This Blog is Run/Administered By Former KSBK/JORO Personalities

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU, WHO HAVE VISITED THIS SITE OVER THE YEARS............WE HAVE BROKEN THE "MILLION MARK", IN VIEWINGS! AGAIN.......THANK YOU FOR YOUR ON-GOING SUPPORT. AND NOW.........."THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMIN'".................

The RBC Building (KSBK on The 2nd Floor)

The RBC Building (KSBK on The 2nd Floor)
Scan Courtesy Jon Yim

Monday, January 25, 2010

Notes: Over the Years

Many people have ask us,that worked there---"What was the song that when played, made you think of KSBK"? I'd have to say----"The Road To Naminoue", by Ronnie Fray. During the late 60's to the time KSBK went off the air, that song was the most-requested, bar none. I emailed Ronnie some years ago to let him know how popular that song was. He was totally blown-away, that the song was so popular. He had no idea it was KSBK's adopted theme song.
I remember people calling in on the request line, and tell us not to say anything at the beginning, so they could tape that song,so they could have a song to remember Okinawa.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
SO.........Where are some of the KSBK DJ's Now? This will be a work in-progress. ART BELL, as mentioned, has passed away in 2018. For years He hosted the "Coast To Coast" Radio Show. For a time, he was just as popular as Larry King, who even had him on his nightly TV Show on CNN. There are some, that have vanished.STEVE GOLD, is working in Television."SKIP" WILLIS is retired from day-today Radio. he is doing some part time work in Florida. RICK LANE, is retired. Following KSBK, Rick worked in Atlanta,Florida,New Orleans.KEN MARSHALL, is working Radio part-time. THE "PORCUPINE" JOHN RICHARDS, is on the other side of the music business. He works with various Performers who work various Projects.(Officially he considers himself Retired!)PAUL COMPNEY,is in Arizona.  After his stint on "The Rock", he worked in Radio in Green Bay Wisconsin.Following his stint at KSBK/JORO,JIM WILSON became Program Director at WHOA-AM, on Puerto Rico.BART BARSNESS, is still in Radio. He hosts an "Outdoor" type Show, out of Billings,MT. AND, as they say----the story continues............when we hear from any of the guys, we will post the info.

Just spoke with Legendary Actor, and KSBK Alumni member ROBERT COLBERT. Some of you might remember Mr. Colbert from his appearance as Bret Maverick, in the TV Show"Maverick".And the popular TV program "Time Tunnel". It was a great honor to speak with him, regarding his tenure at KSBK. He also appeared in many other feature films. (He even co-starred with The Three Stooges, in "Have Rocket Will Travel"!)  He said his time on Okinawa, and his work on KSBK was one of the high marks in his career. After all, during this time, he was asked to play a part in a local play. And the rest as they say is History!  He is retired from Show Business, and enjoying life. "Thanks" Robert for playing those Platters, and making KSBK great!


Recieved an email from Charles,who was stationed in Machinato Service area, in
1972. "Did you know any of the broadcasters on AFRTS"? YES......Even though we considered them competition--there were a couple of them that some of us socialized with.(Concerts,hanging out in Koza,and Naha) John Smith(His real name) a Navy guy, use to come over to the Apartment we had, and just told Radio stories. Basically just hung-out with us.Another DJ at AFN was Paul Brumalowe. He left there, and worked for a short time on KSBK. (I remember Paul doing some Station/Announcer ID's.)

Jim Ashton has checked in.....He was in a "Country" Band. His group,"The Sons Of The South" were the House Band for "The KSBK Jamboree". That Show was patterned after "The WLS Barn Dance,and the "Grand Ole Opry". That also brings to mind this:During his Air Force stay at Kadena--a very young Melvin Tillis appeared on the show in 1958.(He mostly did the AFRTS Shows as KSBK was changing to a full Rock and Roll format.) After Okinawa, as Mel Tillis, has become one of Country Music's greats! The "KSBK JAMBOREE" ran from 1957-1963. It was brought back as an Hour show, in 1972,which was sponsored by a "Country" themed Night Club, in Koza. I think it only lasted for 8-10 weeks. (Playing Records.....No live Music...was a Remote Show @ the
place.)
Ken, who was @ NAHA Base writes in: Where did you guys mostly hang-out? That's easy..EVERY WHERE! All of us lived in the surrounding towns: Ojana,Futema,Naha,Koza,and other areas of the Island.It would be nothing to see many of us @ the A&W,The Futema Steak House(Which by-the-way, had thee best Kobe Steak in the world!)We would frequently go to the Filmore, to hear all the groups that would play there like:TLA,and Murasaki.

