Tuesday, February 28, 2012

More Little Barn Goodies

Well, I'm not sure what to think about the super-huge bottles...I guess you could sit amongst 'em and play music while wearing your peace symbol....




Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Sunday, February 26, 2012

And One More (From Russell Wells)....

Hey, folks! We have a real gem from Russell Wells again! I'll let him explain:

"Hi, Bud--
I was going through a "traveling aircheck tape" from July 1977 ... apparently this guy took a long roadtrip from New Mexico to Memphis. That in itself wasn't important, BUT he tapped into the speaker line of his car radio, feeding into a cassette machine powered by an inverter (as I recall the story told me). With that setup, he airchecked a whole slew of stations along the way -- there are some good clips from Santa Fe, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and .... Little Rock.


Along with some brief clips of the original KLAZ (98.5) and KKYK (103.7), he captured a golden minute's worth of The Mighty 1090, with David B. Treadway at the mic.


The quality is beautiful -- in listening to the entire montage, it's VERY OBVIOUS when he started taping from KAAY; a glaring tribute to its engineering. I'll add here that there's a fantastic dialsweep of Memphis, and all the big players (WHBQ, WMPS and WDIA) also had great audio and all of them jumped out of the speaker larger than life ..... but to these ears, the KAAY sound had all of them beat.


Anyway, attached is that clip. Enjoy!!
Best, Russell


PS -- I was loving those Wayne Moss contributions. The jingle toward the end of the Moss '76 aircheck was a real gem."


(or download here)


And David Brian Treadway's response:

"Hey, Bud!
Couple o' points regarding that aircheck. I might have used my middle name for three days on the air. Sure enough, it got caught on tape! This experimentation was prompted by Kris Stevens at WLS in Chicago becoming Kris Erik Stevens, so I tried a similar move--but decided it was not for me.


It's good to hear that Russell liked the sound of the station, too. That would have been due to Dave Montgomery and Tom Rusk's meticulous installation of some SERIOUS audio equipment, followed by Jim Loupas's mystical fine-tuning of the Dorrough Discriminate Audio Processor (the "dap," as we called it) and finally that glorious, honking RCA transmitter. Yum! dbt"

I couldn't have said it better- YUM! This audio clip aired right after I graduated from high school...telling on myself, aren't I?

I'd said it before, and I'll say it again, I'd like to hear from Tom Rusk and Jim Loupas one day...I haven't been able to catch up with them, however....Thank you, Russell and David B.!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Little Barn Tiny Chests, Bottles & Flowers

I guess you could put the dried flowers' seeds in the tiny chests?



Friday, February 24, 2012

Little Barn Candles & Mobiles

I gues you COULD light the room, fragrantly, and lay back, watching your mobiles....




Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Memorabilia Mention By Barry Mac

Barry originally commented on the September 21, 2009 post regarding KAAY's "sister FM station":

"And I actually have two coffee mugs that have the announcement from Multimedia of the move to 2400 Cottondale for both KAAY and KEZQ. I believe the date listed on the cups is November 17th, so I'm presuming this was in '76. By the way, if you ever get the chance, stop by Adcraft of Arkansas. That's where I unearthed these coffee cups about three years. They have LOTS of old radio station bumper stickers and memorabilia from the '60s and beyond."

I looked up Adcraft of Arkansas and here's their website"

http://adcraftarkansas.com/company.htm

Get your favorite radio memorabilia while it lasts!  Thanks, Barry Mac!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Little Barn Leather & Lighting...

Mmmmmm....nothing like dressing in your finest leather while lighting the room with groovy floating candles....




Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Monday, February 20, 2012

WABB-FM Sold

Folks, the only reason I mention this is that because two KAAY alumni also worked at WABB here in Mobile...Wayne Moss and Steve Morris. It was announced that the FM operation was sold on Friday, February 17, 2012, to Educational Media Foundation, a Christian broadcaster; the AM operation is being retained by the Dittman family and will continue to air Talk Radio. Here is a link (there are plenty more on the web):

http://www.examiner.com/radio-in-mobile/wabb-fm-to-have-new-owners-wabb-am-to-remain-with-current-owner

EMF seems to pay their bills and treats their personnel quite well, resulting in very low turn-over. Personally, I am glad Clear Channel nor Cumulus got them.

