Nick's Radio Corner

WKDA Nashville Jocks 1961

2012-01-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

A snapshot of the WKDA staff in the early 1960s. WKDA was one of the first Top 40 stations in Nashville, and all of jocks here went on to great radio careers. Click to enlarge pic, and learn a lot more about WKDA's Top 40 days by visiting here.

KCBQ San Diego Survey January 1 1971

2012-01-02T17:04:00.000-08:00

Let's start off the new year with a look forty years back to January 1, 1971, and the KCBQ San Diego survey, another find from Timmy! This special issue had a two page black and white insert, featuring the KCBQ jocks, the week's top 30, and the top 100 hits of 1970. Click to enlarge and enjoy!

Get Stung By the Bee! Mel Bee WRVU Nashville TN

2011-12-28T18:13:00.000-08:00

Mel Bee was a DJ on WRVU, the Vanderbilt campus radio station, from 1971 to about 1975. One of WRVU's classic lineup of block programming specialty jocks, he was the king of soul. Mel loved being on the air, as this pic shows. Click to enjoy larger!

WFIL Philadelphia Survey Aug 28 1967

2011-11-27T15:50:00.001-08:00

Another jammin' survey from Famous 56, at the height of the 60s music explosion. Click to enlarge, or right click and open in new window for the largest versions.

Wolfman Jack at WLAC Nashville

2011-10-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

Brian Mason of WLAC sent in this shot of the Wolfman sitting in the WLAC-AM car, "The Honker", in the late 70s.

WKZL Winston-Salem Andrew Gold Contest

2011-10-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

Back in 1976, Andrew Gold released his album, "What's Wrong With This Picture?", which ended up producing his breakthrough hit, "Lonely Boy." Elektra Records started a radio station contest across the country, asking listeners to spot the 43 things wrong on the album cover. Here's a large scan of the cover, see how many you can find. As always, click to enlarge, or control click to open in a new window.

WKZL Nick Archer Apr 27 1977 Andrew Gold Winners by cranched

Bonus! Click above to listen to the contest winner announced on WKZL by Scott Derringer (Chuck Holloway) and Nick Archer on April 27 1977. Thanks for listening and drive carefully!

When Satellites Attack! CKLW Radio Promo

2011-09-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

When faced with the imminent reentry of the Skylab satellite, the promo department at CKLW hired legendary announcer Paul Frees to voice their promo for the "I Survived Skylab" hard hats the station was giving away. When's the last time you heard a promo this good on your favorite station?

WMAK Nashville Survey October 19 1969

2011-09-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

WMAK survey from 1969. Jock Joe Sullivan later started his own concert promotion company, Sound 70. Click to enlarge, survey courtesy of Wes Green.

WFIL Philadelphia Survey May 27 1968

2011-09-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

Another classic WFIL survey, click to enlarge.

WRCP Philadelphia Surveys September 25 & October 2, 1967

2011-08-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

More from Philadelphia's Country Giant of the 60s, WRCP. Click to enlarge.

WIBG Philadelphia Survey from November 20, 1967

2011-08-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

Another classic survey from WIBG Philadelphia. This one features Billy Joel's group The Hassles at #77, The Kit-Kats at #44, and Thorinsheild(?) at #79. Click to enlarge. Also note #9 is Victor Lundberg's "An Open Letter To My Teenage Son", and #86 is, "A Letter To Dad", from Every Fathers Teenage Son. Cheaper than stamps, I guess. Wait, weren't stamps 3 cents?

You'll Never Get Rich In Radio Handbook - 1977

2011-07-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

Back in 1977 I was two years into my first real radio job at WKZL Winston-Salem NC. One of the big thrills for me was working with one of my boyhood idols, Steve Norris of WTOB. That year the station staff came over for a surprise birthday party. Linda Norris, at that time married to Steve, gave me the following birthday card:

I didn't know it at the time, but this was the best radio training that I'd get! I'm posting a couple of the 12 pages below, and you can click them to enlarge, but you can download the entire card as a .pdf file by clicking here.

Here's a shot of Linda Norris at the birthday party. She's the one on the left. Linda later worked for a advertising agency in the Triad. I've since lost touch with her, but I won't forget her or her advice.

