Saturday, December 28, 2013

NEW YEAR'S EVE, 1993, WITH "WOLFMAN JACK" !

         

WHILE I WAS On-The-Air on JUKE BOX 96 Radio in St. Louis on New Year's Eve, 1993, I received a surprise phone call from my old friend the Legendary WOLFMAN JACK !

I had no idea that The Wolfman was going to do this...it took me completely by surprise.  I can't really tell you how grateful I was for his kind gesture, and if I sound excited on this recording it's because I truly was !

This piece of Audio History had been locked-up in my Audio Archives for all these years, but I wanted to share it with all of you so that you could once again hear his voice, and so that I could fittingly pay Tribute to this wonderful, truly professional, R&R Radio Icon:  My Friend, WOLFMAN JACK.

ALSO, I've added some of my personal thoughts & remembrances of this Radio Legend & Hall Of Famer on this same Page.  PLUS, if you listen closely, you can "CLAP FOR THE WOLFMAN" with the Guess Who !!

Ready ?  Okay then,  just click-on this Link and re-live a part Rock & Roll Radio History on "New Year's Eve, 1993, With Wolfman Jack"...20 YEARS AGO ! 

JK

Friday, December 27, 2013

KAAY - Holiday in mid-1976, received in Missouri

This is an after-Xmas treat from Pat O'Brien of KQUS-FM/US97 in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  Here are several sets of Holiday (is that David B. Treadway?) on KAAY, captured on a cassette tape over several nights in mid-1976, it's all DX reception in Missouri.   Thank you, Pat!



or download here


Greg Barman

Monday, December 23, 2013

Remembering Larry Lujack

Thank you David Treadway for your thoughts on Uncle Lar.  I was also very saddened upon the news of Larry Lujack's death.  I grew up in the Chicago area, in the suburb of Evanston, and Lujack was a big influence on me too as I became fascinated  with radio and was so determined to work in the biz.  Remembering all the things he did on the air just makes me smile.

I love how Lujack made people laugh.  Sometimes it was a funny observation.  Sometimes it was his sarcasm, which seemed to fit Chicagoans' mood just right.  At a time when jocks were cheery, or pleasant "guests in the home", or felt they had to sound slick and Big because they made it to a top 3 market, Lujack was so different.  He spoke his mind -- if a song was bad he said so, if a Hollywood star or sports celebrity was an idiot he said so, if a complaining listener was a prude he said so, and he loved to expose the foibles of his bosses too.  He was grumpy a lot, but a funny grump. His putdowns had a smile behind them (usually).  To top it all off,  he enjoyed poking fun at the radio business and other stations and jocks around town.  Chicago was a very competitive, tough, territorial radio town and it was an unwritten wrong to mention someone else's call letters.  Lujack didn't care.  He did it anyway.

So the term "shock jock" was applied to him, but I don't really think it fit.  He was never profane. And now that he's dead, all kinds of stories are being repreated as to how kind, supportive and down-to-earth he was to people off the air.  Actually, those stories have floated around for years.

I'd like to share with you a short sample of his famous "Klunk Letter of the Day" feature.  This is from WCFL in early June 1973.

RIP Larry, and thanks for the laughs and inspiration.



(or download here)


Greg Barman

Saturday, December 21, 2013

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, FROM JONNIE KING!!!

THAT'S RIGHT !  MY 2013 ANNUAL LIST OF CHRISTMAS AND HOLIDAY CLASSIC MOVIES IS HERE...WITH MANY BRAND NEW ADDS THAT YOU'LL WANT TO SEE FOR SURE

GREAT MOVIES, DVD's, and, Videos for your Holiday viewing are just a click-away:
Simply
Click-On Here and it will take you to the this year's list of my favorite's for the Season !!
 

Friday, December 20, 2013

Good Night, Uncle Lar‏

The email subject line read "Lujack. Gone." Ten letters, two words, in a dispatch from Radioink.com. I didn't need to read it, but I did anyway--looking for a loophole. The great Larry Lujack, of legend and fable at WLS in Chicago, died on December 18 at his home in New Mexico, following a battle with esophageal cancer.

He called himself Superjock, and nobody argued the point. That's how good he was. With or without his partner Tommy Edwards (a.k.a. Little Snot-Nosed Tommy to Lujack's Uncle Lar in "Animal Stories"), Larry Lujack owned morning radio in Chicago from roughly 1968 until 1985.  That's simplifying things--owing to his afternoon stint at crosstown WCFL--but in the throwaway culture of Radio, Lujack lasted a lifetime.

He didn't come roaring into Little Rock the way John Records Landecker did on the nighttime skywave. There was not a chance of hearing him in the daytime, but all of us at KAAY sure knew who he was! In later years, some of us would study his methods, looking for anything we could steal--but it didn't work. And that was because there was no persona or facade about him. Every time he opened the mic (or had it opened for him, because WLS was a union shop with board operators), he was simply being himself. What you got was The World According To Lujack. If he had to read some promotional announcement or station liner, it would be done his way. In a business built on smoke and mirrors, he was as real as you could be.

High ratings, big bucks and a truckload of awards and honors left him remarkably unimpressed. I think it was December of 1970 when I was able to pick up an afternoon broadcast on WLS. Newsman Lyle Dean was interviewing Lujack at his home about winning Billboard magazine's DJ Of The Year award and Lujack dismissed him: "It's okay, I guess, but you'll have to excuse me 'cause I'm doing something important right now." He was shoveling the snow out of his driveway!

It turns out that Larry Lujack's secret was no secret at all. Just goon the air and be yourself. Tell the people what's happening in your own words. Talk to 'em just like you'd do without a mic. It took me years to learn this--and I'm not surprised that people like Sonny Martin and Bob Robbins and Wayne Moss and Jonnie King and Clyde Clifford knew it all along!

So rock on, Uncle Lar. While you ride that great Skywave out through the Universe, we'll all be looking for some little piece of your legacy that we can adopt as our own. And we're sure we'll not see the likes of you again!


David B. Treadway
Doc Holiday VII
The Last PD

Monday, December 16, 2013

KAAY - Wayne Moss on September 24, 1971

"50,000 Watts of Hog-Calling Power!"

I think that's a fitting description of this final aircheck from the Wayne Moss Collection #2.  The date is Friday, September 24, 1971, one day before Arkansas plays Tulsa in Fayetteville.  "Beat Tulsa" is the theme of the day, Wayne Moss is pumping up the audience for the game and throws in a few Hog calls.  If it's not loud enough, then "I can't hear you!"

Something that's also notable on this aircheck is the countdown of the top 6 songs, just after the top of the hour ID.

Mitch Michaels provides the news.  The aircheck is telescoped, from 1:32pm to 2:28pm with one missing set of Wayne and the newscast is chopped a bit.  It sounds like the station was not tuned in on-center from :35 to around 2:40, then it's ok after that.

Thanks again to Wayne for digging up this series of airchecks and providing them to the Blog for sharing.

(Oh, the next day the Razorbacks lost to Tulsa, 21-20)


(or download here)

Greg Barman

Thursday, December 12, 2013

KAAY - Bob Robbins 1st day on May 8, 1972 - Part 3

Here is the final hour of Bob Robbin's first day on KAAY, May 8, 1972.  This is reposted from October of last year.  It's untelescoped, covering 2:03pm to 3:00pm. 


(or download here)

Greg Barman


Monday, December 9, 2013

KAAY - Bob Robbins 1st day, May 8 1972 - Part 2

This is a continuation of Bob Robbin's 1st day on the job at KAAY on May 8, 1972.  It's from the Wayne Moss Collection #2 -- thank you again, Wayne!  The aircheck is untelescoped and covers 1:15pm to 2:01pm.


