Richard W. Fatherley is out of the hospital, but the prognosis is not good.
As you may have heard, Fatherley collapsed while suffering a heart attack Sunday, and in the process hit his head, hard. He was in ICU this week but has been moved to a care facility and his wife Kathy has asked no one to contact her, which is certainly understandable.
So let's do what the man who did more to recover the heyday of Kansas City radio would have done — let's remember the good times.
Dick Fatherley was a unique presence in the market because he worked at the stations that changed the listening habits of two generations of Kansas City listeners. The first was WHB, the Storz station that is credited with launching Top 40 radio nationwide. Todd Storz had rolled it out in 1953 on a 250-watter in New Orleans, but it wasn't until 1954, when it launched on a 50,000-watt blowtorch in the middle of the country, that the Top 40 format caught on. And far from being a straitjacket for the jocks at WHB, it was embraced and popularized by them. WHB had a 50 share at its peak, and its employees were rightly known as the World's Happiest Broadcasters.
Here's a great little video of a 50th-anniversary event that Fatherley put together and emceed in 2004. The first four minutes are all you need to watch to get a sense of Dick's booming pipes and production style:
The second big event was the launch of KYYS-FM in 1974 — or “KY,” as nearly everyone under the age of 30 called it. As it happens, less than a week before his collapse, I received from Fatherley a copy of what I must believe was his last-ever speech — given at a tribute for legendary KY disc jockey Max Floyd on Jan. 30.
In the copy of the speech Fatherley sent to me, he wrote:
“In 1974, WDAF-FM became K-Y-Y-S ... I would become its operations manager after returning from my spring vacation. When I returned, the WDAF radio stations had a new manager who called me into his office, closed the door, and informed me of my two options: Look for another job, or report downstairs to take a sales position with the new K-Y-Y-S. But, it wouldn't be about dinner music (that was the current format) ... this K-Y-Y-S would be about the reconstituted Beatles — about the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, R-E-O Speedwagon, Grand Funk, Fleetwood Mac, and the new album-rock bands and vocalists who were quickly replacing the 45-RPM hit singles market. ...
“Kansas City teenagers had grown up to become an entirely different population group. WHB had played to them during their formative years as the World's Happiest Broadcasters, but by 1974, WHB meant We Have Been. ... I was astonished to discover that by 1975, more than 55% of Kansas City radio tune-in had moved to FM. ... The real impact of FM's influence came to be like a bolt of lightning when I learned that KY-102's listenership in Lawrence among KU students was substantially greater than the university's campus station. ... The sound quality of record albums on FM was superior to the sound quality of 45 RPM singles. And Max Floyd knew how to pick the right cuts from the right albums.”
In later years, Richard was an easily recognizable voice on TV commercials and corporate videos, like this one:
Lotta bounce in that voice. And pretty compelling. At the end, even I wanted to own one of those pallet-makers. David Miller, operating partner for Something Different, the marketing group that produced that video, wrote:
Back in the good ole days Dick would pull you aside and say, “Let me give you some fatherly advice,” and then you knew to pay attention because whatever he said would put you on the right path. We grew our business with Richard Fatherley. He is a great man and is in our thoughts and prayers.
And of course, he was all about the history. He was a bedrock of the Great Plains Radio Symposium, which met starting in 2006 at Kansas State University. He produced an audio history of Storz, then sat down with Max Floyd for an engaging set of reminiscences — all of these were unfortunately for sale by Fatherley privately, so there's no telling when they'll be available except from those who already have copies.
As a historian, Fatherley helped clarify a ongoing question of whether Todd Storz discovered Top 40 while staring at a barroom jukebox (he did not) and whether Storz or Dallas Top 40 tycoon Gordon McLendon deserves credit for the format (Storz created it, McLendon took it wide). As a radio multitalent — he could sell, produce, and announce — he became a respected elder in a community that is fixated on youth.
Say a prayer for Dick Fatherley.
RESPONSES:
Mary Dell Sharp: "Dick was and is truly a humanitarian this is a really good man in the true sense of the word. I had the honor of visiting with him many times and we had many folks in common from the ad agency business. He would laugh and say, yep you are high octane when he realized I worked for the real Valentine Radford with Valentine and Radford at the helm. God bless him and pray for this truly good man."
Andy Barber: "I was in Top-40/CHR for 32 years, switched to Classic Rock 8 years ago, and was The PD/MD @ KUDL-AM/FM Kansas City 1971-1972 (real top-40). Even though I enjoyed the video I was not familar with anyone there except Todd Storz and McClendon, but I have a new respect for these men who know what I know that Top 40 was the best format ever..the new people have ruined it!!"
Wyatt Cox, KELY, Ely, Nevada: "Richard is the reason I got into this business. His warmth and sincerity sold me. Every time I do a commercial, I try to impart that same ‘Fatherley advice.’ Richard did imaging for two of my radio stations, free. Including KELY. I treasure his voice every hour of every day. I will miss his kindness."
Mark J Andrews Sr.: “Dick was my first program director and a great mentor. He was a true father to me and to my family. He hired me to do over nights while at KTOP in Topeka. Under his leadership we took a 1000-watt, AM peanut-whistle station with a Music of Your Life format and pulled a 10 share in the Capital City of Kansas. In the process we beat out four FM stations. Dick put me through fire but he helped me develop from an overnight talent into an afternoon drive-time talent in less than six months. He taught me everything I know about radio, programming, and production. He was also a great American.
My wife Regina and I will lift him and Kathy up in prayer.”
