It’s been many years since radio stations have done true April Fools Day pranks, perhaps the most memorable being in 1998, I believe, when KROQ (106.7 FM) and Power 106 (KPWR, 105.9 FM) switched morning shows, with Kevin and Bean playing hip-hop and Big Boy playing alternative.

This year, KLOS (95.5 FM) decided to take the plunge and did it masterfully, creating one of the most impressive and all-encompassing pranks in the history of Los Angeles radio. No one will take credit for the idea, though I believe the genesis came from programmer Keith Cunningham and manager Pio Ferro: the all-new 95.5, SoCal’s Yacht Rock.

It began at 10 a.m. and ran till just after 7 p.m. There was a new logo, new station IDs, even jingles, including one that proclaimed, “Christopher Cross is a genius!” before playing his song “Sailing.”

Station production and imaging director Stew Herrera did much of the “heavy lifting” as far as the on-air format elements went. “All that attention-to-detail stuff,” he explained, such as artist liners, promotional announcements and “getting the dozens and dozens of additional songs we needed out into the library.”

The station featured all the artists you might hear on an easy listening station … or exactly as you’d hear on SiriusXM’s “Yacht Rock” channel: the already mentioned Cross along with Steely Dan, Little River Band, Hall and Oats, Doobie Brothers, Toto, Rupert Holmes, Pablo Cruise, Ambrosia, The Eagles and more. Weather reports were “on the marina,” and the DJs all got into the act, speaking about getting “aboard the station.” The promos were snarky and fun.

Herrera himself took on the normally jockless midday shift, using the on-air name of Captain Stew-Bing. “As soon as I heard the idea, I insisted on hosting the shift. I knew our listeners would go nuts, and they did. The phones melted down all day with most people loving it and getting the joke … but still plenty of confused and upset calls too, which were my favorites.”

Afternoon drive host Nik Carter absolutely sold the format, giving no hint of it being a prank. “I was tickled pink,” he said when the idea was presented to him a few weeks ago. After it was over, he made a comment on the air regarding the calls, “We were expecting a lot of angry calls; instead, we got some who were angry the format wasn’t continuing.”

Besides the fun involved in the prank, it brought two things to my mind. One, why isn’t Herrera always on the midday shift? He is an excellent air personality and really fits with the KLOS vibe. If he is willing, he should be the midday guy.

Secondly, considering that yacht rock is popular on SiriusXM and elsewhere, many calls to the station and posts on Facebook mentioned how much people liked the music, and there is no on-air station playing the format locally, why doesn’t, say, Power 106 take on the format? The station has been generating a meager 1.6 share of the listening audience for quite awhile. Time was when a major signal looked at change when it hit a 2.4. Even former AM powerhouse KHJ (930 AM) dropped Top 40 for country at that level in 1980, and others have done the same in the past.

I think yacht rock may be just the ticket for a station that wants to at least try something different, once more, all over again.

Ryder returns

You probably read in this very newspaper that Kevin Ryder has returned to KROQ, the station where he woke up Los Angeles with partner Gene “Bean” Baxter and others for over a quarter century — 33 years, in fact.

Ryder had been dismissed from his morning show over the phone during the pandemic five years ago, and his most recent on-air work was afternoon drive with Doug “Sluggo” Roberts on KLOS.

He’s flying solo on his new weekday 3-7 p.m. show, which began last week. The first day had a lot of calls from listeners welcoming him back, and later in the week, I heard more music than Ryder. Ryder himself sounded a little off, though that is to be expected considering that it’s been close to 40 years since he did a show by himself.

I’m glad Ryder landed the gig, but with KROQ trailing competitor Alt 98.7 (KYSR FM) by a full point in the February Nielsen ratings (3.1 to 2.1 overall), you have to wonder if programmer Kevin Weatherly needs to come up with some fresher ideas — or is the plan now to re-create a ’90s version of KROQ?

Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com.