He chose his last name from among his relatives' surnames, because it rhymed with "WAKE", the station in Atlanta, where he worked as a programmer and disc-jockey in the late 1950s. Later, Bartell Broadcasting, who owned WAKE that he had programmed to number one, transferred him to KYA in San Francisco, which also became number one. University Graduate Studies: Bill Drake received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Music from Columbia University..
Drake-Chenault
It was later at KYNO in Fresno, California that he met Gene Chenault, who became his business partner. Together, the pair developed highly influential radio programming strategies and tactics, as well as working with future "Boss Jocks". Drake-Chenault perfected the Top 40 radio format, which had been created by Todd Storz, Gordon McLendon and other radio programmers in the late 1950s, which took a set list of popular songs and repeated them all day long, ensuring the widest possible audience for the station's music. Jingles, news updates, traffic, and other features were designed to make Top 40 radio particularly attractive to car listeners. By early 1964, the era of the British Invasion, Top 40 radio had become the dominant radio format for North American listeners and quickly swept much of the Western world. Drake streamlined the Top 40 format using modern methods such as market research and ratings demographics to maximize the number of listeners. He believed in forward momentum, limiting the amount of disc jockey chatter, the number of advertisements and playing only the top hits, as opposed to less-organized programming of the past. Drake created concepts such as 20/20 News and counter programming, by playing music sweeps, while his competitors aired news. Drake-Chenault controlled everything from the specific DJs that were hired, to radio contests, visual logos, promotions and commercial policy. Drake essentially put radio back into the hands of programming, instead of sales. Drake hired the Johnny Mann Singers to produce the Boss Radio jingles, ensuring a bright, high-energy sound that engaged the listener, while providing a bridge from song to song. After improving the fortunes of Fresno's KYNO, Drake applied similar tactics to move KGB from 14th to 1st in San Diego. KGB's owner, Willett Brown, suggested to his fellow RKO board members that Drake could improve KHJ's performance. In the Spring of 1965, Drake-Chenault were hired to turn KHJ in Los Angeles, from a financial and ratings loser into a success. Drake hired Ron Jacobs as program director, Robert W. Morgan in the mornings and The Real Don Steele in the afternoons. KHJ quickly jumped from near obscurity to the number one radio station in Los Angeles. Although it was criticized, "Boss Radio" moved faster and sounded more innovative than the competition, making it the #1 choice over competitors in Southern California. Bill Drake also programmed KFRC in San Francisco, WOR-FM in New York, KAKC in Tulsa, WHBQ in Memphis, WUBE in Cincinnati, WRKO in Boston and 50,000 watt CKLW, in Windsor, Ontario. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Drake and Chenault formed Drake-Chenault Inc., marketing the format in the form of similar customized Johnny Mannjingle packages used on KHJ. These jingle packages were sold across the US and overseas. They marketed documentaries like The History of Rock and Roll, which grew to 52 hours long, on which Drake worked as a writer and narrator. They also marketed "automated" radio format packages such as "Hit Parade", "Solid Gold", "Classic Gold" and "Great American Country". Disc Jockey voices heard on those formats included Robert W. Morgan, Charlie Van Dyke and others.
After Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault was sold and eventually dissolved in the mid-1980s, but their radio specials are still available from a variety of sources. In 1973, Drake left KHJ, along with Steele and Morgan, to program KIQQ-FM in Los Angeles. Bill Drake was a member of the nominating committee of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in 2007. He died of lung cancer in Los Angeles on November 29, 2008. Gene Chenault died at 90 on February 23, 2010.