(or download here)

Greg Barman

Monday, December 2, 2013

KAAY - Bob Robbins 1st day on May 8, 1972 Part 1

Bob Robbins began his Little Rock radio career at KAAY when his friend Wayne Moss hired him to do the early afternoon shift starting May 8, 1972.   You may have already heard part of this show, as one hour of it was posted on this blog about a year ago.  But I don't think anybody here at the Blog realized it was Bob's first day at the Big K.  Now, we know, and we have the entire show from the Wayne Moss Collection #2.

Every jock is a little bit anxious on their first day at a new station, sooo Wayne had some fun with his friend.  As the story goes, Wayne stood in the control room to help Bob out with the start of his first show.  Shortly before Bob cracked open his mic for the first time, Wayne reminded his old friend something along the lines of  “Bob, don't forget you are now on a 50,000 watt station with listeners in several states and probably there's a lot people rolling tapes on your first day!”  NO pressure!

This aircheck is untelescoped with a few blips here and there.  This is part 1, from 12:30pm to 1:13pm.



(or download here)
Greg Barman

Saturday, November 30, 2013

"THE BREAKFAST SERIAL" 40th ANNIVERSARY !

TO ALL MY KAAY FRIENDS...

Finally finished a month-long project The Complete History Of "The Breakfast Serial" for its 40th Anniversary (1973-2013)...my how time flies !

My friend, the late-George Jennings, began "The Breakfast Serial" as a Morning Feature that he used with Sonny Martin (Matt White) in 1969.

With George's blessings and help I took it into the Major Markets when I was at KSLQ-FM in St. Louis. That was in October of 1973.

I began National Syndication of the show in September of 1976, and in 2007 for my 40th Anniversary (and the Serial's 35th), I created a Website for it...and its now been heard in all 50 States and over 80 Countries ! (www.serial.thewwbc.net)

So, having been asked about it many, many times, I knew it was time to honor this special, long-running Morning Feature by filling everyone in on the "why" & "how" it all began.

It's long, it's detailed, it's truly "complete"...enjoy it as much as I have for the last 40 years ! http://www.jonnieking.net/gpage35.html

Wishing you all a wonderful, Happy Thanksgiving!

Jonnie King www.jonnieking.net


Thursday, November 28, 2013

Tin Can Alley is on the airwaves!


Regular readers of this blog know that each week, Barry Mac prepares a fresh episode of his 70's oldies show, Tin Can Alley, for our enjoyment.   You can always find this week's episode in the right column, ready to go!  And if one hour's worth of 70's oldies bliss isn't enough, there
are over two years' worth of episodes at the T.C.A. archive at  http://archive.org/bookmarks/Barry%20Mac !

Now, we are pleased to announce that listeners in the Little Rock area can hear T.C.A. on the airwaves each Saturday morning!  According to Barry,

it's currently airing Saturday mornings on KEWI, 690 AM, out of Benton, AR, 8:00-9:00am.  Hopefully, it'll be on 103.3 FM in the next few weeks, as they're supposed to be getting onto that frequency as well.  But there's been some of that talk for awhile, so we'll wait and see.
Congratulations, Barry, on your move to the airwaves!

---Dave S.


Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving from the Mighty 1090 KAAY Blog!




This is a re-post from the A.J. Lindsey archives in 2008.   In A.J.'s own words, from his blog:

"I have been looking for this since the starting of the Thanksgiving season. This ... is what Mike McCormick a/k/a Jim Hankins called a "seasonal". It was a production element to set the stage for the season. Note this one runs 1 minute and 20 seconds. Jim wrote this and it aired as KAAY had been on the air barely 3 months. The voices are newsmen B.Bruce Jenkins and George J. Jennings."

Have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving, everyone!


(or download here)

Greg Barman

Monday, November 25, 2013

KAAY - Wayne Moss on July 19, 1971

Another gem here from the Wayne Moss Collection #2.  This is Wayne on a Moss Monday, July 19, 1971, a telescoped aircheck from 12:38 – 2:15pm with news/sports breaks from Mitch Michaels and Mary Donald.  There are a few missing sets and the newscasts weren’t fully recorded, but otherwise there’s a lot of show here. 

This was recorded off-air and the first few minutes has a raspy sound because the station wasn’t tuned in on-center; the problem is corrected about 3:00 into the aircheck.


(or download here)
Greg Barman

Thursday, November 21, 2013

KAAY - O'Brian from February 1974


From the Wayne Moss Collection #2, here is a short untelescoped aircheck of O’Brian having fun in the nighttime from February 1974.  It's DX reception of KAAY but from where, there is no information.  I have filtered out much of the interference and background noise and smoothed out the levels from the signal fading so it’s more listenable. 


Greg Barman 
(or download here)

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Bob Robbins Moving From KSSN to KMJX

Former KAAY deejay, and lately, 34 years with KSSN, Bob Robbins and his on-air partner Jennifer Trafford are making the move to The Wolf 105.1 KMJX on January 2, 2014:

http://www.thv11.com/news/article/287769/2/New-programming-announced-for-KMJX-1051-The-Wolf--KSSN-96-FM

It's refreshing to know that some of The Greats are still pumping out the hits, whatever genre.  Thanks to Doug Virden for the tip via facebook!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Monday, November 18, 2013

Beaker Street "Head" Bed



This is an update from a 2010 post about the famous trippy music bed used by Clyde Clifford (and his successors) underneath their raps on Beaker Street.  The URL links have changed, hence this update.

The music is from the 1970 album "Head" on Buddah Records, by the Los Angeles-based electronic musician known variously as Nic Raicevic, Nik Raicevic, or Nik Pascal.  Here is more information from Leonard Holyoke's excellent blogsite on 60's/70's psychedelic era music:

http://www.redtelephone66.com/2010/03/head-1970-buddah-lp/

And, here is another writeup from Hippy.com:

http://www.hippy.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=477

Finally, a bit of info on Raicevic:

http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/2007/04/nik-raicevic-beyond-end.html


The bed is a crucial part of Beaker Street lore because the purpose was to mask the noise from the air circulation fans in the mighty 50,000 watt transmitter, located just a few feet from where Clyde was on-mic.  The bed is from the track 'Cannabis Sativa', which is 17:52 in length.  It sounds like Clyde took a segment of the track starting around 9:00 and looped a few minutes of it to create the spooky drone for Beaker Street. 

The LP is long out of print and a collector's item.  This is from a reel-to-reel dub of the album I made in the 1970's.  It's in Stereo so put on your headphones and enjoy all the synth droning, channel to channel spatial effects, and just plain weirdness!


(or download here)

Greg Barman

Thursday, November 14, 2013

KAAY Wayne Moss - May 19 1971, Part 2

From the Wayne Moss Collection #2, this is Part 2 of Wayne’s show on the Big K on Wednesday May 19, 1971, with news from Mitch Michaels and Mary Donald.  1:55pm to 3:01pm, telescoped.  Reception was a bit staticy at some spots, I suspect from local electrical interference.  In other words, sounds just like real AM radio!


(or download here)
Greg Barman

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The Spectrum Monitor Announcement

"Hi Bud,

Just a note to let you know about the launch of The Spectrum Monitor, an electronic follow-on publication to Monitoring Times, which ceases publication with the December, 2013 issue. I hope you'll pass this along to all the folks at the KAAY blog. Thanks so much for your help! Best regards, Ken KS4ZR.

Ken Reitz KS4ZR, Managing Editor
Monitoring Times
Publisher, Managing Editor
The Spectrum Monitor"

Folks, check out this link!!!

http://www.thespectrummonitor.com/

Thanks to Ken Reitz for this information!  Ken, we'll be looking forward to a quality publication to fill the gap Monitoring Times will leave as they cease publication in December....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)






Monday, November 11, 2013

Veteran's Day

All gave some, but some gave all....

