Tom Murphy

Murphy's "run" as KRLA morning man was only from February thru September 1971, but it was very "high impact" and rumor has it that rival KHJ made their morning-drive competitor Charlie Tuna, listen to Murphy airchecks, as KHJ was worried that Murphy just might whip Tuna in the ratings as 1971 progressed.

As soon as P.D. Shadoe Stevens began finetuning KRLA from Top 40 to Progressive AOR, he switched "high personality" morning-drive Tom Murphy with "low personality" Don Burns, moving Burns to AM drive, and Murphy to the miscast 9-Noon shift in the fall of 1971.

At CFL with Lujack.

Sonny & Cher 1967

Murphy had "too much personality" for a Progressive AOR in morning-drive, so 9-Noon was a way to phase him out.

STONE GROUND

In this miscast shift for Murphy, the "World Famous" part of his airname was dropped, and he tried to jock with the brakes on playing Stone Ground instead of Bobby Sherman.

Within a few weeks, Murphy would be ousted from 9-Noon and demoted to the Midnight-6am shift as a way to get him to quit, which he did in the late fall of 1971, going back to Seattle and KOL.

Here's Tom behind the KISN microphone on September 19, 1962.
[ LISTEN ] (30:00) and here's Tom again this time playing records at KJR Seattle in 1969. [ LISTEN ] (14:00)

Home in the studio.

The Great American Summer. Produced by Jim Hampton [ LISTEN ] (49:53) and is hosted by Tom at WCFL.

Syndicated around the nation on the CBS Radio Network, Jim Hampton (WXYZ, WABX, WJBK, WCAR) recently pulled this special programming from his radio archives and provided this site with 6 hours of the ‘Great American Summer’ shows he produced in the early-1980s. In these programs you will hear great memories, events, and many of the hits by artists whose records were heard playing on the radio during the summer months the year they were released.

1966 KJR All Americans (L to R) Jerry Kaye, Lan Roberts (as Phil Dirt), Dick Curtis, Pat O’Day, Steve Wilson, Charlie Williams, ‘Crazy Legs” Murphy, Ernie Dunston, Tom Larson (with helmet), Denny Rosencrantz, Stevie Bramwell and Todd Hullin.

Jim Hampton and Ken Draper (WCAR, WCFL;Chicago) — Draper & Hampton, Inc., Los Angeles produced this special summer programming for the CBS Network. The opening theme song was sung by, written and produced by Scott Chapin and special programming features written by Scott Paton.

WHERE DID TOM WORK? Here is the list: KISN, KJR, KRLA, WCFL, WIXY, KGIL, KIIS, KPRZ, KFI, KJQI, KGRB, and WRLL.

Some materials found on this page were originally published by the following: Motor City Radio Flashbacks, Puget Sound Media, Radio Disc Jockey

Tom with a Beach Boy; Haircut; With Bobby Vee; And turning on KISN Carol Tree lights with Frank Benny.