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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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

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)

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!

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)

Nice E-Mail From Tom Nichols!

"Greetings from Memphis!

While reading your blog, it occurred to me there was no mention of how KAAY was almost saved a second time. I’m not sure if anyone knows but the three people involved.

In 1985, I was assistant Chief Engineer at WRVR Memphis, a Viacom station. As 24 year old radio geek, I didn’t have much patience for the Adult Contemporary format or the suit culture of Viacom. So, after a bit of searching, I was hired as Chief for a new station in Little Rock, KZOU or Zoo98. I started in April of 1986. I was also in charge of Zoo’s sister station, KOKY, at that time on 1250. I have always had a soft spot for AM directionl arrays and the legendary stations, so I spent a lot of time with Felix McDonald at KAAY.

Sometime in 1987 or thereabouts, KAAY went up for sale again. I met Felix out at the transmitter site, took a lot of pictures, and put together a proposal for KZOU / KOKY GM Hal Smith. My idea was to either simulcast KZOU, move KOKY over to 1090 (at that time Power 92 did not exist and KOKY was pulling respectable numbers), or make it a vintage oldies station.

By this time Dick Oppenheimer had sold KZOU / KOKY to Encore Communications, headed by former Metromedia exec George Duncan. Hal arranged for me to talk with Duncan the next time he was in town, which was only a few days away.

The short of the story is it…almost…I think...happened. The selling price was 1.5 million at the time. Although George Duncan was interested and I think made a few inquires, the selling price was the show stopper. I didn’t know it at the time, but KZOU / KOKY was carrying the Encore group, and financial troubles for the company were looming. I would like to think if Encore had been financially solid, it might have actually happened.

I still have that proposal around here somewhere, and if I can find it I’ll scan it for you. It was, of course, done on a typewriter and copy machine.

Tom Nichols
KZOU / KOKY 1986-1989
KSSN 1989-1990
WMC AM/FM Memphis 1990-1994
WMC-TV Memphis 1994-1997"

Thanks for writing in, Tom!  We're looking forward to the scanned documents...we're very interested in the hidden history of KAAY!  Please keep in touch...

...and, for anyone who reads this blog, no matter how trivial you may think something may be regarding KAAY, PLEASE send it on in for us to share with others...it MAY be a link to something they've been searching for, for years!

Again, thanks Tom!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY: Light Hoss Harry Jones, By The Rivermen

Another 45 RPM record, produced for/by KAAY!  In A. J.'s words:

"If KAAY were a music station today, it would probably be playing a song about Mitch Mustain.

KAAY was always involved in Arkansas Razorback promotion. Many records, (45s with the big holes) had their beginnings at KAAY. In the era of payola, Pat Walsh wisely decided the station didn't need to be directly involved with the records. Also, if a Razorback song came from KAAY, other stations wouldn't play it. Enter J. Paul Scott. He wrote and produced may of the Razorback records on his labels and with his talent. Today's feature is a song about Light Hoss Harry Jones. As best I can date it. 1965. The group is The Rivermen, sounding a lot like the Kingston Trio. The flip side is "Quarterbackin' Man" which also got a lot of play. For legal purposes this was recorded off the air and is used here strictly for educational purposes.

Where are the radio stations today doing anything like this? "

---A.J. Lindsey, Oct 9, 2006

(or download here)

Yes, why aren't more radio stations doing anything like this?  In some cases, of the stations that ARE doing this, I have heard some raunchy stuff done by "shock jocks" (now an old term?) who barely skirt the law regarding slander and good taste...and, numerous years ago, I remember a duo who left Mobile, AL, worked in Birmingham, AL and I think in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, who got busted several times by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) for their raunchy lyrics.  They got the ratings up at the stations who employed them, but at what cost to decency?

Where's the original, quality programming?  The cookie-cutter conglomerates just keep pumping out "the hits" (I wonder WHO decides some of this stuff is a hit?) via a computer base, located hundreds, or sometimes thousands, of miles from the targeted audience.  I still cruise the AM airwaves for something fresh, but rarely on the FM band, because the latter's stations all sound alike....

They don't make 'em like they used to....my hat is off to those deejays who are still in the business, doing what they love- but I'll bet they're not having as much fun....

That's my rant- thanks to Dave S. for all his help in linking this audio for you to enjoy!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY: Beaker Street/Beaker Theater, Ken Knight, Dec. 1974

Here is the second aircheck that  our very own Greg Barman sent to A. J. back in 2006, as promised:

"The second aircheck is with Ken Knight, from December 1974. Note the Spanish ID and 'Greetings QSLers', the ad for a hard rockin' local band, and the intro for Beaker Theater."