Thursday, November 7, 2013

And now -- The KAAY Wayne Moss Collection #2 !



Back in 2011, former PD Wayne Moss sent us a bunch of aircheck tapes, which we posted during 2012 and earlier this year.  Now, much to our surprise, he has dug up ANOTHER set of aircheck cassettes and has graciously shared them with Bud & the rest of us here at the Blog!  After putting these tapes through some case-cracking, editing and audio cleanup – Presto!  We have another set of great shows for you from the 1971 thru 1974 period of KAAY – 3 airchecks of Wayne, 1 of O’Brien, and a special aircheck of Bob Robbins. 

To start things off here is Wayne Moss on Wednesday afternoon May 19, 1971.  This is part 1, a telescoped aircheck from 12:30pm to 1:45pm, including George Jennings in the Cash Cruiser and news from Mitch Michaels.  You’ll hear some “Sock it to ‘em” liners, I figure this must have been during the time when the “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” show had made the phrase so popular. 


(or download here)
Greg Barman

Monday, November 4, 2013

Lou Reed, Rest in Peace

One of music's most influential artists, Lou Reed, passed on into Rock & Roll heaven on October 27:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lou-reed-velvet-underground-leader-and-rock-pioneer-dead-at-71-20131027

If you remember the Velvet Underground, you go 'WAY back.

Rest in peace, Lou...see you later, I hope....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Friday, October 25, 2013

"2013 HALLOWEEN SPECIAL" !




ONCE AGAIN IT'S THE FALL SEASON, my favorite time of the year ! And it brings with it that mysterious, haunting, Holiday: HALLOWEEN !
                       
SO, FOR A SPECIAL GROUP OF HALLOWEEN SURPRISES, That I've Produced Just For You ! 
It's the "JONNIE KING HALLOWEEN SPECIAL" that includes: Movies, Music, Radio & TV... Complete With Ghosts, Goblins, and, Things That Go "BUMP" In the Night !


Don't look for a lot of "common" films that you may see almost every year on TV...there are a few of those, BUT most of my List covers some eclectic, esoteric, films that you might just have to try and find. Some of 'em are THAT RARE ! And, that's the good news because they'll be fresh viewing for you, your family, and your friends.

Ghosts, Goblins, Witches, Vampires, Werewolves, Mummies, and other assorted weird, strange creatures are waiting for you in my Special "HALLOWEEN FILM RARITIES FOR 2013". AND, once you've discovered the List for yourself, be sure you pass it on to your friends...but, make sure their heart can take it ! You see, through the years we've had reports of...well, that's a subject for another time.

BUT WAIT...THAT'S NOT ALL ! I'VE EXPANDED THE CONCEPT INTO: "THE ULTIMATE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL" ! It's a Complete Package that includes, not only Movies, but, Music, Radio & TV !

Over 200 Hours of work went into this Special Production, and I sincerely hope you'll enjoy it...

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL FIND:

1. Movies: "Halloween Film Rarities For 2013"

2. Radio: From "THE BREAKFAST SERIAL"...The "Ozzie & Harriet" Show: "Halloween, 1948"

3. TV: "The Munsters": "Hot Rod Herman"...The "King Of The Kustomizers", GEORGE BARRIS, tells the story of the "Munster's Koach" & the "Drag-U-La" Cars, and raced 'em in the show.

4. Music: My Custom Production of two Halloween Classics:
"Monster Mash" & "The Haunted House" with an Introduction by "Dracula" himself...BELA LUGOSI !

HERE'S THE LINK WHERE IT ALL BEGINS:
http://www.serial.thewwbc.net/gpage2.html

BONUS...

If you've ever seen the iconic "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE", or, Tim Burton's Oscar Winning "ED WOOD", you've seen "THE AMAZING CRISWELL" ! Cris Introduces and narrates "Plan 9" and has gained World-Wide popularity from it. BUT, he was much more than that:

He had his own TV Show in L.A. for years, his "Criswell Predicts" Column was in over 300 Newspapers & Magazines, and, his Radio Show of the same name was on over 85 Stations !

He was a super-showman appearing on the Jack Paar Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show, The Art Linkletter Show, weekly personal appearances througout the country, etc. He was a consumate Pro. He was also my friend, and for years, I've always dedicated my "Halloween Film Rarities" List to him.

Now, due to many questions about Criswell, and that dedication, I've created a Special Tribute page to him...and you'll find out how our lives connected with each others, and our friendship began.

I know you will enjoy the Info, the Rare Pix, my memories of Cris...and the "Old Hollywood" that he and I once lived in.

For "THE AMAZING CRISWELL" TRIBUTE...Simply Click-On This Link And You're There:
http://www.jonnieking.net/gpage29.html
AND, YES !   THERE IS A "CRISWELL/KAAY" CONNECTION THAT YOU WILL LOVE !!

My thanks to all...stay safe, well, and, Monster-Free till Nov. 1st. ! ENJOY !!

JK www.jonnieking.net

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

KAAY Martin & Jennings doing a remote - October 10, 1972

Here are Martin & Jennings (or, variously, the "Jennings & Martin Program") on a Tuesday morning, October 10, 1972, getting outside the studio and doing a remote from 1st Federal Savings & Loan at the Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock.  They're helping people to register to vote, and to root for their favorite football teams.  Mitch Michaels handles the news back at the studio.  It's an untelescoped aircheck running from 7:17am to 8:02am.  

Much thanks to Gary Pfeifer for this aircheck and the many others he has contributed lately.  You can check out the rest of his aircheck collection here.


(or download here)
Coming soon to this very Blog --  The Wayne Moss Collection #2!

Greg Barman

Monday, October 21, 2013

KAAY - Martin & Jennings on June 5, 1972

This is another Martin & Jennings untelescoped aircheck from the year 1972, thanks to contributor Gary Pfeifer.  This is from Monday morning June 5, 1972 on a typical sunny morning.  It includes an episode of The Maltese Falcon on The Breakfast Serial.  The aircheck runs from 7:32am to 8:04am.


(or download here)
Greg Barman


Thursday, October 17, 2013

KAAY - Bob Robbins on July 9, 1972

Here's another contribution from Gary Pfeifer, and it's Bob Robbins letting the good rock roll on a Sunday, July 9, 1972.  The aircheck runs from 3:17p to 4:07p, untelescoped with just a few breaks or missed sets here & there. The newscasts are from Michael O'Sullivan.

I especially enjoy hearing the old concert spots.  Imagine going to an Allman Brothers & Dr. John concert for just 5 bucks!


(or download here)
Greg Barman

Monday, October 14, 2013

KAAY - Martin & Jennings & the naked foldout - April 17, 1972

It's a Monday morning, April 17, 1972, and Texan George Jennings has decided to shake up Sonny Martin by challenging him to pose naked in a calendar foldout!  After all, the jocks at KLIF/Dallas posed nude in a big promotion there, so why couldn't Sonny? Don't Arkansans have the same nerve as Texans?  All the jokes fly in this brief untelescoped aircheck, from 7:09am to 7:39am. What will Sonny do?

Thanks again, Gary Pfeifer, for contributing this aircheck.


(or download here)

Greg Barman

Thursday, October 10, 2013

KAAY - Phil North on February 22, 1972

This is another contribution from the Gary Pfeifer aircheck collection, and as you'll hear from the voice at the beginning, this is originally from the collection of KAAY GM Pat Walsh.  Here is Phil North on a Tuesday night, February 22, 1972.  Untelescoped from 8:39p to 9:25p. 

