More comments on the blog

It's been awhile, so here are more comments that were recently submitted and posted on the blog.  Click on a comment to read it in larger type. Each comment is documented with the name of the post where it was attached, and you can jump to the post by typing its name in the search box located at the upper left corner of this web page.  Happy reading!

Belle Starr and the Doc Holiday Dance Party, Donnellson, Iowa, February 29, 1964

One of our readers, John Doherty, of Raleigh, NC, has contacted us and helped answer a question posed on this blog almost ten years ago!

Here is some background: The Mighty1090KAAY blog was started in summer, 2009, shortly after the untimely death of KAAY's Doc Holiday II,  A. J.  Lindsey.  The blog's first postings honored A.J. and his career; one posting, titled,  "Where is Belle Starr?" (https://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/2009/08/where-is-belle-starr.html), began with this quote from long-time KAAY listener Ron Henselman:

I first heard A.J. as Doc around 1963 or 64 in the evening from Melrose Park, IL. Doc had a young lady on the show he called Belle Starr. She had one of the sexiest voices I have ever heard. Sometimes he called her Belly Starr to make fun of the way the name is spelled. Once in a while Doc referred to himself as The Rockin' Doctor. I'm not sure he even remembered that. All of this stuff was very important to me when I was sixteen or seventeen.

Ron contacted A.J. to learn as much as he could about Belle Starr.  Here's what A.J. replied:

Yes, I remember Belle Starr. She started doing requests when I was doing the night show. She was a very attractive girl from Little Rock University where I was going to college....   Her real name escaped me, so I asked Jim Pitcock a/k/a Ron Owens. Her real name is Sue Phelps and his last information was that she is living in Baton Rouge, LA.  All of us at KAAY, and the listeners alike, were in love with Belle Starr....  Anyone have any pictures or tape?"

And no one had any pictures or tape....  That was the "legend" of Belle Starr as we knew it  --- a name and a sexy voice but no face --- until a few weeks ago, when the following comment to the above story from 2009 popped up out of nowhere:

Anonymous January 19, 2019 at 10:53 AM 

The Doc Holiday Dance Party came to my high school in Donnellson, Iowa in 1964. Ron Owens and Belle Starr were there, I have photos of both which I will post shortly. Other DJs were there from WPGU, KOMA, WLOL. I won a twist contest and was given a first release Surfer Girl LP which the DJs autographed.

Wow! And better yet, the comment's poster, John Doherty, contacted us with the details and photos of the Doc Holiday Dance Party!

In a subsequent email, here's what John told us about the Dance Party:

I was one of those teenagers back in the 60s who laid in bed every night with my transistor radio under my pillow listening to 50000 watts from either KAAY, WLS, or KOMA, which ever was clearest at the time. We lived in a small southeastern Iowa town called Donnellson.

My high school, Central Lee, sponsored a Doc Holiday Dance party on 2/29/1964.  We invited all the schools from the conference and we had over 500 kids there.  For some reason Doc did not attend, I don't remember the reason why?  It didn't matter much because the guys were thrilled that Belle Starr came, and Ron too.  I won a twist contest and was given a Surfer Girl album which Ron and a couple of the other guest DJs signed.   But my highlight without a doubt was doing the "twist" with one "Hot" Belle Starr,  I will never forget her bright red dress with red gloves and her black hair, what a thrill for a 15 year old!

And John has the photos to prove it!  First off, here she is, Belle Starr herself:

Even though the photo is in black and white (it comes from John's high school yearbook), you can still "see" that bright red dress and the red gloves!  And here is Ron Owens, covering for the missing Doc Holiday:

After I got a look at these photos, I asked John some follow-up questions, which he graciously answered:

I don't remember all the details but it was a pretty big deal back then.  It was advertised on radio stations in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri.  There were several DJs there,  I only recall the ones that signed my album,  Gary Connors (WPGU Champaign, IL) and Scott Perin?? (WLOL Minneapolis, MN), and Ron Owens.  I said over 500 attended, our school Central Lee had about 400 students, 9th-12th, at the time and we probably more than doubled it, more like 800-1000.  Our gym and cafeteria were packed and the school parking lot was full of buses and cars from other schools. 

