Throwback Thursday:KKUA Radio’s Top 69 Hits of 1971

March 29, 2018March 29, 2018

Throwback Thursday:
KKUA Radio’s Top 69 Hits of 1971

KKUA’s 1981 Logo

We resume our Throwback Thursday (#TBT) posts which will occasionally pull content from our Hawaii Radio & Television Guide Archive. First up, is the Top 69 Hits of 1971 from KKUA Radio.

KKUA was the dominant top 40 radio station in Hawaii in the mid 1970s. They had a strong AM signal at 690 on the dial and could be heard throughout most of the state. Their main rival was KPOI which broadcast at 1380 on the AM dial as well as 97.5 on FM. KPOI’s AM played top 40 and was the most popular pop music station in Hawaii through much of the 1960s and early 1970s. Their FM played album rock tracks.

1971 Hit Records — Some of the hit records from 1971.

Every year, KKUA counted down the year’s Top 69 songs. The chart below is from the Top 69 of 1971 which listed Three Dog Night‘s “Joy to the World” as the #1 song of the year.

Rank and Title	Artist	Peak Pos. on Top 20
1. Joy To The World	Three Dog Night	1
2. I’ve Found Someone of My Own	Free Movement	1
3. Just My Imagination	Temptations	1
4. Smiling Faces (Sometimes)	Undisputed Truth	1
5. Timothy	The Buoys	1
6. Go Away Little Girl	Donny Osmond	1
7. Knock Three Times	Dawn	1
8. Indian Reservation	The Raiders	1
9. One Bad Apple	Osmonds	1
10. Chatto-Matte-Kudasai	Sam Kapu	1
11. My Sweet Lord	George Harrison	1
12. Precious & Few *	Climax featuring Sonny Geraci	1
13. I’m So Poud	Main Ingredient	1
14. Sweet City Woman	The Stampeders	1
15. Life Is That Way	Jose Feliciano	1
16. It’s Impossible	Perry Como	1
17. Domino	Van Morrison	1
18. Superstar	The Carpenters	1
19. Woodstock	Matthew’s Southern Comfort	2
20. Never Can Say Goodbye	Jackson Five	2
21. Gypsies, Tramps & Theives	Cher	2
22. Maggie May	Rod Stewart	2
23. Yo Yo	Osmonds	2
24. Sweet & Innocent	Donny Osmond	2
25. It’s Too Late	Carole King	2
26. Mr. Big Stuff	Jean Knight	1
27. Stay Awhile	The Bells	2
28. Don’t Pull Your Love	Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds	2
29. If	Bread	2
30. Black Magic Woman	Santana	2
31. For All We Know	The Carpenters	2
32. The Pushbike Song	Mixtures	2
33. Mandrill	Mandrill	2
34. I Can’t Stop	Osmonds	2
35. Tears of A Clown	Smokey Robinson & the Miracles	2
36. Stick-Up	Honeycone	2
37. Liar	Three Dog Night	2
38. Watcha See, is Watcha Get	The Dramatics	2
39. Your Song	Elton John	3
40. Draggin’ The Line	Tommy James	2
41. Morning Of Our Lives	The Arkade	3
42. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart	Bee Gees	3
43. I Hear Those Churchbells	Dusk	2
44. Proud Mary	Ike & Tina Turner	2
45. I Love You For All Seasons	Fuzz	3
46. We Can Make It Girl	Society of Seven	3
47. Ain’t No Sunshine	Bill Withers	3
48. Albert Flasher	Guess Who	3
49. Most of All	B.J. Thomas	3
50. Three Cheers For Love	Dick Jensen	3
51. Mama’s Pearl	Jackson Five	4
52. Rainy Days And Mondays	The Carpenters	4
53. No Matter What	Badfinger	4
54. I Do Take You	Three Degrees	4
55. Somebody’s Been Sleeping	100 Proof Aged in Soul	4
56. Just An Old Fashioned Love Song	Three Dog Night	4
57. I Just Want To Celebrate	Rare Earth	4
58. Put Your Hand In The Hand	Ocean	4
59. Oye Como Va	Santana	4
60. Love Means (You Never Have To Say You’re Sorry)	Sounds of Sunshine	4
61. Games	Redeye	5
62. Brown Sugar	Rolling Stones	5
63. Lola	The Kinks	5
64. I Dig Everything About You	The Mob	5
65. Love Song	The Vogues	5
66. What Are You Doing Sunday?	Dawn	5
67. Baby I’m A Want You	Bread	5
68. Frisco Bay	Society of Seven	5
69. Born To Wonder	Rare Earth	5

CHART NOTES:

The big hit of 1971 that was played to death on KKUA and practically all other top 40 stations was Three Dog Night‘s “Joy To The World.” The song was at the number one spot for was seven weeks, making it the most popular song on KKUA.