The sound quality isn't the best -- this aircheck was recorded on a cassette at very low volume, requiring a lot of noise filtering to pull the audio from out of the tape hiss.


(or download here)

Greg Barman

Monday, October 7, 2013

KAAY - Martin & Jennings on March 21, 1972

From the Gary Pfeifer aircheck collection, here's Sonny Martin & George Jennings with a typical show from Tuesday, March 21, 1972.  7:11am to 7:56am, untelescoped.  On this show, Jennings has some fun calling the Starline dial-a-horoscope service in Birmingham, England.  And, an episode of The Breakfast Serial called The Invisible Ape. 


(or download here)

Greg Barman

Thursday, October 3, 2013

KAAY - Jennings subs for Martin, Feb 12, 1972.

This was an unusual morning on the Big K.  Sonny Martin was apparently "under the weather" on this particular day and George Jennings got behind the jock mic and hosted the morning show.  It's not easy to switch from being Mr. News Voice of Authority and sidekick, to being Mr. Morning Sunshine & Entertainment and oh by the way which button do I push to start the next song?  But he got the job done, and he got to play a record that he considered his kind of music.  While Jennings subbed for Martin, Doc Holiday pitched in for Jennings on the news.  Then Holiday took over the mic at 9:00am. 

This untelescoped aircheck runs from 8:21am to 9:07am.  It's another great contribution from the Gary Pfeifer collection. 


(or download here)

Greg Barman

Monday, September 30, 2013

New Jonnie King Photo!

Once again, history is uncovered!  Jonnie King sent in a picture of himself...well, let me allow him to describe it:

"Hi Bud !

Hope you are okay and can get some rest occasionally ! I found this photo and thought you might like to Post it when you have time.

It's at my apartment which was 2200 Louisianna (the corner of 22nd & Louisianna) in L.R. I lived there for 3 1/2 years...the entire time I worked at KAAY.

The attached photo is myself (on the left), and 2 members of a then-new St. Louis group called "The Murge"...headed by my old St. Louis friend, Steve Cummings (Steve Cummings & The Classmen with Gayle McCormick).

I am not sure of the names of the 2 guys in the pic...but they were nice. The date of the photo was Friday, April 3, 1970.

(NOTE: The apartment I lived in had just been built around 1968 when I moved in May 2, 1969. It was a nice/clean/new one-bedroom apartment, completely furnished, air-conditioned, dish washer, garbage disposal, panelled walls. Water, Electricity & Gas were also included in the rent. What was the rent ? $135.00 per month !!)

The name of the Apartments were "The Jo-Mar Apartments". The manager at the time was Jerry Boyd, and his wife Sandy. Great friends...and, Jerry was also from St. Louis, like myself. And the $135.00 rent was not raised in all of the time I was there !!!

All the best to you and yours, Bud !"
 
Thank you, Jonnie!  Here's the photo:
 
 

Thursday, September 26, 2013

KAAY - Tom Robbins on May 16, 1968

Here is another aircheck from the Gary Pfeifer collection -- Tom Robbins sitting in for Mike McCormick on May 16, 1968. It runs from 11:09am to 11:39am. It's mostly untelescoped, but some music and the full COMEX newscast by Ron Owens was not recorded.

I don't know anything about Tom Robbins, if that is his real name or that of a LIN Board member.  If anybody knows more about him, feel free to comment.



(or download here)
Greg Barman

Monday, September 23, 2013

KAAY Beaker Street - Clyde Clifford, June 2, 1972 - Continued

In June, this aircheck was re-posted from the old blog.  Actually it was the first hour of a THREE-hour telescoped aircheck of Beaker Street from the night of June 1-2, 1972.  I don't think the last 2 hours of the show have ever been posted.  So here they are, starting at Midnight June 2 and running thru the beginning of Beaker Theater at 2:00am.

This was DX reception of KAAY at my home in Evanston IL, just north of Chicago.  The signal varied but as you'll hear it often boomed in as strong as a local station.  Simply amazing.

Clyde's playlist for these two hours included:  Hawkwind, Daddy Cool, Steppenwolf, Joyous Noise, Vigrass & Osborne, Dust, Arlo Guthrie, Foghat, The Chambers Brothers, Spooky Tooth, and Mason Proffit.


(or download here)
Greg Barman

Thursday, September 19, 2013

KAAY Martin & Jennings - January 31, 1972

This is the first of several contributions from Gary Pfeifer, an aircheck collector and KAAY fan.  He has submitted a batch of airchecks that you'll be seeing over several weeks, mostly new material for this blog along with a few airchecks that were previously posted but are now available with slightly better audio quality.

Gary's collection includes a bunch of Sonny Martin & George Jennings airchecks.  Here is an untelescoped one from Monday January 31, 1972, from about 6:41am to 7:15am.


(or download here)

Greg Barman

Monday, September 16, 2013

KAAY - One of Arkansas' Top 20 Icons (Reposting)

This feature on KAAY is no longer accessible to free users of the Arkansas Business website, so I’m reposting it in document form.

The 20 Arkansas Icons feature was part of the 20th Anniversary edition of the Arkansas Business magazine, and since the magazine started in 1984 this probably appeared in 2004. The Icons are defined as "recognized as representative of the state even by non-Arkansans - people, institutions and phenomena that are uniquely Arkansas." So KAAY is among icons such as Bill Clinton, Billy Bob Thornton, Central High School, Wal-Mart, and the Arkansas Razorbacks.

I have to say it is a shame that KAAY is barely a fraction of the Icon it once was, which makes it all the more important to preserve the legacy.

http://goo.gl/bG4zMy

Greg Barman 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Friday, September 13, 2013

Clyde Clifford in for Phil North, April 15, 1972, telescoped

And for those of you who prefer a 'scoped version (I personally don't... I LIKE the unscoped versions), here is that version, again compliments of Greg Barman:

(or download here)

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Encyclopedia Of Arkansas Book Release!

Dear reader and visitor, you know I RARELY toot my own horn...but I was honored when Ali Welky of the Butler Center in Little Rock sent me this notice (edited for brevity):

"Mr. Stacey,

The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture is proud to announce the release of our first ever venture into print: the Encyclopedia of Arkansas Music. The book—published by Butler Center Books—is composed of more than 150 entries from the EOA website on all subjects musical. It also includes an introduction covering centuries of music in Arkansas, overviews of musical genres, a musical map of Arkansas, and a plethora of marvelous color and black and white photos.

What’s even more exciting is that you’re a part of it. Your entry on KAAY is included in the book, p. 120!

We would be honored if you could join us to celebrate the book’s launch in Little Rock on Sept. 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the Main Library’s Darragh Center."

"Even if you can’t make it to the event, the book can still be yours!

It is for sale at bookstores around Arkansas (including River Market Books & Gifts, WordsWorth Books, and Barnes & Noble); from Butler Center Books’ distributer, the UA Press (http://www.uapress.com/titles/butler/welky.html); and from other online retailers such as Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Arkansas-Music-Ali-Welky/dp/1935106600/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377535400&sr=1-3&keywords=arkansas+music) and Barnes & Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/encyclopedia-of-arkansas-music-ali-welky/1115985360?ean=9781935106609).

Thank you for joining us in preserving and celebrating Arkansas’s musical history and culture.

Best regards,

Alexandra (Ali) Welky
Assistant Editor
Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture"

Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend for several reasons, but I intend on obtaining the book for my birthday next month!


Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

September 11...Two Events....

...still no answers....


...be sure to thank every first-responder, fireman. law enforcement and military person you encounter today...and make the effort to call at least ONE of the same today....

