#1 Songs, Memorial Day, 1962-1984

No sense in including 1985, since the station was sold before Memorial Day....

THE 1980s

1984 Let's Hear It for the Boy Deniece Williams

1983 Flashdance ... What a Feeling Irene Cara

1982 Ebony and Ivory Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder

1981 Bette Davis Eyes Kim Carnes

1980 Funkytown Lipps, Inc.



THE 1970s

1979 Hot Stuff Donna Summer

1978 Too Much, Too Little, Too Late Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams

1977 Sir Duke Stevie Wonder

1976 Love Hangover Diana Ross

1975 Before the Next Teardrop Falls Freddy Fender

1974 The Streak Ray Stevens

1973 My Love Paul McCartney & Wings

1972 I'll Take You There The Staple Singers

1971 Brown Sugar The Rolling Stones

1970 Everything Is Beautiful Ray Stevens



THE 1960s

1969 Get Back The Beatles

1968 Mrs. Robinson Simon & Garfunkel

1967 Respect Aretha Franklin

1966 When a Man Loves a Woman Percy Sledge

1965 Help Me Rhonda The Beach Boys

1964 Chapel of Love The Dixie Cups

1963 It's My Party Lesley Gore

1962 I Can't Stop Loving You Ray Charles

Remember....

Originally called Decoration Day, our modern-day Memorial Day is a day of rememberance for those who have died in our nation's service.  Having a son in the armed forces, I am sensitive to this and other "holidays".....

Please do not forget to fly the American flag at half-staff until 12 noon, 5/31/2010....

For those who are interested in flag etiquette and history, here is a good site to view:

http://www.awesomelibrary.org/Flag.html#flags

A Pair Of Crosleys

I've had these radios for quite some time...both were typical "barn radios", having been put in storage in an old shed, then given away.  I happened to be in the right place at the right time!

The Crosley on the left ("Delux White") is a Model 10-135 AM table radio; these were made in 1950.  Except for some fading of the silver paint on the knobs, it cleaned up pretty well.  This one's nickname was the "Coloradio" and came in several other colors, which coincided with its model number.  I think this one will take a little TLC and come back strong.

The Crosley on the right ("Gulf Green") was called the "Serenader", AM table model 11-117U...this radio was made in 1951 and came in numerous colors, which coincided with it's model number.  I believe that, with the shape it's in, it'll also come back with some time & TLC.

What did you listen to KAAY with?

Bud S (staceys4@hotmail.com)

You Listened To KAAY on What?

I was blessed a few weeks ago by a fellow Ham radio operator, who is now inactive.  He gave me several pieces of gear and numerous AM, AM/FM and AM/Shortwave table radios, just so they'd have a good home.  Pictured above is one of the radios he gave me, a Channel Master Model 5636.  It's in reasopnably good shape, the wood is smooth, clean and not cracked (despite being out in an open trailer) and barely needs a little cleaning.  This is a tube unit, I believe built in the early 1960's.  All I can find, info-wise, is that someone has Sam's Photofacts for sale for it, but not the date of manufacture.

It was so clean that I was tempted to plug it in and see if it would play, but that little Ham voice said, "Check it out!"  In older tube-type radios, the capacitors can sometimes dry out and need to be replaced.  These capacitors, when they dry out, can short out and produce disasterous results when they explode with power applied!  At the least, the capacitor will be destroyed- at the worst, the radio....

Needless to say, I'll put this radio through a variable transformer and bring the voltage up s-l-o-w-l-y, to make sure I don't lose this treasure!

As you can probably tell, I love old radios...more to come, both a little newer, and a whole lot older!

What did you listen to KAAY with?

BudS (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Art Linkletter, R.I.P. May 26, 2010

TV funnyman Art Linkletter passed away today, May 26, 2010, at the gentle age of 97 years young.  I remember him so well, as he interviewed kids ("Kids Say The Darndest Things!") and adults alike...what a showman!  He was one of the bright spots in my childhood.

Rest well, Art, we'll see you later!

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7023613.html

Len Carl/Lind Voth: Where Are You Now?

