Art Laboe (born Arthur Egnoian; August 7, 1925 – October 7, 2022) was an American disc jockey, songwriter, record producer, and radio station owner. He was generally credited with coining the term "Oldies but Goodies".
Early life and education
Laboe was born to parents Hosanna (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Kezerian) and John Egnoian in
Murray, Utah
Murray () is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Murray, it is the state's fourteenth largest city. According to the 2020 census, Murray had a populat ...
, a suburb of
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, on August 7, 1925.
His parents were
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
immigrants and observant
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
s; his father, John, came to the United States from the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
When Laboe was 13, his parents divorced, whereupon he moved to
South-Central Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
to live with his sister.
He attended
George Washington High School and in 1938 began to experiment with
amateur radio
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
from his bedroom.
After graduating from high school, Laboe studied at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, then joined the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
He was stationed at
Naval Station Treasure Island
Naval Station Treasure Island is a former United States Navy facility that operated on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay from 1942 to 1997.
History
During World War II, Treasure Island became part of the Treasure Island Naval Base, and serve ...
in
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
.
Career
Laboe made his professional radio debut in 1943 on
KSAN in San Francisco, while stationed at Treasure Island. He obtained the job because he had a
first-class radiotelephone license and the station had been depleted of staff in order to meet wartime demands. During this period he changed his last name to "Laboe," which had been derived from the station manager's secretary's name, because "it sounded catchier"
and "more American."
He was permitted to play
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
shortly before the station signed off at midnight, later encouraging his listeners to call the station to make song requests, an idea so ahead of its time that
the technology did not yet exist to broadcast live telephone calls. Laboe had to repeat his callers' comments into the microphone.
Laboe returned to Southern California, obtaining work at
KCMJ in
Palm Springs
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...
. He acquired the nickname "As Long as He Lasts" because of a
publicity stunt
In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utilize ...
he participated in February 1948, wherein he hosted a "120-hour talkathon" for charity. He allowed himself only brief rests that lasted no more than 15 minutes.
He later returned to Los Angeles and began his time at
KPOP
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
. While working at
KPOP
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
, Laboe got the idea to take his show on the road and broadcast live from the local
Scrivner's Drive-In, on Cahuenga and Sunset. Teenagers would come to the drive-in and hang out, and give live on-air dedications for songs. Laboe began to make a list of the most frequently requested songs. People would often call in who had just gone through a breakup and would ask him to play love songs to help win back their significant others. As the popularity grew, Laboe found a promoter and a ballroom east of Los Angeles, and through that the El Monte dance hall was formed.
With the live radio show going, he had the audience and the lists of requests. He began to turn that concept into an album titled ''Oldies But Goodies'', a term he trademarked.
In 1959, Laboe formed record label
Original Sound Records
Original Sound is a Los Angeles, California-based record label. It was founded in the early 1950s by KPOP deejay Art Laboe. It began as a small label that specialized in compiling and re-releasing "oldies" R&B and rock 'n' roll songs.
History
The ...
to promote new musical talent he discovered. In 1959 the label released two instrumental hit songs: "
Teen Beat
''Teen Beat'' is an American magazine geared towards teenaged readers, published from 1967–c. 2007.
Over its history, the magazine had multiple teen idols on its cover, including John Travolta, David Cassidy, Leif Garrett, Menudo, Michael J. ...
", the breakout hit by
Sandy Nelson
Sander Lloyd Nelson (December 1, 1938 – February 14, 2022) was an American drummer. Nelson, one of the best-known rock and modern jazz drummers of the late 1950s and early 1960s, had several solo instrumental Top 40 hits and released over 30 ...
and "
Bongo Rock
"Bongo Rock" is a rock and roll instrumental written and recorded by Preston Epps. Released as a single in 1959, it charted #14 Pop in the United States and #4 in Canada. In 1973 the Incredible Bongo Band recorded a cover version of "Bongo Rock" ...
" by
Preston Epps
Preston Eugene Epps (July 19, 1930 – May 9, 2019) was an American percussionist.
