KSAN Live at the Record Plant
By Tom Proctor
This is the most complete and definitive list of KSAN's live broadcasts from the Record Plant in Sausalito. Every show here is researched, verified, and sourced. Where a recording survives, it's linked. Where only a paper trail survives, that's stated plainly.
Collectors have argued for years over what aired, when, and whether a tape exists. This list answers those questions broadcast by broadcast, and flags the few that are still open.
Tom Donahue and the station that changed radio
Tom Donahue walked away from Top 40 AM and rebuilt FM radio in his image. He let albums breathe and let DJs trust their ears. The format went free-form, and KSAN became its home. San Francisco called the station “Jive 95” and made it their own.
Donahue saw the Record Plant as more than a studio. He started airing live performances straight from 2200 Bridgeway. The series ran mostly on Sunday nights under the name “Live From The Plant.” A small invited audience watched while the whole Bay Area listened in real time.
To hear what the station sounded like off the air, a 1971 KSAN aircheck with DJ Ace survives on the Internet Archive — a window into the Jive 95 in full free-form swing.
The room sounded better than most live records. Donahue introduced many of the sets himself, his voice opening the tape. He died in April 1975, and the broadcasts thinned after that. The window he opened was short. What came through it still astonishes.
Shows Donahue personally introduced on the air carry a “Donahue intro” tag below.
KSAN Live at the Record Plant
Click any show title below to open its source recording in a new browser window.
1973
- Old & In The WayMarch 2, 1973
Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, John Kahn. One of the band's first documented performances. The quintet had formed weeks earlier; this is among the earliest recordings of the classic bluegrass lineup.
Donahue called it the band's first live performance. Sammy Hagar's recorded debut.
- Kris KristoffersonApril 22, 1973
Tied to the 72-hour marathon, with Rita Coolidge and Doug Sahm guesting.
- Nick Gravenites & Blue GravyApril 22, 1973
Featuring Paul Butterfield. Released on CD as The Record Plant '73.
- Mike Bloomfield & Mark NaftalinApril 22, 1973
Acoustic set, same night as Nick Gravenites. Official CD on Air Cuts.
Marin blue-eyed soul. Bill Champlin later joined Chicago.
John Cipollina of Quicksilver. Among the band's earliest shows.
- 72 Hour ConcertJune 29 to July 1, 1973no audio
The marathon that launched the series, running June 29 to July 1, 1973. The broadcast list photograph names several of the acts from this window. No consolidated recording exists, though some individual acts from those dates have audio.
- Rowan BrothersJune 29, 1973no audio
Part of the 72-hour marathon window. Attested by the broadcast list photograph for this cluster of dates; no tape has surfaced in any collector tree.
- Joy of CookingJune 30, 1973no audio
One of the first Bay Area bands with a woman as lead guitarist and vocalist. Terry Garthwaite and Toni Brown fronted the group. Part of the 72-hour marathon window; no tape located.
- Sha Na NaJune 30, 1973no audio
The retro rock-and-roll revue, fresh off Woodstock. Part of the 72-hour marathon window. No tape located.
John Cipollina again. Date confirmed as part of the 72-hour marathon window.
- Chambers BrothersJuly 1, 1973no audio
The LA-based soul-rock group known for Time Has Come Today. Part of the 72-hour marathon window. No tape located.
- MaloJuly 1, 1973no audio
Jorge Santana's Latin rock outfit, brothers with Carlos. Top-20 hit with Suavecito in 1972. Part of the 72-hour marathon window. No tape located.
Official CD in 2021. One track later appeared on Well-Matched.
Same night as Garcia and Saunders. Previewed his Let It Flow album.
Official CD pairs this with a 1980 NYC show. The band had just moved to the Bay Area.
- Robin TrowerAugust 11, 1973
Touring Bridge of Sighs. The verified date replaces a long-circulated wrong one, corrected by cross-referencing tour routing against the KSAN broadcast schedule.
- Kinky Friedman & The Texas JewboysAugust 19, 1973
Garcia and Ken Kesey in the audience. Released as Mayhem Aforethought.
- John FaheySeptember 9, 1973no audio
Fahey essentially invented the American primitive guitar style. The Record Plant was an unlikely room for a solo acoustic set. An official CD documents the performance; no free stream has been located.
Most of Talkin' Blues came from this night. The last of the classic Tosh-era Wailers.
- Mingo LewisNovember 9, 1973no audio
Brazilian-influenced percussionist who played with Weather Report and Santana. A natural fit for the Record Plant's Latin-fusion orbit. No tape located.
- Doug Sahm & BandNovember 11, 1973
Soundboard quality, with Augie Meyers and Martin Fierro.
- Linda RonstadtNovember 18, 1973
With Andrew Gold and Skunk Baxter. Host Richard Gossett, not Donahue.
- Bonnie RaittDecember 9, 1973
Touring Takin' My Time. Recorded at the peak of her early Warner Bros. period. The broadcast captures her live slide guitar work before she broke commercially.
- Butterfield's Better DaysDecember 30, 1973
Paul Butterfield with Amos Garrett. Official CD on Klondike.
1974
- Jimmy BuffettFebruary 19, 1974
One of the first live airings of A Pirate Looks at Forty.
- Hugh MasekelaFebruary 24, 1974no audio
The South African trumpeter recorded with the Ghanaian band Hedzoleh Soundz during this period; the resulting album is a landmark of African-American musical exchange. The Record Plant session was broadcast live. Official CD documents it; no free stream located.