A. J. had interviewed Len Carl (Lind Voth) and posted the videos on his blog.  Len Carl was the second General Manager, beginning in 1964...and checked into A. J.'s blog often.  I certainly hope he has word to check in here.

Where are you, sir?  Please let us hear from you!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Robinson Auditorium/Center

I'd heard several advertisements for Robinson Auditorium and decided to snoop around...what a beautiful building!  One ad mentioned the auditorium and Entertainment Attractions bringing The Fabulous Outsiders on April 1, 1967.  It was on a Mike McCormick aircheck.

Missing (The Present-Day) Mark Larson?

mcb said...


I miss Mark Larson. The 3 jokers who took his place are pathetic and insult my intelligence.

(MCB, there's good news!  Mark has started his own Webcast and you can listen every morning- not only in the Tampa Bay area- but all over the world now, at:

http://www.markinthemorning.com/

Many times, those conglomerates make a move for the worst, so I bet they did this out of greed.  Did it actually take three guys to take Mark's place?  No way...

Be sure to contact Mark and tell him that you enjoy his webcast.  You can even go back into the archives & listen to previous shows...not something you can do with over-the-air radio...computers and the Web DO have their advantages, at times....bs)

Where Are They Now? Tom Gallagher/Danny Goode

I was going through some more notes and came upon a name who we'd previously missed...that of "Tom Gallagher", otherwise known by Danny Goode.  By the notes, he worked at KAAY from 1977 to 1979.  Does anyone have any other information on him, please?

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Novelty Songs On KAAY

Dave M. has offered something we haven't thought of before: those wacky, hilarious novelty songs we all enjoyed!

"Here's something I've been tossing around - a list of some of the so-called "novelty songs" heard on KAAY. While this list is by no means complete, here's a list compiled by:

 http://www.popculturemadness.com/Music/Novelty.html

 that is a good start. Any others anyone else want to add to the list?




1970-1979:
1. King Tut - Steve Martin
2. Disco Duck - Rick Dees
3. Convoy - C.W. McCall
4. Junk Food Junkie - Larry Gross
5. The Streak - Ray Stevens
6. Dancin' Fool - Frank Zappa
7. Fish Heads - Barnes & Barnes
8. My Ding-A-Ling - Chuck Berry
9. Shaving Cream - Benny Bell
10. Mr. Jaws - Dickie Goodman

1960-1969:
1. They're Coming To take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! - Napoleon XIV
2. Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Brian Hyland
3. On Top Of Spaghetti - Tom Glazer
4. Short Shorts - Royal Teens
5. Beep Beep - Playmates
6. Tip Toe Through The Tulips - Tiny Tim
7. Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor - Lonnie Donegan
8. Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah - Allen Sherman
9. Leader Of The Laundromat - the Detergents
10. Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport - Rolf Harris

/D/"

A "New" Timeless Tracks Audio Version

Well, not really new...some of us have heard it, or some of it before, but I thought it would be nice to take the bits hanging around "out there" and have them strung together, as a real radio show should be.  Compliments of Greg Barman and his audio finesse, he strung it back together, did some audio magic to it with equalization, mono-to-stereo conversion and boosting and made it sound more like a radio show!  This was the 40th Anniversary Show commemorating KAAY's beginning on Tony Warner's "Timeless Tracks" show on "Cool 95", KOLL.  Later, Tony's show was cancelled, as mentioned in A.J.'s blog....there are several entries here:

http://kaay1090.blogspot.com/search?q=Timeless+Tracks

Featured guests were A.J. Lindsey ("Doc Holiday"), Matt White ("Sonny Martin III"), Charlie Scarborough, ("Charlie King") and Pat Walsh...also mentioned was "Clyde Clifford" (Dale Seidenschwarz), but I don't remember hearing him on this track.

You'll hear some audio tracks of KAAY's early days, some of which you may have heard before.  It sounds like they all had fun with this show!  Unfortunately, this is all the audio we have- 48 minutes and 13 seconds of it (a bunch of oldies music not related to the program was editied out)- and if anyone else has any more audio from this show NOT in this track, we would appreciate it being sent along...just see my e-mail addres below.