...God bless the U.S.A.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Monday, September 9, 2013

Clyde Clifford In For Phil North, April 15, 1972, Pt. 2

Here is Part 2 of the aircheck leading into Beaker Street at 11pm; again, Clyde Clifford has taken over for Phil North while the latter is away for a few days.

Beaker Street begins with a live version of "Johnny Be Good".  Can anyone recognize who the singer is?

Clyde is a professional, handling both "prime time" and Beaker Street... a very candid example and fun to listen to.

(or download here)


A telescoped version of this aircheck is coming up.
Thanks again to Dave S. and Greg Barman for their dedication to the blog!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Friday, September 6, 2013

Reader comments....

From time to time we receive comments, which we happily attach to the relevant posts.

Sometimes it's hard for readers to see when new comments are posted.  So, here are a couple of comments that arrived in the past week, and they are interesting enough that they deserve a posting of their own:
I recall my friends and I sometimes driving around to find a spot to catch the bounce so we could listen to your show. For us in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, there were certain areas where your station would come in pretty good without the signal dropping fully and some areas where is would fade out completely at times. But it didn't always stay that way as nights with weather disturbances would move things around. Most of us would pile in 1 or 2 cars and drive to the closest hot spot was previously and see how it was. If the signal would fade out too often or for long periods of time, it was on to the next spot or explore for another place to hear those tunes and your commentary/insights on the music. That bit of adventure sometimes made the journey to listen all the more interesting. Needless to say, we all enjoyed the time spent with you and getting down with the music and the psychedelic sounds.
on Clyde Clifford - Then and Now
Coz  on 8/27/13

Speaking of the transmitter... HELP !!!!! I can't find anyone to communicate with (like maybe Dale/Clyde) about a burning Beaker Street question. WHAT was the intro montage of songs Dale would play at the START of each Beaker Street in 1968? Specifically, part of the montage was a male singer/group singing "Candy, my vibration".... or something. Almost like Deep Purple... but it wasn't them. Does ANYONE on the planet know what that particular song in the intro snip was from? I can't find it anywhere... can't find a reference to it... yet I KNOW I didn't dream it... esp since I listened to Beaker Street about every night it was on in the 60s.
on VIDEO: A Visit To The Transmitter Site
Anonymous on 8/23/13
 Would anyone like to comment on the comments...?


P.S. Check out the two new comments to our recent post, "Clyde Clifford In For Phil North, April 15, 1972, Pt. 1"

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Clyde Clifford In For Phil North, April 15, 1972, Pt. 1

Thanks to Greg Barman, our "resident audio guru" for finding this tape, transferring it to digital and getting it in.  I don't think we ever had these versions, (part 2 to follow), but I do remember Clyde Clifford taking over for Phil North at one time.  Here's Greg's comments:

"This is an untelescoped aircheck of Clyde Clifford on KAAY from Saturday night, April 15, 1972.  But he's not doing Beaker Street, instead he's doing Top 40, subbing for Phil North.  Apparently, Phil was called away unexpectedly so Clyde came in a few hours before his regular 11PM Beaker Street show and played the hits.  The faster-paced Top 40 format really isn't Clyde's forte, the results are interesting, but he got the job done, including two 5-minute newscasts.

"I got this aircheck from a collector in Iowa about 10 years ago and I don't know anything about who originally recorded it.  It's local reception, an untelescoped recording starting around 9:30PM with a few breaks or blips here and there.  Note the 2nd song after the 10PM ID and the singover jingle over the intro to Ocean's 'Put Your hand In The Hand.' "


(or download here)

Part 2 is to come...

Many thanks to Dave S. and Greg Barman for continually digging in "the pile"!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Upcoming Book???

I'd just heard from Greg Barman, our "resident" audio technician, about something he found while doing research:

"Memorializing the Mighty 1090


Sonny Rhodes, a journalism professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, is tackling a book project on KAAY-AM, 1090, a Little Rock radio station that began broadcasting in 1962.

"I think it's a fascinating piece of Arkansas history. There's not been a lot documented about radio history, especially in Arkansas," Rhodes said last week.

The book will focus on the glory days of "The Mighty 1090," which lasted well into the 1970s, he said.

Fans and former employees of the old KAAY celebrated the 50th anniversary of its launch Sept. 14 in Little Rock.

"It had an interesting format in that it was sort of ‘all things to all people,'" Rhodes said. The station would broadcast reports on livestock prices for farmers, top 40 music, religious programming and "Beaker Street," a three-hour night program that "was really one of the forerunners of underground music programming," he said.

Early on, around the time of the Cuban missile crisis, KAAY also used its broadcast range to point American propaganda toward Cuba.

KAAY was the top-rated radio station in Arkansas through the 1970s and was heard in other countries because the 50,000-watt station's signal reached so far at night, Rhodes said.

"You could hear it all the way from Canada to Argentina," Rhodes said. "The sun interferes with AM signals, so at nighttime nothing interferes and the signals travel a lot farther."

KAAY is still on the air, but was sold and converted to all-Christian broadcasting in 1985.

Rhodes is an associate professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He is working on the written history of KAAY with a friend and professor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, Richard Robinson.

Robinson wrote his doctoral dissertation on KAAY, and the book is a result of that project.

Rhodes is currently researching the book, plans to conduct interviews with the famous former KAAY radio personalities who are still alive and is adapting Robinson's academic paper to appeal to an audience outside of academia. Rhodes hopes to have the book finished by May, he said.

Rhodes and Robinson have not yet found a publisher."

I'd also like to clarify the statement about the sun affecting radio waves: during the day, the sun causes the 'F layer' of the atmosphere to divide into what is called the 'F1' and 'F2' layers and are more porous to radio waves.  At night, both layers recombine and become more dense to radio waves, causing signals to 'skip' longer distances.  Radio propagation is a fascinating science and is worthy of basic study, of you're interested in radio and/or communications.

Thanks to Greg Barman for this catch!  We'll be waiting for the book to come out....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)



Friday, August 30, 2013

KTHS History Per Hollis Duncan

Former KAAY engineer Hollis Duncan recounts the history behind KTHS, the precursor to KAAY:

"From its earliest days, the future of KTHS was tied to both WFAA in Dallas and WBAP in Fort Worth. The outcome of this strange relationship unexpectedly worked to the benefit of KTHS, WFAA, and WBAP.

WBAP and KTHS were together from the very start. During the Summer of 1924, WBAP paved the way for KTHS by hosting The World's Longest Remote Broadcast from Hot Springs High School. WBAP later supplied KTHS General Manager Givens Campbell "Cam" Arnoux (AR-noo) and KTHS Chief Engineer Ed L. Olds. After its Grand Opening on New Years Eve 1924, KTHS shared time on 780 kHz with WBAP.

WFAA and WBAP came on the air within months of each other in 1922. WFAA found it sharing time on 1040 kHz with KRLD, owned by competitor Dallas Times-Herald.

WFAA was owned by George B. Dealey of the Dallas News and WBAP was owned by Amon Carter of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Both the Dallas News and WFAA were operated under the A.H. Belo Corporation, who still owns The Dallas Morning News.

As radio became a more established and important business, WBAP was finding it troublesome to share time with distant station KTHS. Over in Dallas, WFAA was finding it REALLY troublesome to share time with their hated competitor the Times-Herald.

Fort Worth and Dallas were distant Cities in the 1920s and the News and the Star-Telegram were not competitors. It is reported that Mr. Dealey and Mr. Carter held each other in high regard, so they decided to resolve the situation.

After negotiation, WFAA and WBAP came to an agreement with KTHS for WFAA to share time with WBAP on 800 kHz and for KTHS to move to 1040 and share time with KRLD. This change was approved by the Federal Radio Commission and became effective on May 1, 1929.