WABB-AM signed on in 1948 and moved to its present digs on Springhill Ave. in Mobile in 1969; the current FM operation signed on in 1973 on its current frequency of 97.5, even though it simulcasted on several other FM frequencies from the beginning, until discontinued in the 1950s.

I have my own opinions about recent history at WABB, but I will keep them to myself, in respect to my former (deceased) customer Bernie Dittman. Maybe more energy and attention will now be paid to the AM operation on 1480 kc's and it will continue to operate profitably for the Dittman family....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Friday, February 17, 2012

More Little Barn Goods

Can't you hear the sound tracks from Cheech & Chong movies in the background?




Maybe you could stick the Stickerations on the canisters?

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Wayne Moss, "K-Double-A-Y, Kay-Why" Aircheck

Here is another audio gem from Wayne Moss!  It is heavily 'scoped, but only on the music and some commercials.  There is an interesting "KAAY Double Golden" jingle you gotta hear on this aircheck!  Lots of other jingles and promos on this aircheck, as well.

Mitch Michaels is the newsman on this aircheck.  Pat Walsh is doing the "Cash Cruiser", giving away some nice cash!  Gary Gears voices some of the identifiers.

This is a morning aircheck; it sounds as if it is a conglomeration of a couple or three airchecks.  Temperatures range from 80 to the nineties.

Wayne said he thought this was from maybe late 1975 or 1976, but there is a commercial for Beaker Street's 8th anniversary of September 10th...so this would make the date of this announcement in September of 1974, since Beaker Street began in late 1966.

Much abounds during this audio offering; if anyone can pin down any more specific dates and facts, please leave your comments!


(or download here)

Thanks to Wayne Moss for this aircheck, and to Dave S. for his audio know-how, so that we can enjoy more aural history!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Monday, February 13, 2012

Little Barn Catalog Continued

"Wow, I can catch my hand....!"

No, not really...it was attached all the time....




I have no comments about the top page...but I HAVE had bad hair days like the second page!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Friday, February 10, 2012

Little Barn Catalog!

WOW!  What a piece of history!  Two friends of the blog, Gil and Shawn, have sent copies of the Little Barn's first edition catalog!  The Little Barn advertised- appropriately- on Beaker Street.  For more Little Barn information and some history, please type "Little Barn" in the search window at the upper left-hand box and click the magnifyng glass....

There are so many pages- thrity-two, plus a cover/back cover shot- that I'll have to spread this out over quite a few posts.  So hang on, turn the lights down LOW, light some incense (can you find it any more?), put on your finest low-rider jeans and tie-dye T-shirt and head band, let you hair down and enjoy!




I can only imagine what folks cooked up with those utensils....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

KAAY Coverage Revisited

Dear folks, it is awesome how radio waves travel. I have studied such, having been a Ham radio operator and radio listener for so, so many years...and it is still a wonder! In speaking with Steve Morris ("Steve Scott") awhile back, I believe that I mentioned doing the math and realizing that I listened to Steve when he was on The Mighty 1090! I'd also mentioned a time or two that within thirty minutes of sundown, I could hear KAAY starting to fade in. Granted, this was while still on their daytime pattern, which was more or less roughly circular to cover the state of Arkansas and not switched over to their figure-eight nighttime pattern yet.




In the nighttime pattern above, the coverage was HUGE...and we can see how all of Cuba, parts of Central and South America were covered, as well as literally over half of Canada, up to Alaska...and no telling where else...I wish we had access to all the mail KAAY got!

In the past, I'd mentioned the "grey line" a phenomenon where it is not day, nor night...just that half-light pattern between the two. In the "old days", radio stations would sign off at sunset and sign back on at sunrise (some few still do). During this time, it was possible to tune to frequencies and momentarily, for a few minutes, hear other radio stations that were blocked by a local station, before THOSE stations signed off. In some instances, it was mere minutes, others it was maybe longer, due to the difference of a time zone. We radio enthusiasts of all types still use the "grey line" to communicate or to listen for otherwise elusive radio stations not "there" in daylight or dark. It is a fascinating phenomenon, as things happen during the "grey line" that do not happen any other times. Here is the link to the "grey line" map; it refreshes ever five minutes or so:

http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/greyline.html

Because radio propagation is an ongoing study, some things are constant- others are constantly changing! A lot has to do with weather and sunspots. Nonetheless, I believe this "grey line effect" was responsible for my hearing KAAY before dark and the changeover to the nighttime "flame-thrower" figure-eight pattern. Give the dial a whirl before sunset sometime, you may be pleasantly surprised! Do it for a week, or two weeks and there may be more there than you realized!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Another Cuban Listener: Dago!