I have also tried contacting Tony Warner with no luck...I'd not called his business, only left an e-mail and was told that they'd forward the e-mail to him...no reply.  If anyone has any contact with Tony Warner, we'd like to hear from him and let him know the party continues!

Oh, and besides the audio (thanks to Greg's laborious contribution and Dave's posting help!), here is a picture of "Charlie (Scarborough) King", from KAAY, 1966- compliments of Charlie Okle:

Now, on with the audio!

Timeless Tracks --- 40th anniversary KAAY:   stream   |   download

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

THEM THERE BUSINESS CARDS !

Many thanks for my old friend, Dave M., for bringing his business card to the Site.  These are always uber'-cool for everyone to see...especially those who weren't there "at the time".

Now, here's a bit of info on my card that Bud posted awhile back:

My card wasn't printed on the usual card-stock that is normally used.  It was printed on a very thin, onionskin-style stock.  You could just about see-through it if you held it up to the light. Very classy indeed. These cards alone were a very classy introduction to whomever you gave them to.

(The girls loved 'em ! Thought if they weren't dealing with the "Kings of the Airwaves" or, "Radio Royalty" they were very, very close !   LOL !! )

My Dad, who many of you met when I was there, always carried one of mine around in his wallet to show people.  He was always my biggest fan, God bless him.  Always proud of what his son did.  He was also a Saint.  The kindest, warmest, most wonderful human being ever put on this Planet.  Thanks again, Dad.

Jonnie King

PS:  About those pix of Phil North/Eric Chase:  The reason Phil looks as he does in those pix is due to a secret formula of Swedish Youth Treatments, which I believe, were sold at one time at The Little Barn under the "You Can Look As Good As You Did In 1970 !" Label.  It was a combination Elixer, Mouth Wash, Hair Tonic, Body Rub, and, Lumbago Potion.  After fermenting, it could also be used as Car Polish & Grout Remover.

Many years ago, George & C.J. told me that Phil had pre-ordered a number of CASES of the stuff...which contained a gross of bottles to each case.

I hope this clairifies any confusion that may have arisen by your viewing of said photos.

Dave M.'s Biz Card!

Jonnie’s business card inspired me to go digging around – here’s one of my cards from the period not long after we moved to Cottondale Lane, and before the FM was changed to album rock format. Note the Multimedia logo near the bottom. Jonnie's card has the LIN logo on it.

/DM/

Eric Chase, Our Very Own "Phil North"!

I listened to Phil North on KAAY when I was younger...and that's all I'll say about that!  Some people age gracefully, as Phil/Eric has...in fact, he looks younger than many of us!  It must be all the fun he has doing audio and video for his clients...I've heard some of his work and it is GREAT!

I finagled a few photos of Eric at his business to share with you all here.  Yes, some of those deejays WERE actually handsome!

This is Eric with Steven Van Zandt of the Sopranos....and two more of him hard at work in the studio....

Visit Eric's website and see what he's up to these days...you'll be surprised as to where you'll hear his voice!

http://www.eccsvox.com/

Thanks, Phil!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Today, A Year Has Passed...

...since our friend A. J. Lindsey slipped quietly into eternity.  It was because of him, and our love for KAAY, that a core group started this blog, continuing in the tradition A.J. started.

"Emperor Holiday", we hope we're doin' it right!

A Couple More KAAY Jingles!

How many times did we hear those unmistakable KAAY identifiers, or "jingles"?  They were so alive, full of zing and fun to listen to!  One is a "K-Double A-Y", the other a "K-A-A-Y".  Here they are, compliments of Barry Mac:

"Lazy Weekend" Jingle:   stream   |   download
"Wow" Jingle:   stream   |   download

My Teenage Time Machine

Times were hard for my family in the summer of 1962, but somehow Mom found the ten dollars or so to get me a Channel Master transistor radio! I don’t know if it was the exact model in the picture, but it was close.

Ah, but that Channel Master was a sexy beast in its light brown leather carrying case! And the thing I liked immediately was the way it came on as soon as I clicked the thumbwheel switch. No waiting for tubes to warm up. It was THERE!