Touring their gold debut. Official CD on Klondike.
A year before their debut. White Punks on Dope already in the set.
- Ry CooderJuly 7, 1974
Touring Paradise & Lunch. Excellent pre-FM master.
- Link WraySeptember 25, 1974
Power-chord pioneer. The surviving tape settles an old 1973 misfiling.
- Graham Central StationOctober 3, 1974
Larry Graham's funk band, after Release Yourself.
- The Elvin Bishop GroupOctober 10, 1974no audio
Bishop's second appearance at the Plant, between his Juke Joint Jump and Let It Flow albums. The venue is confirmed via setlist documentation. No tape has surfaced.
Solo set. Blues Project and BS&T founder, then producing the Tubes.
- Jimmy Buffett (with Jerry Jeff Walker)October 24, 1974
Second Buffett broadcast, a looser band show.
- Randy NewmanNovember 4, 1974
Solo piano, touring Good Old Boys.
- Y&T (as Yesterday & Today)November 8, 1974no audio
The Oakland band was still trading as Yesterday & Today when this broadcast aired. Heavy rock, ahead of their major label run. A Rox Vox CD documents the performance; no free stream located.
- Pablo CruiseNovember 10, 1974
A year before their A&M debut. Official KSAN broadcast release exists.
- CaravanNovember 10, 1974
Date disputed: Nov 10 vs Oct 5 vs Oct 15. Held at Nov 10 on the Sunday-broadcast argument.
- Mike BloomfieldNovember 10, 1974no audio
Bloomfield was in his solo years, post-Electric Flag and post-Super Session. The setlist confirms the Plant appearance. He lived in Marin at the time, making the venue a natural stop. No tape located.
- The TubesNovember 21, 1974
Second Tubes broadcast, full 14-track set.
- MontroseDecember 26, 1974
Officially released on the Paper Money deluxe edition.
1975
- Commander Cody & His Lost Planet AirmenFebruary 18, 1975
Aired on KSAN and rebroadcast on WLIR Long Island. Full 17-song set.
- Elvin BishopMarch 26, 1975
With Mickey Thomas a year before Fooled Around and Fell in Love.
- Golden EarringApril 26, 1975
Touring Switch. Among the last Donahue-era broadcasts.
- Nils LofgrenMay 7, 1975
Touring his debut solo album. A separate broadcast from the October Halloween show, confirmed independently by two sources.
- David Bromberg BandJune 18, 1975
Bromberg played guitar, fiddle, and dobro across the set. Known for pulling in guest musicians; the Record Plant was a natural fit.
- Jesse Colin YoungJuly 27, 1975
The Youngbloods founder, solo. Touring Light Shine. The Youngbloods had dissolved two years earlier; this was part of his steady solo run through the mid-70s Bay Area circuit.
- UFOSeptember 23, 1975
Date disputed: archive says Sept 23, setlist.fm says Oct 6. Force It tour.
- CaravanOctober 15, 1975no audio
A second Caravan appearance, separate from the disputed November 1974 date. The Canterbury prog band was active on the US touring circuit through this period. No setlist or tape has been located.
- Rory GallagherOctober 31, 1975
The Record Plant Halloween party, lossless.
- Nils LofgrenOctober 31, 1975
Same Halloween party, with Al Kooper guesting. Became the album Back It Up!!
- Savoy BrownNovember 24, 1975
Touring the Wire Fire era.
- Elvin BishopDecember 11, 1975no audio
Bishop's third documented Plant appearance, by which point Fooled Around and Fell in Love was climbing the charts. The full setlist is on file. No tape located.
- Earth QuakeDecember 22, 1975no audio
The Bay Area hard rock band on A&M, known for their regional following and Levine & Fenton production. The full setlist is documented. No tape located.
1977
- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (with Al Kooper)April 23, 1977
Touring the debut album. Al Kooper guests. Simulcast on KSAN and KWST.
1978
- Warren ZevonJuly 27, 1978
Simulcast on KSAN and KMET. The latest-dated broadcast in the archive. With Waddy Wachtel.
Flagged for further research
- Merl Saunders & FriendsSeptember 2, 1973no audio
A blog lists this separately, but evidence points to the July 8 Garcia and Saunders date. Unconfirmed.
- Mott the HoopleDecember 4, 1974no audio
The band had dissolved and was in the UK. A Sausalito date is near-impossible. Kept for lineage.
- Commander Cody & His Lost Planet AirmenFebruary 7, 1975no audio
An institutional reel catalog gives February 7. The February 18 broadcast is confirmed. These are the same event; the February 7 date is a misfiling.
How this list was built
Martin Porter pointed me to a photograph of what appears to be a handwritten broadcast list — a partial record of what KSAN aired from the Record Plant. It named only a handful of shows around the 72-hour marathon window, but gave this archive its starting point, and a slight breeze of motivation. Porter is the author of Buzz Me In — Inside the Record Plant Studios, and shares material through his Facebook channel and recordplantdiaries.com.
The full method is documented at How the Archive Was Built.
This list covers the KSAN era only. The full database holds more, including studio sessions and the later KFOG broadcasts. Browse it all at the Archive.
- Photograph of a handwritten broadcast list, shared by Martin Porter (Donahue/Porter).
- Internet Archive — KSAN collection
- Guitars101 — KSAN FM/FLAC collector tree
- Wolfgang's Vault
- setlist.fm
- recordplantdiaries.com