Earl, who was on Okinawa, in 1967/1968 writes in: I walked from Nominoue to Kokusai Street and passing a Radio Station where the DJ was attempting to set a marathon record. He believed it to be Art Bell. Do you know the Naha Address of KSBK Back then?........First...let me say you are absolutely correct. It was Art Bell, and he
was trying to break the Teeter-Totter World Record of consectutive Hours Teeter-Tottering!. Bell did break the Record. I'm not sure how many hours he stayed on that teeter-totter, but I'm thinking it was a very long,long time. I Have for a while now still trying to see if that record still stands! It might!
As far as the Address: You got me on that!.All I can remember was the mailing address KSBK/RBC Box 4 Naha,Okinawa. A possible street address might be: RBC Building, 1F,231 Kumoji, Naha City,Okinawa. "Bubble Head Ed" writes in, saying that on a Telephone Survey Form he received from Doug Greene, the Address was: RBC, 1-66 Kumeji-Cho Naha,Okinawa. . Both of the Addresses could be correct.
Everytime we had someone come down to the Station, all of the Cab drivers knew where the RBC Building was---so we just said go to the RBC Studio's! THANKS EARL,FOR CHECKING IN!

39 comments:

  1. This is Bob Wales - alive and well, living half time in Hawaii, and half time in Incline Village at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. After KSBK, I practiced law in El Paso for 25 years. Now retired and living the good life!

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    1. I wish I had discovered this site earlier. I lived on Okinawa from 1962-1965. I also graduated from high school there. I listened to Bob extensively while there, and met him twice. He told me our taste in music was very much the same. I sat with him in the studio once and also flew around the island with him on one trip. I am pleased to read where he did so well after leaving the island. Great memories. My name is Richard.

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    2. My deceased husband served in Vietnam from 1965 to late June of 66. He gave me a 45 record of a group from Japan whose love song was # 1 on the charts. My record got lost and I have been trying to find it. IT was in Japanese.I loved it.Do you have any idea who sang it or even the name.I am so wanting to find it.


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  2. "The Porcupine" John RichardsAugust 30, 2010 at 4:35 PM

    Great Hearing from Bob Wales........Bob was our leader! Much of the success KSBK/JORO had was because of his leadership.Bob Wales's Show, "Opinion Line" was thee most popular show on the Station. Plus, he also did some of the local sponsor's Ads.

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    1. I had a hit song called I was a dreamer on Okinawa in 1965 to 1967.l lost the radio station hit. List;that show my song going # 16 in one months time.By Johnny Brreslin and the ascensions.I beat the Beattles and the Frankey valley and the 4 Seasons.I was station on the island.I sure wish I could get the original hit list of my song :I was a dreamer.by johnny breslin and the assencions.?

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    2. I was station in Sukran.strat com.Army:1965/1967

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    3. Regarding Your Song......Sometime in 1973, after JORO went off the Air, Every Single Record, in the KSBK/JORO Library were destroyed. There must have been a Million, or more of them! No One from RBC has ever said what happen to them or how they were destroyed.

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  3. My name is Earl Boehm, I was stationed in Okinawa from 4/67 to 10/68. I remember walking from Naminoue to Kokusai street and passing a radio station where the DJ was attempting to set a marathon broadcast record. I believe it was Art Bell, but not sure. Do you by chance know the Naha street address of KSBK back then?

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    1. Hello Earl! We served together in Okinawa from 4/67 to 10/68. We're getting pretty old now, I hope you're doing well.

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  4. I was stationed in Okinawa in 1965/66 and enjoyed KSBK. I went back to Okinawa on business for the Navy about 2001 and I was surprised that my nice hotel room had a very old piece of furniture with a single speaker and a row of radio selector buttons on it. A couple of those buttons, when pressed, delivered audio from local radio stations but most produced no sound when selected. Hard to believe but one of those non-working buttons said "KSBK" on it! I should have taken a picture of it. How did that label last almost 30 years after the station went off the air? Heck, it might still be there!