Folks, Dago thought I was part of KAAY, but in subsequent e-mails between us, he found that I was not an employee of KAAY, but a listener (I'd fantasized about working at KAAY, though!). Here's his e-mail, with slight editing, and photo, all with his permission:

"HI BUD , I´M DAGOBERTO PEDRAJA FROM CUBA, I´M SO EXITED ´CUSE I´M WRITING FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME TO A RADIO- MAN WHO SET MY PREFERENCES FOR THE GREATEST ROCK MUSIC , " THE REAL ONE " . I WAS A TEENAGER WHEN I HEARD ABOUT AN AMERICAN STATION THAT WAS PLAYING VERY " WEIRD MUSIC " , WE USUALLY ATEMPT TO FLORIDA KEYS RADIO STATION LIKE WQAM , THEY PLAY VERY LIGHT ROCK MUSIC , BUT THEY WERE OUR ONLY OPTION , SO THAT NIGHT I DECIDED TO DIAL KAAY...IT WAS GREAT MAN !!! AND BETTER THAN ALL AT .12 AM THERE WAS A VERY VERY WEIRD KIND OF SGHOW PLAYING THAT WEIRD KIND OF MUSIC , IT WAS MY VERY FIRST TIME TO BE IN TOUCH WITH THE " UNDERGROUND MUSIC " , MONTHS LATTER I BECAME MEMBER OF " THE RACOONS CLUB " , IT WAS A KIND OF JOKE BECAUSE WE USE TO LOOK SO SLEEPY IN CLASS, ALL BLACK AROUND THE EYES ( LOL ) JUST IMAGINE , 8AM IN THE MORNING GOING TO SCHOOL AND FEELING THAT WAY BEACUSE YOU STOPED LISTENING " BEAKERTREET " NEARLY 4:30 AM JA JA JA . YOU COULD HEAR KAAY LATE IN THE AFTERNOON AROUND 7PM OR LATTER , BUT AROUND 11 PM THE SIGNAL WAS SO CLEAR ,. BEAKER STREET WAS MY FAVORITE RADIO SHOW IN ALL MY LIFE, YEARS LATTER I BECAME IN A RADIO PRODUCER , SCRIPT WRITER AND DIRECTOR TOO , SO A BUNCH OF RADIO PEOPLE WHO USE TO LISTEN KAAY AND BS , WHERE WORKING AT THE SAME RADIO STATION AND TRIED TO DO PROGRAMS IN THE SAME WAY , WE AIRED THAT KIND OF " WEIRD MUSIC " TO THE YOUNG LISTENERS AND WE SHOW THEM " THE DARK SIDE " OF ROCK ´N ROLL , THE KIND OF ROCK UNCOMERCIAL , BUT BETTER THAN THOSE CRAP THAT OTHER RADIO STATION USE TO PLAY . SO I ´M VERY PROUD OF YOU , YOUR CREW , OPERATORS , INGENIERS AND EVERYBODY AT KAAY LITTLEROCK ARKANSAS . NHOW A DAYS I´M 55 , AND PLAYING IN " THE KENTS " , A COVER BAND WHO PLAYS ALL THE " WEIRD MUSIC " THAT " BEAKER STREET " SET ON US . SO I´LL BE IN TOUCH AND I´LL TRY TO LISTEN SOME OF THE ARCHIVES IN THE BLOCK , MAYBE I CAN RECORD OR DOWNLOAD SOME OF THEM. A GREAT HUG AND HAVE GOOD LUCK. REGARDS FROM CUBA .DAGO"


I've asked Dago for a group picture, as well. These guys, from what I've learned, have all pretty much been influenced by American Rock music, most of which was from Beaker Street.

