Two years later, in 1957, Henry J. Kaiser hired Jacobs and Moffatt to play rock 'n' roll music in Hawaii over his new KHVH Radio. There they met Elvis Presley and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Jacobs and Moffatt would remain close to the famed showman for 40 years. They served as honorary pallbearers at the Colonel’s funeral in 1997.

Jacobs joined KPOA Radio in 1958, at the age of 20. He was Hawaii’s youngest Program Director. It was there that he worked with trailblazing radio executives, Bill Gavin, then producing Lucky Lager Dance Time, and radio’s first programming consultant, Mike Joseph.

In 1959 Jacobs launched K-POI Radioas its original Program Director. The legendary station was Hawaii’s first Top 40 outlet. For the first six months, Jacobs also was the morning man, afternoon drive deejay and he handled all production chores. The station’s news director was Tom Rounds. Within six months of changing formats, K-POI reached the top of the ratings.

Although Jacobs reached the pinnacle of Honolulu radio by age 23, his drive and eagerness to learn took him to the Mainland. In 1962 he was promoted by the Colgreene Corporation to vice president of programming. Fine-tuning his format and promotional concepts, Jacobs put them to use at KMEN Radio in San Bernardino, California and three months later at KMAK Radio in Fresno. Within months both stations were rated Number One.

Radio consultant Bill Drake, a former Fresno competitor, called upon Jacobs’ abilities in March 1965. Looking forward to what the two former adversaries could accomplish as a team, Drake hired Jacobs, then 27, to program KHJ Radio in Los Angeles. Within six months, KHJ attained the Number One position in America’s second largest market. At the prestigious RKO General outlet, the Drake-Jacobs "Boss Radio" system achieved national recognition as the most influential format of the 1960’s.

While at KHJ, Jacobs produced the 48-hour special, The History of Rock And Roll, radio's first "Rockumentary," a term Jacobs coined to describe the much-imitated epic broadcast. Pete Johnson left his position as the Los Angeles Times pop music critic to script the program. For decades there have been many attempts to replicate this landmark broadcast. The original and authentic version was narrated by Robert W. Morgan for KHJ Radio in 1969.

In 1970, after four years atop the L.A. radio ratings, Jacobs left KHJ for a new role. He co-founded and became vice president of Watermark, Inc. With Tom Rounds and Casey Kasem, Jacobs created American Top 40, which enjoyed a 25-year run. AT40 evolved into the most widely syndicated program in radio history worldwide.

At Watermark, Jacobs also produced the award-winning Elvis Presley Story, written by noted rock author Jerry Hopkins and narrated by broadcast personality Wink Martindale. The program has the distinction of being the first American production purchased by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Next, Jacobs began a long-dreamed-of project: A 13-album record series entitled CRUISIN': A History of Rock'n'Roll Radio. Each LP recreated a disc jockey show starring an air personality who attained regional dominance during Top 40 music’s budding years. Besides the year's big hits, each disc included authentic retro radio commercials.

Jacobs produced several other records at Watermark’s "Farm Studio," which was built by an aspiring actor named Harrison Ford. One of the eclectic repertoire was the cult classic A Child's Garden of Grass for Elektra Records. Jacobs also produced Key: An Album Of Invisible Theater, the debut album of internationally renkowned performance artist Meredith Monk and Music From Another Present Era, the first recording by the jazz ensemble Oregon.

There would be one more stop before Jacobs would return home to Honolulu. That was KGB AM/FM Radio in San Diego, owned by broadcast pioneer Willet Brown. Within months of Jacobs' taking the reins of KGB, the station was Number One. He staged the KGB Charity Ball in 1972, the largest public service concert in California's history.

While programming KGB-FM, one of the first financially viable album-oriented stations, Jacobs conceived and produced the first Home Grown album. Winners were chosen from hundreds of entrants in this original song contest. It allowed raw, young talent eager to record and be heard on the radio, to do so. The liner notes were written by teenage KGB listener Cameron Crowe. Home Grown 1973 became the largest-selling album in the San Diego's history. The project was repeated in other cities where it benefited charities for 30-years.

The KGB Chicken, later known to the nation as "The San Diego Chicken," was also hatched from Jacob's fertile imagination. In 1972, Ron Jacobs was honored by Billboard magazine as "Program Director of the Year." A documentary about Max Yasgur, on whose farm The Woodstock Music Festival was staged, won "Program of the Year" honors. Two years later, Billboard named KGB "Station of the Year."

In July 1976, twenty-one years after Jacobs began his radio career, he was again behind the microphone in Honolulu doing morning drive on KKUA Radio. With Jacobs also serving as Program Director, the station became Number One in the ratings by November. Jacobs successfully introduced his Home Grown concept to Hawaii. For this, he was honored by the local recording industry with a Na Hoku Hanohano Award -- the Hawaiian Grammy -- in the first year of its existence.

In 1977, Jacobs expanded his involvement with television. He produced and hosted Home Grown TV specials; a half-hour documentary on contemporary Hawaiian music entitled Slack Key And Other Notes and a quarterly magazine format series entitled Pictures of Paradise for CBS affiliate, KGMB-TV. The program won local recognition and several national Clio Awards.