WKDA Nashville Concert Poster

2011-06-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

WKDA and WMAK duked it out in the 60s for listeners. Here's a poster for a WKDA concert at the Nashville Fairgrounds with the Lovin' Spoonful, The Turtles, The Cyrkle, B.J. Thomas, Lou Christie, and local faves the Nashville Shadows, all for $2.25. Click to enlarge.

Radio Station Belt Buckles

2011-06-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

Back in the 70s and 80s, belt buckles were a popular giveaway item at radio stations, I guess to hold up those wide belt jeans. Here are a few that survived, click to enlarge.

RTL was 208 Radio Luxembourg, from 1980. WSM Radio 65 is from the same time at the Nashville country station. WLAC was Top 40 in Nashville and featured the famous sun logo. WQXI was from the late 70s in Atlanta.

Did your favorite station give away belt buckles?

WKXI-FM Jackson Mississippi Survey October 16 1971

2011-05-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

Wayne Edwards sends along this survey from the all-new WKXI-FM in Jackson, Mississippi, 1971. He's the jock on the bottom of each survey page. Wow! This is some hard-core soul. Click either image to enlarge. UPDATE *** Listen to Wayne's aircheck from 1972 by clicking here.

Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame

2011-05-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

There's a brand new organization celebrating and honoring the broadcasters and stations of Tennessee. The Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame was formed this year by Lee Dorman. Plans for the future include an awards banquet, exhibit space for Tennessee memorabilia, and induction of historic broadcasters to the Hall of Fame. Click here to visit the website.

I'm the contact person for collecting airchecks, photos, and anything else for the museum.
Let's kick off the fun with a lot of photos of Tennessee radio people in the studio! Click any image to enlarge.

Keith Bilbrey of WSM-AM, FM, TV, and Opry announcer.

Captain Midnight, Roger Schutt, on WMAK, 1967.

Chappel Fisher of WSIX-FM, here at radio station WJXA, Oldies 96.3

"Dashing" Dave Hampton at Vanderbilt University radio station WRVU, 1971.

Hawk Harrelson of Y107, WYHY, in 1990.

Newsman Buddy Sadler with "Miss Fire Prevention", from WKDA-AM, 1969.

Charlie Daniels and Tom Bootle, WKDF-FM.

Dale Turner and Debbie "DJ" Jones, WKDA from 1978.

Hey, it's me! Nick Archer at WKQB (WLAC-FM), doing album rock in 1979.

Like Post Records, more to come....

WFIL Philadelphia Survey May 13 1968

2011-05-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Another WFIL survey from May 1968. Click to enlarge.

SM95 WSM-FM Nashville Rainbow Sticker 1982

2011-05-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here's the second iconic sticker logo from SM95, WSM-FM Nashville in 1982. This appeared on all sorts of merchandise that the station sold and gave away, replacing all stuff with the old logo that you see Program Director Donna Brake selling below:

ADVERTISEMENT: A couple of years ago I set up a cafepress shop to sell SM95 swag. If you're into it, take a look: http://www.cafepress.com/SM95

WIBG Philadelphia Survey July 31 1967

2011-04-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Mark Ford Aircheck from WINN Louisville KY 1961

2011-04-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

Here's another aircheck from the radio career of David Ford. It's 1961 and David is Mark Ford on WINN radio Louisville Kentucky. The station is old time easy listening. Click here to hear the aircheck, and enjoy some vintage jingles, and fine voicework from David.

If you missed David's earlier posts, click here to catch up.

WGRD Grand Rapids MI Survey May 27 1970 and Aircheck

2011-04-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

Another find from Timmy! An awesome WGRD survey and aircheck from Wayne Thomas, later known as China Smith. Click to enlarge, click here to hear the aircheck!

WAPE Jacksonville FL Post Records Album

2011-04-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

Post Records was based in Philadelphia, and during the 1960s packaged and sold localized record albums for Top 40 stations around the country. Here's the WAPE Jacksonville Florida album. Judging from the selections, this was an early 70s release. Click each image to enlarge.

Post would always put the current jock lineup on the back of the record, making it a snapshot in time of the staff. WAPE's crew on this one is Jack McCoy, Larry Dixon, Mike Wingfield, Teddy Bear, Jay Thomas, and David London. Did Jay Thomas work EVERYWHERE?

For more on Post Records and to see many more albums, go to Lisa Wheeler's site here.
She is the authority on radio station vinyl.