So I was off up and down the AM dial, searching for music that I wanted to hear—ANYTHING besides that whiny old Country stuff that seemed to be everywhere. (I’ve since learned that that music is a national treasure, but try telling that to an eleven-year old kid.)

Daytime listening was sort of interesting. I pulled in The Grandpa Show from KZNG in Hot Springs and was amused when the DJ spoke of getting his beard caught in the turntable. Trouble was, he was playing that whiny old Country stuff! I had no trouble getting the station my Grandmother listened to her “stories” on, KTHS at 1090 in Little Rock. But what music there was seemed utterly square to my restless ears.

At night, I picked up everything from the Mexican border blasters to KDKA in Pittsburgh. Every time I moved the dial even a millimeter, I got yet another station from an impossibly faraway place. I went through AA batteries like they were on sale!

Then came September and Grandma’s station changed COMPLETELY. KTHS became KAAY and started playing that Rock And Roll Music! I missed the changeover, didn’t hear the DJs reading names out of the phone book while they played “Baby Elephant Walk” over and over until it made the old people scream, but I was there by the second week of the new format for sure.

Now I had MY station and my Channel Master stayed locked in to The Mighty 1090, The Big K, The Friendly Giant. Doc Holiday and Mike McCormick and Buddy Karr and Rob Robbins and Ken Knight were talking to ME—playing what I wanted to hear! Didn’t take long until I knew every song on the Silver Dollar Survey. (I also knew that I was somehow, someday, going to be a DJ on that big station in Little Rock, but that’s another story for another time.)

Just when I was sure I was going to suffocate in the small town of Friendship, Arkansas, my Channel Master found KAAY and the music that beamed me into a marvelous new world. It was literally Solid State Salvation!

I found my Channel Master a couple of years back among some of the things Mom left behind. I opened the case only to find the ruin and corrosion caused when the last set of batteries spilled their acid into the chassis decades ago. I gave it a decent burial out under the pear tree and paused a moment to thank it for being my teenage time machine.

(Thanks to David B. Treadway for this great story!)

Dave M. Radios and Comments

Our very own Dave M.'s son restores classic radios...and he shared a couple of pictures with me to pass on to you:

"...my son just finished a Crosley AM/SW dual band restoration project that very well could have been used to listen to KTHS or KAAY back in the day. Here's a borrowed picture of the radio - a model 56-TN-L, which we think was manufactured about 1948 - 1952 or there-abouts. Ours is in as good shape as the one in the picture!!! We put it on an antique table in the front foyer of the house, and it looks/sounds great!"

Here's their Hallicrafters 38-B:
 
 

 
I like to listen around the AM dial with a Hammarlund HQ-100A, myself, when I'm in the Ham shack.
 
Thank you, Dave!
 
Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Sonny Martin Happy Alarm Clock Promo

Another fun ad from the "Sonny Martin Show", 6 to 10 AM...this "Sonny" is Matt White...another contribution from the Barry Mac Library!

Sonny Martin (Matt White) clock promo:   stream   |   download

What Did You Listen To KAAY With?

To my recollection, it being so many years ago that I listened to Jerry "Sonny Martin" Sims, Clyde Clifford and others, this is possibly the radio I listened to KAAY with.  Mine was more scratched and I think the carry strap on top and one knob was missing, but those tubes glowed in the dark, adding to the mystique of Beaker Theater by casting just a little bit of light into the room!

I found this radio here, as well as a couple of other places:

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/zenith_k725_ch7k01.html

Wonderful memories, those were!  Would you dear readers be kind enough to send in pictures of what YOU used to listen to KAAY with?  My e-mail address is below.  If you can't find a picture, but know the model of the radio, maybe I can find the picture and post it here for you!

I love old radios...later, maybe I'll take some pictures of what I have & post them here.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY Business Card

With thanks and kudos to Jonnie King, here is his personal KAAY business card from 1969!

I don't think I've ever seen a KAAY business card, so I got permission from Jonnie to use this here...and for more neat stuff, please visit the official Jonnie King webste!

http://www.jonnieking.net/index.html

Jonnie has put forth great effort to put together a great, interesting website...please drop him a note when you visit!

