The KXLJ TV and radio studios at 2433 N. Montana Avenue, about 1958. This Quonset Hut building has been demolished.

KXLJ (now KTVH) was the first television station in Helena, signing on the air January 1, 1958 as an NBC affiliate. The station was part of the "XL" Radio Network, along with stations KXLF Butte, KXXL Bozeman and KXLY Spokane, Washington.

KXLJ Television Studio, 1959

COURTESY OF THE DON HOFFMAN COLLECTION
VIA WALLY PEEL

In 1961, Bob Magnus and two partners bought the station and changed the call letters to KBLL-TV. In 1969, former Montana Governor Tim M. Babcock bought the station and changed the station's call letters to KTCM (Television for the Capital of Montana).

Babcock sold the station to Lynn Koch in 1979, and the station changed call letters again, this time to KTVG. A few years later, Koch sold the station to Don Bradley, who again changed the call letters to KTVH (TeleVision for Helena), which remain to this day.

By 1988, the station was in financial trouble and Bradley sold it to Big Sky Communications. Big Sky Communications restored the station's financial health, and in 1997 sold KTVH to Beartooth Communications. (This info adapted from the Wikipedia entry about KTVH).

Veteran Helena broadcaster Wally Peel writes:

"The [All Heart] jingles...are from a company called Pepper Tanner . I did a little research and found the 'All Heart' series was produced from 1965 to 1967. The 'Now Sound' Set came out in 1968.

Seems like we would get a new set every two or three years. I imagine they were quite expensive. But a good set of jingles added so much to the station's on-air image.

There wasn't any set interval for changing jingles. We would play a set until it wore out, then get new ones. For many of us it was just like Christmas when a new set of jingles arrived.

About 'Inbeat'...it was a nighttime show of popular music. Ran from 7-10pm. Pepper Tanner did the intro and personalized jingle.

The 'Combat' and 'FBI' takeoffs were done by Tom McMurray, a member of our staff. A very talented young man, Tom was Captain Midnight on KRIZ in Phoenix, and came to Helena as our Sales Manager and TV Program Director in 1967. Tom went on to bigger and better things and became a consultant for big market stations. Sadly, he died in 1999 (KRIZ is the station Doug Sutherland bought when he left Helena.)

The Capri ad was one I wrote and recorded with the help of Carol Burnett liners on disc. Those were all in our sound library. Also included are a few bloopers from Valtron Recording Studio."

Once described as "Helena's Walter Cronkite", Alan 'Al' Keith Johnson, was the preeminent voice of Helena radio for almost 50 years.

Al's rich, warm voice, kindly manner and rock-solid professionalism made him a market mainstay in a notoriously capricious business. Al worked steadily in the Helena market from 1956 to 2004, making many friends along the way. Save for a short stint at KCAP around 1959, Al worked for KXLJ / KBLL.

Al's death in August of 2009 brought forth many stories and tributes, not only from his professional colleagues, but from people who only knew him through his broadcasts. Al had a way of connecting with people.

In addition to his work at KXLJ / KBLL, Al contracted to record commercials for numerous businesses and organizations, often through Sage Advertising of Helena. Some of his commercials aired over thousands of stations nationwide.

Al was famous among his co-workers not only for his perfect diction, but also for his ability to multitask, which is essential in broadcasting. According to Al's long-time co-worker Terry Bass, "He played the ukulele, rolled a cigarette, read the encyclopedia, played records and tended the teletype all at the same time." That may only be a slight exaggeration.

Al famously enjoyed his beer, was an inveterate cigarette smoker, and still lived to the age of 80. He played guitar and ukulele, developed his own photographs, cooked, and kept a garden.

The audio files which are linked to at the bottom of this page (the May 16 1981 Al Johnson Roast and the Aug. 14 2009 "Coffee Break" program) will provide you with the best insight into Al's character and talents, through testimonials by those who knew and worked with him.

Al's Early Years

Although Al hosted and produced numerous local radio shows during his career, many Helena Baby Boomers will fondly recall tuning in to KXLJ at 4:30 pm on weekdays for "Kiddie Corner", hosted by "Uncle Al". The half-hour show featured children's records and occasional mail-in contests.

As a dedicated "Kiddie Corner" listener, your editor still recalls Al commenting, after playing a Burl Ives tune, that Burl "...plays a mean guitar". He didn't talk down to kids, and was always entertaining.

One tune on the "Kiddie Corner" playlist that really stuck in listeners' heads (you'll hear it referenced in the 1981 Al Johnson Roast, linked to below) was Pinto Colvig's "Honkety Hank". You can hear it again by clicking the graphic below...

On May 16 1981, the Last Chance Press Club "roasted" Al Johnson. The event at the Colonial Inn was emceed by Helena broadcast veteran Terry Bass. "Roasters" and other participants include Art Donovan, Wally Peel, Rosetta Kamlowsky, Ron Davison, Bob Carroll, Doug Sutherland, Jimmy Harrington, Bob Howard, Bob Ruby, Les Liedle and Bob Henkel.

Intro by Lester Liedle of Valtron Recording Studio, who recorded the Roast and made copies available.

Thanks to Gladys Davenport for providing the cassette copy of the event, and to Ken Benner in Tucson, Arizona for reviving the old tape and making CD copies.

The Roast is about 90 minutes long, so these are very large mp3 files that will take some time to download...

Special thanks to Walli Johnson, Al's wife, who so kindly agreed to this online tribute, and provided all the wonderful photographs. Many thanks, Walli, and God Bless!

Special thanks also to Wally Peel, who spearheaded the gathering of material for this tribute to Al . Without his efforts, it would have been impossible. Thanks, Wally. You're tops!

"I knew Al personally because I worked with him at KBLL from 1984 to 1986. I started my broadcasting career when I was 21 at KBLL in 1984 when then Program Director Scott Francis hired me.

My actual first memory of Al starts when was about 5 years old. Every night when my mom put me to bed she would turn on Al's show "Classics in the Night" for me to listen to as I drifted off to sleep. Well, when I first met Al a couple of days after I was hired I related that story to him, and he turned to me with a very pained look on his face and said: "Thanks, kid, now I really feel old."

I primarily worked weekends, and almost every Saturday and Sunday we had remote, live broadcasts from Power Townsend. Al was at the Power Townsend end of the broadcast, and I handled things from the studio board end. I must have done 3 to 4 hundred of these broadcasts with Al over the 2 1/2 years that I was at KBLL, and Al would always be ready on the other end when I'd toss it to him (baring any equipment failures), except on one rather memorable occasion.

At the appointed time I did my usual intro, something like: "And now it's time once again to check-in with Al Johnson at Power Townsend to see what juicy deals he's got for us this time....", and then I opened-up the "on-air" channel to the mic on his end, but this time there was nothing there but silence, and some background noise of the store. So I said: "Al, are you there?", which was followed by a few pregnant moments of silence. I then decided that he must be having some technical difficulties, and made some comment on the air to that effect. I was about to move on with something else, when just before I could close his end of the line, I heard the sound of running feet, very faintly, in the background. The sound got louder, and louder, until Al came sliding into the chair at his end, knocking over things on the table he had set up (including the microphone), huffing and puffing to catch his breath. The mic on his end was open the whole time, and all the listeners heard this whole thing. It took Al several moment to recover from his sprint so that he could speak. I took the opportunity to gently give him the needle for being out of position. It turned out that he had lost track of the time, and was at the very back of the store at the appointed time. Al was consummate professional, which is what makes this very uncharacteristic mistake so funny.

I learned a lot about radio from Al . I was saddened when my mother called me here in Seattle, where I now live, to tell me of his passing."