WPAW Pawtucket RI Tie Clip

2011-04-06T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting piece of radio station swag. It's a tie clip from WPAW Pawtucket Rhode Island from the early 60s. These were probably given out to the sales staff, as the YCDBSOYA stands for "You Can't Do Business Sitting On Your Ass". Click to enlarge, or click here to learn more about WPAW.

KGW Portland OR Survey August 21 1970

2011-03-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

Another find from Timmy, click to enlarge.

Where's The Beef song from Coyote McCloud WWKX Gallatin TN

2011-03-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

Coyote McCloud has been a Nashville institution since the 1960s. A recent billboard for Oldies 96.3 in Nashville had a picture of Coyote and the caption "He played them when they were new!" In 1984 he got the idea to do a record using the Wendy's slogan "Where's the Beef?" from their popular TV commercial starring Clara Peller. Coyote recorded the song with the help of his radio sidekick Jim Gossett, who wrote the lyrics and did the Clara Peller voice.

Wendy's national got a hold of the record and gave it their blessing, which let them replace Jim's voice with the real Clara Peller audio from the commercials. The record became very popular, enough so that Coyote left his morning radio gig to become the next Rick Dees.

He later returned to the Nashville airwaves until a couple of years ago when health issues forced a retirement. Jim Gossett still does standup, corporate comedy shows, and is the official parody artist of the Lars Larson radio show.

Are you ready to travel back to 1984? Listen to "Where's The Beef?" by clicking here.

UPDATE: Coyote McCloud passed away April 6, 2011 from liver failure. He worked at classic stations like WMAK Nashville, WQXI Atlanta, WSM-AM, KX104, Y107, Oldies 96.3 and Star 97.1.

WFIL Philadelphia Survey April 29 1968

2011-03-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Here's another WFIL Philadelphia survey from early 1968, just before the psychedelic makeover. Click to enlarge, and notice local favorites the Kit-Kats performing all around the area for Gimbels Department Store, and the Sands Of Time for Wanamakers Department Store.

WXYZ Detroit Survey Site

2011-03-26T04:16:00.000-07:00

Jim Heddle has posted a number of great surveys at his blog here. A couple of examples are below, click to enlarge.

KWOW Pomona CA Survey

2011-03-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

Thanks again to Timmy for this survey from KWOW in Pomona, California. Click to enlarge, and learn more about KWOW here.

WIBG Philadelphia Survey November 06 1967

2011-03-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

This survey may contain the peak number of genres ever played on one station. The late 60s saw the coexistence of rock, pop, soul, surf, british, classic pop, jazz, and local rock on surveys from around the country. WIBG's Top 99 had room for Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Dusty Springfield, Joe Tex, Cher, Keith, Beach Boys, and Ramsey Lewis and Hugh Masakela, and on the air as well. It was truly a melting pot of music that doesn't exist today. Click to enlarge.

WLAC Nashville Christmas Card from Hoss Allen

2011-02-12T15:52:00.000-08:00

I worked with Hoss Allen at WLAC in the 1980s, and later worked with him in my studio doing voiceovers for commercials. One Christmas he sent me a card. Click to enlarge.

WSM Nashville Promo Package 1974 Part 3

2011-02-12T15:07:00.000-08:00

Here are the final scans from the 1974 WSM sales package. There were three individual pamphlets on the left side of the package as you opened it:

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Here's the inside of the City folder.

The Country folder.

And the FM side. This was before the adult contemporary years, WSM-FM was still playing beautiful music.

There you have it. A snapshot in time from 1974 and the WSEmpire, as we used to call it. Thanks again to Wes Green of WSM for providing this look back in time.

WIBG Philadelphia Survey July 03 1968

2011-02-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

Another WIBG survey from 1968. They only list 30 songs, but local favorites like Cliff Nobles and the Fantastic Johnny C are still charting, along with Barbara Greene. Click to enlarge.

Rock 103 Columbus Georgia Button

2011-02-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a Rock 103 button from the mid to late 70s. I'm not sure, but I think it's from WVRK in Columbus, Georgia. Please leave a comment if you know more.

WFIL Philadelphia Survey August 7 1967

2011-01-22T15:51:00.000-08:00

WFIL had the playlist down to 56 songs in 1967, but they still have lots of room for the local acts the Kit Kats, Bunny Sigler, Chuck Wood, and the Soul Survivors. DJ Jerry Blavat had his own TV show, the subject of a post to come. Click to enlarge as always.

