Merv Griffin at KFRC
A young Merv Griffin (1925-2007) started his career at KFRC in
1945 as a singer and staff announcer, having won his place in an open
audition. His daily 15-minute show "Merv Griffin Sings" was heard over
KFRC and the Don Lee Mutual Network in 1947-48. (Listen to a broadcast here.) He remained with the station until 1949, when he joined the
Freddy Martin Orchestra as featured vocalist. (Photo courtesy of George Zema at KFRC.)
Griffin grew up in San Mateo and graduated from the University of
San Francisco. He started as a singer on radio at age 19, appearing on
"San Francisco Sketchbook", a nationally syndicated program originating
from KFRC. By 1945, he had earned enough money to form his own record
label, Panda Records. In 1947 and 1948, Griffin had a 15-minute
weekday singing program on KFRC and the Don Lee Network. Freddy
Martin heard Griffin on the radio show and asked him to tour with his
orchestra, which he did for four years. He became nationally
known in 1950 with his hit record "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of
Coconuts". This led him to Hollywood, where he appeared in
supporting roles in several films. In 1954, he changed his focus
to television, leading to his future successful career as a game show
and talk show host.
Here is what Jack Bethards writes about Merv Griffin's KFRC program:
The recordings are from a collection
of electrical transcriptions dated from November 1947 to April 1948,
given to me by retired KFRC musical director Lyle Bardo.
KFRC was a key statin of the Mutual
Don Lee Broadcasting System with a full producdtion department and fine
studios in the Don Lee building on Van Ness Avenue in San
Francisco. These shows were a sustaining daily feature, 12:45 TO
1:00 PM (later 6:15-6:30 PM and then 10:15-10:30 AM). Some Don
Lee stations took it via transcription rather than over the network
line to give it a different time slot. (ie, 8:45 AM on KHJ Los
Angeles) Note that the "tune in again" announcement was
indefinite. The high quality of the transcriptions may also
indicate this.
Of special interest are the clever
instrumentation, excellent arrangements, and fine playing of the
orchestra. I knew and even worked with several of the
players. Here are the ones I know from Lyle's notes and
photos: Paul Rosen (flute), Jimmie Davis (clarinet), Larry
Capelli (tenor), Al Cicerone (bass clarinet), Carlton Ackley (violin),
Ted Langston (bass, Harold Zollman (piano). Arrangements were by
Lyle Bardo and Harrison Carlisle, and probably others. Amy
Lawrence was the Librarian. Lew Pfeifer was the Chief Announcer
of KFRC, and was well-known to San Francisco listeners.
In My opinion, this show is equal to
any of the similar solo vocal shows from Hollywood or New York.
It is sparse and well-written, has a fast but not pushed pace, and fine
quality performances. I don't think the change in format to the
"Gwinn-Griffin Show" was an improvement. Obviously, someone
thought the show needed more "punch" as television was on the horizon.