The stage was on one end of the gym and it also separated the gym from the cafeteria.  If you were in the gym you could look through the stage and see into the cafeteria.  Anyway, they had all the stage curtains open because they had to put the overflow kids into the cafeteria.  It was definitely non stop dancing.

Belle was a huge hit dancing with the guys, I was one of the lucky ones.

And John supplied this photo of the Non Stop Dancing. (Is Belle in there somewhere?  How about John?)

And here is the write up that appeared in the yearbook:

But what about that Beach Boys album that John won in the twist contest?  Well, John still has it, and he sent this photo as proof!

If you click on the photo for a larger version, you can see Ron Owens' signature in the center, just above the Beach Boys' heads!  John also told us:

Some time ago I did research and confirmed that my Surfer Girl Album is a first pressing.  It is a monophonic with "file under: the beach boys * vocal group, surfing music" and T 1981 appearing across the top.  Most of these were sent out to radio stations or used for other promo use, some did make it to retail stores.

What a great story and a great collection of photos!  Thanks, John, for telling us all about the KAAY Dance Party and putting a face to the name, "Belle Starr"!


---Dave S.  (schmidt1953@gmail.com)

P.S. If you, dear reader, have similar KAAY-related stories or materials to share, we'd love to hear from you --- contact me at the email address just above!

Upcoming Event On Rewound Radio!

Recently, I'd heard from John Troll, a.k.a. "JT", of Rewound Radio, who will be featuring KAAY in an upcoming Broadcast, slated for 12:00 Noon Eastern Time on January 12, 2019 (at this time).  Herewith is some of his information:

"The plan is to go back 50 years almost to the day and feature one hour each from Charlie King, Mike McCormick and Sonny Martin.  A 50th anniversary celebration of sorts.

I appreciate your support on the KAAY blog and I plan on reciprocating by linking to it as well during the week of the KAAY show helping to drive traffic towards your website.  It's up to all of us who remember to keep the flame alive for as many as these great stations as we can.

Thanks!

Happy Holidays!

JT"

 

More information at: https://rewoundradio.com/

 

Thanks, JT!

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

 

Marvin Vines

Thanks to Barry McCorkindale, a.k.a. "Barry Mac" here, comes a beautiful picture he posted on the "KAAY AM, The Mighty 1090" Facebook page.  He's guessing the picture was taken in the late 1960s.  Any takers, any information?

Thanks, Barry!

Bud S, (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Another Keith Parish "Ray And Ram" Aircheck

Here is another, good un'scoped aircheck of the "Ray and Ram Show", dated 12/8/1980, with Ray Lincoln.  It aired on KAAY (AM) and KQ94 (FM)...the last one in the line-up.

Once again, Greg Barman cleaned things up very nicely!  This aircheck taped the segment of approximately 9:34 to 10AM and is a second over twenty-seven minutes long.  There are an interruption or two, no problem with tapes this old!

It sounds like maybe Wayne Moss on a Toyota/Volvo commercial about 5:30 in the recording, followed by a commercial for the new Bloom County comic and other comics in the Arkansas Gazette.

Fifteen more shopping days until Christmas, on this broadcast...Ray was trolling for gifts...!

Who was the announcer for the Bozo's Toy Shop and The Athletic Department?  Any idea on the Rice-A-riffic commercial?

Steve Cook read the news and weather at 15:31 in the recording, reporting on the Iranian hostage crisis, among other things.  I don't remember this newsman, does anyone have any info on him?


https://archive.org/details/KAAYKQ94RayAndRam12880

We are SO glad Keith Parish could share these with us!  Thank you, Keith!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

A "New" Halloween Treat!

I have been a (very) amateur astronomer for many years, very avid in my boyhood, laying out in a grass field, looking at the stars, planets and constellations.  My interest has resurfaced a few years ago, with the help of a friend and I have enjoyed my new-found hobby once again.  The Witch Head Nebula cannot be seen with binoculars or small telescopes, that I know of, this image was taken by the Hubble Telescope.  I found it while searching some images and thought some might appreciate this image, just in time for Halloween!

As per NASA's website: "...this reflection nebula associated with the star Rigel looks suspiciously like a fairytale crone. Formally known as IC 2118 in the constellation Orion, the Witch Head Nebula glows primarily by light reflected from the star."