---Greg Barman, Dec 21, 2006

Wow, what memories!  Thanks to Greg Barman for his original contribution!

(or download here)
Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY: Beaker Street, Clyde Clifford, June 1, 1972

Beaker Street has always been a favorite of mine; searching for it a few years ago, in fact, led me to A. J. Lindsey and his blog!  In my efforts to help him with material for his blog, I searched out more audio, contacted and traded with collectors and such, and sent him whatever I could find.

This particular audio clip was originally sent in by our own Greg Barman to A. J.; I do not recollect if we have ever posted it here or not, so please forgive us if we have and enjoy it once again!  Herewith Greg Barman's comments from A. J.'s blog:

"Beaker Street Memories

A few reminiscences. I grew up in Evanston IL, a northern suburb of Chicago. And while the big city rockers like WLS and WCFL provided no shortage of great listening, I was an active DX-er and was fascinated by that exotic station from Little Rock that boomed in every night on 1090. What really made KAAY unique was Beaker Street, which sounded like nothing else on AM in Chicago or anywhere else. In the early 70's, album rock and 'progressive FM' was on the air locally but it lacked the mood of Beaker Street with the 'Head' music bed, Clyde Clifford's laidback style, and the blues and country-flavored music that rarely made it on the air in Chicago. It was strange and spooky, and I loved to listen to it at night as I went to bed. For a young man who was fascinated with radio and eager to work in it, Beaker Street and KAAY was radio magic for me. I occasionally airchecked KAAY and years later I was glad I did.

Here are two airchecks of Beaker Street. Both have mostly good skip reception with some fading. The first is Clyde Clifford from June 1, 1972. The music selection is tremendous, including Eric Clapton, the Grateful Dead, The Flock, Robert Johnson, Leon Russell and Judy Collins. Itâs interesting to hear the spots for the New Orleans club called A Warehouse, with the $4 concert price tickets - imagine that!

---Greg Barman, Dec 21 2006

This aircheck may well be the best and most representative of the original Beaker Street.

(or download here)

The second Beaker Street aircheck Greg mentioned will follow in a later post....

Many thanks to Greg Barman for this material sent in to A. J. in 2006 and to him for us sharing it again here...and to Dave S. for his great help!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY: The Blue Goose, Timeless Tracks Tribute

We've mentioned The Blue Goose here before, after I was priviledged to visit Little Rock awhile back.  Jerry Sims and David B. Treadway and I met at the KTHV television studios and Jerry posed on the stairwell in front of where The Blue Goose WAS; I used it to sketch what was in my mind's eye and I posted it on this blog, as well.  Timeless Tracks' audio was taken and Greg Barman, our ever-faithful audio technician, pieced what we were able to find and made about a 45-minute audio bed, which we also posted on this blog.  Please put "Blue Goose" in the upper left-hand corner to search these items...now, in A. J.'s original words from his blog:

"From the Timeless Tracks broadcast here is a discussion of The Blue Goose and more:

The original Blue Goose was at 8th and Izard across the street from KTHV.KAAY, at that time was located on the 2nd floor of the Channel 11 building. Howard Watson, known as Ken Knight on KAAY started referring to the "elegantly appointed Blue Goose". He built on this illusion for the listeners by describing the LR elite arriving for the floor show.Night after night to 40 states and 19 foreign countries he painted a vivid picture of a great night club with floor shows and all the trappings. Of course locals knew there were only two tables in the Blue Goose and those were usually taken by George Moore or other KTHV celebrities. The bar-b-que was great and the beer coldest in town.  One evening a couple appeared at the door looking quite bewildered and lost. Come to find out they were from Wisconsin and had called trying to make reservations for the floor show. Of course the Blue Goose owner and help were completely oblivious to all that was going on. By propping open the control room door and looking out the windowed stairway, "the weird beard" could see all that was going on and verbally fantasize even more."

--_A.J. Lindsey, Feb 22, 2008

(or download here)
Tony Warner was the host of Timeless Tracks; I envy him holding court with all these Greats of KAAY!  I'll bet it was wild in that studio that day!

(Later, after we had posted the 45-minute version, Charlie Scarbrough ("Charlie King") had found the full, 4 CD version of the show and sent it to me!  It, too, is in safe storage...)

