George Jennings, Sonny Martin, Heavy George & More! 7/8/1972

Here are more candid shots at making commercials...I'm not sure if these are some of the same as before (may be), or if they're practice tapes of previous material...nonetheless, George Jennings' whistling made it on tape!

Ranchette Homesites, The Gift Case at the Lake Hills Shopping Center, The Little Barn and Safeway Discounts...enjoy!


(or download here)
Thanks again, Greg- roll 'em!

Bud S. staceys4@hotmail.com

Kay-Double-Ay-Why Song Intro's!

The deejays of KAAY threw a lot of enthusiasm into their broadcasts!  Just listen to the introductions they used for songs and Silver Dollar Surveys!


(or download here)
We survived the Cuban Missile Crisis, going on to live our lives in the '60s and beyond...sock hops and dances, going to the soda fountain and on dates, listening to our favorite deejays and music all the while!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Focus On The Newsmakers 9/18/1969

"50,000 watts over Arkansas", with Frank Woods, who solicited comments to be mailed to the news organization....

There's a story about 1st Lt. James L. Stone, Korea, 1951 and his heroic efforts while fighting the Chinese.  He was awarded the Medal of Honor.  There was mention of his current assignment at the time of this news broadcast, and that of other Medal of Honor recipients being flown to Valley Forge for ceremonies.  If this doesn't make you stand up and salute the flag, nothing will!


(or download here)
God bless our military...run up the flag, Greg!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Then, Cuba "Happened"....

Some of us are old enough to remember the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis.  It has been posted here extensively about how it affected us as a nation, and how KAAY got involved only weeks after the station coming to being, with Jim Hankins/"Mike McCormick" almost losing his job over the decision to participate; here is a link of material, mostly by Dave Montgomery and Richard Robinson, regarding such:

http://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/search?q=Cuban

KAAY had almost been left out, with the U. S. government having thought KTHS was off the air, not realizing KAAY had the frequency and the coverage; Jim, who couldn't get in touch with anyone to make a decision (remember, cell phones hadn't been invented yet and there were very few car phones), made the decision himself, even though the staff was sharply divided...see the link, re: Dave M's comments from A.J.  Thank you, Jim Hankins, you and KAAY made history....
 

Basically, at midnight every evening, the government came in, ran everyone out of the studio, locked the door and broadcast Voice of America programming to Cuba; the signal from KAAY absolutely blanketed the island nation.

My God, can you even imagine the tension, the agony, the possible retribution that could have taken place?  Fortunately, the U.S. and Russia came to agreeable terms and things cooled down a bit.  So, without further ado, here is a recording, regarding KAAY's involvement of the broadcasts to Cuba:


(or download here)
Thank you, Jim Hankins/"Mike McCormick", for having the guts!

How 'Bout Them Harlem Globetrotters?

Wayne Moss heads up these commercials regarding the Harlem Globetrotters, the world's favorite basketball team!

What's odd is that this tape was marked 08/23/970, but Wayne's identification was one "...through Saturday, March 22 only" and "...for Sunday, March 23 only".  I suppose something else might have been taped, then erased for these two commercials.  Wayne sounds as good today as he did back then, when I get to talk with him over the phone!


(or download here)
Hey, Greg- think you and I could give them just a little bit of competition?

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Mike McCormick, 1962!

Here is Mike McCormick (Jim Hankins) broadcasting on KAAY in 1962..boy, it was cold outside...listen for the weather, "Tiger"!


(or download here)
Mike was rockin' and rollin'!

But the dark side emerges in our next post....

Bud (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Focus On The Newsmakers 4/27/1969

Here is another older version, this time featuring John K. Anderson, "Stand by for KAAY Focus".  I really enjoy the opening music- probably performed and recorded by an actual orchestra!

"Congressional Comment" featured Senator William Proxmire, speaking of human rights treaties and Abner Mifka of our country's military might- and morals...?  Others follow....

In this version, it was mentioned that NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) celebrates its 20th anniversary...George Foreman is interviewed about joining the Job Corps.


(or download here)

Many of the problems mentioned in these Congressional Comments could be the same as we face today....



Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

The KAAY M-Squad!

Here, I believe, is the original line-up of deejays of KAAY in 1962- "The M-Squad"!


(or download here)
Dub Murray was "Doc Holiday", Jim Hankins was "Mike McCormick, Wayne Moss was "Sonny Martin", Tom Bigby was "Buddy Karr", Tom Campbell was "Rob Robbins" and Howard Watson was "Ken Knight".

After a short time, the players changed a bit; A. J. Lindsey became "Doc Holiday" and Jerry Sims became "Sonny Martin".  I can't remember if there were any more immediate changes....

