The Who, At A Warehouse, Beaver Productions....

Here's another great advertisement from Barry Mac's collection.  It was November 29th & 30th, 1971, and ticket prices were $6.50!

Enjoy...and thanks!

 The Who Concert Ad:  stream  |  download

KAAY Personnel, Revisited

We missed one!  Something in Jonnie King's latest post triggered a memory...and I remembered seeing a "Ron Casteel" somewhere.  Lo and behold, doing a search on 440Satisfaction, there he was:

http://www.440int.com/namesc01.html

I mentioned this to a couple of former KAAY employees with no recognition so far.  He shows to have been there in 1980.  I remember some time ago, there was an e-mail address attached to his profile, but none is there now...he must have removed it, since I never got an answer to my inquiry, either.

Any ideas, folks?

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Ron H. On Audio Production

Many of the digital editing programs have a feature called Fast Talk. One can speak at a normal rate; then he or she can speed it up without changing the pitch. The advertisor can fit a lot of information into a thirty second slot. Time is money, but I feel the same way you do about the annoying sound of it. When I hear a commercial recorded that way, I usually think the company is cheap and fly-by-night. I would like to read what the rest of our readers have to say about this.

Ron Henselman
 
Thanks, Ron...the announcements I'm hearing locally sounds like they took numerous bits of audio, cut out any pauses or breath sounds, then pasted them back together, word hard against word.  Yes, the message gets across, but the quality stinks and it is rough and irritating....this is with a group of stations, not just one.
 
How is it in your area, folks?
 
Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Audio Production: Yesterday vs. Today

I am distressed at the choppy, linked-together audio I hear on some stations today.  What with the editing programs used today, it sounds as if the announcer/salesperson/etc. never takes a breath and there are unnatural clicks and no pauses between words, in many cases.  Imagine a breathless run-on sentence for 15 or 30 seconds (a long time!), sometimes reminiscent of "Perfect Paul" on the National Weather Service broadcasts...

...now, go and listen to the smooth, completely natural final takes recorded and posted here from the KAAY yesteryears.  They are much smoother, warmer and friendlier!  Sure, a lot of tape was used up in production, but I'll bet the product was more sellable to the business who bought time on the station!

(This is also true with other stations, before digital became the norm.)

Sometimes, older IS better...like tube amplifiers and ribbon mics....I'll take the warmth and leave the cold digital junk any day!

Bud S., ranting (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Arkansas Phone Net Revisited

"Bud,

Thanks for the mention of the Arkansas Phone Net. We invite all properly licensed hams to join us on the net at 6 am central Monday thru Saturday. Just good old Amateur Radio fellowship and ragchewing.

73

Doug
W5DUG
Arkansas Phone Network Net Manager"
 
Folks, lots of engineers are/were Ham radio operators, as well as a few deejays.  I have personally talked with and listened to some of these folks on the Ham bands and they operate some of the finest-sounding stations out there, even better than most AM broadcast stations, and that's saying something!
 
Engineers who worked for KAAY who are Hams (that I am aware of) are Don Payne and Felix McDonald.  Doug, a friend of mine, has deejay experience behind him and also operates a great-sounding, efficient station.
 
Thank you, Doug, for checking in!
 
Bud S., KC4HGH (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Ray Lincoln (Along With Mike McKinny, Or Vice-Versa!)

We've mentioned the great Ray Lincoln several times in this blog...at the end of this 'scoped audio clip of Mike McKinny, you'll hear Ray in one of his character modes.  I'll bet working with him was a hoot, with folks barely able to keep their composure while on the air...

Does anyone have any other Ray stories, about what it was like working with him?

Here's the audio:

 Ray Lincoln and Mike McKinny:  stream  |  download

65 Years Ago Today....

...the U.S. flag was raised on Iwo Jima....

May I simply say, freedom isn't free.....

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?HPF_rid=27201428&HPF_mid=3401_T1_Url0

Bud S.

Mad Cat Records

I was listening to a Beaker Street aircheck from 8/14/71 and an advertisement for a concert caught my ear when they mentioned getting tickets at Mad Cat Records (among other outlets) in Little Rock.  Did I hear correctly and was this a store in Little Rock?

I'm finding nothing, so far, on Google, other than an indie artist outlet, a UK band & other things, but nothing related to Little Rock.  Does anyone remember this as a record store in Little Rock, please?

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

June Carter's Snowdrift Ad, More Jingles

Barry's done it again!  Here's a Snowdrift commercial aired on KAAY, linked to a sale at Weingarden's Grand Remodeling Sale in North Little Rock, AR...does anyone recognize this deejay?  Moreover, does anybody remember these prices?!?!?

June Carter's Snowdrift Ad:  stream  |  download


I must say, these bits of history shared make us all the richer...they could have faded to black, never heard again, except for the great spirit of those sharing them...my hat's off to all who donate them for all of us to enjoy, and to remember....