Donny Osmond at WLAC Nashville May 1978

2011-01-21T04:55:00.000-08:00

Here's a group shot for the ages. WLAC, which at the time was Top 40, had their spring party at the Centennial Park Bandshell in Nashville in May 1978. It was a day long promo event, with many local bands on hand, and most of the WLAC jocks. Highlight of the day was an appearance by Donny Osmond. He honored an old booking, which was amazing because he was on his honeymoon at the time. A limo picked he and his wife up at the airport and brought them to the event for a half hour. Click to enlarge pic.

L-R David Page as the KQBee, Stu Evans (now of KMEL Phoenix), Captain Sunshine, Bob Robison, Eva Wood, Donny, PD Mark Damon, Mike Shane, and Smokey Rivers.

Here's one more never before published pic of the KQBee and the WLAC Prize Van from this event.

KYMS Santa Ana CA Survey February 8 1971

2011-01-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

Timmy strikes again with this survey from KYMS in 1971. KYMS looks to be almost free-form, and would change into the country's first full time Christian station later in the decade. As always, click to enlarge.

WSM Nashville Promo Package 1974 Part 2

2010-12-31T15:25:00.000-08:00

Time for part 2 of the WSM 1974 Sales Promotion Package. Thanks again to Wes Green for the goodies. Here are scans of the interior pages, one for each show throughout the dayparts. Click on any pic to enlarge.

The broadcast day started with John McDonald and the farm report. He was so popular as a commercial spokesman that he charged sponsors on his show $3 for every time each spot aired.

Ted Johnson was the morning man, smooth and knowledgeable with a great radio voice. He later owned a television production studio, and was the national voice of Lenscrafters for years. Listen to an aircheck of Ted from 1976 here.

I believe WSM was the last station in the country to have a live band in the studio each morning. The band members would do the morning radio show, the midday TV show, then roll down the hill to the bars, where I got to know a lot of them.

What can you say about Ralph Emery? A legend.

Teddy Bart started out as a piano player, but quickly became a radio star in the talk arena. He is still active today.

Pat Sajak started in radio as a comedy writer in Chicago. His afternoon radio show was in the same league as Dr. Don Rose, with many groan-inducing puns. Pat also was a live booth announcer for WSM TV, and a weekend weatherman. He left in 1975 to do the weather in Los Angeles, an experience I think Steve Martin used in L.A. Story.

Remember when radio stations had real news departments? WSM and WLAC were always locked in battle for ratings and news scoops.

Hairl Hensley knows more about country music than anyone. His mellow voice on the radio and as an announcer on the Grand Ole Opry was the touchstone for many listeners. You can't think about Martha White Flour without thinking of Hairl.

Cap'n Jim and Flight 65 had the most popular air traffic reports in town for many years. Jim eventually took his plane to San Diego, where he was equally popular. In each city he ran out of fuel in the air at least once, and glided down to safety in a field. Flight 65 was later manned by long time reporter and policeman Richard Thomas, who switched to a copter.

Tom Bryant was a true production master. He came up through ham radio, so he knew the technical end cold. He also had one of the best voices ever, in the "Voice of God" catagory. And he could make spots. He would always call my commercial sound studio and let me know when my azimuth was off on the tape dubs. Find out more about Tom on his website here.

Part 3 will be posted soon.

Wayne Ashworth's WTOB Memories

2010-12-29T18:54:00.000-08:00

WTOB 1380 Winston-Salem NC was one of the best sounding Top 40 stations around from the 60s on. Jocks like George Lee, Willie Edwards, The Flying Dutchman, and later Rick Dees and Steve Norris kept the station ahead of rival WAIR. News Director Wayne Ashworth published these photos on Facebook, and they're reposted here with his permission.

Ralph Beavers and Wayne Ashworth in front of the WTOB studios in the Thruway Plaza.

Bob Dale at the board.

"Wild Child" Willie Edwards on the air at WTOB.

WTOB digs Reynolds High School pennant

Tiny Tim in the studio with WTOB jock Steve Norris.

Long time jock Buddy Latham with a great board shot.

WTOB promotional materials. I wonder what that record is.

Thanks again to Wayne Ashworth, WTOB News Director, seen here from 1969.

WKDA Nashville Survey November 01, 1969

2010-12-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

Another WKDA Top 40 survey from late 1969. Note the jocks Jay Thomas, now famous jock and actor, and Don Sullivan, who later became a concert promoter at Sound 70. Click to enlarge, as always.