Oh, the beauty of the skies!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Keith Parish "Ray And Ram" Aircheck

Here is another Keith Parish contribution!  This one is of Ray & Ram...I know we've mentioned this "duo", but I don't remember us having an aircheck here on the blog!

This one is marked May 14, 1980, from about 9:35 to 10AM and aired on KAAY (AM) and KQ94 (FM).  You can still hear some "artifacts", but Greg Barman, our audio specialist,cleaned it up quite well.

There are a couple of interesting commercials, so hang on!  I wonder if Acme Brick is the building supply division of the company that the Coyote ordered his goods from?  The news lady was Linda Johnson about 16:45 through the recording...was this her real name, or a radio name?

There was mention of "the hostages are still being held...what are YOU doing to get them released?"  Jimmy Carter was president at this time.

This is a good long, continuous aircheck (just like some of us like!) but with a few gaps (forgivable, on long un'scoped airchecks), so sit back and enjoy!


https://archive.org/details/KAAYKQ94RayAndRam51480

Thanks to Greg and Keith!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Death-Knell To AM Stations?

Thanks to Doug Virden for getting this to me...this doesn't look very good: https://swling.com/blog/2018/10/fcc-might-reduce-am-clear-channel-power/ Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

A Halloween Pumpkin Kit Of A Different Kind

I was searching for something on the web totally unrelated to this, and came upon a Velleman Halloween Pumpkin Kit.  Id's for those who are interested in building electronic kits or those who are looking for something different for their decorations:

https://www.vellemanstore.com/en/velleman-mk145-halloween-pumpkin-kit

Cheap & easy!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Taped Audio Bits From Keith Parish

Hi, folks!

I met Keith Parish via the Internet- and I think he found me via this blog.  Well, he found some old tapes in his mother's closet while he was doing some cleaning up.  Some were in fair shape- he did some repairs and we got them to our audio specialist Greg Barman, who did the digital transfer, clean-up and archival.

These audio bits appear to have Wayne Moss himself on them...seems as if this tape was marked "1975 77", which may be the years.  They appear to just be audio checks of KAAY i.d.s and a nice Coca Cola commercial.

Isn't it amazing how these and other tapes have survived?  My hats off to Greg and Keith!



https://archive.org/details/KAAYVariousK.ParishTape197577

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

A Little Piece Of History

I gleaned this from the Mighty 1090 KAAY page on Facebook.  The original query from Barry Mac was, who were these people?  I think it was settled that this was Pure Prairie League, with the lady in the middle with the mic being Yvonne Day, an overnight news person on KAAY back in 1978, when Russell Jones got there.  Word is that she's working in Denver now.

Thanks to Barry Mac for this picture and to Ron Pitts for the identity of the folks and lady.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Doug Virden's VW, All Decked Out!

Here is my 1972 Volkswagen Super Beetle ready for football season.  It's a shame the Razorbacks aren't doing so hot right now.

That's a sharp Bug, Doug!  My favorite color, too!

Thank you!

Bud S (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Bumper Sticker From Richard Robinson

Thanks again to Richard Robinson for this bumper sticker!  I lament the fact that so many farmers are doing such a thankless task.  So many uninformed people think that meat and veggies come "from the c\grocery store" and have NO idea how to grow their own food, or where it comes from.

Having a farming background myself, I appreciate the farmers of America.  I have farmed beef, and later in life, had a huge garden...which lay fallow, after my hiatus awhile back while having to work two jobs.  But I still know how to grow my own food (and will get back into it this next season, since I am down to one job!) and appreciate those out there who work so hard to feed us.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

"A Night To Remember"

(Hi, folks!  Here is an account of Professor Richard Robinson's experience at the latest KAAY get-together!)