I wish I had pictures of ALL of them, but at least here are some pictures of Dub Murray,  Jim Hankins,a picture of a Silver Dollar Survey recording (with A.J. as "Doc Holiday") and Wayne Moss:

Yes, indeed, 1962 was an exciting year in Little Rock history...and, later, for the United States...please stay tuned!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

52 Years Ago....

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KAAY!  KTHS became KAAY 52 years ago on Labor Day, 1962.  This weird format could be heard "before the button was pushed":


(or download here)
Yes, it was the "Baby Elephant Walk" and deejays were reading the Little Rock phone book over the audio.  What a gimmick!

Dave Schmidt built an archive from A. J. Lindsey's KAAY blog; in commemoration, Dave, Greg Barman and myself will be sharing things here from that era....

Hey, how 'bout this flyer?

Please stay tuned for more, as we celebrate the 52nd anniversary of KAAY!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Various Commercials (7/28/1972)

Here are more ads by Wayne Moss and other announcers (can someone identify them for us, please?)

We have a Moses Record Shop special by The Hollies, Sabric Fabricks, Wallach stores and J. C. Penny ads, among others...there are a couple of false starts & bloopers, which make it all the more interesting- roll it, Greg!


(or download here)
I think I'll go down to Wallach's and get one of those fine televisions, or maybe go to the night owl Penny store sales & get some new threads...Greg, you want to come along?

Who, wh-wh-whooo!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

(it's those 69-cent singles that always got me -- Greg)

Focus On The Newsmakers 10/20/1968

These may not be as glamorous or heady as some of the music we've posted, or that of the ever-popular Beaker Street, but it IS history, nonetheless.  I don't blame anyone if they don't want to sit & listen to political or other news, but some may find it interesting from a historical point- some may have worked with the particular people interviewed in these recordings or had something to do with campaigns or other events.  With that, we go into...

...George Jennings opening this news magazine dated 10/20/1968- the opening public service announcement or advertisement was for the Big Brothers of America.  The main focus was on the Arkansas Corrections Department, mainly at Cummings and shots being fired:


(or download here)


Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Some Treats To Come! (Or, Old Is New Again)

Dear reader and visitor, a milestone is about to be reached...one that we want to spring upon you within a couple of weeks!  We'll keep it a secret for now, so stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled!

I've thought it over and discussed it with the guys...and we believe it'll be a good thing.  Hopefully, you'll be as enthused about the upcoming posts as we are.  We have some ideas to bring you some things that are of importance that some of you may or may not have seen nor heard before...

...so, before I give it away (giggle!), we'll keep working on this project in earnest- and we hope you'll be pleased and not disappointed.

Get ready to have some fun!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Bob Steel, A.K.A. "Michael O'Sullivan" Checks In!

OH BOY!  I'd tried to reach Bob Steel via several means- and had missed him by mere minutes when I was in Little Rock back in 2011- but it was through LinkedIn that I was able to get a message to him- and he replied almost immediately!  Bob is a consummate broadcaster and many, many people love his style.  We've posted about Bob a couple of times here on the blog...just type in "Bob Steel" in the upper left-hand corner in the search box.

Here we go!  Without further delay, is what Bob sent me for the blog:

"It was nice to hear from you.  I worked at KAAY in the News Department Monday through Fridays and on Saturday mornings I did “Solid Gold Weekend” until noon.  We all worked six to seven days a week but always at least six.  They gave me the name Michael O’Sullivan.  Michael O’Sullivan was actually the Chief Accounting Officer for the LIN Broadcasting System.  I thought that was kinda funny because I was never very good with math and I thought Bob Steel was a pretty good air name.  It’s my real name too!  Pat Walsh explained to me that he had purchased signs on the back of Yellow Cabs with caricatures of the jocks –and if any of them left, he didn’t have to change the signs.   “You're Michael O’Sullivan,” he said.

 

I started at KAAY during the summer of 1971.  Pat Walsh was the General Manager.  Sonny Martin (Matt White) was the morning man with George J. Jennings doing the news.  I worked as a field reporter until 3 o’clock in the afternoons and then I anchored the news across from Bob Robbins. (Bob Spears)  Nick Markel was the News Director (Mitch Michaels.)  Jack Lee (Gary Souheaver – pronounced sigh heaver) did mid-day news.   There were 4 of us in the news department but I was the only guy that ever went out to news conferences.

 

I did fill-in once for Dale Seidenschwarz, air name: Clyde Clifford when he was on vacation.  He was the voice of Beaker Street.  I will never forget doing that shift.  I only had a 3^rd Class License and so I did the show from the studio and an engineer was at the transmitter.  In those days the FCC required an on duty engineer to be at the transmitter.   I got two letters the week after I did Beaker Street…one was from a sailor on an Aircraft Carrier and the other was from Cuba!