WIBG Philadelphia Survey March 25 1963

2010-12-05T18:46:00.000-08:00

Another Top 99 survey from Wibbage. Note Don L. Brink on the bottom, soon to be known as Scotty Brink. Study the groups in the survey carefully, in less than a year the Beatles would arrive and many of these groups would never chart again.

Click to enlarge, thanks to Scotty for the scan.

WKDF Nashville John Lennon Tribute Dec 9 1980

2010-12-03T16:18:00.000-08:00

The day after the death of John Lennon, local group The Piggys played a rooftop concert in his honor at the WKDF building near downtown Nashville. The crowd was still in shock, but the music was great. Here's a couple of pics that I took with my 110 camera. Click to enlarge.

It was a very good tribute to John. The Piggys were Tom Deluca, Howie Watson, and Ronnie Brooks (later a Budweiser frog). Check out one of their YouTube videos here.

WFIL Philadelphia Survey April 22 1968

2010-11-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

SM95 WSM-FM Hall & Oates Photo 1982

2010-11-28T09:09:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Donna Brake for this grip & grin shot from the early 80s. Donna was Program Director for SM95, WSM-FM in Nashville. Click to enlarge.

WKQB Nashville Concert Calendar July 28 1978

2010-11-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

At WKQB Nashville in 1978, it was one of my jobs to do the Concert Calendar, later to become the KQB Street Sheet. Here's the very first issue, hopefully my graphic design skills have increased since then. Click to enlarge.

WSM Nashville Promo Package 1974 Part 1

2010-11-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

Wes Green, former WSM and WLAC DJ, shares this insert brochure from a WSM promo package sent out in the early 1970s. The whole package is many pages, but here's the beginning. Click on any image to enlarge.

WIBG Philadelphia Survey September 25 1967

2010-11-19T17:51:00.000-08:00

Another WIBG survey from just after the Summer Of Love. I really like the Clairol ad. "The Girl From Uncurl". Get it? Click to enlarge.

WLS Chicago Survey December 21, 1970

2010-11-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

Big 89 Survey here from Scotty Brink. Click to enlarge.

KGMB Honolulu Hawaii Survey July 17 1972

2010-11-17T04:38:00.000-08:00

Where does he get all these wonderful surveys? Thanks again to Timmy for this one from KGMB radio in Honolulu. Click to enlarge!

Scott Shelton's Wall of Radio Stickers

2010-11-15T19:23:00.000-08:00

Got this picture a while back from a good friend, Scott Shelton. Scott lives in Middle Tennessee, but the radio stations are from all over the country. Click to enlarge!

As Scott says, "Now it's art!"

WMAK Nashville Survey Aug 19 1970

2010-11-15T19:09:00.000-08:00

Another great survey from WMAK Nashville. I bet the Nashville Music Festival was the only time The Illusion appeared with Robin McNamara. Click pics to enlarge.

David Ford at KLTI Longview TX 1957

2010-11-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here's another shot passed along from David Ford, who was featured in an earlier post. 1957 is the year and we're at the board at KLTI, Longview, Texas. Click to enlarge.

WFIL Philadelphia Survey April 10 1967

2010-11-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

KCBQ San Diego Survey and China Smith aircheck August 07 1970

2010-11-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Timmy again for this KCBQ San Diego survey from 1970 featuring China Smith. Click to enlarge each pic. Timmy also provided an excellent China Smith aircheck that you can hear by clicking this link.

WRCP Philadelphia Battle of the Giants Survey June 1968

2010-10-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Here's WRCP in Philadelphia's Top 200 songs of all time as of June 1968. This one is too big to do an audio version, so click to enlarge and study.

KHJ Los Angeles Survey Sept 17 1969

2010-10-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a survey from KHJ Los Angeles featuring Scotty Brink, one of the greatest radio guys of all time. He's been a jock, programmer, voiceover and id announcer, and even a station owner. Enjoy this survey from 1969 and thanks to Scotty for the scan. Click to enlarge, audio version is here.

WIBG Philadelphia Survey September 11 1967

2010-10-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Another great survey from WIBG. Notice the wide variety of artists in the Top 99. Local group the Kit Kats are at #44 and #80 with their name spell backward.
Click to enlarge, audio version is here.