Career
Epps was born in Mangum, Oklahoma. He learned to play percussion instruments, including the bongos, while he was stationed in Okinawa during the Korean ...
. Laboe also received writing credit on both songs.
Later he moved to
KXLA
KXLA (channel 44) is an ethnic independent television station licensed to Rancho Palos Verdes, California, United States, serving the Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Rancho Palos Verdes Broadcasters, Inc., whose president and majority ...
(subsequently KRLA), where he stayed for many years.
In the 1990s, Laboe worked for radio station KGGI.
In January 2006, Laboe debuted another syndicated request and dedication radio show, ''The Art Laboe Connection''. The show began on weeknights on
KDES-FM
KDES-FM (98.5 MHz) is a radio station in the Palm Springs area and the Coachella Valley of Southern California.
KDES-FM began in 1957 on the AM dial at 920 kHz and was affiliated with ABC Radio. KDES-FM (then called KGEC) went on-air in 1963, ...
in Palm Springs and
KOKO-FM
KOKO-FM is a radio station licensed to Kerman, California. Owned by Art Laboe's Big Broadcasting, it broadcasts a rhythmic oldies format targeting Fresno.
History
KOKO-FM originally signed on the air April 16, 1990, as country station KTAA and wa ...
in Fresno. It soon expanded to
KHHT (Hot 92.3) in Los Angeles (until its 2015 format flip),
KAJM
KAJM (104.3 FM) is a commercial rhythmic oldies-formatted radio station in Camp Verde, Arizona, broadcasting to Phoenix, Arizona. Its studios are located on Indian School Road in Phoenix, and its transmitter is in Crown King.
History
The stat ...
(Mega 104.3) in Phoenix, and stations in Bakersfield and Santa Maria.
Laboe later DJ'd on two syndicated radio shows, both of which were broadcast across the American Southwest. ''The Art Laboe Connection'' and ''Art Laboe Sunday Special.' In 2018, Art could be heard in 14 different radio markets including Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
Social impact to Los Angeles
Laboe contributed to desegregating Los Angeles.
As his on-air popularity started to grow, so did Laboe's ability to draw crowds of all ages. While hosting a local radio show, he approached the owner of Scrivner's Drive-In about being a sponsor. In return for buying ad spots, Laboe agreed to tell his audience he would meet them at the drive-in after the show.
The success of the post-show meetup led Laboe to host a live remote from Scrivner's Drive-In on the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga in Los Angeles.
According to Art, initially the audience was mostly white teenagers.
The growing popularity of the live broadcast, coupled with growing police harassment of the teenagers who attended the shows, led Laboe to look for a new location to host dances.
Laboe chose the El Monte Legion Stadium. Since it was outside the city limits of Los Angeles, Laboe was not subject to a city ordinance that mandated LA Board of Education approval for any public dance intended for high school student
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Laboe began hosting Saturday night dance shows at the El Monte Legion Stadium, a venue that, until then, had primarily hosted country jamborees and boxing matches. Those events began to attract teenagers of all races, but mostly Hispanic
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In a city divided by topography, neighborhoods, and class, Laboe brought together teenagers of the greater Los Angeles area, regardless of race or class, to one location.
He did not discriminate when listeners called to request a song live on-air and was one of the first DJs to allow people of different races to make a request.
Death
Laboe died of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
on October 7, 2022, at the age of 97. His final program was produced on October 6 and was later aired on October 9.
References
External links
*
Interview for NAMM Oral History Program(2014)
Art Laboe archive, ''Music Connection Magazine''(2018
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laboe, Art
1925 births
2022 deaths
Deaths from pneumonia in California
Musicians from Los Angeles
Musicians from Salt Lake City
Military personnel from Utah
American people of Armenian descent
American radio DJs
American male songwriters
Record producers from California
Businesspeople from Salt Lake City
Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Songwriters from California
Songwriters from Utah
Los Angeles City College alumni
Stanford University alumni