R.I.P.: Bill Mouzis, Boss Radio Pioneer

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Radio engineer Bill Mouzis died in LA Monday.  He was 90.

In an appreciation of Mouzis, lbreport.com notes, Mouzis' career is indelibly tied to KHJ radio (930 AM) in Los Angeles, which rose from near worst to first place during its "Boss Radio" period. It included legacy work on the station's groundbreaking 48 hour "History of Rock and Roll," written by KHJ's programmers, voiced by its air talents (initially Robert W. Morgan, later "Humble Harve" Miller) and delivered by Mr. Mouzis in a tour de force of musical montages, "time sweeps" and elegant mixing and editing.

Mouzis was already at AM station KHJ (930) as an engineer and board operator when the station shifted in 1965 to a rock and roll format promoted as Boss Radio.   He was the format’s first production director.

KHJ became a big deal in baby boomer Los Angeles, with on-air personalities such as Sam Riddle, Robert W. Morgan and The Real Don Steele.

1965

Mouzis became the production director for the station and for its signature piece of work, an ambitious compilation of records and interviews that KHJ aired as a 48-hour special "The History of Rock and Roll" — radio's first "rockumentary," they called it.

Every edit, mix and montage in this massive project was done by Bill Mouzis. Copies of the 48 hour edition are now in the Library Of Congress, the Lincoln Center in New York and the libraries of Juilliard and UCLA.

FLASHBACK:

Emmy-winning television writer and radio broadcaster Ken Levine remembered Mouzis in a blog post:

Among the people I wanted to be when I grew up was Bill Mouzis. You’ve probably never heard of him, but he was a hero of mine. He sat in a tiny windowless closet surrounded by archaic equipment and made magic. If ever there was an artist and alchemist in radio it was Bill Mouzis. 

He was the production director for 93/KHJ Boss Radio back in the ‘60s. Today we have audio editing programs on our computers and can do multi-tracks, sound effects, equalizing, reverb, any number of tricks with just a click of a mouse. Back then it was a couple of old reel-to-reel tape recorders and a razor blade. Yet, Bill’s promos sounded better and more complex with antiquated facilities than any of today’s whiz-bang high tech digital productions. 

One of the hallmarks of KHJ was their creative contests. And even more creative promos. A three-man team collaborated on them. Creative genius Ron Jacobs conceived and wrote the spots, Robert W. Morgan voiced them, and Bill Mouzis assembled them. He laid in music, effects, added drama and distinction to them. They were better than any Madison Avenue commercial.

Also See Previous Post: "Ron Jacobs, Inside Boss Radio", Click Here.