Driving east on Baseline in San Bernardino onward to Highland you may notice three mid-size radio towers and an unassuming shack building behind San Gorgonio High School, and probably not think much of it. There is much more to the shack building than meets the eye, because that little building behind the high school actually has quite a bit of pop musically history behind it.
That little building once housed radio station KMEN on 1290 AM, and at its peak in the 1960s that radio station was a powerhouse. Many big names in pop music history, and radio history, came through that little building.
Known as K/MEN 129 with its deejay personalities known as The K/MEN this radio station broadcasting out by a cow pasture was once a force in the radio and music industry.
It was K/MEN that brought The Rolling Stones for their very first U.S. performance at The Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino. How this radio station in San Bernardino brought them to the U.S. for the first time is a whole story in and of itself.
In the wake of The British Invasion K/MEN had a connection in London sending them the latest British hit-makers, and basically looking and hoping to find the next Beatles. Well, K/MEN's London connection sent them an album by "this group that is better than The Beatles," as their London connection described The Rolling Stones.
Afternoon K/MEN personality Bill Watson played a cut from the album, suddenly the telephone lines were jammed, and "Mr. Kicks," as Bill Watson was known, did something extraordinarily out of the ordinary for top 40 radio and played the entire album.
The Rolling Stones had made plans to tour the United States, but Mr. Watson knew they needed to get this band now! Mr. Watson, calling across The Atlantic, finally got in touch in The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham.
After some deals were cut, and told of the reaction of The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger and company soon took to the U.S. stage for the very first time in San Bernardino thanks to K/MEN.
"Turds!"DID YOU KNOW? John Lennon once said of the Rolling Stones, "Spiggy Topes & The Turds have copied everything we ever did..."
Many singers, songwriters and bands came through the small lobby of K/MEN hoping their tune will make it on-the-air. Among these many hopeful bands who came through was a group of brothers from Hawthorne who called themselves, The Beach Boys.
Mr. Watson, who, by the way, was the program direction, really liked this band and told them to get their music properly licensed and they will play it. Once the guys from Hawthorne got all the legal stuff taken care of it is believed K/MEN was the first to play The Beach Boys. Later they replied in kind by singing jingles for K/MEN.
In 1962 KMEN's DJ lineup included Chuck Clemens, Donn Tyler, Dean Webster, Bill Watson, Brian Lord, George Babcock, William F. Williams, Jim Markham and Gary Price.
A variety of contests and promotions were organized to generate interest in the station. One of these was held in February 1964, when KMEN started an Abigail Beecher lookalike contest, inspired by a popular tune of the time. And of course, there was a great response.
Management tried a sports format in the early 1990s. Jeff Pope was one of the annoncers then. Chester the Arrester did weekends. Princess, who has held various media jobs, worked there. In 1994, music came back to the station (oldies). Mel Maddox did mornings. The oldies format ultimately failed.
Singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb, who was certainly influenced by what K/MEN was playing. One of Mr. Webb's biggest hits he wrote was, "Up, Up and Away," performed by The Fifth Dimension (and sung by other performers over the years). Well, K/MEN once had its own hot-air balloon, and Mr. Webb thought it was a very nice looking thing, so he wrote a tune that became, "Up, Up and Away."
Apparently, the story goes, Mr. Webb wrote the song in just one afternoon sitting in his car at the Robert Hall Clothes store parking lot on La Cadena Drive and Mount Vernon Avenue in Colton (after sitting empty for many years a 99 Cent Only Store now occupies the old Robert Hall clothing store).
Apparently, the story goes, Mr. Webb wrote the song in just one afternoon sitting in his car at the Robert Hall Clothes store parking lot on La Cadena Drive and Mount Vernon Avenue in Colton (after sitting empty for many years a 99 Cent Only Store now occupies the old Robert Hall clothing store).
Back then while in Inland Empire radio he was not known as John Peel, but rather he did something highly odd in radio, he used his real name on-air, John Ravenscroft.
John Peel returned to England in 1967 and found a gig for a short time at Radio London aboard one of England's pirate radio ships (many of these England radio pirates were supported by U.S. record labels and had their radio jingles supplied by U.S. jingle makers). Mr. Peel would begin his BBC career later in 1967 and soon became a
From KMENTERTAINER December 23, 1967.
On June 23, 1997, KMEN became KMRZ, but changed calls less than fifteen months later to KKDD, which became a Radio Disney outlet. The KMEN calls moved up to an FM station in Mendota -- which is rather appropriate.
WHO WORKED AT KMEN? Here is the list: George Babcock, Jon Badeaux, Tom Becker, Bruce Chandler, Chris Charles, Chuck Clemens, Tony D, Danny Dare, Chuck 'Huckleberry' Clemens, Steve Craig, Harley Davidson, Mark Denis, Mark Ford, Ron Jacobs, T. Michael Jordan, Carl Knight, Brian Lord, Jim Markham, Brother Ben McCoy, Jim Mitchell, Dusty Morgan, John Peel, Ray Peyton, Gary Price, John Ravenscroft, Harry Scarborough, Dave Sebastian, Truck-Ken Stevens, Frank Terry, Donn Tyler, Bill Watson (Mr. Kicks), Dean Webster, William F. Williams, and Ted Ziegenbusch.