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  5. Yes...SOBARS...I do know of some old Radios that had that feature. I saw one in a Thrift Store, that was an original Crosby Radio. That
    definately was a neat/classic find.
    Thanks for the visit here on the Blog. Don't be a stranger!
    The KSBKBlog

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  6. Hi, Roland here...was on Oki from 1970-1974. I remember you guys well. It was a joy listening to the personalities, as it was the music itself. My questions is: Didn't one of the DJ's actually record a record in the KSBK studios?
    I have a tape of the station That I recorded somewhere.
    Roland/Utah USA

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  7. Thanks for your question Roland. Are you thinking about Ronnie Frays Record? If so,Ronnie was not a KSBK/JORO DJ. He was , and still is---a Songwriter/Musician, who came to Okinawa to perform.

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  8. From early 1960 thru 1961, I was a high school student and Air Force Dependent living on Okinawa. On Saturday mornings, I hosted a 1-hour radio show on KSBK called "Teenage Review", targeted (obviously) to the American teens living on the island. Eventually, I also hosted a three hour "Cash Box Top 100" countdown program. That show aired immediately following "Teenage Review". Most of the other programs were "specialty" in nature: pop, country, jazz, rock, etc. The KSBK staff was comprised largely of G. I.'s who were experienced stateside announcers interested in picking up a little extra cash on the side. Among the names that I can recall were Bill Younger (Missouri), Don Riggs (Washington State), Al Lynch (Illinois) and Kay Taggard (an American civilian whose family were long-time Okinawa residents). It was a fun crew and I had a ball until I graduated from high school and headed back to the states for college. Hope this info fills in a few blanks.
    Steve Keeney
    skeeneydenver.com

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  9. Thanks Steve, for your info. Glad you were a part of the station. And....it was great to hear about some new names that were associated
    with KSBK.
    Keep in touch.
    KSBKBlog

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  10. Erl Barsness checking in. I worked at KSBK in '61 & '62 while stationed at MCAF Futema. It was my first job in broadcasting as I had just arrived and heard an announcement requesting applicants and decided to check it out. My "air name" was Bart and I hosted a 2 hour request program 5 nights a week plus doing some newscasts on the weekends. Some of the other people on staff were John Parisi from the Boston area who was stationed at the USAF base at Kadena and another air force member who went by "A Guy called Chris". The station manager was Mr. Nakamura and the program directors were both American civilians whose names I don't remember. Al Lynch was also there at that time and was the Country show personality.

    It was a great experience and a fun bunch of people to work with. I've continued to stay involved in the broadcast profession both in TV and radio mostly in the Rocky Mountain West; both with local facilities as well as regional radio networks. I currently host a program called The Shadow of the Rockies that's carried on a regional network based in Billings, MT. I get to talk about all the great outdoor recreation opportunities and the issues that impact our land and the people that use it.

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  11. Hi Erl, Thanks for the note! It's great to hear from KSBK/JORO Alumni. You were a part of the great history of the station.Keep in touch.
    KSBKBlog

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  12. My name is Dan Dermody, and I was stationed at Kadena from March of '64 until September of '65. For the first 6 months of my tour, I worked 'off-duty' at AFRTS, doing both radio and TV. Then, for the last year, I worked at KSBK and actually got paid! It was terrific. Our staff at the time consisted of , among others, Bob Wales..Doug Greene ..and, Jay Sherwood. It was a time I'll never forget.
    I recently retired after 48 years in the radio business. I would love to hear from any of the people who were at AFRTS or KSBK during my time on the island..or, from anyone who was stationed there during those 18 months. In the meantime, look for me on Facebook.

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  13. Great Hearing from Dan Dermody. Dan worked at KSBK,and AFRTS, as he stated above. He's well-known to us as a part of the "Circle Of Thousands".(Those people that were a part of the Legendary Stations)
    Thanks Dan, for checking in with us
    The KSBKBlog

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  14. Thanks for the kind words. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have found this site. Keep up the great work.

    Dan Dermody
    Peoria, Illinois
    dermody1943@sbcglobal.net

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  15. It is great to finally find some info on KSBK. I was stationed at Kadena 1970 - 1979. Lived through reversion, the dollar/yen changeover, and the traffic changeover. Most memorable was KSBK switch to JORO and then the JORO final broadcast. I have those on open reel tape somewhere in this house. I can still hear "With the Message - and The Music, JORO celebrates another day" as the new call went into effect.

    I forget when but somewhere around 1978/1979 broadcasters were required to switch to 9khz spacing. AFRTS 650 was moved to 648. The nighttime hetrodyne with mainland China was horrendous and it was impossible to hear them at night. They were granted permission to switch back to 650 for a spell until the GOJ got things squared away.