Jacobs was commended by the Hawaii State Legislature for his cultural contributions in the area of Hawaiian music. The mayor of the City and County of Honolulu honored him with a "Ron Jacobs Day".

In 1981, Jacobs launched KDEO Radio as Hawaii's only full-time country music station, "the Western-most country station in the nation." Within six months, KDEO ranked among the top ten stations in the State.

In 1985, in conjunction with Hawaii's visitor industry, Jacobs conceived, wrote and produced a nation-wide radio promotion. Entitled The Hawaiian Chief , the contest ran in 48 markets in the continental United States under the sponsorship of American Airlines and Sheraton Hotels.

After three decades in broadcasting, Jacobs shifted his focus to print. His first book, Backdoor Waikiki, was published in 1986. For seven years he was a contributing editor to both Honolulu and Hawaii magazines. Over 150 of Jacobs’ articles have appeared in both local and national publications.

In 1994, Jacobs returned to the Mainland for a final assignment. He joined Radio Express in Los Angeles as Executive Producer of The World Chart Show. By the end of 1995, The World Chart Show was heard on 360 stations in 54 countries, with co-productions in 27 different languages.

In April 1997, having successfully launched another groundbreaking syndicated program, Jacobs returned home to Honolulu. He produced Home Grown ‘97 for KRTR-FM and an inter-Island network of stations. Profits from the CD, as with previous Island Home Grown records, went to Habilitat, a rehabilitation facility located on windward Oahu.

On February 9, 1998, Jacobs joined KCCN-AM 1420 as host of the morning drive show. A year later the station changed to an all-sports format. Jacobs left the airwaves after spanning five decades in broadcasting.

While serving as a consultant to KCCN AM-FM and KINE-FM, Jacobs began writing what he calls, "The book that everyone has been urging me to do." Originally begun as an autobiography titled From Doo Wop To Duopoly, the work in progress now encompasses dozens of interviews with Jacobs’ KHJ colleagues. He continues to work with stations primarily developing custom promotions and other creative projects.

In February 2002 Jacobs book KHJ: Inside Boss was published posthumously by Zapoleon Publishing. Jacobs committed suicide when the New England Patriots kicked a last second field goal to beat the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Stay tuned.

Ron Jacobs presently lives in Kaneohe, Oahu, and may be reached at whodaguy@lava.net.

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Elvis: A Biography, Jerry Hopkins, 1971, Simon & Schuster, New York

This Business Of Radio Programming, Claude and Barbara Hall, 1977, Billboard Publications, New York

Da Kine Hawaiian Music, Robert Kamoalu Kasher and Burl Burlingame, 1978,

Press Pacifica, Hawaii

Na Mana’o Aloha O Kaho’olawe Diary, Ritte & Sawyer, 1978, Aloha ‘Aina O Na Kupuna, Honolulu

Hawaiian Music and Musicians, Edited by George S. Kanahele, 1979, The University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu

Backdoor Waikiki, Ron Jacobs, 1987, Ninikio, Honolulu

Honolulu Magazine, Ron Jacobs, 1987-1994, monthly column and features, Honolulu Publishing, Honolulu

Backdoor Hawaii, Ron Jacobs, 1987-1994, HAWAII Magazine, bi-monthly column and features, Fancy Publications, Tustin, California

Miscellaneous Magazine and Newspaper Articles, Ron Jacobs, 1987-1998, Hawaii & Pacific Room reference desk, Hawaii State Library, Honolulu

Hawaii Caricatures by Pritchett, John Pritchett, 1989,"Who-da-Guy" Ron Jacobs, MidWeek Magazine, Honolulu, http://www.lava.net/~pritchet/jacobs.html

Hawaii, 1959-1989, Gavan Daws, 1989, Publishers Group Hawaii, Honolulu.

The Birth of Boss Radio, Ron Jacobs, 1990, "Birth of Boss Radio," 25th Anniversary Scrapbook.

Sonny Bono: And The Beat Goes On, Sonny Bono, 1991, Simon & Shuster, New York

Dream-House, The History of a Major West Coast Radio Station, Bill Earl, 1991, Desert Rose, Montebello, California

Rock Radio Scrapbook HALL OF FAME, 1992

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, Peter Guralnick, 1995, Little Brown & Co., New York

ReelRadio.com, An Authentic Aircheck Museum of Classic Top 40 Radio,

Journey From Hell, Vinny Marino, 1996, Habilitat, Inc., Kaneohe, Hawaii

Radio’s First 75 Years, B. Eric Rhoads, 1996, Streamline Publishing Co., West Palm Beach.

The Story of Buffalo Springfield, For What It’s Worth, Einarson & Furay, 1997, Quarry Press, Kingston, Ontario.

Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records, Jac Holzman, 1998, FirstMedia Books, Santa Monica.

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: The History of Top 40 Radio, Ben Fong-Torres, 1998, Miller Freeman, San Francisco.

Uncle Tom’s Rock’n’ Roll Scrapbook, Tom Moffatt, 1998, Paradise, Honolulu.

Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, Peter Guralnick, 1999, Little Brown & Co., New York.

American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century, Rob Durkee, 1999, Schirmer Books, New York.

A Rams Fan In 49ers Country, Ron Jacobs, 2000, NFL Insider, NFL Properties, Los Angeles http://www.stlouisrams.com/article/1013

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(Rev. February 2002)