The shift to 800 kHz (later 820 kHz) was a good move for WFAA-WBAP, giving one or the other station access to the Dallas-Fort Worth market. It was also proved to be a good move for KTHS, allowing a power increase to 10,000 watts and paving the way for its move to 1090 kHz. KRLD found a full-time home on 1080 kHz and KTHS started sharing time with WBAL, a station that KAAY continues to protect at night.

Because WBAP could use 800 kHz for only half of the broadcast day, Mr. Carter bought KGKO-570 in Wichita Falls, Texas, and moved the station to Fort Worth as an alternate outlet for WBAP. Because it seemed silly to leave KGKO's facilities idle when WBAP was operating on 800, WFAA asked to use 570 and KGKO's call letters were formally changed to WFAA-WBAP-570. As an aside, a station in Benton, Arkansas, (now deleted) acquired the KGKO call letters and used them on 850 kHz for many years.

Both WFAA and WBAP were NBC Red Network Affiliates and KGKO as affiliated with the NBC Blue Network. This situation became slightly more complicated when the NBC Blue Network became the ABC Radio Network WFAA and WBAP changed Networks several times a day when they changed frequency from 800 to 570.

The WFAA-WBAP time share continued until May 1, 1970, when WBAP bought 820 kHz and gave WFAA sole possession of 570 kHz. WBAP became a National powerhouse while WFAA drifted along until leaving radio in 1983.

I doubt that KTHS had a great deal of choice. In the late 1920s, the new Federal Radio Commission was busily reallocating the broadcast band and little stations like KTHS were assigned to poor positions on the Broadcast Band or regulated out of existence. That is what reportedly happened to KFMQ-Fayetteville, one of the earliest radio stations in Arkansas. THe FRC assigned KFMQ to a frequency that was shared with a Fort Smith station and KFMQ either sold or just gave up.

Although both the Dallas News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram had plenty of political influence, it appears that KTHS had powerful Arkansas Senator Joe T. Robinson on its side. The FRC file of the Joe T. Robinson Papers in Fayetteville probably makes for very interesting reading.

It has been said that the future is often determined by the past, and the dance of WFAA, WBAP, and KTHS might be a good example."

Thank you, Hollis!  Sometimes, the pointless frequency-shuffling done by the Federal Radio Commission (precursor to the Federal Communications Commission) probably made more sense to them than the radio stations....

Good read, Hollis!  We're looking forward to more interesting history of KTHS and KAAY!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)


Thursday, August 22, 2013

VIDEO: A Visit To The Transmitter Site

Again, I apologize for not getting this on sooner...as Jerry Sims and I left the McDonalds' home, we had to drive back past the KAAY transmitter site.  Jerry agreed to let me video the grounds, especially since the gate was still open and the tech was still trying to get a transmitter up and running (the newer 50 kw was down and the tech was trying, unsuccessfully, to get a back-up 5 kw running).  So, I popped in another set of batteries and jumped to the task:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnFEKp81Pco

You can see the decrepit state of the building even then...back in the Summer and Fall 2011 postings, there may be one or two photos where one can make out a small tree growing on top of the transmitter building.

Thanks to the late Great Jerry Sims for driving me around that day and to another Great, David B. Treadway (and son) for also spending a lot of time with me that day, both at the transmitter site and back in town at KHTV.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

44 Years Ago This Past Weekend....

....Richie Havens opened Woodstock in 1969.  Richie passed away, at the age of 72 years young, from a heart attack in April.  His ashes were spread over the grounds of the historical concert, which featured many, many entertainers.  Some pictures of the "ceremony" can be seen here:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=TH&Date=20130818&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=818009998&Ref=PH&Presentation=desktop

You know what they say: If you remember Woodstock, you really weren't there....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Monday, August 19, 2013

VIDEO: A Visit With Felix McDonald, April 2011

I must apologize for not getting this on sooner..."life" has its way of getting priorities reshuffled.  Nonetheless, when I was in Little Rock in April of 2011 (see the series in the Summer and Fall 2011 postings), Jerry Sims, David B. Treadway and I visited Felix and his wife, just yards from the transmitter.  David B. had to get his son back to town and left before I thought to take this video.  It is a very short video, because I wasn't watching my battery level...

...however, Jerry Sims was discussing how he know some of the McDonald family and his business associations with them through radio & TV.  It was a very enjoyable hour or so...I wish I could have gotten some other, candid conversation, especially when they were talking KAAY history.  Makes me all the more thoughtful to keep a pocketful of spare batteries!



Here is the link, for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVDKTN1trhY

As you can see, it was a very nice, relaxed atmosphere in their spacious sun room...but the acoustics were not too good.  You may have to turn up the volume a bit to hear what Jerry's talking about.

My thanks to the McDonalds for their hospitality!  And my thanks to the late, Great Jerry Sims for driving me around that day....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Friday, August 9, 2013

KAAY: George J. Jennings, 1964

As mentioned in A. J. Lindsey's words below- a great way to remember George Jennings:

"A Great Way to Remember George!

Relive one of his newcasts. This newscast comes from January 1964. The newscasts were still at :15 and :45, later changed to the top of the hour.

Thanks to Mike McKinney a/k/a Jack Lee for several airchecks. This cut is a George J. Jennings newscast from Jan. 1964. I do the commercial in the middle for Holly Ham. This is a great example of a George newscast complete with Jimmy Fiddler at the end. Is anyone doing exciting radio news today?  Hearing this makes me want to shuffle through the 45s and find the fastest, hottest hit, cue it up, and be ready to blow the monitor out with more muuuuusic!!! (See earlier discussion of Jimmy Fiddler and how we got "free" Ampexes.) Even in 1964 "Hollywood" news was big. The news department was never excited about Fiddler, but I'm sure he added to the adult audience."

---A.J. Lindsey, March 19, 2007
http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/2006/09/first-at-45.html


(or download here)

Did you catch A. J.'s Holly Ham commercial?

You can also search A. J.'s blog, just like you do here, for Jimmy Fiddler....

Thanks again to Dave S. for all his hard work on the audio of this blog!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

KAAY Monitoring Times article - repost


For those of you who didn't see the Monitoring Times article that Bud wrote on KAAY (with the help of other folks on here) in the February 2010 issue, here is a re-posting.

http://goo.gl/SKdR1e


Greg Barman

PSA: Ward Off Heat Stroke


Dear reader and visitor,

Just two years ago today, our dear friend Jerry Sims ("Sonny Martin", KAAY, 1963-68) passed on into eternity while practicing/playing on the softball field; temperatures were extremely high and dangerous.  I suspect this had a direct factor in his demise....

I also have suffered heat-related health effects, known otherwise as "heat stroke".  It was a scary experience the first time and I thought my time was "up"; the second time it happened, I recognized the symptoms and was able to react quickly.

As a public service announcement and in memory of Jerry, PLEASE watch out for heat-related problems such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion/prostration.  They ARE deadly; when I was a Paramedic, I witnessed others suffer and die because of extreme heat.

Please, if you must exercise or work outside during the summer, do it in the early morning, or at night; stay hydrated and cool as possible in all instances, even if you have to douse yourself with a water hose!  Life is precious and we want to keep you around!

We miss you, Jerry....see you later....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)


Wednesday, July 31, 2013

KAAY: Ray Lincoln And Mike McKenny

Some information about Ray Lincoln has been posted here on this blog, but I'll let A. J. Lindsey tell you about this audio clip in his own words:

"Return with us now...to Preident. Carter, snowstorm in LR and Pryor announces for Senator.