Thanks to Dave S., to Tony Warner and to Charlie Scarbrough, all 'round, for your contributions!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

JOHNNY CASH "LIVE" ON KAAY !

Johnny Cash was a musical giant that became known as "The Man In Black".  He was also "Arkansas Own",  born  in Dyess, Arkansas.   

Through the years his friends included many whose names you know:  the Reverend Billy Graham, Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Horton, Kris Kristofferson, "Cowboy" Jack Clement...and many more too numerous to mention. 

I had followed Johnny Cash's career since I was a teenager in 1956, and was privileged to receive a phone call from him while I was Music Director at the 50,000 Watt Giant on May 31st of 1972, when I was doing the Mid-Day Shift.

That call turned into an On-The-Air Interview that I'll never forget, and Johnny Cash was one of the most courteous and kind individuals I've ever known.  His music had been a part of my life for as long as I could remember, but his thoughtfullness and warmth that came through the phone that day during our conversation will forever live in my memory banks.

That live Interview was the talk of the town in Little Rock for days: "Johnny Cash on KAAY !"  And, if you're reading this and remember it, you were among the privileged few, as the equipment I had to record it on in our Main Studio that day had a problem...and I never was able to save it !

Johnny Cash was an American "original" in every sense of the word.  His body of work continued for over five decades, and his life, his music, and the impact of his great career, continues to touch all of us...years after his death. 
 NOTE:  My favorite Johnny Cash songs ?  Many have asked me that through the years, so here's my list: "I Walk The Line", "Home Of The Blues", "I'd Just Be Fool Enough", "Understand Your Man", "I Guess Things Happen That Way", "I Got Stripes", "Get Rhythm", "Folsom Prison Blues" (live), and "Sunday Morning Coming Down".
My ultimate favorite though for many reasons, some personal, is the haunting, beautiful "I Still Miss Someone" from 1958.  If I were to loose all of the rest, this is the one that I'd have to save.  

Jonnie King

NOTE: For my complete Tribute to Johnny Cash, and a Review of "House Of Cash" written by his son, John Carter Cash, simply go to this Link on my WebSite:  http://www.jonnieking.net/gpage31.html

KAAY Christmas Jingles

Yes, it's a little late for this past Christmas, but the cheer is still there!  We've used these jingles a couple years ago when we had numerous former KAAY deejays lend their talents to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  These are the "raw versions" that were aired as spots in season.

Courtesy of A. J. Lindsey:

(or download here)
Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Memorial Day

"All gave some, but some gave ALL...."

Please remember those who have fought, and those who died, so that we and others may be free.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Dickie Goodman: The Flying Saucer

A.J. Lindsey, in his own words:

"If you listen to the newscasts that have been featured on this blog, you understand that times were trying just as they are now. At KAAY we were always looking for the bizarre, the ridiculous and satirizing all that we could. You have seen the "Ear On Arkansas" discussions. Later, I will feature some recordings from "Ear". Today, I ran across a record that the oldies stations never play even though it reached number one. And several of his succeeding records also were as big. Even in the KAAY days I don't remember playing this song as an oldie. This is a little bit of history that needs to be brought forward. Read about it and then listen to an off the air recording, for educational purposes only:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Dickie Goodman (April 19, 1934 - November 6, 1989) is considered one of the earliest proponents of sampling in music, through a series of "break-in" records he created from 1956 to 1986. His first song, "The Flying Saucer," was co-written with partner Bill Buchanan, and featured a description of a news-covered invasion of earth from a Martian space ship. While Goodman asked questions of pedestrians, scientists, and even the Martian himself, their responses were "snipped" from lyrics of popular songs of the day, including tracks from Fats Domino, Elvis Presley and Little Richard.

Although "The Flying Saucer" became a major hit, it also landed Goodman in court for infringement of copyright - e.g. the songs he used to create his "break-in" records. The lawsuits were later settled out of court when the judge ruled that Goodman's records were burlesques and parodies, and were original creations in and among themselves.

Goodman later recorded other break-in records, usually based around a political theme, or having his reporter alter-ego interviewing Batman or Neil Armstrong. In 1975, Goodman returned to the pop charts with "Mr. Jaws," a break-in record in which he interviews several characters from the motion picture Jaws.

Goodman's singles often had instrumental numbers (in which his actual role is uncertain) as B-sides. These are not found on either his original LPs or his CD compilations.