    Buzz Bunch
    Aomori Japan
    buzzbunch@hotmail.com

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  16. Thanks Buzz..........Don't be a stranger.Look forward to hearing from you again.

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  17. Believe it or not, I recorded the "Condition Green One" announcement the day after the Koza Riots in December of 1970. Still have it on a cassette.
    LK Gray. Okinawa '70-'71

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  18. Wow, LK.....That's a great memento of KSBK, and Okinawa. Along with that....does it include other material from the Station? (DJ's,Music,Commercials?)
    Thanks for visiting us on the Blog.

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  19. Doug Stalker here. 1964-1970. I have a tape of the Road.

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  20. PS. There was no "ratings battle" As we said, seven people out of ten Listened to KSBK.

    Anybody know anything about Doug Greene? I know he went to California.

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  21. Greetings Doug, Thanks for checking in. At this time, All any of us know is......Doug Greene has passed away. According to some people who knew him.....he was last living, in Colorado. I had thought also, after leaving Okinawa,he went to Califonia. Doug was a great guy. He hired probably 90% of the Personalities listed-----including You.

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    1. Sorry to hear about Doug. Arthur J has also passed away. I have a super 8 video of his "March to Acaba". Harry Ginhart (Harrigan Hart) became a Methodist preacher. I ran in to Ed Erickson (Bubble Head Ed) once. He was a private pilot. Jim Wilson and I once worked at different stations on South Padre Island.

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  22. Hi Jon, this is Harold Smiley Davis Drummer of TLA... I was just surfing things about Okinawa and ran into your blog~!
    The Filmore was the absolute greatest club on the planet~! I just loved to perform there...

    And you're right about the KOBE Beef~! There's nothing like it anywhere. LOL

    Okinawa, love that Island~!

    Smiley

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  23. Thanks "Smiley" for checking-in! You were a great friend to all of us at KSBK/JORO.We ALWAYS appreciated the frienship of TLA too!
    What a Great Band of Musicians!

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  24. I was stationed at Naha Air Base in 1962/1963 and KSBK "King Size But Kind" was an all time favorite. I would give anything to know the waitress list that worked the VFW Club in 1963.
    I'm guessing that their ages would fall in and around late 60's or mid 70's
    Sincerely,

    Wayne Doering, USAF Ret
    Clarendon, TX
    travisstarlifter@hotmail.com

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  25. I was stationed on Okinawa 1953 -1956 and 1958 - 1960. There was a man in my unit (98th MP Bn.) that was a DJ on KSBK. If I remember right the radio station was on the road to Shuri Castle area. I remember they had those paper things that held eggs on the wall to keep the sound correct. DJ's name was Julian Fuldauer. He went by the name of Jay Field. I visited him in Honolulu about 25 or 30 years ago. William V. Brand

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  26. I wish I had discovered this site long ago. I lived on the island from 1962-1965. You could not live there and avoid listening to KSBK. It was "the" station. Bob Wales was my favorite. I had the good fortune to sit with him in the studio once. He said we had "like" tastes in music. He also flew me around the island once in a small aircraft. Once I graduated from high school, I joined the service, eventually retiring and spending another 17 years in civil service. Yet my fondest memories are those times I spent on the island, and the great music KSBK provided, and the super personalities that came from the station DJ's. As Bob would say at the time, "Hiddy ho, and away we go, good people."

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  27. You mentioned a man named Jim Ashton who played in a band called "The Sons of the South" at Kadena in 1958. I think my father, Staff. Sgt. James D. Brown, might have played in that band. Is there any way I can get in touch with Mr Ashton? Please, it is very important to me.

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    1. Greetings Sandmoran....Thanks for the visit. We do not keep any files on those that post here on the Web-Site. Jim Ashton may see your post. Check in every now and then, to see if there is a response. Good Luck

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  28. Hallelujah I have written just to say that if it weren't for the radio station playing in my childhood on the bus going to come in from school hopper for my sister and I would go to bed we would sing a few of our favorite songs that we began to learn as we would hear the radio station thank God for music for such men and women who share the freedom to pick choice music for their listeners from their hearts to ours I am grateful my favorite song was toast and marmalade with t and then there was another one sound like the docks men working to hear the seagulls but I don't know who the artist is in the title of that song if anyone knows please contact me once again thank you

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  29. Thank You for the nice words regarding the Station. Was the tune Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay, the tune you were thinking about? That song had some Seagulls. The Artist on that was Otis Redding.

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