''Breakfast with the Beatles'' is a popular programming segment format on FM

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

in cities in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The segment format typically features one or more hours of programing consisting exclusively of music by or related to

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. Several nationally syndicated variations exist as well as many locally produced versions. Once a month, a live version of the Los Angeles broadcast with Chris Carter, though still recorded for radio, is hosted during an actual brunch at the Kobe Steakhouse & Lounge in

Seal Beach, California Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Seal Beach is located in the w ...

. It is also being broadcast live the last Sunday of the each month, from Morongo Casino, Resort and Spa in Cabazon, California. Program contents include Beatles recordings; solo recordings by former members of the Beatles;

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of songs written or performed by the Beatles or the former members thereof; music by close associates of the Beatles, such as

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

, and the children of members of the band; music by artists that influenced the Beatles; music by musicians who personally knew or played with members of the group; news, features, and interviews related to the Beatles, former members and associates; family members; and interviews with experts on Beatle history and trivia.

History

Disc Jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

Helen Leicht created, hosted and produced an early version of ''Breakfast with the Beatles'' on WIOQ in Philadelphia beginning in 1976 and running through 1989; when WIOQ changed formats, Leicht moved the program to station WMGK. Disc jockeys and program directors at other stations picked up the idea and variations on a Beatles-themed programming block appeared throughout the US. The concept proved a good fit for morning programming (particularly on weekends) and so the ''Breakfast'' name, or a variant, was often used. The all-Beatles format was further popularized by such nationally syndicated programs as ''Ticket to Ride'', hosted by

Scott Muni Scott Muni (May 10, 1930 – September 28, 2004) was an American disc jockey, who worked at the heyday of the AM Top 40 format and then was a pioneer of FM progressive rock radio. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine termed him "legendary". Early life ...

in the 1980s.

Local productions

Radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

s which feature, or have featured a ''Breakfast with the Beatles'' program include:

WXRT WXRT (93.1 FM), also known as XRT and 93-XRT is an adult album alternative (AAA) radio station in Chicago, Illinois. For many years, their slogan has been "Chicago's Finest Rock". "Chicago's Home For Music Lovers" has been used as its slogan si ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, WMGK in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, WGRF in Buffalo, WMXJ in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

/ Ft. Lauderdale, KMET in Los Angeles, KLSX in Los Angeles, KCBS-FM in Los Angeles,

KLOS Klos or KLOS may refer to: * Klos (surname) * Klos, Dibër, a town in eastern Albania ** Harketari Klos KF, a defunct football club based in Klos, Dibër * Klos, Elbasan, a village in central Albania * Klos, Mallakastër, a village in south-central ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

KSLX-FM KSLX-FM is a Classic rock radio station serving the Phoenix, Arizona area. The Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. outlet broadcasts at 100.7 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW and is licensed to Scottsdale, Arizona. KSLX simulcasts in digital HD Radio. I ...

in Phoenix, Arizona, WZLX in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, WAXQ Q104.3 in New York, WGRX (now known as WZBA) in Baltimore, WQXA in Harrisburg/York Pennsylvania,

WYUU WYUU (92.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting from Safety Harbor, Florida and serving the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida area. The station airs a Latin Pop format branded as "Maxima FM." Owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, its studios are in St. P ...

and also WMTX in the

Tampa Bay Area The Tampa Bay area is a major populated area surrounding Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the Unite ...

, WBIK in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, Ohio, WTUE in

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

, Ohio, KQMT in Denver, KZOK in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, WTIX in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, The Walrus FM in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

(serving

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

), WZOM FM in Defiance, Ohio, hosted by Bob (Krouse) James and WEXT in

Albany, NY Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

. The longest-running version of the show is on

WICB WICB (91.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve Ithaca, New York, United States. Established in 1947, the station is owned by Ithaca College. WICB broadcasts an alternative music format to the greater Ithaca area. Along with alternative mu ...

in Ithaca, which has been airing weekly since 1980.

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

Pete Best Randolph Peter Best (né Scanland; born 24 November 1941) is an English musician known as the drummer of the English rock band the Beatles who was dismissed immediately prior to the band achieving worldwide fame. Fired from the group in 1962 ...

