WKDA-FM Nashville Survey June 22 1970

WKDA-FM brought full time AOR radio to Nashville in the spring of 1970. They immediately picked up a solid audience of album rock fans, and the station morphed into WKDF, and then just KDF. They stayed with the same format until turning country in 1993. Bob Cole, pictured in this survey at the bottom, is now seen as the father of AOR radio in Nashville.

Click to enlarge, and to learn more about the history of AOR radio in Nashville, click here.

Davy Jones at WKDA Nashville 1967

Sorry the 150th post on this blog had to be a sad one. Davy Jones passed away today from a heart attack in Florida. I don't have to remind you how many fans Davy had, and of his career, including being a child star in England, a cast member of Oliver! on Broadway, and his Monkee and solo gigs. Mike Nesmith has a nice post on FB right now, fans should check it out.

Here's a pic from Davy at his peak popularity in 1967, making an appearance in Nashville, Tennessee. DJ Dan Hoffman from AM Top 40 station WKDA is in the middle, and Nashville legend Boots Randolph is shaking Davy's hand. Click to enlarge the photo, and R.I.P. Davy.

WKDA Nashville Jocks 1961

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.

WKDA Nashville Concert Poster

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.

WKDA Nashville Survey November 01, 1969

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.

Peter Noone at WKDA Nashville 1965

From the nashradio group at Yahoo:

WKDA AM Nashville January 10, 1970

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

The Shangri-las at WKDA Nashville 1965

Here are the Shangri-las, backstage with the WKDA jocks.

KDA Jock left to right: Bill Berlin, Roger Schutt, Bill Craig, Ray Lynn, Dick Buckley, Doc Holliday.
Photo courtesy of Bill Berlin Estate. Learn more about WKDA AM and FM here.