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WHO: Radio Legend and Los Angeles Icon Art Laboe
WHAT: Talks with KTTV’s Tony Valdez and shares his memories of radio station
KGFJ 1230-AM, the first 24 hour radio station in the United States
WHERE: KTTV, Fox-11 TV on the latest edition of “Tony’s L.A.”
WHEN: Friday, August 10th at 10:30pm

Legendary deejay Art Laboe recalls his earliest days in Los Angeles radio when he is interviewed by Tony Valdez for this news special that traces the history of L.A.’s KGFJ, the first 24-hour radio station in the U.S. The 1230-AM station’s original antenna, installed in 1926 is still in place on the roof of the Odd Fellows Hall near Staples Center and L.A. Live. It is the last of the hammock-style antennas still in place in the United States.

About ART LABOE
Art Laboe coined and trademarked the phrase “Oldies But Goodies™”. He was the first DJ to play Rock and Roll on Los Angeles/West Coast radio in the 1950s, was the first to do dedications on the radio and the legend continues with his current nightly syndicated radio show, The Art Laboe Connection, which is heard on Hot 92.3 KHHT Los Angeles as well as nationwide on iHeartRadio.com Monday–Friday 7pm–12am and Sunday 6pm–12am. Various days of the show can also be heard on 99.1 KGGI Riverside, 105.7 The Oasis KOAS Las Vegas, Magic 92.5 XHRM San Diego, 94.3 KDUC Victor Valley, 98.5 KDES Palm Springs and other stations. Art Laboe is widely known for creating the oldies format in radio and in music he innovated the compilation album with his Oldies But Goodies™ 15 volume album series. In connection with his radio show, Art Laboe continues to promote concerts in Southern California, Phoenix, Las Vegas and many other markets. His many awards include a Star on Hollywood’s “Walk of Fame,” the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters Diamond Circle Award and National Hispanic Media Coalition Lifetime Achievement Award. Please contact Joanna Morones at 323-851-2500 x17 or jomo@originalsound.com for further bio information, photos and interviews.

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 OLDIE BUT GOODIE ART LABOE MAKES THE LIST OF
RADIO HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2012 INDUCTEES

HOLLYWOOD, CA June 29^th, 2012 - Radio broadcasting pioneer and nightly syndicated radio show host, Art Laboe, has been chosen as one of the National Radio Hall of Fame Class of 2012 inductees.  “It is truly an honor and I will be there in Chicago on November 10^th for the Hall of Fame Gala Induction” said Laboe in response to hearing the news.

Art Laboe has been in broadcasting and on the air somewhere for the past 68 years.  San Francisco and Palm Springs in the 1940s.  He was the first West Coast Disc Jockey to play Rock and Roll on the radio and the first to do dedications on the radio, he did remote broadcasts from Scrivner’s Drive-In on Sunset Boulevard and created the popular compilation through his Oldies But Goodies™ albums in the 1950s & 60s.  In the 70s & 80s, Laboe’s Oldies inspired KRTH Los Angeles to switch to an all Gold format and as their Vice President he made KRLA king in the Southland, CA. And since 1991 to the present, Laboe broadcasts to the masses in the Western United States through his top rated nightly syndicated radio show, The Art Laboe Connection.  This show may be heard 6 nights a week on KHHT (Hot 92.3) Los Angeles and nationwide on iHeartRadio.com.  Various parts of the show may be also be heard on KAJM (Mega 104.3) Phoenix, AZ, XHRM Magic 92.5 San Diego, KOAS 105.7 The Oasis Las Vegas,  (99.1) KGGI Riverside, CA and many others.

In the days prior to TV and the Internet, there was ONLY Movies and Radio.  And as a boy, Art Laboe was fascinated by the voices coming from the Radio.  He would stare into the speaker listening to great announcers i.e. Les Tremayne and Jim Jordan to name a few.  Art Laboe was so motivated by these legends of radio broadcasting, he went on to create his own successful career in broadcasting.  “These are my heroes, past and present on the list of Radio Hall of Fame inductees.  I’ve been inspired by their voices and accomplishments.  It is a cherished distinction to be chosen for the 2012 induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame,” says Art Laboe.