Goodman died in 1989 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His son, Jon Goodman, continues to promote and administer his father's works. In 1998, Jon supervised the issue of Greatest Fables, the first authorised CD collection of Dickie Goodman's recordings, which included Jon's own tribute, "Return Of The Flying Saucer". (This included sound bites from The X-Files and Hanson, among others.)

Goodman also is survived by his son Jed and daughter Janie.

Goodman is recognized by Billboard Magazine as the #1 Novelty Artist of All Time."

---courtesy of A.J. Lindsey

(or download here)

I remember this compilation when I was a kid and thought it hilarious!  I'll bet this enjoyed plenty of air time on KAAY!

The posts A. J. mentioned in his comments above were from his own blog, now dormant after his passing.  You may search his blog on this link:

http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/

Thanks to Dave S. for snagging this one!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Where It All Began....

As many of you know, KAAY began life as KTHS 'way back in the early days of radio (1924), in Hot Springs, AR at the Arlington Hotel.  I was priveledged to have an entry accepted in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas regarding KTHS and KAAY:

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6423

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6228

KAAY engineers Hollis Duncan and Dave Montgomery have included me in some of their e-mails back and forth regarding the Arlington Hotel and included some pictures for all to enjoy, both past and near-present:

As you can see in the first photograph from 1925 (about a year after KTHS's birth), there is a radio tower on the roof.

Enjoy the articles and the pictures...thanks, Hollis and Dave!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

The Beatles On KAAY (Teenage Wasteland I)

The radio in my Mom's '65 Ford Galaxie 500 was pretty good. Nice bass response for a 6X9 dashboard speaker and instant-on thanks to transistors. We're flashing back to about 1965 here; there may be some fuzziness about dates, but the Big Picture is beaming in loud and clear. Every note is as pristine as it was Back When. The message will not end.

Every now and then, I'd catch a ride to school with Martha on her way to teach Biology at Malvern High. She had long since learned that the radio belonged to me and she was okay with it (loved her some Wilson Pickett, she did). Naturally, that radio was tuned to KAAY and cranked up as loud as she'd let it go.

I was fourteen and clueless (I would not know everything in the world until I was fifteen), but there was just something about Beatles records on my favorite station. Compared to everything else on the air in those days (with the great exception of Motown), they seemed to leap out of the speaker. They demanded attention, they dared you not to listen. I always tried for an extra notch of volume when one came on.

I would not learn the why of this audio magic until decades later, when I read George Martin's elegant book, All You Need Is Ears. He wrote about compressing Beatles recordings so they'd be as loud as possible when played on the radio. He and his team of engineers were also fascinated--and frustrated--by the amount of bass that Motown records could achieve. If they cranked up the bass on Beatles recordings beyond a certain point, the arm of the cutting lathe would jump up off the turntable and ruin the master. "We could never figure how the Americans were doing it."

Turns out there was some more audio magic at work up in Little Rock, where KAAY played those Beatles 45's on Gates turntables into a Collins vacuum tube console. From there, it was off to Wrightsville and into some more (huge, glorious, delicious, creamy, fat) tubes in the mighty RCA BTA 50-F transmitter. At the last minute, the sound would pass through Felix McDonald's legendary 70-cycle "choke," where anything below that frequency would disappear--and the remaining bass notes would get shaped and clarified, cut like a bodybuilder's torso. (To this day, Felix maintains that anything below 100 cycles is just hum.)

Oh. There was one other bit of magic afoot in those fabled days. On one of our morning rides, I discovered that I could predict when the next record played on KAAY would be by The Beatles. It only worked when I was in the car with Martha (go figure), but I hit it every time. Now what do you suppose that was?

David B. Treadway
Doc Holiday VII
The Last PD

Bonus Points: When I was grown and working for a living on the air, it disturbed me that every available version of Penny Lane was missing those seven piccolo trumpet notes at the end, which I was certain I had heard every time KAAY played it. Where had they gone? Had I only imagined them? Nope. The original promotional copies of the 45 had, indeed, contained that wistful signature at the end of the song. Subsequent mixes and releases did not. When you hit the link below, you can hear what we all heard on The Mighty 1090.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH8f-HGsgJ4

Life In The Funmobile‏

The recent picture of Ron Owens (and Sonny Martin III, just to his left) at a remote broadcast in 1969 made me go time traveling again, back to the days when taking KAAY on the road was a pretty big deal. Now, you just stick a DJ with a cell phone into the store of whichever client is willing to pay the freight, send along a few t-shirts and the station banners and it's called going "On Location." It's also supposed to fill the store with customers, but it mostly never does--unless there are some Monster Trucks or Pro Rasslers on display.