WFOM Marietta Survey May 21 1967

2010-10-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Another survey from WFOM Marietta, Georgia, a station that had a loyal fan base even in competition against WQXI mere miles away. Click to enlarge, audio version here.

SM95 The Music FM Nashville 1976-1983

2010-10-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

SM95, WSM-FM Nashville, was a unique station for the late 70s and early 80s, blending a mixture of pop, west coast rock, oldies, light jazz, and even contemporary Christian music into a format that captured young adult listeners for years. John Young was the first program director, followed by Mary Catherine Sneed, Donna Brake, and Bruce Sherman. Here's a group shot from the 80s.

Back row is newsman Mike Donegan, jocks Gary Beaty and Karen Gerson, Gary Wright, Iris Wray, and jocks Bruce Sherman, Donna Brake, Steve Henderson, unknown, and Andy Pearson. Front row CBS promo guy and jock Kris Bradley. Click here to hear a 5 minute aircheck of Steve Henderson on SM95.

Several years ago there was an SM95 reunion party in Franklin, Tennessee. Jock Skip Woolwine edited this video of the event:

WFIL Philadelphia Survey Jan 15 1968

2010-09-29T16:51:00.000-07:00

Another fine WFIL survey from early 1968. Click to enlarge, audio version here.

Nashville My Hometown PAMS Record and More

2010-09-29T16:44:00.000-07:00

I wondered if there was a Nashville version of the My Home Town song from PAMS. Turns out a friend of mine had the record! Click here to listen.

WKDA didn't sell the whole concept, but they did sell the B side of the record. Here's the story of Elm Hill Bill.

PAMS jingle company has a page with more examples. And here are a few more versions,

Portland Maine, Louisville Kentucky, and Austin Texas.

KCBQ San Diego Survey March 29, 1964

2010-09-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

Just in time for John Lennon's birthday, Timmy sends us the KCBQ survey from March 19, 1964. Click to enlarge, audio version is here.

PAMS Winston-Salem My Hometown Record

2010-09-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Listen to or download "Winston-Salem My Hometown"

Here's a slice of retro for you. PAMS jingle company in Dallas made this generic song available to local radio stations around the country in the 60's. The station would find a local sponsor, write some lyrics, and presto!, a local hit.

There were over a hundred localized versions of this record, all recorded in Dallas. Radio Use Only blog has an amazingly complete story for you to read.

Bonus retroness: Thalhimer's Department Store was the local sponsor for this record through the local Top 40 station 1380 WTOB. Here's where you might have stumbled upon this record back then.

WKZL Winston-Salem Arbitron Numbers 1976

2010-09-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

I walked into WKZL in Winston-Salem in January 1975, the day that WSGH became WKZL. The station was one of the first commercial album rock formats in North Carolina, and within one year was the overall #1 in listeners. The format was a loose mixture of rock, jazz, top 40 songs and some oldies. Just a step away from free-form, you could hear Sky King's "Secret Sauce" next to Hall & Oates, or a Donovan oldie next to Triumverat's "Spartacus". Jocks during the first two years included Alan Cameron, Randy Kabrich, Steve Day, Bruce Key, Reid Stott, Ron Spivey, Jerry Smith, Steve Marshall, Mitch Clarke, Lee Cameron, Nick Archer, Steve Norris, and Kitty Kinnin. There was a great production staff as well, consisting of Jack Shaw and Rowell Gormon.

Here's an aircheck of Alan Cameron reporting live from the Led Zeppelin concert at the Greensboro Coliseum in 1975. We couldn't get tickets from the record company because we were so new, but the Zep was so loud outside the Coliseum that Alan sounded like he was front and center. Thanks to Keith Weston for this aircheck. Listen here.

Want to see the whole six page Arbitron report? Download the pdf file here.

Here's a pic of Alan Cameron. It's blurry, just like much of the 70s.

WIBG Philadelphia Top 99 Songs of 1967

2010-09-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here's the year-end survey from WIBG Philadelphia with the Top 99 Songs of 1967. Click to enlarge, audio version here.

WMAK Nashville Survey February 18 1970

2010-09-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

WMAK Super Hit Survey from February 1970, with a Scott Shannon contest, and Nashville rockers the Exiles performing at the Nashville Auto Show. Life was good. Click any sheet to enlarge, audio version is here.