Art Laboe is a Radio Broadcaster, Radio Station Owner, Songwriter, Record Producer, Concert Promoter, Business Entrepreneur and Philanthropist.  His Art Laboe Foundation has given over $100,000 in Los Angeles scholarships.  With his Original Sound Record Co., Inc. he produced Music Machine (“Talk Talk”), Dyke & The Blazers (“Funky Broadway”), Preston Epps (“Bongo Rock,” which Art penned) and he created the Oldies But Goodies™ compilations, of which Volume 1 stayed on the Billboard Top LP chart for 3 years. Through Original Sound Entertainment, he has placed thousands of songs in a long list of films and television shows such as “American Graffiti,” “Lethal Weapon” and “The Simpsons.” He still gives live concerts he became famous for in his El Monte Legion days, but in larger arenas (i.e. San Manuel Amphitheater in San Bernardino, Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles, Valley View Casino Center formerly San Diego Sports Arena, Jobing.com Arena in Phoenix, AZ, etc.).  His many awards include a Star on Hollywood’s “Walk of Fame,” he is on the Walk Of Stars in Palm Springs, the National Hispanic Media Coalition Lifetime Achievement Award, the Hollywood Arts Council Charlie Awards Media Arts Award, the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters Diamond Circle Award and Art has a permanent place of honor in The Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, OH. Please contact Joanna Morones at 323-851-2500 x17 or jomo@originalsound.com for further bio information, photos and/or interviews.

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14 year old Michael Jackson with Charlie Tuna in 1973, in Charlie’s Woodland Hills, California Studio, for Charlie’s first interview with Michael. Michael came alone that day with no entourage or publicity team, and notice the word “Love” on the front of his T-Shirt. That’s what Michael was all about from the beginning! Listen to a couple of clips of Charlie’s interview that day!  

Charlie With Michael Jackson Clip 1

Charlie With Michael Jackson Clip 2

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May 28, 2012 LA RADIO ICON CHARLIE TUNA NEW VOICE OF KDOC-TV KDOC-TV, Los Angeles has named Los Angeles radio icon Charlie Tuna as the voice of the station.

Charlie Tuna has worked as morning drive personality for more stations and formats than anyone in Los Angeles radio history: Top 40, AC, Hot AC, Oldies, Talk, Sports Talk, Country, and now playing the greatest hits on earth on K•Earth 101.1 FM Radio.

In 1990, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce honored Charlie with his own Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, January 10, 1990. Charlie was the first KHJ Boss Jock to receive a Star on the Walk of Fame, and was inducted in 2008 into the National Radio Hall of Fame. He was inducted into his home state Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 1999.

In 1997, Los Angeles Radio People readers voted Charlie one of the Top 10 L.A. Radio Personalities of All Time, and in 2007, Charlie was once again elected by his LARadio.com broadcast peers as one of the Top 10 Los Angeles Radio Personalities. Among his L.A. Radio credits are: Being part of the legendary KHJ Boss Jock line-up; starting KROQ radio; starting KIIS and serving as both Program Director and Morning Man for KIIS AM & FM.

Tuna was heard around the world daily on the Armed Forces Radio Network for a 25 year – 6000 show run from 1971 to 1996, as well as on numerous nationally syndicated radio shows, since the early 70’s. He’s now heard across the U.S., Canada and internationally on his 5 hour daily and weekend shows, plus a daily Hollywood Minute entertainment feature, from Black Card Radio Syndication in Las Vegas.

Charlie’s also set to debut later this summer on PBS TV stations across the country as DJ Charlie Luna on Moon FM in the Shushybye TV series for pre-schoolers!

Tuna was the announcer for the television game show Scrabble which ran for seven years on NBC, and a dozen other TV shows ranging from the Mike Douglas Show to America’s Top 10 with Casey Kasem.