Olivia Harrison Olivia Trinidad Harrison (née Arias; born May 18, 1948) is an American author and film producer, and the widow of English musician George Harrison of the Beatles. She first worked in the music industry in Los Angeles, for A&M Records, where sh ...

and

have all been guests on the version of the show in Los Angeles, which was dropped in 2006 by KLSX-FM, but picked up by 95.5 KLOS in November 2006.

and Spencer Davis along with Beach Boys Brian Wilson and Mike Love also frequently called into the Tampa Bay's WYUU U92 92.5 fm 1988 to 1999 show with Dr. Chuck Stevens as the host. Dr. Chuck Stevens was also awarded a RIAA Gold and Platinum album awards from Capitol Records for "The Beatles Anthology" also credited as the first American radio personality to debut the Capitol Records Single "Free As A Bird" (Documented) The Los Angeles show is currently hosted by longtime Beatles expert Chris Carter, who replaced the late Deirdre O'Donoghue in 2001.

National productions

In 2008, Chris Carter took ''Breakfast With The Beatles'' to the

Underground Garage ''Underground Garage'' is the name shared by two related but different radio outlets, a syndicated show and a satellite radio station, both created and supervised by American musician Steven Van Zandt (best known as a guitarist in Bruce Springst ...

channel on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

satellite radio. Carter's Sirius XM version of ''Breakfast with the Beatles'' was the only officially EMI/

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

-sanctioned Beatles show on the air. With the launch of The Beatles Channel in 2017, Carter's program moved to that station. However, he still hosts the Los Angeles local version of the show on KLOS, which is not the same version as the one on Sirius XM, on Sunday mornings. A syndicated version of the program format, ''Dennis Mitchell's Breakfast With The Beatles'', is carried on radio stations throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Mitchell, a member of the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame, had hosted a local version of the program at KKLZ in Las Vegas for 11 years prior to moving to syndication in early 2002. Mitchell's guests have included Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, Brian Wilson, Geoff Emerick,

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

, and many others. As of 2013, the show's ad sales were being handled by United Stations Radio Networks. It is distributed by DOR Productions, Inc. of Las Vegas. The show's flagship station is

KTYD KTYD (99.9 FM, pronounced "K-Tide") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Santa Barbara, California and serves Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. The station is owned by Rincon Broadcasting and airs a classic rock format. KTYD is ...

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning " Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West ...

. There are also four other all-Beatles radio formats that air on a commercial basis nationally, although with slightly modified names:
The Brunch with Joe Johnson
' (known as ''Beatle Brunch'' for much of its history) is distributed by

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...

and

Radio Express Radio Express is an independent radio syndication company based in Pasadena, California, whose main focus is in markets outside the United States, U.S. The company was founded by Tom Rounds, one of the creators of ''American Top 40''. Radio Expres ...

. A different ''Beatle Brunch'' is heard Sunday mornings at 10:00am EDT on ''https://www.xersradio.com''. Bob Malik's ''The Beatle Years'' is carried by

Compass Media Networks Compass Media Networks is an American radio network. The company launched in January 2009. It is owned by former Westwood One CEO and former COO of Connoisseur Media, Peter Kosann. The company focuses on radio and offers representation and m ...

. Pat Matthews hosts ''Beatles-a-Rama'', which also operates as a 24/7 Internet stream with full staffing (the 24/7 Beatles-a-Rama channel also carries Mitchell's ''Breakfast with the Beatles''). For

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

and

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

radio stations, Ken Michaels hosts ''Every Little Thing''. The longest-running Beatles themed radio program outside of the United States is ''BeatlesandBeyond'' presented by Pete Dicks of England. ''BeatlesandBeyond'' airs in the United Kingdom, United States, England, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates. It is not only recognized by Apple Corps., but is the only radio show recommended by Liverpool's award winning '' Beatles Story Exhibition''. The worldwide audience of ''BeatlesandBeyond'' is estimated to be in excess of 200,000 weekly from over 50 countries. In

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, where The Beatles were formed, Ian Kennedy hosts ''The Late Late Beatles Show'' on

BBC Radio Merseyside BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC's local radio station serving Merseyside. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds, from studios on Hanover Street in Liverpool. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 203,000 ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Baja California, Mexico/San Diego Breakfast With The Beatles official site

Los Angeles Breakfast With The Beatles official site

Joe Johnson's Beatle Brunch

Example at KQMT Denver-Boulder

Example at WXRT Chicago

Example at WTUE Dayton, Ohio

Example at KLOS Los Angeles

Dennis Mitchell's BWTB

Andre Gardner WMGK Philadelphia Breakfast With The Beatles
American music radio programs Radio programmes about the Beatles