WEAM Arlington VA Alix Allies Club Card 1966

2010-09-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

Jack Alix on WEAM in 1966 rode the James Bond wave of popularity with his Alix Allies Club. Here's my membership card in good standing. Click to enlarge.

WLAC Nashville Survey July 31 1967

2010-09-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

Here's what WLAC Nashville was doing in the Summer Of Love. Not Top 40, but not entirely easy listening anymore. Thanks to Mae Ambrose for this image. Click to enlarge, audio version is here.

WFIL Philadelphia Survey July 24 1967

2010-09-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

Another WFIL survey from the Summer Of Love. Click to enlarge, audio version is here.

Roseanne Cash at SM95 WSM-FM Nashville 1982

2010-09-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a shot of Roseanne Cash in the SM95 news booth. Donna Brake is doing the interview. This is a rare shot of the newsbooth, which was remodeled and then destroyed when the station left the Knob Hill location of WSMV-TV. Thanks to Donna for the photo, click to enlarge.

BONUS! WIBG Philadelphia Wibbage Button

2010-09-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

WIBG had the nickname Wibbage, and handed out a lot of buttons in the late 60s. Here's a scan of mine, click to enlarge.

WIBG Philadelphia Survey February 06 1967

2010-09-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a monster Top 99 Records of the Week survey from WIBG Philadelphia, with the usual wonderful selection of genres and songs. Click to enlarge, audio version is here.

Harry Chapin at WKQB Nashville Oct 1978

2010-09-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Harry Chapin made a Nashville appearance in October 1978. He had a concert at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym, and did a press conference at the Exit-In on behalf of world hunger. He also found time to play us in softball. In the photo along the back row are WKQB staffers Susan Stone, the KQBee, Nick Archer, PD Ron Lake, and DJ Jones. Harry Chapin used a pickup team of Vandy cheerleaders that you see in the pic, and beat us severely. Click pic to enlarge.

Harry made the cover and inside of our next WKQB Street Sheet. See below. Click here for the audio version.

WMAK Nashville Survey Nov 19 1969

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Click to enlarge. Audio version is here.

KQWB Fargo ND Survey July 02 1968

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Click to enlarge. Audio version is here. Thanks to Timmy for this survey!

WMAK Nashville Tiger Radio Survey December 21 1962

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All the records and a Teen Queen too! Click to enlarge. Click here to listen to audio version.

WTOB Winston-Salem NC QSL Card

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WTOB in Winston-Salem North Carolina was the first AM station that I listened to as a teen in 1965. Years later I lived in Willingboro, New Jersey, but still cruised the noisy upper AM band for odd stations. One evening among the jumble I heard the familiar sounds of WTOB fading in and out. I wrote the station with info and got this card in the mail. Click to enlarge:

Pat Sajak on WSM-AM Radio December 1, 1975

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Prior to Wheel of Fortune, Pat Sajak was the afternoon DJ on WSM-AM in Nashville from 1974-1977. He also was the booth announcer for WSM TV 4, and worked weekends as a weatherman. Here's Pat featured on the front of the WSM music brochure, and here is Pat on the air from December 1, 1975. You'll hear Pat's humor and timing as he jocks and reads commercials. Thanks to Mike Bohan of WSM for the aircheck.

Click to enlarge pic and click here to listen to Pat Sajak.

WFIL Philadelphia Survey May 06 1968

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Another Boss survey from WFIL. Click any image to enlarge. Audio version is here.

Peter Noone at WKDA Nashville 1965

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From the nashradio group at Yahoo:

WIBG Philadelphia Survey July 17 1967

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Another Top 99 survey from WIBG Philadelphia. Click any image to enlarge. Audio version is here.

Rock 106 WKQB Nashville License Plate

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WLAC-FM switched to a Lee Abrams AOR format in 1978, with most of the programming coming from Atlanta. The station changed its calls to WKQB, "The Music That's Meant To Be". After a couple of years, the format went harder, and WKQB became Rock106. The station outpaced WKDF in ratings, but new owners two years later pulled the plug and brought back easy listening to WLAC-FM. Go figure.

Click image to enlarge. UPDATE - found a pin to go with the license plate.

WLAC Nashville Survey July 31 1978

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WLAC AM 1510 was the last chapter in Top 40 AM radio for Nashville. I worked at the station then, doing Saturday night midnight to 430am Sunday morning, keeping people awake over most of the country. According to a Rolling Stone article, WLAC AM was the most popular station in Cuba at night. We even got fan mail from Sweden. Here's the survey, click any pic to enlarge. Click here to hear the audio version.