Appearances in two movies, hundreds of TV and radio commercials, VH1’s use of Charlie’s Celebrity Interview Archives, dozens of radio station voice imaging clients, narration of the U.S. Air Force’s 50th Anniversary CD, and even serving as a musical network TV consultant round out the media side of Charlie Tuna.

Charlie has also raised nearly 2 and half million dollars for Children’s Hospital in L.A. with his annual “Tunathon” in past years, hosted the red carpet and emceed the Revlon Run/Walk for 5 years, and emcees the annual 4th of July Warner Park in Woodland Hills celebration which attracts annual crowds of over 50,000 spectators.

Charlie calls Tarzana home in California and has served as that city’s Honorary Mayor since 1977.

“We are thrilled to have such a well-known Los Angeles personality as the voice of KDOC-TV”, says John Manzi, President and General Manager of KDOC. “So many of our viewers have grown up listening to Charlie that he seemed like a natural fit for us”.Charlie adds, “I couldn’t be happier about the invitation to be part of KDOC-TV! With their daily line-up of iconic TV comedy & drama series, classic movies, plus live sports presentations like the L.A. Galaxy, it’s my whole Southern California life & career of my favorite shows & sports I’ve watched!”

KDOC-TV can be seen (and heard!) on all the Los Angeles Cable and Satellite systems and over the air on Channel 56.

Continue reading »]]> HOLLYWOOD (April 25, 2012) —  Art Laboe, a Radio and Los Angeles Icon, was in attendance and rocked the mic at the Los Angeles magazine Race In L.A. Luncheon to celebrate the LA magazine’s April issue coverage of the 20th Anniversary of the LA Riots.  Art Laboe, loved by all races and generations, is one of the Crossovers in the article and is pictured below (right) with Mary Melton (Los Angeles magazine Editor-in-Chief).  The luncheon was held at the InterContinental Hotel Los Angeles Century City on Monday, April 23, 2012.  If the local newsstand has sold out of the April Los Angeles magazine, read it on line: http://bit.ly/J8JgKI

On Saturday, April 28, 2012 between 6am-7am, Art Laboe will be rocking the guest seat on the KTLA 5 Morning News with Chris Burrous and Wendy Burch (pictured above) to promote his MAY DAY appearance at The GRAMMY Museum at LA LIVE for Rock, Race, and Radio: A conversation with Big Jay McNeely, Little Willie G., and Art Laboe on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 on 7:30pm.

This is a companion event of the Museum exhibit Trouble In Paradise: Music and Los Angeles 1945 – 1975 (which is on display through June 3rd, 2012).  Los Angeles was in many ways still a segregated city during those years, but music– in nightclubs, in jukeboxes, on car radios– most often crossed color lines during this crucial growth period of R&B and Rock & Roll. The evening will feature conversation, music, and memories with three icons who were central to music’s cross-cultural connections in the post WWII years: R&B legend Big Jay McNeely, East L.A. rock and R&B pioneer Little Willie G. (of Thee Midniters), and radio trailblazer Art Laboe.  Moderated by the exhibit curator/University of Southern California Professor Josh Kun (pictured below with Art Laboe at the GRAMMY Museum exhibit).  Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $15. Tickets can be purchased at the Museum Box Office or online.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit The GRAMMY Museum, located at 800 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite A245, Los Angeles, CA 90015.  For more information log onto GRAMMYMuseum.org.

Continue reading »]]> Radio Legend ART LABOE to be included in the first Large-Scale Exhibition at the GRAMMY Museum Exploring Los Angeles Music History: Music and Los Angeles, 1945-1975 Opens tomorrow, February 22, 2012