(Thanks to Dave S. & Barry Mac.)

(Dave M. identified the deejay as Mike McCormick/Barry Woods- thanks, Dave M.!)

E-mail From A Jonnie King Fan

Bud,

Out of the blue I got this eMail from a former female listener who was tuned in during my KAAY days.

I'd like to share it with you, as this is what I (and the rest of the team) were trying to accomplish everytime we went into that Studio...and to have this "lasting effect" on this wonderful lady (then a teenager) is the reason I did it night after night:

From: Barbara Casteel

Comments: Hi Jonnie:

"Found your website tonight. I've been telling my husband how I used to stay up at night and listen to your radio show on my transistor radio, when I should have been sleeping. This was back in the early 70's. You were my "knight in shining armor", my friend, when I didn't have any.

Things are much better now, but I'll never forget your voice on the radio.

Thank you for being there for a lonely teenager."


I can add no more.

God Bless,

Jonnie

Haunted By A Song

Sometimes, when I get up & eat breakfast on a Saturday morning, I’ll automatically turn on the TV and satellite system. Every now and again, there’s something interesting on History, or Discover, or TCM or AMC. Today, nothing struck my interest and I’d had enough news and weather over the previous week, so I started cruising the music channels. I’d remembered that Dish Network had channel 6014, Sirius 14, Classic Vinyl from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Well, well, well, upon tuning in, I got there just in time to hear “Fresh Air” by Quicksilver Messenger Service!

There’s also Sirius’ “60s on 6" (Dish channel 6006), “70's on 7" (6007) and Rock Show on Dish CD channel 959. (Direct TV has similar channels.) Most of you wonder, “Where has this guy been?”, but, with the busy lifestyle I have, I just don’t veg on the couch and listen. I’ve been thinking about linking the audio output to a Part 15 transmitter and listen around the house. I have a tiny one (maybe 5 milliwatt output, good for 20 feet) that reaches to another room, but I’ll probably put on a 100 mw unit so I can listen outside, as well.

Why? Well, why not? Plus, I’m in search of a particular tune that has haunted me since my Beaker Street days as a kid. The tune floats around in my head, the lyrics escape me, but it’s there, nonetheless. It was the sort of tune that was played late at night, not during Top 40 prime time. One day, before I pass away, I hope to hear or identify that song...I have not heard it for years, but it’s out there somewhere....haunted by a song, I am....

Bud S. (Staceys4@hotmail.com)

We Need YOU!

Yes, we need your stories, anecdotes, memories, recollections, etc. etc. of when you listened to KAAY from 1962 to 1985!  Whether you danced in the streets, on the hillside, in the meadow, at the drive-in (remember those?), at the burger joint with the car radios blaring, in the living room or rec room or carport (remember those?) with the table radio blasting, or sneaking a listen with an earbud or pillow speaker late at night with that li'l pocket radio, riding the bike down the street (sans helmet & pads!) or just cruisin'....WE WANT THOSE MEMORIES!  Nothing is trivial, all is history and great memories, brought on by The Greats who worked and played at KAAY!

Comments welcome, or you can e-mail them to me at:

staceys4@hotmail.com

We all thank you!  Have a great weekend!

Bud S.

Jingles, We Got Jingles!

More great memories, listening to these jingles...I'm sure everyone will feel like kids again as they hear these!  They were interspersed between music and announcements and there was no mistaking which station this was! 

"KAAY, in the River City!", "The music's on us, KAAY!" and "KAAY, the weekend music's on us!"...great, classy background music...I still love hearing live instruments and great vocals!  I may be a young 'un by some of the Great's standards, but I love music from the '40s through the early '60s...and the music behind some of these jingles are what I remember growing up...happy, wonderful memories.

Thanks again to Barry mac for the audio bites!

• KAAY, "the music's on us":   stream  |  download
  
• KAAY, "River City":  stream  |  download
  
• KAAY, "weekend music":  stream  |  download
  
• KAAY, "vocal #1":  stream  |  download
  
• KAAY, "vocal #2":  stream  |  download
  

Jerry Sims, Monitoring Times

Bud....Congratulations on a great KAAY story. I know lots of research and hard work went into your M.T. story. It will bring well deserved attention to our station and the blog. Thanks for your personal efforts, and thanks to the "gang" as well.

Jerry Sims

(Jerry had a great picture in the article as well! bs)

Dale Hawkins, "Susie Q" Writer, Dies at 73; David B. Treadway Comments

"Dale Hawkins, 73, a Louisiana rockabilly singer and record producer whose 1957 hit "Susie Q" became a rock-and-roll standard and was a hit for Creedence Clearwater Revival in the late 1960s, died of colon cancer Feb. 13 at a hospital near his home in Little Rock."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/17/AR2010021704929.html

(Stan Lewis, of Stan's Record Shop, is mentioned also...and David B. Treadway comments below...bs)

R.I.P. Dale Hawkins 1936-2010‏

If you know of him at all, it’s probably in connection with his 1957 sort-of-hit “Susie Q.” And you’re probably more familiar with Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1968 version—the one Clyde Clifford was fond of playing (in its eight-minute psychedelic glory) on Beaker Street.