 

It was a great radio station.  We carried the Arkansas Razorback football games and Pat Walsh was a brilliant marketer of the station.  We had all kinds of contests and promotional events.  We did remotes from the “Fun Mobile” and they were frequent.  The station was a powerhouse number 1 when I worked there and the signal went miles and miles at night –north and south – it truly became the “50,000 watt Giant.”

 

I got the job in a weird way.  The News Director, Nick Markel, was fishing on Lake Conway on a weekend when I was working at KCON in Conway.  He heard me reading the news and contacted me the following Monday and asked me if I would like to apply for a job as he was losing one of his reporter/anchors to Memphis.  She was African American and I can’t remember her name.  I was in summer school at UCA going to work on the GI bill and only lacked 16 hours to graduate with a major in Journalism.  I thought I would just take the summer off and work there for a while and then go back to school.  I never returned!  I have spent the majority of my life in broadcasting with a couple of breaks at advertising agencies as an public relations account executive.

 

The funniest thing I remember:  I was on my way home from work one night.  My radio was tuned to KAAY even though “The World Tomorrow” was on.  We featured famous radio preacher Garner Ted Armstrong from 6 'til 7 each night and then went back to Rock n’ Roll.   As I was driving through downtown Little Rock this booming voice came over the airwaves:  “Steel, you forgot your lunch pail.”   It was Jerry Don Pitcock (Jim Pitcock’s brother).  I turned around and went back to the station to retrieve my lunch pail and then went into the control room.  I said, “I can’t believe you did that!”  Without missing a beat…Jerry Don said, “No body listens to that (stuff).”

 

I was at KAAY for a couple of years.  It remains one of the best times of my life.  I was young and just out of the service.  It was fun and KAAY was on the cutting edge of everything cool.  I remember riding with the winners of a KAAY contest in a double decker English bus for a rollin’ party with the KAAY staff and Paul Revere and the Raiders….or at least with the lead singer of Paul Revere and the Raiders, Mark Lindsay.  He was a great guy and the staff and the contest winners had a ball that night.

 

I was the voice of “Aunt Blabby” for the Castle Shop.  I did impersonations of Richard Nixon, John Wayne, Ed Sullivan and others for “The Little Red Barn” – a local head shop.  The impersonations were pretty good but I now realize that everyone I impersonated is dead.  LOL

 

I remember going into the production room after my air shift to cut a spot one night.  There was a cardboard box in the chair.  I picked it up and the lid flew open.  It was full of money!  I counted it.  It was $10,000 dollars!  I called Pat Walsh.   He said, “oh that money is for Children’s Hospital – it’s from the benefit concert that Black Oak Arkansas did last night.  Just leave it there and I’ll get it to them on Monday.”

 

Wayne Moss was the program director.  That was his real name.  He was a strict taskmaster.  Phil North was the evening jock.  I don’t remember his real name but his voice was amazing and he was big time.  He got a job in Chicago right before I left KAAY.  I remember doing his shift while they were looking for someone to replace him.  They sent in a guy to observe me running the board --- they were going to hire this guy.  The show was fast paced and very busy.  I was showing off a little – cueing records, punching spots, answering the phone and recording listener requests with the reel to reel and then retrieving the records… going as fast as I ever had.  The guy didn’t take the job. When he turned down the job, Wayne Moss said, “What did you say to this guy?”  I said, “I didn’t even talk to him much.  It was a wild night.  The phones were on fire and I didn’t have time to talk to him.” .  I think watching me run that board scared him off.

 

I left KAAY to take a job as a reporter for KATV Channel 7.  I remember the day I told Pat Walsh.  I said, “Mr. Walsh, I’ve been offered a job at Channel 7 to be a reporter there and it represents quite an increase in pay.  I’ve got a wife and a baby and I need to take this job."   He said, “You don’t need to take that job, you’re only 23 years old man and you’re working at a 50,000 watt radio station, one of the top stations in the country!”  I said, “I know, I love it here but I can’t eat those watts.”  He laughed and wished me well.  We remained friends throughout my career and until his death many years ago.  I had lunch with him at least once a month.

 

Hope this helps.  Thanks for preserving KAAY broadcast history.

 

All the best,

 

Bob"         

The Rolling Stones in Arkansas!

Courtesy of Doug Virden's post on Facebook, here is video of Keith Richard and Ron Wood getting arrested in Fordyce AR, July 1975.  From the Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=841733862504622&set=vb.155719501106065&type=2&theater

Post by Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History.

Greg Barman

Retro Post: Another "Christmas In August"!

 

 

From A.J.'s blog, once again we have Jim Pitcock, a.k.a. "Ron Owens", as Santa during a "Christmas In August" promotion.  The following are A.J.'s words from his blog, with link:

"Contests and promotions were contributing factors to the success of KAAY. There were always several contests going at once. A variety of contests with different ways to enter, were key factors. In those days, many of the proof of listeners was from the mail that was received from across the country.

