User:Loribashian/sandbox

Laboe moved to L.A. and became a DJ in 1943 on KPOP starting first as a station mechanic and then working his way up to being a DJ. At first Art would go on every 15 minutes to announce what segments were coming up next, but after realizing a gap between the last segment ending at 11:00 p.m. and the stations sign off time at 12:00 a.m. Art decided to use that hour to play music in the swing and jazz genres. What was unique about the way Laboe conducted his show was the calls he would take from listeners while on air. He would repeat what to the listeners what the person on the phone was saying because technology had yet to catch up with Laboe’s ambitions. Through these calls he would take song requests and was the first radio DJ to do this.

Laboe stepped away from his work as a DJ and served his country transmitting morse code, sending messages to ships travelling in the South Pacific. When he returned to Southern California and began working at KCMJ in Palm Springs. He was the only broadcaster in town and would often meet with his fans at bars after signing off. He later returned to Los Angeles and began his time at KRKD. While working at KRKD, Laboe got the idea to take his show on the road and broadcast live from a local drive-in, 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 and Art 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 Laboe to play love songs to help win back their significant others. As the popularity grew, Art found a promoter, found a ballroom east of Los Angeles, and through that the El Monte dance hall was formed.