That year a number of local records got airplay on mainstream Top 40 radio. The most prominent local hit of 1971 was Sam Kapu‘s “Chatto Matte Kudasai” which at first sounded totally out of place on a top 40 format, but eventually got so popular that it went number one in the summer summer. Records by the Society of Seven, who at the time had a record deal with Uni Records (which later became MCA) charted with the singles “We Can Make It Girl,” and “Frisco Bay”. Dick Jensen charted with his top 40 hit single, “Three Cheers For Love.” The local hits are indicated by blue type.

* Climax‘s “Precious And Few” was a number 1 hit in Hawaii during the summer of 1971 before breaking out nationally in 1972. The group was very popular in Hawaii having charted several more times with the hits “Life And Breath,” “Walking in the Georgia Rain” and “Caroline This Time”.

Several nationally released singles were hot in Hawaii and nowhere else. These included “Morning of Our Lives” by The Arkade, “Life is That Way” by José Feliciano, “I Dig Everything About You” by The Mob, “Love Song” by The Vogues, “Mandrill” by Mandrill, “I Can’t Stop” by The Osmonds, “I Hear Those Churchbells Ringing” by Dusk, and “The Pushbike Song” by The Mixtures.

Other songs that got a lot of airplay in 1971 that did not make this chart included “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep” by Middle of the Road, “Give Up Your Guns” by The Buoys and “Keep it in the Family” by The Road Home.

Among the popular albums of 1971 were Three Dog Night‘s “Naturally” which contained the #1 hit “Joy To The World” as well as the very radio friendly ballad “Sunlight,” a track that never was released as a single. Also popular was Carole King‘s “Tapestry”, Santana‘s “Abraxus”, Sly & the Family Stone‘s “There’s a Riot Going On,” and several albums by the Jackson Five and Osmonds.

KKUA’s 1971 Personalities included the following:

Jim Peters 6:AM
Steven B. Williams 9:AM
Gene Davis 12 noon
Ron King 3:PM
Scott Edwards 6:PM
Dick Wainwright 9:PM
Rick Shannon Midnight

Three Dog Night’s album “Naturally” released on ABC Dunhill album was popular in 1971 and spawned the hits “One Man Band,” “Liar”, “Sunlight” and “Joy to the World”.

Many of the songs mentioned in this post can be found online at YouTube.com. Songs in bold print are directly linked to a YouTube audio file for online playback.

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September 7, 2017September 6, 2017

KCCN & KINE Radio’s Top 10
Albums for August 1997

Throwback Thursday (#TBT) | Hawaii Radio & Television Guide

Starting with this post we start to dig through the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide Archive pages to fish out some old images and present them on this blog for the first time.

First up, is KCCN who back in 1997 broadcast on both the AM and FM dial. AM 1420 played a traditional / contemporary Hawaiian music format with University of Hawaii sports, while FM 100 played the island reggae music format it still has today. Back then both stations were owned by the same company along with KINE 105.1 FM.

The AM and FM stations were separated through a series of ownership changes where today only FM 100 still carry the KCCN call letters. 1420 AM is now ESPN1420 Sports Talk radio with the call sign of KKEA. KINE is still airing a contemporary Hawaiian music format.

Here are the charts from 1997:

Cecilio & Kapono‘s concert at the Waikiki Shell was being promoted for August 29, 1997. Bruddah Israel Kamakawiwo’ole‘s “N Dis Life” album dominated the top charts on all of KCCN’s stations that month. It was only on June 26, 1997 that Bruddah Iz had passed away, so this album as well as his “Facing Future”, and “E Ala E” albums were also listed. The chart also put in a plug for University of Hawaii Football which was to be broadcast on August 30.

Click here for larger image.

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May 13, 2016

Larry Price Ends 33-Year Run on KSSK Radio

HAWAII RADIO & TELEVISION GUIDE

Larry Price, one half of the Perry & Price radio team on KSSK recently announced his retirement from the morning airwaves after 33 years. Starting on Monday (May 16), Michael W. Perry will be hosting the highly rated “Perry & Price” morning show by himself. Price meanwhile will be hosting a new, weekly sports show on KSSK’s sister station, Fox Sports 990 AM with KHVH talk show host Rick Hamada.

According to the KSSK website Price stated, “I decided the time is right and appropriate to make this change. I am grateful for the support of our loyal listeners and for all the great years on KSSK. And, I am excited about the opportunity to talk sports with Rick on our new FOX Sports 990 station.”

The team of Michael W. Perry and Larry Price started on KSSK’s airwaves back in 1983 shortly after the death of longtime KSSK / KGMB radio morning show host Hal “J. Akuhead Pupule” Lewis. At the time the duo took over, the major change to the morning show format was retirement of the big band and pop standards music that Aku played in favor of an adult contemporary mix that has continued to this day. The change was met with some resistance in the beginning.