"KAAY REMEMBERANCE NIGHT" – Blog Post

　

On Friday, June 29^{th, I left my current home in Martin, Tennessee, headed for Little Rock, Arkansas. While Arkansas will always be my true home, my primary purpose for returning to "The Natural State" this time was to attend a special event. Dubbed a "Celebration of the Mighty 1090 KAAY," this promised to be a night to remember. My travel agent had booked me a room for one night at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Little Rock. I arrived around 4:00 p.m. and checked in. The hotel, I’m happy to report, turned out to be an outstanding property, with an incredibly friendly staff and impeccable accommodations.}

After unpacking and settling in, I texted one of my best friends, Sonny Rhodes, to let him know that I had made it safely to town. We had planned to have dinner together, prior to the event at 7:00 that evening. Sonny and I were in journalism school together at what is now The University of Central Arkansas, back in the 1970s. Both of us were influenced heavily by one of the most premier journalists ever to come out of Arkansas, J. Dean Duncan. Both of us had careers after getting our bachelor’s degrees, Sonny in print media and for me, it was radio and public relations work. Sonny earned his master’s degree in journalism from Ole Miss and I obtained a master’s in journalism from The University of Arkansas at Little Rock and later a Ph.D. in mass communication from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. After both of us enjoyed media careers, we turned to teaching. Sonny began teaching at The University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2001 in the Journalism Departent, the same year I joined the Communications Department at The University of Tennessee at Martin. Currently, Sonny Rhodes is an associate professor of journalism at UALR and I’m a professor of communications at UT Martin. We have remained great friends all these years.　

Sonny and his lovely wife Julie, picked me up at the hotel and we drove to the restaurant called "Sticky Fingerz Rock and Roll Chicken Shack" for dinner, before we crossed the street to the Central Arkansas Library System’s Ron Robinson Theater (no relation to me) on River Marked Avenue. The food and the beer were great and the company was even better. We had a wonderful dinner and visit. 　

Just before 7:00, we walked into the theater. Admission was free, although I would have gladly paid to be at the event. The theater is modern and clean. As an old theatre manager, I tend to notice these things! The moderator for the panel discussion was Tom Wood, a longtime radio fixture in Little Rock, although he never worked at KAAY. The panel included Dale Seidenschwarz, a/k/a Clyde Clifford of "Beaker Street" fame, David B. Treadway, the seventh Doc Holiday for KAAY, Matt White, a/k/a Sonny Martin, Barry McCorkindale, a/k/a Barry Mac and Bob Steel, a/k/a Michael O’Sullivan. Bob Robins was supposed to be on the panel, but we were told that he couldn’t make it, due to problems with arthritis. The audience was asked to keep him in their thoughts and prayers.　

Frankly, I was a bit surprised by the size of the crowd. The theatre was essentially full, with an estimated 300 people in attendance and that isn’t a Chamber of Commerce estimate. The people that showed up were there because either they listened to KAAY or they had heard of KAAY. There were even some children present, who had obviously heard of "The Mighty 1090" from an early age. 　

For nearly three hours, the crown heard from these icons of broadcasting, each one delighting the audience with stories, jokes and wonderful recollections about their time working the "The Friendly Giant." When it was over, we didn’t want to go home and neither did the panel. 　

During the panel discussion, we were given a lot of information about our beloved KAAY. Did you know the name of the first song that was played on the station? It was "Baby Elephant Walk," aired continuously for 24 hours. The name of the background music/sound effects for "Beaker Street?" Originally, it was the dream sequence from the motion picture "Charade," by Henry Mancini Later, the selection was "Cannabis Sativa," by Head. Clyde Clifford talked about "Beaker Street," of course, but also his other duties at the station while he worked there. David B. Treadway, who has a most incredible memory, told several stories and added to many of the others. Matt White (Sonny Martin) discussed the experiences with morning radio on "The Friendly Giant." He informed us that while he was and is a morning person (he’s still doing mornings on another station in Searcy, Arkansas), Bob Robins was not. I think you could say that about a lot of early morning radio personalities. My motto has always been, "The early morning radio show you do for free; they pay you to get up early!"

Barry McCorkindale added his comments. Barry was one of the last employees to work at "The Big K" before it "Went to God," as Clyde Clifford is quoted as saying. Barry has spent many hours digitizing old tapes that were found at the transmitter building at Wrightsville. He has also been a big factor (along with Bud Stacey and others) at keeping this blog site and the memory of KAAY alive. 　

When it came time for Bob Steel to offer his insights, he did it in the form of several stories. Bob Steel is another dear friend of mine, whom I have known since we were in college together. Bob was another one of those many "Dean Duncan disciples" at UCA whose influence inspired us to go into the world of journalism and elsewhere.　

