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Saturday, July 30, 2011

THE EASTSIDE SOUND HITS THE RADIO WAVES - GODFREY KERR



Godfrey Kerr was born Sptember 10, 1942 in Dublin, Ireland. At the age of 12 he & his family moved to Culver City, California. During his childhood in Ireland he liked traditional American Pop that would change. He started listening to the R&B played by the likes of Hunter Hancock and Huggy Boy.

  After high school Kerr ran a some small record labels, Kay-Gee, Gee-Kay and Flashback and launched a mail-order business selling oldies albums, as well as serving as promter & MC for dances & shows. The dances which Godfrey promoted were mostly held at locations on the East Side such as the Big Union Hall and the Montebello Ballroom (a venue I attended whenever I could). The line-ups would feature top Chicano bands as well as soul & R&B artists. Through these shows Godfrey became good friends with Willie G of Thee Midniters.

  In 1964 Godfrey started subbing for Huggy Boy on KRLA and later KALI. This gave Godfrey an established Chicano listening audience. He would eventually move to KTYM where he hosted his own afternnon show from Monday thru Friday.

Also in 1964, Godfrey co-produced with Andy Belvin the Alfred & Joe Eastside classic "Darling Dear" on the Kay-Gee label (Kay-Gee 101)




  In 1967 Godfrey would record "Down Whittier Boulevard" vocal and instrumental with Thee Midniters on the Whittier label (a label which featured many of the Midniters hits).




You may listen to "Down Whittier Boulevard" here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TlK3GbOgMo



In September 1965 Godfrey recorded a cover of Kim Fowley's psychedelic rap 'The Trip" backed by Alfred & Joe's band The Noblemen.















The B-side is an instrumental entitled "Come On, Come On" and credited to Godfrey's Group, presumably The Noblemen on the promo copy and credited to the Hard-Rockers on the stock copy

Godfrey put together four oldies albums titled "Godfrey Presents" featuring obscure ballads by Chicano and black artists. He stayed at KTYM until 1968.

Album Discography::

1965 - Godfrey Presents 18 R & B Flashbacks, Flashback 601

1965 – Godfrey Presents 18 R&B Flashbacks Vol. 2 , Flashback 602 1965

1965 – Godfrey Presents 16 Successful Sounds , Flashback 603 1965 - Godfrey Presents Successful 16 sounds, 603 Flashback

1965 – Godfrey Presents 20 Blast-backs , Blastback 401 1965 - Godfrey Presents Blast-backs 20, baked 401 Blast























Godfrey Presents 16 Successful Sounds





You May Listen To Godfrey Presents 16 Successful Sounds by visiting the "Vinyl Classics" link at the East LA Revue site found here:




You May Listen To A Godfrey Radio Show Here:

http://backsellradio.blogspot.com/2009/01/godfrey-kerr-ktym-inglewood-ca-thursday.html

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED!!

Solely for historical, educational & listening pleasure.

3 comments:

  1. Being a radio buff, I've listened to and saved
    the GODFREY KERR air-check from KTYM: AM-1460.

    I still enjoy the station and listen to its
    religious programming. It's very similar to
    AM-1570: KPRO here in Riverside, California.

    In those heady days, KTYM had a lot of broadcasters who bought time slots and put
    themselves on the air. GODFREY KERR was one of them.

    Kerr was kind of a poor man's--HUGGY BOY. He
    astutely knew KTYM's signal strength and styled
    himself as a friend of the Latino teen scene
    on the Eastside. KTYM was an alternative to more
    suburban/dare-I-say-it, "white-sounding": KHJ;
    KRLA; KFWB, and a few others.

    Godfrey Kerr--dare I say it, #2--sounded: "black." He was a full-blooded Irish
    young man who picked up on the vernacular
    of urban Los Angeles at the time.

    SALESIAN/CANTWELL/MONTEBELLO HIGH grads:
    THEE MIDNIGHTERS--owe a few props to Mr. Kerr.
    [They also owe a few thank-yous, to: CASEY KASEM
    and HUGGY BOY].

    THE WATTS' RIOTS of 1965--along with other tensions--ethnic, and otherwise--were still
    simmering below the proverbial surface, [especially in South Los Angeles and THE EASTSIDE].

    The same thing can be said of the 1992 RIOTS,
    where festering wounds were allowed to bleed
    profusely all over again.

    Thank God for Godfrey Kerr and Huggy Boy
    who played the music that kept urban LA--and
    THE EASTSIDE-- artistically and soulfully sedated.

    Art Uvaas
    Riverside, California

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  3. Still have the LPs Two are Brand new.

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