Ralph Gleason reviews the top-rated DJ at KMPX

a moral dilemma
Below is an excerpt from an article syndicated by Ralph Gleason, reknown Music Critic through the middle of the 20th Century (from Count Basie through Pearl Jam). He was also co-founder of Rolling Stone Magazine, and a partner in Fantasy Records. Thank you, Ralph. My dilemma is this— If Mr. Gleason says I "have no ego", how dare I brag on it?	Music Library Music History Music Lifestyle Underground Radio KMPX Documentary Remake a Proven Hit WIth Grassroots Marketing
Not the first (that was Larry Miller), not the Founding Father (that was Big Daddy Tom Donahue), yet I shall always and forever be... the HIGHEST-RATED DeeJay in the entire history of KMPX-FM —America's original Underground Station—

(excerpt from) This World Section, Sunday, April 11, 1971

The Hit Is In The Grooves

Kapp's Law

All the media exposure and all the printed reviews have failed to change the fundamental law of the recording industry. It is fondly know as Kapp's Law in honor of the man who first articulated it, Dave Kapp of Decca.

It says simply, "The Hit Is In The Grooves." It was true when he first uttered it, and it is true today.

No amount of airplay or advertising or critical approval will make a record sell if the public, of its own free will, take a fancy to it. Myth-shattering though the idea may be, it is an absolute fact, provable by hundreds of examples down through the years

There are, however, a lot of good records which fall into a kind of grey area between a stiff and a hit and which can be very rewarding to listen to if one has the opportunity.

The negative feature of the way the recording business functions....is that

these marginal albums—which may have one or more interesting tracks on them—in many cases don't get the exposure they need to bring them to the attention of the public.

Underground Radio

This is a function which is now being filled to some extent by the so-called underground FM stations (KMPX, KSAN, and KSJO hereabouts) on which the music is programmed by the person who plays it and his taste or interest determines what is heard.

Thus, there is a greater chance of obscure and unknown albums being heard on these shows than on the big AM stations and when the disc jockey is really into music, a genuine music freak, then the results can be really interesting and useful for the listener. In the past, I've paid tribute to this, especially the instance of Dusty Street's blues programming on KSAN which has been remarkable for the exposure of music that otherwise might not be heard.

Mark Richardson

In addition to her shows, I would also like to recommend the evening programs—especially on the weekends—on KMPX where a young man named Mark Richardson plays a delightful variety of music put together in a kind of poetic sequence which, since he is one of the few people on the air who seems not to have been seduced by the ego trip possibilities of a microphone, gets a lot of music into one hour.

Recently, on one of his shows, I heard excerpts from three albums with which I was not familiar and when I found out what the albums were I was astonished because I had dismissed them in the past as not being particularly interesting. The Brinsley Schwartz album, the album issued last year by the British group Stone The Crows, and the second Bloodwyn Pig album are the cases in point, and while I still don't think the albums stand up track by track it is obvious that in the spate of releases I missed some good music because I didn't spend the time digging that would have made me acquainted with the albums track by track....

track record of a dark horse

As a final assurance to any skittish Media Moguls, a decade later our "Original Underground DJ" returned to radio—as Music Director at KCBS-FM, the San Francisco flagship o&o and proid namesake of CBS Radio.

Automation.
Utterly Corporate.

Yet, once again as an innovator, together with the legendary Oldies and Classical Program Director, Steve Walker (nee Hilliard), we turned the computer off, brought in a live Staff of top spinners, and invented the Dancemusic format - which revived record sales after the death of Disco nearly killed the record biz.

So—if you are ready to make Radio interesting again in the 21st Century, let's remake a Proven Hit with "The Original Underground Corporate Radio Rebel" and finally answer the burning Question:

Can a Kamikaze make a come-back?

wow. far out. groovy. I found one last business card. Yes, the nekkid people got us in LOTS of useful trouble.