Rock on!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Beaker Street In Cuba Comment

Hello, at beginnings of 70s I was studying in one of the Castro's invented school that mix studies with agricultural work, its name is Ceiba 6, all nights with placed the radio stuck to a column of the dormitory (to increase the signal reception) and we listened Beaker Street, great program! , I recall that often began with Pink Floyd's Pigs, by all means we could not let the professors got us listening the program because immediately they accused to you of "diversionismo ideologico" (literally, ideological deviation), and you were kicked out the school, lol!


By Juan Perez on "Comments That Hit You "Right There"....

More Soviet Radio Pictures

As promised...do you find this interesting? These are more photos sent along from our visitor from Cuba...



This is its power supply and a comparison in size as in relation to a USB drive:


And the radio itself comparing in size to the USB drive:


This picture of the power supply shows the differing voltage/current from U.S. units:


And one last shot of the manufacturing information of the VEF radio:


I hope you have enjoyed these pictures, gifts from our friend in Cuba, who, so many years ago, enjoyed listening to KAAY and Beaker Street as we did.

And now, a parting word from our friend:

"Bud, there's something you should know, listeners of the KAAY AM station, during the 70's here can be counted by thousands, just do not know that there is a blog where can share those experiences, the day they learned, you may receive many emails, letters and photos. Another thing you should know, and it is good that appears on your post. Here are just listening to the KAAY from midnight, of course the single most heard was Beaker Street program, the station's signal vanished almost at dawn, nobody ever knew why, and it did not matter,as midnight following waiting for Cannabis Sativa notes,moments before hearing the voice of Clyde Clifford."

Ah, yes, Clyde...! You had such an influence- and still do! We all look forward to encouraging messages from all over the world regarding KAAY...thank you, sir, for sharing your pictures and very kind words!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

ROCK & ROLL RADIO HISTORY: FEB. 3, 1959..."THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED" !

THE MOST TRAGIC DAY IN THE EARLY YEARS OF ROCK & ROLL HISTORY WAS FEBRUARY 3, 1959...



DON McLEAN in his instant-classic hit "American Pie" (Released in the Fall of 1971) termed it "The Day The Music Died", and since then that's the way it's been known.

I've had this rare, historic, News Bulletin about the crash on that day, February 3, 1959, in my Archives for a long time, but I don't know where it was originally broadcast or who the announcer is. When I decided to add it to the WebSite, I added a little bit of music from Buddy Holly, and Richie Valens, PLUS, the voice of The Big Bopper with his legendary Intro to start things off...to give it a little more balance and give you a chance to hear their voices again.

This special, rare audio that you'll hear is not very long...but it is very important. And, maybe next time when you hear Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, or, The Big Bopper, on your radio while you're out Crusin' you'll think about the musical legacy they left us, and remember that they left us way too soon.

Simply click-on, listen to the audio, read the History, read my personal memories of this tragic occurence, and, remember those 3 Legendary singers whose music will live on forever.
http://www.legends.thewwbc.net/gpage149.html

Jonnie King www.jonnieking.net

Don Cornelius Deceased

As per Dave Montgomery's sharp eye:

"Another great of our generation, gone:


"Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius was found dead at his Sherman Oaks on home Wednesday morning.

Law enforcement sources said police arrived at Cornelius' home around 4 a.m. He apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing.

The sources said there was no sign of foul play, but the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating.

In a 2010 interview with The Times, he said he was excited about a movie project he was developing about "Soul Train."

"We've been in discussions with several people about getting a movie off the ground. It wouldn't be the 'Soul Train' dance show, it would be more of a biographical look at the project," he said. "It's going to be about some of the things that really happened on the show."

According to a Times article, Cornelius’ “Soul Train” became the longest-running first-run nationally syndicated show in television history, bringing African American music and style to the world for 35 years.

Cornelius stopped hosting the show in 1993, and “Soul Train” ceased production in 2006.

Story credit for the Don Cornelius story goes to :

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/soul-train-creator-don-cornelius-dead-in-apparent-suicide.html

Los Angeles Times


DM"

Soviet Radio, as Promised

Dear reader, some of you know how I love radios. Yes, they all do the same thing: receive signals. But for something to have been used to hear one thing and used to hear another...well, that's as political as I'll get. Nonetheless, here are more photos from our friend in Cuba for you to enjoy! As he mentioned before:

"...new photos of old Soviet radio, where we listened with great pleasure Beaker Street."




Notice what's in the background?


More pictures later!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)