Legends of Radio - Robert W. Morgan
During one of my frequent 1961 visits with Gary Bruno at KMBY/Monterey, he introduced me to Mark Carroll, who had been stationed at Fort Ord but was now the morning DJ at the station. Gary thought that Mark was one of the finest voices he had ever heard. Just before I left Fort Ord, Gary made arrangements for the three of us to get together for dinner at a restaurant on Cannery Row opposite KMBY. Mark was a natural talent, forthright in his approach and had a most personable way about him. I liked him immediately. During our dinner conversation I asked him why he was using the name Mark Carroll. At the time there was a proliferation of "Marks" on the airwaves in America. It seemed like every little dot on the map had a "Mark": Mark Richards, Mark Jones, Mark Elliott, ad nauseam. He said he used the name "Mark" because he wasn't happy with his given name, "Robert Morgan". I insisted that this was a good, easy to remember name — so why not go with it? He said he would consider resorting to his own name. @OfficialRobertWMorgan moved to Fresno the next year, where worked with legendary programmer Ron Jacobs and old buddy "Big Daddy" Dave McCormick at Top 40 pioneer K-MAK. Morgan went on to KHJ/Los Angeles in the mid Sixties and Angelenos soon caught on to the expression "Good Morgan", the calling card for Robert W's morning show. "Boss Radio" was first introduced to the citizens of Los Angeles on May 5, 1965 and within six months KHJ ruled Top 40 radio in Southern California. Morgan, with his quick wit and clear intelligence, quickly rose to the heights of success on KHJ. His radio voice was rich and clear, you might say almost perfect. In 1973 Robert W. Morgan was named Top 40 air personality of the year by Billboard Magazine. Morgan was one of the original KHJ Boss Jocks and he also co-produced and narrated the first-ever “rockumentary”, the 48-hour History of Rock and Roll. Robert W. Morgan retained his incredible following upon the demise of KHJ. He worked many markets in the following years before ending up at Oldies KRTH in L.A. He was the number one morning man in Los Angeles until 1997, when he retired for health reasons. Morgan died on May 22, 1998. He was only 60. A fantastically talented and hard working radio guy. One of the very best ever as a deejay. Ladies and gentlemen… here’s Robert W. Morgan on K-EARTH in 1993. Listen and enjoy!