Dale Hawkins died in Little Rock on Saturday, February 13, after a lengthy bout with colon cancer. He never did get props like the other Hillbilly Cats—Elvis and Cash and Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee—but he left some Rock And Roll jewels behind, along with a connection to KAAY.

Anybody who grew up with that Mighty 1090 has heard “Western Union” by The Five Americans and “Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)” by John Fred And His Playboy Band. Maybe you’re even hip to “Groovin’ Out (On Your Good, Good Lovin’)” by The Uniques. Dale Hawkins produced these records and others by the likes of Bruce Channel and Harry Nilsson.

Though acts like The Five Americans and The Uniques are regarded today as merely “regional,” KAAY played their records faithfully. Maybe the station was just “taking care of the home folks,” but I think it was because they were hits as far as the listeners were concerned. They sure sounded good in that old lo-fi mono, too. They were raw and unpolished with a great energy about them—as if Dale had set the bands up live in the studio and told ‘em to go for it. I suspect that’s what he did.

Back around 1979, Dale spent some time as a sales rep for KLAZ 98.5 (which would have been KAAY-FM had someone not let the construction permit lapse). It knocked me out when the sales manager brought him around to meet the air staff, though I believe I was only one who knew who he was. He was as down-to-earth as you could get and his smile was disarming. It was during an elevator ride one afternoon when he told me that he’d had almost as much fun producing records as he’d had onstage—and had made way more money.

I got to tell him how much those records had meant to me when I was growing up, and we kept up a passing acquaintance over the next twenty years. Dale Hawkins was a regular guy who was famous on the side. He made some valuable contributions to KAAY and I’m glad I got to meet him!

David B. Treadway
Doc Holiday VII

http://dale4hawkins.topcities.com/

February Monitoring Times FINALLY Made It!

For those who may want to check their local Barnes & Noble (or other book stores), the February Monitoring Times magazine with the KAAY article made it on Saturday, February 13 in the Mobile, AL area.  If you miss getting your copy, you may point your browser to www.monitoringtimes.com/ and check on obtaining a back issue.  Belinda McDonald would be the point of contact for those back issues.  By the way, you can also buy a subscription to their "e-zine" while there and receive each issue in a timely manner.  "- It’s fast, cheap, convenient, and GREEN!"

Our thanks to Ken Reitz, Features Editor, who contacted us for the information and article, and for his contribution of a picture of his QSL card in a previous post.  We certainly hope that both The Mighty 1090 KAAY blog and Monitoring Times have been beneficial to one another!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Jerry Sims Identifies "The Gang"

(We'd posted this photo in an earlier post and A.J. had also on his blog, and we thought it'd be neat to refresh the ol' grey matter by identifying these good folks...thanks, Jerry!  bs)

Bud....If the "gang" has not been identified.....here goes: In the front row Bob Mullins (Buddy Carr #2), Richard Wiethan (who worked a short time in news-then became Buddy Carr #3 when Mullins left), Sammy Peters (A.J. identified him to me-unsure of on air name).....Back row: Daphne (Barbara Lewis), Emperor Holiday (A.J. Lindsey), Len Carl (KAAY General Manager in our purple basketball shirt), Jerry Sims (Sonny Martin #2), Bertha Sims (Jerry Sims wife #1), Howard Watson (Ken Knight #1) and A.J. identifies the other one as B. Bruce Jenkins (Comex News) We could not identify the driver.

A.J. was even confused with the picture. He, I think, had forgotten that Richard Wiethan came from WMPS, back to KAAY as a newsman, before he took over the Buddy Carr air name. I am not certain what name Richard used in news. Also I was thinking that I did not work with B. Bruce Jenkins, although I listened to him after I left.

This picture was made shortly before I left for television. (1967?) I think it was for an album cover. The Emperor acts regal, Barbara looks pretty, the rest of us push.

Jerry
 

Wayne Moss' Pennys Ad

This installment, compliments again of Barry Mac, is of Wayne Moss doing a Pennys ad.  He mentions being at two different malls on the day of the sale, Pennys On The Mall in the morning, and McCain Mall in the afternoon.

Here's Wayne Moss' picture again, followed by the audio --- enjoy!

Penny's ad:  stream  |  download


--Bud S.

