Sunday, January 27, 2008

The Two Person Morning Show started in 1959

" One idea that Gordon McLendon had become fascinated with for morning programming was a two-man disc jockey team. He and (Program Director) Don Keyes had picked up the idea from listening to air checks of a morning show on New York's WNEW featuring a two-man team. Gordon wanted to copy the show on KLIF. So, with disc jockey Ron Chapman donning the name Irving Harrigan, and Tom Murphy, the "Murphy & Harrigan" show was launched. The date was sometime in 1959.
In order to fashion precisely what it was that "Murphy & Harrigan" should be, Gordon required that Don Keyes record the program every morning. As soon as Chapman's and Murphy's shift ended at 9 A.M., both of them, along with Keyes, listened to the recording and critiqued what they heard — "polishing, honing, distilling the show down to the ultimate". The result, said Keyes, "was a dynamite two man morning show. It just owned the market". Others attempted to copy the program, but the chemistry that developed between them and the wry, topical humor around which your last words can be overlapped by the "Murphy & Harrigan" show ... was not easily transferred to other markets.

Later, Jack Woods took over the co-host role on mornings and the show became "Charlie & Harrigan". Jack Woods played the role of Charlie Brown and Chapman continued with Irving Harrigan. Other Charlie & Harrigans came and went as the years went by. "

— The History of KLIF Website

The above was from The History of KLIF Website. However, I can't find it any longer. Anyone know where it is? If it's gone, it's a shame because it had some airchecks and great history of early top 40.

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