One of the first things Gerry warned me about was the engineers or board operators. They ran the equipment, period. I was unaccustomed to being restricted in that manner. Some of them were dedicated, but I learned that the FM was the last thing on the minds of others. Some had been there for years, felt protected by the union, and could have cared less. When Paul arrived, we spent the day discussing changes. He was not pleased with the general attitude of these union guys toward WROR. Tapes on the automation would reach the end and go unchanged for hours. This drove Paul crazy. I was to monitor the music reel logs and report discrepancies to the head of engineering. Paul and I came up with a new positioning statement, THE GOLDEN GREAT 98. The station needed a "voice". Guess who became "Johnny Angel" and did the weather, public service announcements, and promos. We met with Hobbs, and he assured Paul I would have whatever I needed to make WROR competitive. Paul left, and so did the spirit of co-operation. Drew was relatively new in his position and known better by the West coast managers than those in the East. The real power in the East was wielded by regional VP, Perry Ury. He’d lived through the "Drake" era. Drew was a lot different than Drake. Paul wore suits, didn't’ drink or hang out, and worked morning until night. Ury and Hobbs knew the new VP of Programming had the respect of RKO President, Bruce Johnson. The attitude in Boston was at best, cautious cooperation. Paul didn’t hear what was said when he left town. "The station's for sale, we're not spending a penny more than necessary", to quote Mr. Ury.

Jim McCaffrey had been brought up from WGMS in Washington to be sales manager of WROR. We shared a secretary/receptionist. Hobbs asked me to find a way to get another guy involved, John R. Gambling. John was going to school in Boston and had worked for the AM, TV, and now the FM. He was heir apparent to the morning show on WOR in New York (John's grandfather (John B) did mornings there, then his father John A. took over). The show is called "Ramblin' with Gambling" and John R. became it's host in 1998. John R. is now on WABC weekdays 10:00-11:45AM and Saturdays 6:00-10AM.  John tackled every assignment with determination. So there we were, a major market station with four employees and an automated format. Most of the commercials on WROR had been a bonus for schedules bought on WRKO. McCaffrey wasn’t actually going to have a separate staff, instead he had to motivate the AM sales persons to sell the FM. The sales staff practically laughed in his face.

Just before Christmas, RKO held a managers meeting at The Coronado resort in Puerto Rico. GM’s, sales managers, and PDs from each station were required to attend. Gerry and I flew down together. We arrived at the airport where a van waited to take us out to the resort. There was George Klein from WHBQ, Sean Conrad from KHJ, Michael Spears from KFRC, Jerry Clifton from WXLO, Gerry and me. I don’t remember the other PDs' names. We weren’t particularly thrilled at having to go to this meeting with the GMs. We also knew that Drew would be watching us like a coach before the big game. A full slate of meetings, some led by a PD were scheduled. One of the PDs was a real kiss up to Drew. He wore suits and was Mr. Corporate. Gerry, George and I hated the guy. Mr. Big Deal volunteered to conduct a meeting on "teamwork". He had a tennis ball and as he started his presentation, he tossed the ball to someone, they’d throw it back. Drew had left the room with Conrad. When the ball was thrown toward us, Gerry jumped up, grabbed the ball and fired it back at the guy with all the strength he could muster. That presentation quickly ended. Drew returned without Sean. A station in LA was switching to Top 40 and Drew wanted him back home to keep an eye on things at KHJ. George, Gerry and I hung out in the casino, gambling and looking for women. I had never gambled in my life. Peterson told me how to bet at roulette. On the first spin, I won. The guy standing next to me said "I hope you can do that with ratings"; it was Bruce Johnson, RKO President. Drew, standing behind us, said: "If anyone can do it, John can". On the last evening there, we left the casino and went to one of the smaller bars. Gerry started playing the piano and we were singing. The bartender gave last call, and an older guy who had been singing with us called the bartender over and whispered something in his ear. The bar doors were closed and the older man announced: "I’ve bought the entire stock of liquor in the bar and this is now a private party". None of us knew he was Tom O’Neil, Chairman of the Board for General Tire (parent company of RKO Radio), until that moment. The party lasted all night.

Upon returning from Puerto Rico, Jim McCaffrey resigned and went back to Washington. Now it was my secretary, John G3, me, and the tape machines. Designing promotions for an automated FM with no budget was a challenge. If WRKO could have a top 100 of the year countdown, The Golden Great 98 could count down the 98 all time greatest oldies. I cut the promos asking listeners to send in their votes. A card or two came pouring in; Paul and I came up with the 98 titles. Freddy Cannon lived in Boston and came to WRKO each week to promote records. I asked him to host the countdown show and he was thrilled. I researched information on each song; when it was a hit, artist bios, and the news events at the time the song was a hit. Freddy came in and recorded his intro and back sells. Subliminal tones triggered events on the automation equipment. The engineer running the board wasn’t paying attention to detail and put tones on only half of Freddy’s tracks. New Years eve, 1973, at 7:00PM the countdown started. I lived in Hopkinton, about 28 miles Southwest of Boston. Within the first fifteen minutes of the countdown, I knew it was a disaster. Drew, listening by phone from LA, called and told me to go to the station and straighten out the mess. When I got there, I couldn’t find an engineer for FM anywhere on the floor. I went down to the commissary and there he was, buzzed. I called Drew and told him the situation. The head of engineering was summoned. At 9:00 o’clock the countdown was abandoned. The next business day there was a meeting in Ury’s office. The drunk engineer was written up, not terminated. I was really depressed.