The Lovely And Talented Barbara Lewis, Per Jerry Sims

Imagine this lovely redhead sneaking up on you as you were about to sink a free throw for the home team. Up behind you at the line, and giving you a little hug and encouragement. She did not usually do it to encourage, but to distract. She was Barbara Lewis. Here I am, still distracted by her as I find this picture among my "stuff".

I have written before about the Emperor Holiday's KAAY Commando Basketball team. We were as busy as we wanted to be, playing something that resembled basketball in high schools around Arkansas. Barbara was playing the part of Daphne, a charactor in the Emperor Holiday episodes that we ran periodically on KAAY. As if the Emperor, A.J. Lindsay, was not enough, with his crown and purple robe running around barking orders, there was Daphne with her short tennis skirt and purple top and tights, doing her thing. Most of the high school coaches (that usually made up the local teams) would shoot up a "brick" with Barbara hanging on to them.

She was actually a KAAY employee, secretary to Len Carl, G.M., I believe. She too, had that team attitude when it came to promoting the station. We would travel, usually getting back home late at night, with whoever we could assemble as a team, usually the G.M. (Len Carl). driving the company car, the Sales Manager (Pat Walsh), engineers like Eddie Graham (Lt. Cavendish), A.J. and Barbara. We had a minimum pay agreement to cover expenses, OR half the gate. While I was handling the team we never had to settle for the minimum. We could always build a crowd talking on air about the "spanking" we were about to lay on the next opponent. I always tried to assure the other team that they would win. Even if we were the better team and had to throw the victory at the end. "That bunch of people who have crowded your gym did not come here to see a basketball game. They came to have fun, see us, and raise money for whatever charity they choose." We tried to put on a show, play a little ball, and get great publicity for KAAY. I cannot remember a time when we did not do all that. We also did an even split with our half of the gate. The big boss got his split, we got ours, and Barbara got hers.

Looking back, I am still very happy and proud of the unselfish efforts that so many made at that wonderful radio station. If we were not that well paid in dollars, we made up for it fun. And who would ever have thought that more than 40 years later, people who still be interested in talking about it. Possibly Barbara is out there and someone will direct her to the blog.

Jerry (Sonny Martin) Sims (#10.....the one with the skinny legs)
 
(More pictures of Barbara Lewis, with Emperor Holiday, a.k.a. A. J. Lindsey)
 

(And a color photo of the KAAY Gang...Barbara Lewis is standing next to Emperor Holiday/A.J. Lindsey in the automobile.)

(Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures of the good-lookin' skinny-legged Jerry Sims in his #10 uniform anywhere....so the above picture will have to suffice...he's number four from the left, top row.  Thank you, Jerry!  Bud)

Valentine's Day Hits, 1962-1985

THE 1980s

1985 Careless Whisper- Wham! featuring George Michael
1984 Karma Chameleon- Culture Club
1983 Baby, Come to Me- Patti Austin & James Ingram
1982 Centerfold- J. Geils Band
1981 Celebration- Kool & the Gang
1980 Do That to Me One More Time- The Captain & Tennille

THE 1970s

1979 Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?- Rod Stewart
1978 Stayin' Alive- The Bee Gees
1977 Blinded by the Light- Manfred Mann's Earth Band
1976 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover- Paul Simon
1975 You're No Good- Linda Ronstadt
1974 The Way We Were- Barbra Streisand
1973 Crocodile Rock- Elton John
1972 Without You- Nilsson
1971 One Bad Apple- The Osmonds
1970 Thank You (Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin)/ Everybody Is a Star- Sly & the Family Stone

THE 1960s

1969 Everyday People- Sly & the Family Stone
1968 Love Is Blue- Paul Mauriat
1967 Kind of a Drag- The Buckinghams
1966 Lightnin' Strikes- Lou Christie
1965 This Diamond Ring- Gary Lewis & the Playboys
1964 I Want to Hold Your Hand- The Beatles
1963 Hey Paula- Paul & Paula
1962 Duke of Earl- Gene Chandler

Yes, I know I'm late with this, but I was busy romancin' my sweetie on Valentine's Day!  Then, work on Monday took it's toll....
 
Needless to say, continuing to look back at Billboard's charts, there's been a definite change in music over the years.  I guess I'm a hopeless romantic, since I like the 1940s through the early 1960s...and like old movies, as well....
 
The above list courtesy of this link:
 
  http://www.joshhosler.biz/NumberOneInHistory/02/0214.htm
 
You can also download these and other tunes at the above website.
 
Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Moses Records Last Day Of '72 Sale!

Boy, I'll bet the folks piled into this place!  I'm unsure of the deejays who did the spot; Barry Mac believes they may be the Sonny Martin of that period and George J. Jennings....maybe someone can confirm this.  What a great ad!