Perhaps the headline should be "Short clip of Ray Lincoln chatting with newsman Mike McKenny". For many reasons this is a great audio sample to save. In view of Ray Lincoln's recent passing it might be good to review an AP report:
LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Ray Lincoln, a longtime central Arkansas radio personality who created colorful characters to entertain listeners on their morning and afternoon drives, died Monday. He was 64.  Lincoln had a heart transplant in 2003, but his cause of death is not yet known, said his wife, Maxine Coday.  Lincoln worked at several Little Rock radio stations starting in the mid-1970s. He retired in 2000, after anchoring the afternoon drive show on KARN-AM 920.

"Ray was an enormously talented person, and he had the tremendous good fortune to get started in radio when it was still an awful lot of fun and owned by very competitive smaller companies," said Pat Lynch, who worked with Lincoln at KARN in the 1980s and '90s.

At KAAY-AM 1090 in Little Rock, Lincoln worked a morning drive show where he created alter egos like Ram Led, a west Texas cowboy, and Sport Jackson, a horse handicapper

To me, Ray was a DJ's DJ. He was one we always tried to listen to."

---A.J. Lindsey, Sept 29, 2006

(or download here)

This post originally appeared on A. J.'s blog on Friday, Sept. 29, 2006...Ray Lincoln must have passed away the previous Monday, Sept. 25:
http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/2006/09/return-with-us-nowto-pres-carter.html


Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Tom Bigby Checks In!

I finally got in contact with Tom Bigby, the original "Buddy Carr" from 1962...here's his e-mail:

"Hello Bud... I was the first Buddy Carr when the station flipped from KTHS in I think 1962.. I know I was just out of high school......would love the check out the blogspot, and often wonder how many of the originals are still with us today...Mike Mccormick was the PD.... Lind Carl Voth was the GM. (I think) not sure they ever let me near the carpeted offices.. laugh...Sonny Martin, Tom Cambell, (rock robbins) Doc Holliday (the original Dub Murray) there were a lot more but there have been a lot of call letters on my rap sheet.. last 27 years with CBS Radio, someday I am going to retire..

Take care and thanks for remembering my name."

Tom, we hope to hear more fom you!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)


Saturday, July 27, 2013

Monitoring Times To Cease Publication

Some of you folks may or may not have heard of this publication, but Bob and Judy Grove, also owners of Grove Enterprises, have published a quality magazine for many, many years that encompassed all aspects of radio monitoring- including a lot of onformation on the AM and FM broadcast bands.  They have also mentioned KAAY, etc., in their pages...and we are grateful.  Here is the statement, released July 25, 2013:

"The following is a statement from MT Publisher, Bob Grove W8JHD issued Thursday, July 25 to the staff of the magazine:

'After 33 years of publishing the most informative and lauded magazine on monitoring the radio spectrum, Judy and I are finally going to retire. We are grateful for the dedicated efforts of our fine staff of writers for the excellent work which has kept MT alive for all these years. While we know the discontinuation of MT, with our December issue, will be a disappointment to our readers and writers alike, we realize that a combination of a poorly performing economy, as well as the ready availability of free listening and technical information on the Internet, has reduced sales and subscriptions throughout the market place. I would like to thank you personally for your knowledge, your dependability, and your professionalism in making MT the publication that is most often referred to in the radio monitoring hobby. It is a legacy that we have all inherited.

Warmest regards to all our writers, Bob and Judy Grove'

The following is a statement from MT Managing Editor, Ken Reitz KS4ZR:

'The news just related by Bob Grove was given to me Wednesday, July 24. As Bob indicated, the December issue will be the last for MT. I'm sending this to everyone who wrote a feature article for the magazine over the last five years during which I've been the features editor and managing editor for the magazine. It was a great pleasure to work with all of you. Your hard work made MT the best full-service communications magazine in the U.S. While it's a great disappointment to receive the news of the magazine's closure, I appreciate that circumstance beyond anyone's control require it. I have no idea what the future will hold for me personally, but the adventure continues! Best wishes to all. -- Ken KS4ZR'"

So, if any of you want the last few issues of Montioring Times (affectionately called "MT"), subscriptions and renewals can be had by calling 800-438-8155....

http://www.monitoringtimes.com/

Thanks for my friend and fellow Amateur Radio operator Ken Reitz, KS4ZR, for letting me know about this.

Folks, I remember many a day when "MT" was the "go to" source for all things regarding radio monitoring- and I have spent MANY hours poring over them, even in recent months, looking back at past issues, for information when the Internet wasn't available or practical to me.  Please show your love and flood their office for orders of the last of this wonderful magazine- and tell Bob and Judy you saw it here on the Mighty 1090 KAAY Blog!

Thanks again to Ken Reitz for keeping me informed...let's work up a sked sometime, OM!

73 (best regards) also to Bob and Judy Grove...your efforts have been loved and admired for YEARS...and may your retirement be fruitful and restful!  "Thank you" seems so inadequate for so much enjoyment you've given us for all these years....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

KAAY 45 RPM Record: Day For Decision


I cannot add to what A. J. Lindsey said here, in his own words:

"Thanks to Jerry Sims, the Day For Decision, in its original form is now available for you at the end of this post.

You will notice the original author and narrator are listed on the photo of the record. It all started as an editorial on WMAK, Nashville. Public reaction was fast. Soon all the Lin Broadcasting Stations were airing it. And the requests just kept coming.

The publicity material indicates 750,000 records were sold. I'm not sure which version that figure relates to. KAAY pressed about 5000 and gave them away. The country artist Johnny Sea at some point in time bought the publishing and all rights to the editorial and released his own version, which also had great success. If you do an internet search for 'Day For Decision' you will see it credited to Johnny Sea. Johnny Sea's version is available on several internet download music services.

Someone should do a 2006 version of 'Day For Decision'. Where are the radio stations today that editorialize? Where are the editorials that touch the public in the way 'Day For Decision' did?

Here is the original Day For Decision: "

---A.J. Lindsey, Sept 22, 2006

(or download here)

More here:
http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/2006/09/day-for-decision.html

I believe someone should do a 2013 version of this record...anyone?  Please?

Thanks to my good friend Jerry Sims, who originated this contribution; to A. J. for the patriotism to bring it to us; and to Dave S. for finding, archiving and linking to this wonderful audio piece of American history....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)




Friday, July 19, 2013

KAAY Jingles And Promos

Jingles and promos were what made a station stand out...they weren't just an identification, it was personality, pizzazz, what made a station's identification "pop"!

Today, there's very little class in what's offered in identification, jingles or promotions.  Please enjoy below another sampling from A. J. Lindsey's blog:

(or download here)

And in A. J.'s own words:  "Some Early KAAY Jingles and Promos...Thanks to Jim Pitcock a/k/a Ken Knight for some early jingles and promos. The jingles (I believe) were written by Jim Hankins a/k/a Mike McCormick and recorded in Nashville."
---A.J. Lindsey, Sept 13, 2006

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Monday, July 15, 2013

FOUR YEARS OLD TODAY: Some blog history, an update, and a request

By Dave Schmidt, the tech-support person:

This blog, "mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com", came to birth four years ago today, on July 15, 2009.  Many of the current readers do not know the history and evolution of the blog, so now is a good time to fill it all in!

Some History:

A.J. Lindsey ("Doc Holiday II") started his blog, "kaay1090.blogspot.com", in 2006.  (You can still read his posts!)  Doc presented the history of his station, posted photos and recordings that he owned and received from Pat Walsh (KAAY's famous General Manager), and encouraged others to contribute. 

One of A.J.'s enthusiastic readers and contributors was Bud Stacy, from Mobile, Alabama.  Bud listened to KAAY in the "glory days" and he shared Doc's desire to document what he remembered.  Bud shipped a lot of audio files in Doc's direction, who saved them in Heaven-Only-Knows-how-many different accounts and servers and linked his blog to them.  Sadly, A.J. passed away suddenly in May, 2009.