HOLLYWOOD (February 21, 2012) — The first disc jockey to play Rock and Roll on the radio will be a part of the GRAMMY Museum’s latest special exhibit, Music and Los Angeles, 1945-1975.  The exhibit to be unveiled Wednesday, February 22, 2012, explores thirty years of the pop music scene in Los Angeles, and its related culture, politics, and popular art including Art Laboe artifacts (i.e. the first pressing of his Oldies But Goodies album ) and a tribute to radio and cars in the 50s and 60s with a wall dedicated to L.A.’s first 24 hour drive-in, Scrivner’s, where Art Laboe would broadcast his radio show live. The GRAMMY Museum, in conjunction with the Getty initiative Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945 – 1980, has partnered with University of Southern California professor Josh Kun, who is serving as co-curator. “This is such a crucial, formative period in the history of music in Los Angeles,” says Kun. “It’s also a period of great social and cultural transformations, from the building of the freeways to multiple civil rights uprisings. We hope to use this exhibit to highlight music’s role in shaping the city’s post-World War II identity.”

The exhibit will be located on the Museum’s fourth floor with iconic images, a cross-section of ephemera (album art, handbills, concert posters, etc.), music, and filmed interviews with key figures in the scene including Art Laboe. Genres of music highlighted in the exhibit include surf rock, jazz, R&B, Laurel Canyon folk rock, the Sunset Strip rock scene and the East L.A. Chicano sound, all of which helped shape the most diverse and influential music scenes in all of America during this socially tumultuous period of L.A. History.  Music and Los Angeles, 1945-1975 will be on display through June 3, 2012.  The GRAMMY Museum is located at 800 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite A245, Los Angeles, CA 90015, in the L.A. LIVE campus, at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles with an entrance off of Figueroa Street.

About ART LABOE

Art Laboe coined and trademarked the phrase “Oldies But Goodies™”.  He was the first DJ to play Rock and Roll on the radio in the 1950s, was the first to do dedications on the radio and the legend continues with his current nightly syndicated radio show, The Art Laboe Connection, which is heard on Hot 92.3 KHHT Los Angeles Monday–Friday 7pm–12am and Sunday 6p–12am.  Various days of the show can also be heard on 99.1 KGGI Riverside, 105.7 The Oasis KOAS Las Vegas, Magic 92.5 XHRM San Diego, 94.3 KDUC Victor Valley, 98.5 KDES Palm Springs and other stations as well as nationwide on iHeartRadio.com.  Art Laboe is widely known for creating the oldies format in radio and in music he innovated the compilation album with his Oldies But Goodies™ 15 volume album series. In connection with his radio show, Art Laboe continues to promote concerts in Southern California, Phoenix, Las Vegas and many other markets.  His many awards include a Star on Hollywood’s “Walk of Fame,” the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters Diamond Circle Award and National Hispanic Media Coalition Lifetime Achievement Award.  Please contact Joanna Morones at 323-851-2500 x17 or jomo@originalsound.com for further bio information, photos and interviews.

Art Laboe interviews Ricky Nelson at Scrivner’s Drive-In in 1957

Continue reading »]]> Just recently we were welcomed to Nevada by none other than Governor Brian Sandoval! It was a great day for Black Card Radio to be blessed with the presence of the governor. But not only did he welcome us, he was the first person to be interviewed in our brand new, state of the art, recording studio!

Thank you again Mr. Sandoval!

Continue reading »]]> That’s right!  It was an honor to be interviewed on Wednesday at the Grammy Museum at LA Live downtown by Josh Kun, co-curator of a major exhibit on Los Angeles music 1945-75, the very first of its kind, to be held at the Grammy Museum starting February 2012.

Two of Josh’s students were there as well, below are Alexis Rommel, Art, Josh Kun, and Sasha Rawji

Thanks to Museum Camerman, Eric (nice car), Museum curator, Tory, Josh’s students and Josh Kun.  Here is Josh’s long illustrious title in addition to co-curator of the “Music In Los Angeles: Trouble in Paradise” exhibit:
Associate Professor
Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
Department of American Studies & Ethnicity
Director, The Popular Music Project of the Norman Lear Center
University of Southern California

Although Oldies But Goodies will be just one aspect of the exhibit, it will be great to be included.  Listen to the radio show and check back here for more news about the opening of the exhibit at the Grammy Museum in February 2012.  Thank you!