garner the attention of WNBC, where Stern would move later.
Clark was one of the nicest radio people I have met, and his passing is a huge loss for radio.
More holiday music
KUSC announced its Holiday Spirit Channel is back with a new name. A Classical California Christmas is filled with holiday favorites and a mix of carols, choirs and classical arrangements. “It's a festive choice to bring you comfort and joy throughout the holiday season,” the station said in a promotional email.
You can stream on the station's website or free smartphone apps. Go to KUSC.org for more information.