Spider Harrison and Shadoe Bailey were the two nighttime jocks on WLAC. Shadoe went on to Atlanta and Spider is now an actor, radio host, and record label owner. You can hear an aircheck of The Spider here.

The music selection was as Top 40 as it got. It then went Top 30, with the #1 song being played every hour. Tough on the jocks but good for the ratings. The station also had an awesome news department, with legends like David Tower, Eddie Parker, and Paul Randall Dickerson.

WGRD Grand Rapids Michigan Survey May 06 1970

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Another great find from Timmy. Click pics to enlarge. Audio version is here.

WFIL Philadelphia Survey August 21 1967

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Click to enlarge. Audio version of the survey is here.

KCBQ San Diego CA Survey October 23 1970

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KCBQ survey from 1970, thanks to Timmy! Click to enlarge. Audio version of the survey is here.

WRCP Philadelphia PA Survey October 23, 1967

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Click to enlarge. Audio version of the survey is here.

WCCO Minneapolis St. Paul MN QSL Card

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Here's a QSL card from WCCO, blowtorch of the Midwest. Click to enlarge either image.

David Letterman WAGO Muncie IN April 4 1969

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WFMU's Beware of the Blog has an awesome story on David Letterman, the early years, that goes into detail about his various radio jobs. You can read and enjoy the entire story here.

Also posted by Kliph Nesteroff was an actual aircheck of Letterman on WAGO Muncie from April 1969.
Listen to DJ Dave here.

WIBG Philadelphia Survey June 04 1968

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A matching psychedelic survey from WIBG, June of 1968. Click to enlarge.
Click here to listen to the spoken version.

WFIL Philadelphia Survey September 16 1968

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Click pics to enlarge. Click here to listen to the survey being read.

WEAM Arlington VA Survey November 11, 1969

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Here's the survey from WEAM "The Lively One" from November 11, 1969. Click pic to enlarge or listen to me read the survey here.

Swingin Soul Medallion Commercial from John R WLAC

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John Richbourg was one of the legendary AM jocks that brought black music to every part of the eastern U.S. over the mighty 1510 WLAC. Along with Gene Nobles, Herman Grizzard, and Hoss Allen, they broke black artists onto the sales charts. Here's a live commercial done by John R himself. Listen to it here.

John left WLAC in 1973, about four years before I worked there. He battled cancer, and in 1985 a benefit was held for him at the Grand Ole Opry house.

There were over 30 acts, and each gave John credit for their careers. I had a program, but it's gone now. The acts I remember appearing were the Isley Brothers, James Brown, the Neville Brothers, Rufus and Carla Thomas, B.B. King, the Coasters, and Charlie Daniels. There were so many acts they had an intermission at 9pm, and the music continued til 1:30am, ending with a giant jam session that featured B.B. King and Charlie Daniels dueling guitars.

John was on the left of the stage from the audience view in a wheelchair. He was too weak to talk, but waved to everyone. He died the next year.

You can get more of the feel of those WLAC days by reading the story here.

WFIL Philadelphia Survey December 18 1967

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Click pics to enlarge. Spoken version of the survey is here.

WABC New York QSL Card 1968

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I guess I was listening to WABC on New Years Eve 1969 from Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

WIBG Philadephia Survey Oct 23 1967

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Another monster top 99 survey from Wibbage. Audio version of the survey is here.

WEEL Arlington VA Country Club Card 1967

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Another midday radio club for women, the WEEL Country Club card from 1967. Click to enlarge.

WHO Des Moines IA QSL Card 1967

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I picked up WHO radio in Des Moines Iowa from South Jersey as a kid in 1967. Click to enlarge.

WFIL Philadephia Survey April 15 1968

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Here's the WFIL Philadelphia survey from April 15, 1968. Click to enlarge or listen to the survey here.

WKDA AM Nashville January 10, 1970

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Click any pic to enlarge. Spoken version of the survey is here.

WMAK Nashville Survey April 15, 1970

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Here's the WMAK Nashville survey for the week of April 15, 1970. It features Dick Kent, the long time morning man and one of the guys who hired me at WLAC in the late 70s. As always, click an image to enlarge. The audio version of the survey is here.