In the Glory Days, a KAAY remote broadcast took some doing. We rolled our portable studio--the Funmobile--to the client location, hitched it up to a specially-ordered telephone line and cued up the 45 RPM records on QRK turntables (we called 'em Rumble Kings) positioned to either side of what is, to this day, the smallest audio console I have ever seen: a Sparta four-pot with a single VU meter. It was identical to the one below (ignore the microphone; we had a duplicate of our studio mic in the Funmobile).

 

We did use a gooseneck--a fair bit longer than the one above--to mount the Electro-Voice 667 A (I've never been sure of the model number, but it was a big honking beast that made voices sound huge on the air). It was nice to cuddle up to something nearly as big as your head:

In a time before widespread use of Marti remote pickup transmitters, a specialized phone line had to be ordered a week or two in advance of the remote. It was known as a 15K equalized loop, the "15K" referring to the highest audio frequency that it would carry: 15,000 cycles per second, now referred to as Herz. The human ear (especially the female human ear) can detect frequencies a bit higher than 15K, but such a limit was plenty good for music and voice. (Ah, we always went for Maximum Sound Quality, didn't we?) One end of the loop would be installed at the client location, the other end would come to the 1425 West 7th Street studios and terminate at the studio patch panel in the control room equipment racks.

In my memory, it generally fell to the unfailingly cheerful Dave Montgomery and his all-around assistant, Larry, to hitch up the Funmobile to what we'd now call a big SUV and tow it to the location. Larry would get out the jacks and set about leveling the unit, while Dave powered it up, connected it to the loop and sent a test tone to the studio. Depending on the time of broadcast, all this would have to be done early in the day or the day before. It was also important to ensure that there was enough AC power on-site to pull a rather large air conditioning unit; the Funmobile could double as an oven in the summer.

Music Director Jonnie King, a mighty man his ownself, kept a duplicate set of the 45's that we were playing in a sturdy wooden box in the Funmobile, divided by category and stored out of direct sunlight to prevent warping. Music and DJ content would come from the remote, with commercials inserted by a board operator back at the station. When the spot break ended, the board-op would hit a jingle and we'd take it again.

The Funmobile was what you'd probably call a camping trailer. We got it second-hand from WBBM in Chicago, where it was the BeeMobile. I am pitiful at estimating dimensions, but it looked about twenty feet long by ten feet wide by ten feet high, with huge windows to the front and to either side of the DJ position. There were horn-type speakers on the front and Pat Walsh (who must surely have been the P.T. Barnum of his time) had heavy cardboard signs printed for each DJ to put in the windows.

And did we draw some crowds or what? The Razorback football pep rally remotes with Sonny Martin and George Jennings on game days would pack 'em in downtown for a block or so. I remember one Jackpot self-serve gas station remote where the traffic got so bad that the police had to show up to break the jam and try to restore some semblance of a flow. Once when I ran out of prizes, I noticed that Sonny had left his hairbrush in the Funmobile, so I forged his initials on the back of it and gave it away on the air. Six women immediately showed up to try to win it! (I have never before confessed this. Sonny, this is what happened to your brush back when we were all famous.)

Remotes then were a bunch of work, but that Funmobile helped KAAY to always be bigger than life.

David B. Treadway
Doc Holiday VII
The Last PD

Tom Bigby Checks In!!!

As per Tom's comments:

"Phil Beckman passed this site on to me this morning.....what a trip down memory lane.. I was one of the originals.. Itty Bitty Buddy Car.. Mccormick gave me the name when I came up from Odessa Texas.. I think I was 21 and doing PM Drive on this big Monster Radio Station...would love to know how many of the originals are still around.... Sorry to read of AJ's passing...."

Tom Bigby, Tom Bigby Media Pros, Sports Radio Consultants Dallas, Texas on KAAY 45 RPM Record: The Pig:

http://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/2013/04/kaay-45-rpm-record-pig.html



Tom, it is a pleasure to hear from you!!!  We would like to know more of your stories, please!  Would you contact me at my e-mail address below?  Thanks in advance, Bud Stacey   BudS. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY: Ron Owens

Snatched from the jaws of obscurity by our own Dave S., here is a formerly "lost" clip of Ron Owens with Bill Edwards, with Comex Contemorary News opening this aural treasure!