Gerry rode to work with me each day. We talked about my situation every morning. Gerry biggest worry was this upstart FM in Framingham, WVBF. They were making some audience gains, mostly teens. Gerry had thrown everything in the book at them for the Fall sweeps. Results from the rating period came in and there was a huge party to celebrate WRKO’s success. I was extremely happy for Gerry. While wallowing in self-pity, I could at least enjoy my friends’ success. WVBF had been held off despite continued gains in teen numbers. Paul and I met with Hobbs and Ury; they asked for my ideas for WROR. "Go after WVBF now, before they take all the teens", I said. That was a very unpopular idea. WROR switching to Top 40 might hurt the AM. Ten years later, I heard the same argument in Minneapolis. Hobbs and Ury once again assured Drew that I would have all the resources necessary to make The Golden Great 98 succeed; more BS. Our promotions included a flashlight give away, yahoo. WROR was also used to promote AM events such as Bridal Fair. My on air work was limited to promos and psa's.  

KHJ’s ratings were less than spectacular. One morning in early 1974, on the way to work, Gerry told me he was going to KHJ. He was happy, but concerned that he would be working right under Drew’s nose. Gerry recommended me for the WRKO PD job and Harry Nelson and the other jocks were pulling for me. Hobbs and Ury told me I’d have to convince Paul. I flew to Los Angeles. We talked for a while then I flew back to Boston. I knew I was getting the royal run around and probably wouldn’t get the job. Paul Kirby was named PD;  I think Hobbs and Ury had had it with "good ol' southern boy PD's"  I called Jimmy Davenport and told him I was miserable . He had no suggestions except to call Burkhart. Kent had no immediate ideas, but called a few days later. He was consulting a Mexican radio station in Juarez. A group of American investors "leased" the station from the Mexican owners. The investor group provided programming for the station, sold the advertising, and paid the owners a fee and/or percentage. (Kent has always been a futurist; on the cutting edge of trends. This arrangement was a forerunner of LMA’s or local marketing agreements) The studios and offices for XEROK were in El Paso. The station had 150,000 watts power and could be heard from San Francisco to San Diego at night. The GM wasn’t happy with the PD; I was intrigued. Arrangements were made for me to fly down and meet him. I’m not certain Kent told me that all programming was TAPED.

I’ll never forget looking out the plane window and seeing the desert. The winter of 1974 was dreadful, even for New England. The oil embargo forced everyone to wait in line to buy gas. The snow was two feet deep. The warm, sunny Southwest was a welcome site. The GM met me at the airport and we went to a Mexican Restaurant. Having daily access to real Mexican food would have been reason enough to take the job. After lunch, I went to my motel and listened to XEROK. Later, the GM took me across the border to the transmitter. It was Saturday, and we went to the studios and there wasn't anyone there.  How odd. I listened to the station that afternoon. The jock never gave the time or weather. The music was different. The hits were mixed with album cuts and the jocks were very laid back. It was almost like  a progressive fm format. The station sounded automated.

Crossing the border, the GM explained that a courier shuttled tapes back and forth daily from the studios in El Paso to the transmitter, Southeast of Juarez in the middle of the dessert. My mind raced back to my early years and those trips to radio stations with my Dad as I looked at three Continental 50,000 watt transmitters in series, pumping out a combined 150,000 WATTS. The place was spotless. National union engineers were on duty around the clock. There were six Ampex reel to reel machines and the automation brain; the output fed a console and the audio chain. The audio processing was more for equalization than compression. The engineer on duty spoke little or no English. It was almost surrealistic. There was an audible hum all around the place. The ground, buildings, and everything touching them was HOT with audio. I thought Wolfman Jack would appear at any moment.

The studios were interesting. There were two air studios, a production room, and the usual assortment of offices. The jocks had taped all of their shows for the weekend and didn’t have to work Sundays. Interesting concept, I thought. After a brief tour of the city, we went to dinner. Agreement was reached on goals for the station, salary, and moving expenses. I told the GM I’d call him the next evening. Sunday morning I flew back to Boston. On the approach to Logan, I looked out and saw the snow and the oil tankers in Boston Harbor; I had to go. The following Monday, I resigned. Two weeks later, the movers packed and picked up the furniture and cars and we flew to El Paso. I was excited, yet felt that I had burned my bridges with Drew. Years later, he told me that he didn’t want me to be WRKO PD because he was planning to send me to WAXY in Ft Lauderdale that Spring. Paul often moved in mysterious ways.