One contest I found a picture to support was the "Christmas in August" contest. I don't even remember the details, perhaps one of you can refresh my memory. I know it involved Jim Pitcock whose air name was Ron Owens (I think). We thought it was so funny to dress skinny Jim in a Santa suit with NO padding and drive him around in a convertible in the heat of an Arkansas August."

http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/2006/08/never-91-caller.html

I don't know the reason for the title, "Never the 91 caller", only A.J. knew for sure...so, if there is anyone out there who remembers the details of this contest, please e-mail me, so I can add your comments here for everyone to enjoy!

Thanks, A.J.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Retro Post: Christmas In August

 

 

Some of you may remember this from A.J.'s blog- and, it being August, I thought it would be fun looking back and remembering!  In the words of A.J., with link added:

"This picture is from a Christmas in August promotion we ran at KAAY. The Santa in the dark sun glasses is Jim Pitcock with no fat padding. We thought this was such a great gag and had him ride around in a convertible with the top down. People were to put signs in their yard for Santa to see as he drove around. Prizes were awarded for the best signs. I forgot what the prizes were, but it was a great successful contest."

Jim Pitcock was a slim, lanky fellow, from the pictures we have of him.  He was "Ron Owens" during his tenure at KAAY, for those who are wondering.  I certainly hope his suit is cooler than my Santa suit- I'm comfortable only if it is in the mid-30s to lower 40s in mine!

THIS is something that brought in great reviews of the station- its unusual contests and promotions.  What with consolidation and ever-tight budgets, radio stations can only seem to make an appearance at a store opening and hand out a few T-shirts, etc. while blaring music piped in from the studio while on-site...certainly not the great quality stuff KAAY and other stations of yesteryear did.

Thanks to A.J. Lindsey for this fun picture- we could only hope we could have been there!  By the way, has anyone reading this post attended any of KAAY's Christmas In August promotions?

http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/2007/11/still-on-strke.html

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Focus On The Newsmakers 5/12/1968

George Jennings, Managing Editor of the KAAY News Department, again heads up this 30-minute news magazine.  Good ad about the Salvation Army after the introduction....

The first interviews were about the controversy of mixed drinks and whether or not bars could serve such.  My, it seems there was such  a to-do about what was considered a high-priority ruling by the Attorney General.

More problems existed over this issue...and many interpretations and opinions!


(or download here)
Thanks, Greg!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Various Commercials (Tape 1/26/1971)

Here are various commercials, no bloopers, great finished products for air on KAAY!  Well, maybe a blooper or two...

-Levon Buick, against the theme song "Shaft"...a hidden connotation or meaning?

-Moses Record Shop, a great place to shop in the day!

-the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar", Robinson Auditorium, December 5

-Ray Moody's "My Father" program at 6PM, concerning a young lady almost losing her life during an abortion.

-Jonnie King with "The Fig Leaf" clothing store ads.

-and more!


(or download here)
Greg B. and I are going down to The Fig Leaf to get some funky threads...thanks, Greg!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Wilbur Mills Political Commercials 8/26/1971

Here are various political commercials for Wilbur Mills.  This tape sounds like it had survived quite well.

Can someone name those deejays in the commercials?  I think the Mighty Wayne Moss was in one of them.


(or download here)


Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Casey Kasem, American Top 40

One of the most fond memories I had growing up was listening to Casey Kasem's "American Top 40".  It was a syndicated show, aired every Saturday, and some Sundays, over radio stations worldwide.  Yes, NOT just stateside...Casey's show played on Armed Forces Radio and TV Services and variations thereof, for the troops overseas.  Back then, we didn't have the satellite links as we do today- the only way the show was heard was when the tapes were shipped to the particular radio stations in the theater of operations, or aired by shortwave on the Armed Forces Radio networks.

During my troubled youth, American Top 40, and Casey's smooth delivery thereof, was of comfort to me...as well as music in general and my dedication to KAAY, et. al.  I always searched for the unusual and I guess listening to this show both via regular stateside AM radio AND by shortwave on AFRTS sated my cravings.  Funny, how I could listen to this, and other shows, on my grandfather's old 1953 Zenith Transoceanic (of which I possess today!).

And, as a dedication to Casey Kasem, I've gotten permission from my friend Thom Whetston, of the AFRTS Archive blog, to post the American Top 40 Roundup for 1977...the year I graduated from high school.  Boy, these songs bring back some bittersweet memories:










There had been a rumor that this show was aired on KAAY, either before or after Beaker Street- but I don't get a response from the person who said it, nor can I find anyone who can confirm this.  As per David. B. Treadway. KAAY did not air syndicated material...

Casey Kasem went on to what some of us call "radio heaven" on June 5, 2014- but we can all remember what he said at the end of each and every show:

"Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!"

Thanks to Thom Whetston for this material, and the permission to post thereof.

Thank you, Casey, for soothing this savage beast...see you later....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)