(or download here)

Here is the link in A.J.'s blog to info about Ron Owens:  http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/search?q=ron+owens

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY 45 RPM Record: The Pig

Another great piece of history, from A.J.'s archive...we'll let him explain in his own words:

"Continuing the history of Razorbackmania as promoted by KAAY. I need you help guys on the year this song was played. It's "The Pig" by the Pacers. J. Paul Scott wrote it and Bobby Crawford and the Pacers recorded it. Please email me the year and any other stories you may have connected with this record. Bobby and The Pacers still play dates today. As with all of the airchecks featured on this blog, it was recorded off the air and is presented here for educational purposes. "
---A.J. Lindsey Oct 22 2006

As A.J. has passed on, you may e-mail me at my address below if you have any info that A.J. originally wanted....

(or download here)

Thank you, Dave S., for the audio work!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Jonnie King Shares An E-mail

Hi, Bud!

Just got this eMail and wanted to share it with you ! Just so excited that this GREAT listener found my www.jonnieking.net Website and got to re-live a part of our KAAY History !

Feel free to Post this if you want...and I'll have something very cool to share next week !

BTW: In that photo you have of Walt Sadler (Ron Owens) by the KAAY Funmobile, that's Matt White (Sonny Martin) looking over his shoulder...wearing sun glasses. AND, it's definetely a Summer '69 photo !

Here's how that went down: I had just gotten there April 21st, as you may remember, and so I know the info well as the Album they were giving away was "Johnny Cash At San Quentin"...and the #1 Single out of it that we were playing was "A Boy Named Sue"...it had first hit the Billboard Chart on July 26, 1969, but we had played it l-o-n-g before that !

All the best to you, Bud !

Jonnie

eMail from Alfred Mussert:

" Dear Jonnie,

Me and my friends used to listen to you on KAAY in 1969-70 from Havana Cuba. I was 18 or 19 at the time. Many of us were never into Cuban music had developed a habit of listening to WQAM (Miami) during the day and to KAAY from Little Rock in the evenings. We all listened to WQAM from 1963 on.

KAAY became the main attraction in the evenings as soon as we discovered the Beaker St show. (also because of its powerful signal) I bet you guys never knew you had fans in Cuba !

Yes, we were quite a group of anti-communist "misfits" in that weird environment back then. The ones among us who spoke English had to translate for the ones who didn't. I used to record a lot of music off the air, using my dad's reel to reel recorder and then play it back at our little dance parties on Friday or Saturday nights.

Many thanks for making these pages available and with so much info. I never dreamed I would some day be able to see what you looked like.

I really miss those years just like you do. You should know that in 1969-70 KAAY was as powerful or more than the local Havana radio stations, and we were with you every night !

Alfred Mussert"

Ear On Arkansas Parody

KAAY's "Ear on Arkansas" was another satirical "news program", this one spoofing Arkansas's "Eye on Arkansas" TV news program.  Again, rescued from A. J. Lindsey's site before the players quit, I'll let A.J. explain in his own words and his original post:

"I've referred to "Ear On Arkansas" in some old posts and one of the Timeless Tracks has a discussion of Ear. Briefly, it was a weekly 30 minute satirical review of the news in Arkansas. This was one of the features that made KAAY unique and not just another music station. Over the years, many different individuals assumed the responsibility of putting the program together. As I listen to some of the Ear recordings, I realize how times have changed and things that were important them, can hardly be recalled. Also, in 1967 no one would have guessed that the Arkansas Gazette (the old grey lady) would cease to exist. Here are a few cuts from an album that was pressed and given away about the year 1967. There was a second album done for 1968. Listen now to about 40 minutes of Ear On Arkansas"
---A.J. Lindsey, Nov 14, 2006

I was personally given one of those albums by Charlie Scarbrough ("Charlie King") a while back; it is in great shape, but I dare not put it on a turntable without a way to back it up to digital...maybe in the future, but it is in safe storage for now.  Please enjoy!


(or download here)

From A.J.'s blog:  http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/search?q=ear+on+arkansas

Thanks, Dave, for the audio!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY Montage

From the A. J. Lindsey archives, previously posted on his blog, Dave S. has rescued this montage of audio from early on in KAAY's history, opening with the Rob Robbins Oldies Show, with Mike McCormick sitting in.  Hang on and enjoy nearly a half-hour of 'scoped audio!

This version has a "horn honk" at each division where it is 'scoped.  It has been quite some time since I have been able to listen to A.J.'s archives, and I don't remember this little phenomenon.

