70s Radio

Last Update: October 22, 2001

KNOW AM 1490

During the summers of 1975, 1976 and 1977 I used to stay up late listening to an AM radio kit through headphones. Often I would tape it as I go. My favorite station was KNOW. They played all the most wonderful top 40 music.

Best of Gil Garcia

I ended up with a couple hours' worth of recordings of DJ Gil Garcia's shows on KNOW, from August of 1975. Gil appears in the left picture at the top of this page. Here is a five minute clip (in RealAudio format) of some of the juiciest moments I'd captured, lovingly scoped. This is 70s top 40 radio as you always loved it. (If you like this and want more, check out Uncle Ricky's Reel Radio page.)

Reunion

In February, 2002, a reunion event was held in Austin for everyone involved with KNOW Radio. Because of my tapes, I got to attend as an archivist. I was the youngest one there except for children of attendees!

Here's the main KNOW Reunion page, with tons of sound clips, photos, station history and more. Hats of to Mike Lucas for an incredible job on this site.
Here's a photo of yours truly, proudly holding a CD with 7 hours of KNOW audio treasures, preserved for 25 years.
This group picture from the party includes some of the faces from that clock picture at the top of this page. Can you match the young faces with the -uhm- distinguished ones?

1975 Sound Clips

Coca Cola ad from their Look Up America campaign. Stars Glen Campbell. You can tell it's a record because it was mounted a little off center and you can hear the pitch waver.
Another Coca Cola Look Up America ad. Stars Aretha Franklin.
Ad for the movie Love and Death, starring Woody Allen.
Feel free to join the Pepsi People.
Wrigley's Spearmint Gum ad.

1976 Sound Clips

The chorus from the novety song, Junk Food Junkie (Larry Groce)
Radio ad encouraging you to recycle your aluminum cans. Includes the price per pound!
Coca Cola ad from their Coke Adds Life campaign. Contains that signature "gluk gluk gluk" pouring sound.
An ad for a discotheque.
Ad for the movie Mother, Jugs and Speed. Ten Four.
Seven Up ad with a mesmerizing voiceover by Paul Frees.
Everyone could use a little more polyester in their wardrobe. (Excerpts from a Joskes ad)
This has got to be the most disco-fied soda ad of all time. (Seven Up)
Ad for Mel Brooks's Silent Movie (in English).
Have a great great day day (Doublemint Gum)
Remember all those wildly colored Levis jeans and jackets that came out in early 1976? If those jeans could make sounds, the sounds in this House of Jeans commercial would have to be the ones.

1977 Sound Clips

Ad for movie The Day of the Animals
Another Coke Adds Life commercial. Gluk gluk gluk!
Another discotheque ad. Ladies wet tee shirt contest, $100 cash prize.
And another!
Ronco presents Hit Explosion! (record ad)

Dixon Hayes Collection, 1979

Dixon Hayes sent in some wonderful off-the-AM-radio recordings from 1979. Here are some of the juiciest moments from those.

Familiar creaking door and cello introduction to The CBS Radio Mystery Theater. Jason Carr has a web site devoted to this show, which just might have been the last radio drama of any scale ever produced.
Susan Anton urges you to "be a perfect sleeper" in these two memorable pitches for the Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress.
- This is the soft, sweet version. The AM station fades a bit but you can still get most of it.
- And this is the rip-roaring disco version. Come on click it, click it! You know you want to.
If you like these, you might also want to check out the 1975 Serta Perfect Sleeper TV commercial, featuring the same basic jingle, performed by Joey Heatherton. Click here to go there. ...and remember, every perfect sleeper has "firmness that feels good"!
Country Time tastes like that good old-fashioned lemonade, and this jingle is downright lovely.
Perhaps because radio air time is cheaper than TV, here's a rare long version of the classic "Sometimes you feel like a nut" ad for Peter Paul Almond Joy and Mounds candy bars.

Assorted

Can you name the 70's songs in this collage?
Here's a very bad local Albuquerque promo spot for "Disco At The Fairgrounds".
Excerpt from a Top 20 Album Review from 1979
Here's a whole page of just Budweiser spots from 1979!
If that wasn't weird enough for you, here's a whole page of Job Rolling Papers spots from 1979!
Don Barnard chipped in some nice McDonalds spots from 1975 and 1979.

Go to -DeeT's 70s Page.

-DeeT (70s@dt.prohosting.com)