We mentioned Moses Record Shop in previous posts:

http://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/2009/11/moses-melody-shop.html

http://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/2009/10/lost-souls-moses-melody-shop-tommy.html

Here's the audio (compliments of Barry Mac):

 Moses Records Last Day Of '72 Sale: stream  |  download

KAAY Personnel (2010 Update) (Part 2)

Comliments of Bob Nelson, who's memory is sharp as a tack!:

1). Steve Gunn's real name is Herb Gunn. It's been a long while, but he was at ABC Radio's Dallas facility in the early 90's when I did some automation software work over there.

2). Linda Page's real name is Linda Pasier. She works at WHBQ-TV in Memphis (another set of legendary calls letters...but that's a whole other blog).

3). Mark Winston is in Wichita, KS where he runs a voiceover company. I saw in in 1992 when I was up there, again doing some software automation work for a radio station where he was doing some part time announcing at the time.

4). Dave Hamilton's full name is Carl David Hamilton. He just retired from Radio One and lives in Houston. (Note that C. David Hamilton was Don Payne's boss at Radio One before he retired...b.s.)

5). Reid ``The Rookie'' Reker is his real name. I saw him just a few years back on my way to the beach when I made an impromtu visit to KTSA in San Antonio where he was GM. He now is GM of the Citadel cluster in Melbourne, FL.

6). Here are some other players that I recall from my time there:

a). Joe Franklin (News) - His son now works at the Cottondale facility, or at least he did when I dropped in for a visit in July 2008.

b). Boyce Barger (KEZQ) - He did run some paid religion on the AM. At last check, he's a Church of Christ preacher at the Highway 5 church of Christ in nearby Benton, AR.

c). Mitch Michaels (News) - His real name is Nick Markle.

d). Mike McKinney (News) and that's his real name. I keep making plans to visit him again in Little Rock where he was in the financial service business.

e). Mark Immerman - He fed the KEZQ automation system with reel-to-reel tapes overnights and ran some of the Sunday morning religion. I recall him because Mark was the very first person I ever met in the Cottondale building when I walked in to do my first shift. Since I didn't have a key yet, he let me in and showed me around what was still a very new building.

f). Scott and Crunch - Scott Wallace and Carolyn Poland. At the 1999 NAB (which Dave M. may recall), I ran into Scott Wallace's son, who was just a child when I worked at KAAY/KEZQ. After KAAY, I *think* that Scott relocated back to Boston (WMEX?) and Carolyn worked at KSD-FM in St. Louis for a while. D.B. Treadway may know more since he ran the board a few times for Scott and Crunch.

g). Richard Forrester (KEZQ) - Richard was the Ops Manager for KEZQ and I took his place when he took a technical job at KATV. He and Boyce Barger were friends and attended the same church of Christ in SW Little Rock, which I also visited several times with them (as a card-carrying Presbyterian!) :-)

h). Tricia Coil (KAAY/KEZQ Traffilc) - She merits a mention because she ran the Sunday night religion for a few months to make a few extra dollars. As Dave Montgomery can attest, she had a distinctive voice. One
weekend, while driving through Memphis on a Sunday night, Tricia had to crack the mic to read some severe storm information, so she qualifies as on-air!

i). Although not on the staff, there were two voice that frequently were heard on KAAY during the mid-70's but I can't recall the names: One was the owner of ``The Little Barn'' on University who voiced his own ad-lib commercials along with Bob Robbins. The other was the owner of a record shop out in Breckenridge Village who had a Saturday night remote. His name completely escapes me but I recall that he had a radio background in Tulsa and actually did some fill-in on KAAY when we were in a pinch.

Thank you, Bob!  So much information, so many people to tickle the memories!  can any one else add to the list, please?  Even better, can anyone get any of the aforementioned people to visit the blog and add their comments, please?  Thank you!

I am deeply in debt to those who continue to contribute here; without them, there would be no blog!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY Personnel (2010 Update) (Part 1)

A.J., in his old blog in September 2006, listed numerous personnel as to their air-name, their real name and the approximate dates.  I always wondered about how many were missing from the list- there were so many great people there!  I don't know how long the old blog will stay up, since all the music links have broken already, so I'll list them here again (hopefully, with better dates as I can find in research):

