B. MITCHEL
REED Los Angeles Radio Legend
KFWB,
1957-63 and 1965-67; WMCA (N.Y.), 1963-65; KPPC, 1967-68; KMET, 1968-71; KRLA,
1971-72; KMET, 1972-78; KLOS, 1979-82.
Mitch was
born Burton Mitchel Goldberg in Brooklyn on June 10, 1926, and entered radio
following a decision at the University of Illinois to forgo a career teaching
political-science "for the boogie and the glamour of broadcasting."
In 1956, he landed the all-night "Birdland Jazz Show" at WOR New
York. In 1957, Mitch moved his "Boy On A Couch" to KFWB Los Angeles
and there became one of the original "Seven Swingin' Gentlemen" at
the launch of Top 40 "Color Radio" in 1958. "The fastest tongue
in the West" hosted a #1 rated 6PM-9PM high energy show using horns, bells
and buzzers until February 7, 1963 when he was wooed back to his hometown as
one of "The Good Guys" at WMCA New York: "I'm not talking too
fast, you're listening too slow." Again rated #1, "Your Leader"
spent time in London developing contacts with Brian Epstein, Derek Taylor and
The Beatles which led to exclusive interviews and advance record pressings that
helped break The Beatles in New York. After his final WMCA show on March 20,
1965 he was cheered by thousands at the airport, a scene that was repeated when
he landed in L.A. for his return to KFWB with "The Wide Wide Weird World
of BMR" where he became a voice for the counterculture. Mitch recognized a
music explosion was beginning, and he turned the evening hours into album-oriented
rock programming after he met with Tom Donahue at the June 1967 Monterey Pop
Festival and discovered their common frustration with radio music restrictions.
Donahue was PD of pioneer underground rocker KMPX-FM San Francisco and was
looking for an L.A. outlet. Mitch found KPPC-FM in the basement of the Pasadena
Presbyterian Church. After the KMPX/KPPC Strike ended in June 1968, Reed and
Donahue each supplied KMET-FM with four hours of taped album rock while BMR
programmed the rest of KMET, one of the first 24 hour automated music stations.
"The Beamer" gained validity for "Underground Radio" from
the ad agencies with his afternoon drive show that finally went live in Summer
1969. Mitch underwent successful coronary bypass surgery in 1978 and left KMET
for KLOS-FM. Mitch "kept his mind open and his spirit free" until his
death from a lingering heart condition at the age of 56 on March 16, 1983.
HotLink: KPPC-FM Pasadena Riffs | Ted Alvy COSMOS TOPPER Home Page | Radio Underground Home Page