For those who don’t know him, Bob is one of the best storytellers and funniest people I have ever known. He had the audience in stiches with his stories about George J. Jennings, Jerry Pitcock and more. It was rich. One story was about Jennings, who meant to use the work "tentacles" at the end of a newscast, prior to dishing it over to Steel, who was going to read another report live on the air. But, Jennings said "testicles," instead. Everyone on the panel that night had much to offer. The entire audience was enthralled, so say the least. The only thing missing were the audio clips of programming. The clips were ready, but there just wasn’t time to hear them! However, I don’t think that anyone felt slighted in the least. The final treat capped off the night perfectly. It was Barbara Rainey accompanied by Buck McArthur, who played and sang one of the great staple songs from the "Beaker Street" program, which is "Cindy’s Crying." Although it has been a few years, and many of us are much older now, their voices were in full form. For a few minutes, we were all young again, listening to "The Big K" and "Beaker Street." It was magical.　

Based upon the crowd and the feedback, it’s been suggested that there be more of these programs about "The Mighty 1090." I know that I would certainly like to see that. KAAY is now nostalgia, fond memories for us; and we all love those memories! Because of people like Bud Stacey, who through sheer force of will, has maintained this blog site, and many others, who have kept this extraordinary station alive on social media, owe a great big thank you to all of the people who made the night possible. It was truly special. I certainly hope there will be more sessions. If so, I plan to attend them, if at all possible. This one was truly a night to remember.
　

Richard C. Robinson

Martin, Tennessee

(Thank you, Richard, for that nice report!  I wish I could have been there...BS)

Some more comments

Here are comments recently posted on the blog.  Click on a comment to read it in larger type. Each comment is documented with the name of the post where it was attached, and you can jump to the post by typing its name in the search box located at the upper left corner of this web page.  Happy reading!

TV Digest Page From 1946 Re: KTHS

Thanks to H. W. Duncan for this golden nugget!

"Here is a page from TV Digest 1946 indicating that during it's attempted move to West Memphis, KTHS also filed for an FM License."  Credit for this file goes to American radio History:

Thanks, Hollis!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

More CALS Celebration Pictures, From Doug Virden

As per Doug,

"...here are some pics from Friday night.  First is Big John Miller who works at the Butler Center kicking things off.  He has all the reels Barry Mac has restored.  Second is the panel of speakers from left to right Clyde Clifford, David B. Treadway, Sonny Martin, Barry McCorkindale, and Bob Steel.  Bob Robbins wasn't able to make the event and he was truly missed.  Third, is moderator/emcee Tom Wood, his background is he came to Arkansas from Peoria, Illinois in the late 70's to start up a new radio station called MAGIC 105 which went on the air the following summer.  I'm sure Tom listened to KAAY in Peoria.  Barry also worked at MAGIC 105 on the weekends in the 90's in addition to KAAY.

Thank you, Doug!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY CALS Celebration Pictures

Sorry I've been dragging my feet on these, folks, there has been that four-letter word impeding my fun: work....

Here is the McDonald family:

From left to right: Pat McDonald Hardwick, Lynn McDonald, Nancy McDonald Rinehart, Cindy McDonald Terrazas, Larry McDonald.

Thanks to the McDonald family for posting this picture on Facebook!

I'd posted this cartoon awhile back that I forget where from, maybe Larry's Facebook, too:

No doubt doing that family afternoon thing on a Sunday after lunch: window shopping!  How many years has it been since we've done this?  Too many, as stores have gone to an inner mega-big box format.  I miss the old small town stores...

More to come!

Bud S. (Staceys4@hotmail.com)

More recent comments

Here are more comments recently posted on the blog.  Click on a comment to read it in larger type. Each comment is documented with the name of the post where it was attached, and you can jump to the post by typing its name in the search box located at the upper left corner of this web page.  Happy reading!

Nerwspaper Column Regarding The KAAY Celebration

Thanks to H. W. Duncan:

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/jun/28/blasts-from-past-in-store-for-kaay-radi/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=midday-6-28-18&utm_content=midday-6-28-18+CID_4fc42b26aeb7eecb34c43bdecce9944b&utm_source=Email%20Marketing%20Platform&utm_term=Blasts%20from%20past%20in%20store%20for%20tribute%20to%20Little%20Rock%20radio%20station%20KAAY

The reports are just now trickling in...

Bud S. (Staceys4@hotmail.com)