Thanks to Jonnie King for sharing yet another great piece of history!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Lena Horne, R.I.P.

The beautiful and talented Lena Horne passed away on Mother's Day, May 9, 2010; she was 92.  I always loved her music and performances....

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPNfIO_9nDQNiS__QwMLjFujjcUAD9FJVPSO0

I'll bet she's serenading the saints right now....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Those K-Tel Hits, 1972!

Oh, yes!  Hits by twenty-two artists, from 1972, only $3.99 and all on one stereo LP!  Sammy Davis Jr., Gallery, Derek & The Dominos, Lobo, Joe Simon and many more!

Some of the stores offering this record are no longer in existance...but this brings back great memories, nonetheless.  Thanks again to Barry Mac and his Wonderful Library of Sound!

K-Tel Hits '72:   stream   |   download

KXLR Survey- Who Is This Guy?

One more from Charlie Okle, from May 11, 1963...and it features a handsome young man by the air name of "Larry London", who has, I think, been mentioned here before.  QUICK!  Don't cheat and scroll down, but who was "Larry London"?  Yes, he came to KAAY later in this year.  Take a good look at the picture before you scroll down, then see if you are correct!

OK, give up?

"Larry London" is our very own Jerry Sims!  A short time later, when he came to KAAY, he became the second "Sonny Martin".  A word from Jerry himself:

"This was my first radio job and was very exciting for me. I grew up listening to the station, and knew that is what I was going to do. A.J. hired me there as well as later at KAAY. It has not been overly important to me to know the exact dates I was at either place, but now I may try to get it from some source.

Thanks for all you do for us,

Jerry/Larry/Tom/Jerry/Sonny.......(I was all these on the radio)"

And it is a pleasure that I, and we, do this for you and others to enjoy!

Jerry also sent along some more pictures of himself at KXLR and the control room, for your enjoyment:

This last image is that of KXLR's coverage within the state of Arkansas, from North Little Rock...quite a bit smaller than the coverage maps of KAAY, but just about the same as KAAY's primary area...here's a comparison:

Thanks to Charlie and Jerry for the images for the blog!  If there is any other material relating KXLR and KAAY employees, we'd be appreciative if anyone sent it along.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

V.P. Agnew At The Republican Governor's Conference

V.P. Agnew is featured here in an edited version of an audio clip from an Arkansas Governor's Conference.  He mentions 1969, so I suppose he's looking back at some accomplishments...and he mentions Governors Rockefeller, Reagan and President Nixon.

Enjoy the audio, courtesy of Barry Mac:

Agnew at Republican Governors' Conference:   stream   |   download

Earlier KXLR Survey

Just for interest sake, here is another KXLR music survey sheet, from August 12, 1961, before KAAY came into being:

This survey, again sent in by Charlie Okle, mentions a contest for a safety slogan...and also offers three free albums of Frank Sinatra's, "Come Swing With Me", signed by "Stan Steele", The Stan Steele Show, 7 PM to 12 PM weekdays.

Again, thanks to Charlie Okle...and he sent one more in that will contain a surprise!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

What A Statement!

One night I was listening to A.J. on KAAY. He made this statement: "This is K-A-A-Y, the station which helped run Dick Biondi out of Chicago." Dick had been fired awhile before that, and I think he went to California. He came back to Chicago to work on WCFL around 1968. WLS celebrated their switch to rock and roll in 1960 on May 2, 2010 with a 50 year anniversary show on WLS-FM.

http://www.947trueoldies.com/Article.asp?id=1776254

Somehow I missed this show.

Ron H.

(In my opinion, competition between radio stations could be fierce...and even more so with the 50,000 watt giants of yesteryear, if I read my history correctly.  Over night time, I'll bet they were competing for nationwide audiences, as well!  Bud S.)

KXLR Survey

Charlie Okle, friend of Tommy Riggs, sent in some music surveys from when he (Charlie) was at KXLR, which has been mentioned several times on this blog.  Several KAAY employees came from KXLR, so it seems fitting that we give the latter some exposure here.