Air Name- Real Name- Year


Doc Holiday- Dub Murray- 1962
Mike McCormick- Jim Hankins- 1962
Sonny Martin- Wayne Moss- 1962
Wayne Moss- Wayne Moss- 1970-1976
Buddy Karr- Tom Bigby- 1962
Rob Robbins- Tom Campbell- 1962
Ken Knight- Howard Watson- 1962
John K. Anderson- Jack Grady- 1962
George J. Jennings- George W. Jennings- 1962
Doc Holiday- A.J. Lindsey- 1963
Sonny Martin- Jerry Sims- 1962-1967
Rock Robbins- Tommy Riggs-
Buddy Karr- Richard Weithan- Aug 1967(killed in Nat.Guard summer camp jeep accident)
Ron Owens- Walt Sadler-
Mike McCormick- Barry Wood- 1965-1972
B. Bruce Jenkins- B. Bruce Jenkins-
Ron Owens- Jim Pitcock- 1963-1964
Doc Holiday- Ray Brown-
Sonny Martin- Matt White-
Rob Robbins- Bob Spears- 1972-1976
Mitch Michaels- Nick Markel- Summer 1968-July 1978
Jack Lee- Mike McKinny- 1976-1978
Jack Lee- Gary Souheaver- Early 70s
Jonnie King- Jim Edwards- April 1969- Sept. 1972
Phil North- Phillip David Rowe- 1969-1972
Buddy Karr- Bob Mullins-
Clyde Clifford- Dale Seidenschwarz- 1966-1972
Doc Holiday- David B. Treadway- 1971-1972 and 1976-1977
David B. Treadway- David B. Treadway- 1983-1985
Doc Holiday- Al Eisenman- 1969-1970
Michael O'Sullivan- Bob Steel- 1972-1973
Marvin Vines- Marvin Vines- 1962-1978
Linda Page- Linda Pasier- 1976-1978

And, through a trusted friend of the blog (One Who Was There), more names, some of whom have joined us after this blog started:

"Here’s a few that pop to mind –"

Ray Lincoln- Ray Coday (deceased)-
Jack Randall- John Godec-
Joe James- Joe Coburn-
Dan Campbell- Dan Campbell
Don Payne- Don Payne- late 1970's into early 1980's
Stuart McRae- Stuart (Beaker Street, after Clyde, before Don Payne)
Dave Hamilton- Carl David Hamilton-
Dick Downes- Dick Downes-
Marvelous Mark Larsen- Mark Larsen- 1977-1979
Doctor Grady Brock- Grady Brock (??)-
Bob Nelson- Bob Nelson- 1976-1978
Bill Rawson (news)- Bill Rawson-
Terry Caldwell (news)- Terry Caldwell (deceased)-
Craig Hunt- ??-
Susan Rist (news)- Susan Rist-
Lee Frank (news)- Lee Frank-
Reid "The Rookie"- Reid Reker-
Steve Gunn- Herb Gunn-
Linda Page (news)- Linda Pasier-
Mark Winston- ??-
Harriet- ??- Harriet Coffey, 1978-1980
Jim Loundsberry (sp?) news- ??
Frank Woods (news, deejay)- Gene Stewart- 1969-1970
Tom Gallagher- Dan Goode, 1977-1979 and 1981-1982

"Perhaps some of the others could add to the list, and offer corrections or updates as necessary. All these people worked at KAAY during the ‘70’s, and in various on-air capacities. Many have gone on to have great success and remarkable careers in major market radio and advertising."

Also, after Marvin Vines was killed in a farm accident, another Newsman took his place...in the words of Dave M.:

"John Philpott came to KAAY to fill the shoes of Marvin Vines, our Farm Service Director, who met his untimely end in a farm accident. Philpott stepped in and took over the job as though he’d been there for years. In actuality John Philpott was already well known in LR radio and TV as a story teller-par-excellance and just a wonderful, all around guy."

I understand that John Philpott is also one of the players on KUAR's "Arkansas Flyer" program:

http://www.kuar.org/arkansasflyer_bios.html

This, in a never-ending quest to close the "historical holes" of KAAY's legacy!  I get more fascinated the more history that is uncovered.  As is the old philosophy, "Many hands make the work light" and thanks to those who can add to this list and dates!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Cars We Drove In The '50s & '60s (Or Wish We Did!)

I was sent a great link regarding cruising and cars...and many of us who listened to KAAY did it while cruising, at the drive-in, parked out in the country, dancing by the headlights!  There's  great music bits along with the pictures along with Thunder Road, the one and only song Robert Mitchum ever recorded!  Here's the link, enjoy!

http://cruzintheavenue.com/CarsWeDrove.htm

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Snow In Mobile, AL!

Well, well, well!  For the first time in a long time, since 1996, we're getting snow today, Friday, February 12, 2010!  Must be because the Saints won the Super Bowl.....

Needless to say, this is a big to-do to us down in the normally Sunny South!  Where I live in Satsuma, AL, about 18 miles north of Mobile, we had an accumulation of over an inch and growing.  Here at work, we're getting a little accumulation.  Some areas above my home, 30 miles north of Mobile had 3 inches or more.

Yes, I know...other areas of the country have had much more snow...but, this is a rare treat for us!  Schools and some businesses have closed, more for a holiday than safety.  Needless to say, yours truely is at the helm this morning, still serving the public and filling needs...snow doesn't keep us from operating in our business!

Folks, I know things have been a little "dry" on the blog for a few days, and I apologize...there aren't enough hours in the day to do as much as I want, BUT, there are a few goodies in the works.  April 3 is coming up, the anniversary of The Last Day at KAAY, so we have a couple of Greats Who Were There doing something in that respect.  We're also going to put on a little more audio for your listening pleasure.

