Pat O'Day and the 
KJR "Boss Jocks

In 1957, KJR hired a young disk jockey named Pat O’Day (real name, Paul Berg), who became a sensation among the local teenage audience.  Within a short time he was KJR’s program director, leading a staff of popular deejays, including Larry Lujack, Lan Roberts, Emperor Smith, and Dick Curtis.  KJR zoomed to an amazing 37% share of the Seattle audience and stayed on top for nearly a decade.  Simultaneously, O’Day built a lucrative side business as a teen dance promoter.  He became KJR’s station manager in 1969, succeeded by Shannon Sweatte in 1974. 

Photo:  Lee Perkins, Pat O'Day, Curtis and Jerry Kaye in the KJR production room, about 1962.  (Photo courtesy of Dick Curtis).