Thanks to Dave S. for retrieval, archiving and linking- Dave, we couldn't do this without you!

(or download here)

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

David B. Treadway Moves To Mornings On US 97!

Hooee, this ol' boy (who we all enjoy his prose and thoughts on the blog) has teamed up with Vicky Parker on the morning shift at KQUS, "US 97"!  The results are an almost out-of-control country music team (you MUST hear their "Morning Song"!), tearing up the airwaves in Hot Springs, AR- and the world beyond!  Link in and listen at:

http://www.myhotsprings.com/

Click on the "US 97" link at the upper right, turn up the speakers...then sit down, buckle up and hang on for the ride!  Their shift is from 6AM to 10AM Central, Monday through Friday.

David B., "The Voice Of Arkansas", you have re-gained this listener!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

A Sad Anniversary....

Thanks to Doug Virden for the reminder...as a matter of history, some would like to revisit and experience The Last Day's audio.  We did it in two parts back in April 2010, so we'll revisit it here.  Barry McCorkindale ("Barry Mac"), who is the originator of "Tin Can Alley", and David B. Treadway (whom I call The Voice of Arkansas on U S 97) both wrote their own version of that day.  Even though memories grow fuzzy over the years, these are still deeply personal and moving comments by what they remember.

Part one:

http://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/2010/04/last-day-last-hour-part-1-barry.html

...and part two:

http://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/2010/04/last-day-last-hour-part-2-david-b.html

There were still bits & pieces of audio we gleaned from A.J. Lindsey's blog from that day; they can all be found below, in one bite...just follow this link and scroll through the many, many posts we had regarding that sad day:

http://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/search?q=The+Last+Day

There are still sentiments of those who wish KAAY to return to her former glory; unfortunately, I doubt that will happen, even though many of us have fantasized about buying her for pennies on the dollar and resurrecting her.  Even the late, great Jerry Sims ("Sonny Martin II") expressed his desire to do so.  Nonetheless, when I saw consolidation take place a couple of decades ago, I shook my head and acknowledged that it was the death knell for radio as we knew it.

At times, I have to travel with one of my jobs (I have two, by the way, one full-time and one part-time); I constantly scan/seek and manually tune the AM dial.  I have found that there are STILL home-owned, mom 'n' pop stations and groups out there who have not succumbed to the  lure of the conglomeration giants.  My hat is off to them.  I, as well as many I am sure, wish that KAAY had not gone the way it had, but at least it does have Christian programming and not some of the garbage found out there.

Yes, yes, I know, that may be an unpopular statement on my part, but if you think about it, there's not much "out there" worth listening to.  I also scan the FM band and all the stations sound alike: the same country & western, the same rap, the same rock (of many genres)...and, yes, the same conservative talk, as stations take on either this or that group.  To be sure, the locally-owned stations DO have their own local talk show hosts in several slots during the day, and that's refreshing.  Even though KAAY has wound up to be a "tool" of a media conglomerate, at least she's broadcasting "the good news"....and not broadcasting cop-killer rap.

I know, it's time I get off my soapbox...for now...so let's go back in time (after men graduated FROM troglodites!) and revisit that Last Day....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

"The KIXZ Twist"

Paul Kirby, of Texas radio fame and friend of this blog, sent along a really neat comparison picture and recording, called "The KIXZ Twist", after he read the post regarding the "Big KAAY Twist".  He & I thought it would be fun to compare the two and allow you to hear the difference and likeness of the two...here's Paul's comments:

"Bud,

I do not remember who e-mailed me the KIXZ Twist MP3 at the moment. I will keep "mind surfing" and see if I can remember. Anyhow...here is what I was told...

Ray Ruff recorded the "KIXZ Twist" at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico in the early 60s.

KIXZ was (still is) an AM radio station on 940 in Amarillo, Texas.

Here is a link to Ray's obituary:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?GRid=16466896&page=gr

I think putting it on the KAAY blog for comparison would be interesting.

Paul Kirby"

And thank you Paul for sending this along!


(or download here)

I met Paul Kirby and Vicki Worthington through George Jennings- not directly, mind you, but because George Jennings was a native Texan and also worked in the Texas radio markets.  Both Paul and Vicki are friends of this blog and we enjoy conversing back & forth via e-mail...they send along a lot of encouraging comments as well.