But, in the meantime, if anyone in the readership has any requests for something we might be able to dig up, or any information we haven't covered, or even questions for The Great Ones, please send me an e-mail and I'll get it to the appropriate person and we'll do our best to get it here on the blog!

Thank you,

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

A Listener's Memories & Arkansas Ham Nets

I'd been invited by a fellow Ham radio operator, who's visited the blogs in the past, to participate in the Good Ol' Arkansas Phone Net.  For those uninitiated, "phone" means voice, not Morse Code and "net" means some sort of communication network.  Many Hams all over the country (and the world, as well) have practice nets to test their readiness in times of trouble...and, oftentimes, for fellowship, as well.  They encourage both Hams and shortwave listeners to tune in.

To make a long story short, I checked in on the frequency of 3987.5 kHz (or 3.987.5 MHz) lower sideband and participated in the net.  In the informal session, the Question of The Day was, "What prompted you to get into Ham radio?"  When it came my turn, I mentioned that, as a kid, I listened to a lot of AM radio stations, that KAAY was a big part of my listening pleasure, and that my radio hobby eventually led me to get my Ham ticket.  I met Tom, K5WTH, who provided the information below:

"Hi Bud, I really do not remember too much about the station. What I do remember is that my car radio and the one in my bedroom always had KAAY going day and night. On the weekends a bunch of us crazy teens would go down on the river and dance to the music of KAAY and at night we would also go to Shakeys or the Band Box, both are covered drive ins, and eat hamburgers and dance out in the open air; every car there would have their car radio turned up and tuned in to KAAY. The personalities that I do recall is Sonny Martin and Ray Lincoln and his alter ego which I always found amusing."

These are the types of memories we like to hear about, what fun KAAY invoked in all the listenership!  I'd also mentioned that I'd like to get to Little Rock one day and visit some of the attractions there that A. J. mentioned to me, before passing away...and WW5AA, "Lindy", said that he'd give me a personal tour of all the museums there.

Ham radio operators are a great bunch, in a wonderful hobby; I have never regretted getting my license...every where I go, or anyone I visit with, either on the air or in person, the door is always wide open.  It is a plus to find someone else (and there are many out there!) who have similar experiences, listening to KAAY (and other stations, as well as working at them).

The Good Ol' Arkansas Phone Net is called at 6AM Monday-Saturday and was founded more than fifty years ago, promoting family-oriented fellowship and clean operating; the Razorback Net is called, I believe, at 6:30PM Monday-Saturday (and maybe Sunday, as well), and, I'm sure, promoting the same friendly atmosphere- at least that's what I've experienced!

For more information, point your browser at: . http://arkansasairwaves.net/, then click on Arkansas Phone Net.

Bud S., callsign KC4HGH (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Joe Cocker concert ad

Thanks again to Barry Mac (am I embarrassing you, yet?) for these era '71 through '76 airchecks, aired on KAAY.  Barry has tapped into a slew of recordings he's sifting through, graciously sending along for all to enjoy....

This clip is a 1972 ad for two Joe Cocker shows, one at the Monroe Civic Center, Monroe, LA, the other at the state fairgrounds in Jackson, MS.  (Opening acts were Patto and Mark-Almond.)  Tickets were only $5 in advance and $5.50 at the door (the good old days...).

Joe Cocker concert ad, 1972: stream  |  download


We have more concert ads and clips from Barry to come...

Enjoy!

KAAY Jingles

Station jingles...they're catchy, they stick in your brain...and every station had them (some still do, but mostly, today's stations just vocalize a rapid slogan or identifier at the top of the hour).  Some, when they caught your attention, they were either irritating or wonderfully unforgettable.

Here are some recently uncovered jingles for you to enjoy, compliments of Barry Mac! Hearing them again has brought back so many good memories...thank you, Barry!

KAAY Call-letter jingle slow tempo: stream | download

KAAY Call-letter jingle mid tempo: stream | download

KAAY Call-letter jingle mid-slow tempo: stream | download

KAAY "Jingle #1": stream | download

KAAY Call-letter jingle "dry": stream | download

Bud S.

Mark Larsen On "Radio Years"

"Marvelous Mark" Larson gave permission to allow us to see him on this link- although he doesn't know who put it up!  Needless to say, it gives a good history, I think, of his accomplishments.

http://www.radioyears.com/other/details.cfm?id=845

"Marvelous Mark" is one of the personalities I believe I listened to while I was in college and working evening shift, during his tenure at KAAY.  As always, if I wasn't driving around, basking in the awesome signal KAAY put out, I had a large radio, with equally large speakers and antenna, tuned to the Mighty 1090 while working.  Then, at 11 o'clock, I was off the clock, in the Dodge and diggin' on Beaker Street on the way home....