The Perry and Price morning team though proved to be successful, being a perennial ratings leader for the station nearly all that time.

Larry Price was once the football coach for the University of Hawaii, hence his nickname. Michael W. Perry arrived on Honolulu’s airwaves in 1972 when he hosted the drive time slot on the old KKUA AM 69 top 40 station. In 1978 Perry was hired by then KGMB radio which in time morphed into KSSK under several different owners.

Today KSSK is part of the nationwide iHeartRadio conglomerate and broadcasts on 92.3FM and 590 AM as well as on the internet.

• Larry Price Ending 33-Year Run…. (KSSK radio)

• Larry Price to leave ‘Perry and Price’ radio show after 33 years (KHON TV)

• Larry Price Exits KSSK/Honolulu’s Perry & Price Show (All Access Media)

• Larry Price ending 33-year run on KSSK (Pacific Business News)

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March 10, 2016

“Who Da Guy” Ron Jacobs Passed Away

HAWAII RADIO & TELEVISION GUIDE | THROWBACK THURSDAY (#TBT)

It is sad to note the passing of legendary radio disc jockey KPOI, KHJ, KKUA, and KDEO radio disc jockey Ron Jacobs. Much has been written about Mr. Jacobs in recent days and over the years.

Jacobs passed away at his home of “natural causes” on Tuesday, March 8. He was 78.

Ron Jacobs was born in Hawaii in 1937 and made a name for himself in the 1950s as one of Hawaii’s original “Poi Boys” on the old KPOI radio at 1380 on the AM dial. He and Tom Moffatt and others were radio personalities that promoted rock n roll music in the islands when it was still in its infancy.

In the 1960s Jacobs lived and worked mostly in California and created the highly successful KHJ 93 AM “Boss Radio” in Los Angeles. In 1970, he along with Tom Rounds and Casey Kasem created “American Top 40” for the Watermark network. That program which featured Kasem counting down the weekly Top 40 Billboard magazine hits was on the air from 1970 to the late 1980s with Kasem at the helm.

By 1976 Ron Jacobs returned to Hawaii and did the morning drive show on KKUA Radio AM 690 in Honolulu. While at KKUA Jacobs produced three “Homegrown” albums for the station to benefit Habilitat. The “Homegrown” albums were showcases for up and coming local musicians. Among the talents originally found on the “Homegrown” albums included Noelani Cypriano, Bart Bascone, and Marvin Franklin. The album was modeled after a similar series Jacobs did while on the mainland.

By 1980 Jacobs left KKUA and started KDEO “Country Radio” (AM 940), which billed itself as the western most country station in the U.S.A. While at KDEO Radio, Jacobs compiled a 4th Homegrown album featuring Hawaii based artists.

Jacobs retired in Hawaii and authored several books and maintained an online presence. Most recently he was posting stuff to his Facebook page. Last year he asked me to “friend” him on Facebook and so I did. Must have been something I posted there for him to “friend” me since we never met.

Here’s a video slideshow tribute to Ron Jacobs from Bob Meadows as posted to YouTube.

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February 25, 2016

Throwback Thursday: What’s on the Radio Dial?

Oahu Radio Dial 9-1989 — What was on Oahu Radio in Sept. of 1989.

HAWAII RADIO & TELEVISION GUIDE ARCHIVE

For our Throwback Thursday feature we have this old radio dial list that I created in 1989. As you can see, while the format of the various Honolulu / Oahu Radio Stations were mostly the same as we have today, there were a lot fewer stations in the market then.

The top rated morning radio program at that time was the Perry & Price Show on KSSK, which is about the same as it is today. There were 3 top 40 stations in the market…. KQMQ FM, KQMQ AM and KIKI FM, an oldies station, KIKI AM and two adult contemporary music stations, KSSK AM / FM and KRTR 96 FM. Hawaiian music which at that time did not include reggae or “Jawaiian” was mostly played on the old KCCN 1420 AM station, which later moved to FM 100.3.

Hawaii Public Radio was on the air but simulcasting mostly classical music and “All Things Considered” on only two stations, KHPR at 88.1 FM and the Maui affiliate at KKUA 90.7 FM. Today Hawaii Public Radio has two distinct stations broadcasting statewide on several frequencies on all islands.

There were two Japanese language stations in the market… KOHO 1170 and KZOO 1210 on the AM dial. KOHO went off the air in 2000 and lives only in the memories of its listeners and a Frank DeLima comedy track. KZOO is still on the air at AM 1210 broadcasting mostly in the same format.

In 1989 none of the radio stations sent “streams” out over the internet, since that was only in the limited domain of the government and perhaps a handful of universities. The worldwide web and streaming audio were years down the line.

Compare this radio dial list to what we have today on the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide Honolulu / Oahu Radio Dial page.

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