By the way, this is a good point to remind you of the website they have put together, where George Jennings is mentioned...it is called "San Antonio Radio Memories" and here's the link:

http://www.sanantonioradiomemories.com/

Thre's been quite a few additions since we mentioned them awhile back, so be sure to visit and enjoy!  Also be sure to click on their Comment/Question tab at the bottom and let them know we here at Mighty 1090 KAAY sent you and leave them some kind comments!

Thanks to Paul Kirby for this interesting bit of history!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Happy Easter!

He is risen!!!!!  Have a happy, joyous Easter!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

"Sonny Martin" (Matt White) Moves To Cool 104.7

"Sonny" (Matt White) Martin" is doing Saturday mornings now at Cool 104.7 (KFLI-FM) from 6AM-9AM Central...here's his bio:

http://www.cool1047.com/common/page.php?id=241

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY Surveys! From David B. Treadway

Hi, Bud!

Here are some artifacts courtesy of Bob Moody, formerly of KAAY sister station WAKY in Louisville, Kentucky. WAKY (yeah, it was called "Wacky") was a Lin Broadcasting Corporation Station along with KAAY, and it was owned by Multimedia at the same time.

Bob was a tremendous help to me in launching the final Oldies format on KAAY in September of 1984, going so far as to ship a load of his personal vinyl to Little Rock--at his own expense. If that ain't respect for the Mighty 1090, I don't know what is! I also don't know how I'll ever repay him for such cavalry-to-the-rescue assistance in a desperate moment.

He says it's okay to post these surveys to the Blog, and that they are part of a larger and more wide-ranging package that he's sending to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. (What a guy, huh?) Astute readers will note that, in 1966 and '67, KAAY continued to play the big national hits but was unafraid to include the regional songs that gave the station its neighborhood appeal. Quite a difference from this Brave New 21st Century when one could drive from New York to LA and hear the same handful of songs on every station along the way, no?

Bob Moody is one more great example of the support network that KAAY was once blessed with: creative and passionate people who wanted success for our station as well as theirs. They couldn't stand the thought of us going anywhere NEAR the ditch. Some times, we didn't even have to call 'em--they just showed up. Like they KNEW...somehow.

Listeners never heard their names, but dat ole 1090 would have been a lot less Mighty without them. God bless 'em every one!

David B. Treadway
Doc Holiday VII
The Last PD

Ron Owens Retro: November 20, 1969 !

Here is the last in our first batch of the now restored "lost" A.J. Lindsey audio files.  The clip today is of Ron Owens (Walt Sadler).  Here's what A.J. had to say when he first published this clip:

"Walt came to KAAY from Louisiana at the recommendation of Ray Brown who was then the Doc Holiday. Walt took the name "Ron Owens" and I believe he was the second. He did D.J. work, news, remotes and anything he was asked to do making friends everywhere. Walt worked as sales manager at KOKY, and news at KLRA. He was back at KAAY (religious format) when he passed away a few years ago. Here is an air check from the 11/20/69."

(or download here)

Enjoy!

More Retro: Mike McCormick

Continuing our republication of A.J. Lindsey's lost audio files, we have a clip of KAAY's first Program Director, Mike McCormick.  Here's what A.J. said about this clip:

"Mike McCormick a/k/a Jim Hankins, as mentioned previously, created the original sound of KAAY. He did the 9-12 AM shift. Here is his bio from 1962:"

Now hear Mike and some of the early KAAY production with some of his "seasonal" promos."

(or download here)

(You can read A.J.'s archive on Mike at this link: http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/search?q=McCormick )

Alvin Lee of "Ten Years After", Dead At 68

Ten Years After...was, in my book, 'way ahead of their time.  When I heard that Alvin Lee passed away on this morning's news, I instantly remembered the song "I'd love To Change The World":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzrUqAtUcpU&list=AL94UKMTqg-9Cpsp5hpUKHJ6FQ6nWCCd8K

I know I heard this song on KAAY during the late, l-a-t-e evening hours...which added the mystique to the station and its cutting edge music parade.

God rest your soul, Alvin Lee:

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1550730/alvin-lee-of-ten-years-after-dead-at-68


Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

"This Is The M-Squad" Retro Post

You heard this on one of the Buddy Karr retro posts...this version, unchanged from the tape version and NOT modified digitally, comes to you from A.J. "Doc" Holiday" Lindsey's aforementioned "hidden" archive.  It is of the same era in 1963.

Sharp writing and performances show the dedication of the early-day KAAY personnel.  Hit it, Dave!

(or download here)

Thanks, Dave!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)