Thank you, "Marvelous Mark"!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Mark Larsen, KAAY, 1979

Hey, Mark Larsen went to great lengths to repair his reel-to-reel tape deck and got this 'scoped aircheck recorded and sent to us to enjoy! Man, what energy! Many thanks go to Mark for this audio history!

Mark Larsen KAAY 1979 (stream)  |  (download)


Keep 'em coming, folks, so we can share the memories! If you wish, the best way is to e-mail them to me at my address below...and we're making SURE these important, great, fantastic bits of audio history are archived and kept safe for all to enjoy!

(Thanks to Dave S. for the audio help!)

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Dave M., Re: Discount Records

The Bob Robbins doing the Discount Records spot would be Bob Spears (1972-1976). He eventually left KAAY for KSSN (country FM) that has long dominated the Little Rock market. DBT and I both wrote about Discount Records not too long ago (see the post headlined “Ole Discount Jack Here”, November 2009).

//D//

Discount Records

We've mentioned several record stores here, mainly those outside Arkansas who advertised on KAAY. Now, here's one one from Little Rock! Barry Mac recently forwarded an advertisement for Discount Records, 4023 West 12th Street, Little Rock, AR. Listen: how many years ago has it been since you could buy a 33-1/3 album for $5.98, or even $4.98? Yet, they were discounting records at $3.89 and $2.99, respectively! If we'd only known....although, these days, CDs can be had for under $5, but, I'm talking about VINYL, man....

"Bob Robbins" is the voice on this advertisement...which "Bob", does anyone know? "Bob Robbins" also highlighted an album by Rod Stewart's, "Never A Dull Moment" on the Mercury label. This album is considered by some as Rod Stewart's last classic album of the early seventies. Since this album came out in 1972, it narrows the search down a bit to figure these things out. "Bob Robbins" had been mentioned on A. J.'s old blog, but I have yet to find the deejay's actual name!

Discount Records Ad  (stream) | (download)


This recording came to me undated. Can anyone take a stab at when it may have possibly aired?

There's not much that I've found about Discount Records, but I did find a cached image mentioning a claymore mine behind the counter!:
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:Ep9Pw-CjQesJ:www.towncraftmovie.com/image/1074+Discount+Records,+Little+Rock,+AR&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Wierd, huh?

Thanks SO much to Barry Mac for all he's passing on to us here at Mighty1090KAAY...we'll have more to post in the near future! And thanks to Dave S. for his audio help!

Bud S.

KAAY Comex News

Bud....Here is a picture of the KAAY Comex News Room/Booth at the first location, the KTHV Building. See, the sign on top of the board? The window in the upper left was a view into the main control room. I did not spend much time in this booth, but possibly some of the early news guys, like Grady Anderson, who I have been told follows the blog, could offer some stories to go with it.

This room contained the teletype machine (which could be heard a little) where the jocks who had to do their own newscasts (after hours) got their wire copy. We used to have to go downstairs to the TV newsroom for weather information. Possibly we had a working agreement with the television station, or possibly we just "helped ourselves". TV boys went home after midnight anyway.

As a very young boy interested in radio, I visited KTHS (the not so mighty 1090), and it was in this booth that Earl "Pappy" Davis did his Razorback Roundup of country music. He had an engineer (Eddie Graham, who stayed on during the change to KAAY, when I visited there) over in the control room to play commercials, records, etc. for him.

Jerry Sims.....a mature gentleman who lives in Little Rock, and was always a big fan of KAAY. In fact, actually worked there for a few years, under a different name.
 

Thank you, "Sonny"!  And, yes, we'd all like to hear from some of the early news guys....they were as important in gathering and presenting news as was anyone else in the radio business.  I think, in fact, that they get/got short billing, in most instances....
 
Comments, news people?  They would be greatly appreciated!
 
Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Doc Holliday, Rob Robbins, Buddy Karr, Jimmy Fidler

"Anonymous said...


As a young lad of 11 or 12 I used to listen to the mighty 1090 all the time up in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. I remember the legendary on air feud between Doc Holliday and Rob Robbins in 1964 or thereabouts. I also remember Rob Robbins doing his music set called the Oldies but Goodies Show. I can also remember Buddy Karr's top ten countdown and the interesting newscasts set to dramatic music along with the syndicated updates from Hollywood columnist Jimmy Fidler. Thanks for the memories."

I'll have to look through the archives for you and see if I can find some Rob Robbins and Buddy Carr audio for you!  Thank you for stopping by, please visit often and...as in the old days...if you have a request, let us know and we'll see if we can find it and get it posted for you!

(Please note that now all the audio links on A.J.'s old blog are broken...we'll be doing some "retro" audio as time goes by for your enjoyment!)

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)