Bud couldn't rest, knowing the story was incomplete.  He contacted me (I had posted a few comments on Doc's blog), and proposed that we contact other contributors to Doc's blog (Greg Barman, Ron Henselman, Jonnie King, Richard Robinson, Russell Wells, and others) about continuing the work.  That We Did, commencing on this day in 2009.  We scrambled to salvage all Doc's audio before it disappeared (just in time, too!), and we backed up all Doc's web pages.  (Thankfully, Google Blogger is now an archive --- whatever is posted there stays forever!)

Our plan was to continue what Doc/A.J. started: document the history of the classic, Top-40-oriented, KAAY radio --- the jocks, the engineers, the listeners, the times.   We posted articles that were informative, scholarly, and fun to read.  We wanted a textual, visual, aural archive.

Bud contacted everybody he could find on the Internet, soliciting stories, photos, and recordings.   Many, many KAAY people contributed, far too many to list here, but if you scan through the archives, you will see their names, all acknowledged for their contributions.  Bud knocked himself out to do this right.  He even made a field trip to Little Rock and visited the people and places of KAAY, all documented here on the blog.

An Update:

If you study the Blog Archive list in the right column of this page, you see a summary of the results: Roughly one article per day the first year-and-a-half, and about one article every other day for the next two years.  Readership has grown to two hundred views per day, even on days when nothing new is posted.  There is now a community of former KAAY employees who stay in touch.  There is also a KAAY discussion/chat group (via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/198469254312 ).  

Several key people kept this blog going:
  • Bud himself, the heart and soul of the endeavor.
  • Jonnie King, the smooth-talking, classic-car-loving jock, who contributes great stories and maintains his own huge website, http://www.jonnieking.net
  • Greg Barman, who has rescued, restored, and digitized many of the audio files on this blog as the tapes literally fell apart in his hands
  • Richard Robinson, David B. Treadway, and Russell Wells, who supplied key contributions of scholarship, anecdotes, and audio.  (Russell rescued and submitted the now-famous Pat Walsh tapes of KAAY from May 18, 1971.)
  • Barry Mac, who rescued reels and reels of KAAY ads from the old transmitter building and incorporates them each and every week into his weekly webcast of Tin Can Alley.  (Find it over there at the top of the right column!)

There are also many many other people who submitted great items at great times (thank you, Hollis Duncan, Dave Montgomery, Greg Fadick, Charlie King, Phil North, Wayne Moss, Fritze Prentice, Gary Pfeifer, and many others --- sorry if I've forgotten a name or two here!).  Alas, we have lost some people too, most notably the blog's great friend, Jerry Sims.

A request:

As the blog starts its Fifth Year (amazing in itself for a volunteer effort!), there will be more articles, photos, and audio.  But it is getting harder and harder to dig up the material.

To make things tougher, everyone here at the blog has a full-time job, and in Bud's case he now has two full-time jobs due to unplanned medical expenses.  So, the posts are a bit less frequent than what they were a year ago.  But we are still going and will keep going.

Here's what you can do to help:
  • Contact us if you have any stories, memorabilia, and (especially) audio to share.  Our intent is to archive for posterity the history of KAAY and have fun while doing it.  Everyone can contribute!   Email your materials to Bud and me at the addresses below.  
  • When you use materials from this blog --- photos, stories, audio --- please include a link back to us at   www.mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com    This helps new readers, who might have important archival material, to find us.
  • Send Bud an email to thank him for his work!



So, Happy Birthday To Us!

Contact info:  Bud Stacy   staceys4@hotmail.com
      Dave Schmidt   schmidt1953@gmail.com

Monday, July 8, 2013

KAAY: Michael O'Sullivan Aircheck

Another great snag by Dave S., here is an aircheck for you to enjoy, recused from A. J. Lindsey's blog.  Again, the players on A. J.'s blog have ceased to function, hence, our bringing the audio back to you here on this blog!  Now, in A. J.'s original words:

"I got a great email from Bob Steel who was the only Michael O'Sullivan KAAY ever had. As was Pat Walsh's custom as an inside joke, the actual Michael O'Sullivan was an accountant with LIN Broadcasting Corp. Along with some additional names, Bob sent a newscast with an exclusive interview with V.P. Spiro Agnew as he visited Little Rock. This is another great example of a real functioning radio news department. As you hear this great newscast you will probably be blown away with the commercial for "Black Ceasar" showing at the Capitol Theater and a couple of drive ins. Someday maybe I will tell you the story of the movie theater account at KAAY. Here is the aircheck:"

---A.J. Lindsey, Sept. 19, 2006


(or download here)

Bob Steel...I'll have to do some research to see if we have ever been in contact...my mind is swirling at this moment.  I find it harder all the time to snatch details of things that happened so many years ago.  Like David B. Treadway told me several times before...the grey fog obscures things that happened so many years ago!  I find this comes from being TOO busy at times, when the job and other responsibilities tend to come to the forefront of my memory and hobbies get pushed back....

Have I ever asked anyone here for information on newsman Jack Lee?  If anyone has information on him, could you contact me at the e-mail address below, please?

Thanks again to Dave S. for his tremendous help in the archiving and linking of these audio treasures!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

More about "Light Hoss Harry Jones" and "The Rivermen"

About ten days ago, we posted a long-lost A.J. Lindsey audio clip of the KAAY promo single, Light Hoss Harry Jones by The Rivermen. 
Here's the link to the post and the recording.

To our surprise and pleasure, we've received feedback about who were "The Rivermen" and who made the recording:


June 21, 2013 at 6:14 PM

    Hey, I can't believe I came here today for the first time and you had this record. Thanks Tom Connely for posting the link on facebook. I was in the Rivermen when we recorded this 45. I had just joined them. Had no idea it was produce by KAAY and I sure don't have a copy for myself. Thanks for posting it. ---Barbara Raney


June 21, 2013 at 6:17 PM

That's Ronnie Routh, Jerry Miller, Bob Hayes and Bill Shamberger.
---Anonymous

Wow --- thanks for this great info!   We are always happy to hear from our readers!

Friday, June 28, 2013

KAAY: Tommy Riggs' 45 Record, The Cotton Bowl Ambush

Another great record (remember records?) from the A.J. Lindsey audio archive --- we'll let A. J. explain in his own original post:

"At least it was good television. And the score was good through 3/4 of the game Arkansas fans are very frustrated. No longer is the entire state one big pep rally. The radio stations are just semi involved. It's been a long time since there was a Razorback record or CD produced.

In 1975 Tommy Riggs a/k/a Rock Robbins had left KAAY for Pine Bluff. He was Program Director and later Manager of KCLA. Pat Walsh needed a Razorback Record for the Cotton Bowl so he called Tommy to come up with a song. At the time "Convoy" by C.W. McCall had been a big hit and served as the inspiration for this song. Tommy picked a new name for himself, "T. Tommy & The Gray Ghost Crew". Greg Fadick a/k/a Hot Scott Fisher of KLAZ fame did the engineering. Recorded off the air, and for educational purposes, here is "Cotton Bowl Ambush"

---A.J. Lindsey, Oct 21, 2008

Tommy Riggs was a consumate performer; for much more information about Tommy, please use the search box in the upper left-hand box and type in "Tommy Riggs"...there's lots more about Tommy on this blog.


(or download here)

Although I haven't heard from him in quite some time, I presume Greg Fadick is still alive and kicking- I'll have to direct him to this post, maybe he can give us more insight into this record having been made!

Thanks to A. J., Tommy, Pat Walsh and Greg Fadick...and thanks to Dave S. for his rescue efforts and computer wizardry to bring back these formerly lost historical audio bits!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)