This particular survey is from May 25, 1963 and features Charlie as "Steve Scott"...here is his information on how that air name came about:

"I'm the Steve Scott on the May 25, 1963 sheet. The name was derived from nighttime John Scott (Gary Weir) who left for KATV channel 7, and Tommy Riggs' brother Steve. Hence "Steve Scott". I only worked there for about 2 months...."

Thanks to Charlie Okle...there's more to come later!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Radios, Errata

I am a sucker for interesting and old radios...one day, I'll do a post, possibly entitled, "What Did You Listen To KAAY With?" and show some old radios in my collection...boy, I wish I could find that old Zenith now!

Needless to say, my wife found an interesting AM/FM "microphone radio", given out by a financial institution as a gift...she bought it at a yard sale for a quarter- all that was wrong with it was the battery was dead!  The speaker is in the mic head and the controls on the side of the base...the wire is the FM antenna.  The "On The Air" lights up when the radio is turned on.  Pretty neat, pulls in the big stations at night with no problem!

Another was a deal I got this past weekend...fellow had it on a table at a gun show for $15 and it was brand new, in the box, never had batteries in it.  He'd bought it from Radio Shack for $60 and never used it!  It is a Grundig Mini-300 AM/FM/Shortwave pocket radio...and what a HOT receiver!  I listened all up and down the bands to shortwave stations- and the bands have NOT been very good lately- and the audio response, although through a small speaker, is great in a quiet environment.  Outside my office, by the Interstate, with noisy traffic, it is hard to hear and distorts when the volume it up high.  Nonetheless, on my desk (sans computer hash noise), it has a very pleasant tone and range to it.  The night I got it, I also listened to Johnny Rabbitt and "Route 66" on KMOX, with a great signal.  I tried KAAY on 1090 and could not get a signal...not surprising, these days....

For a shirtpocket radio, this thing is pushing the receiving performance of a tabletop radio.  It doesn't have the filtering of larger units, but for casual listening, it is a great little radio.  I also like the non-skid, soft coating all over the radio...lessens the "drop factor" and will not slide out of your pocket very easily.

And the "errata": just a funny radio joke I found in a June 1967 Reader's Digest, under the "Humor In Uniform" section...

"As station manager of the aircraft carrier Intrepid's radio and television station during the ship's deployment to Southeast Asia last year, I had no problem getting volunteer disc jockeys and news announcers.

One junior officer's tenure as news announcer, however, was short-lived, because he added a few words of his own to the standard closing of our newscasts: 'WINT is an Armed Forces Radio and Television Network affiliate and is owned and operated by the U. S. government- aren't we all?'"  submitted by JO2 Harry T. Wiley, FPO New York, N.Y.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Interesting "TV DX" Picture

Since we listed a television station QSL recently, Ron Henselman sent along a picture of a TV show from KHTV, channel 11 in Little Rock, AR in 1969.  Over the years, I too have experienced watching television from great distances ("DX") and I have a VHS tape somewhere, if it hasn't been thrown away, of Mexican TV stations I saw from Alabama about 20 years ago.

Here's Ron's explaination of the picture to follow:

"This is what KTHV looked like at Gary Wegener's house in Melrose Park, IL during 1969. It was a real trick to get this photograph because we had to wait for our local channel 11 to go off the air. Long distance TV reception is more likely on channels 2 through 6 due to their lower frequencies. Notice the interference in the photo caused by other stations operating on channel 11.

Since the digital transition last June, it is possible to receive Canadian and Mexican stations on channels 2 through 6 because they have not vacated those channels. One might also find some low power U.S. analog stations on those channels.

When our local Chicago stations made the transition to digital, I was tuning around channels 2 through 6 to see what I could view in the way of long distance reception. I received about five stations total from Florida, Louisiana and Texas. They were easily viewable because there weren't many other stations on the air causing interference. Some stations kept their analog transmitters on the air for a couple of days to guide viewers in the digital transition.

How many of our readers are happy with digital television? I, for one, am not."

Here is KTHV's current Internet address, for those who care:

http://www.todaysthv.com/

I am not happy with DTV at all, myself...it is very unreliable for us who live in "the sticks".  With ANY digital transmission, TV, cell phone or what-have-you, it is either "there", or it is "not".  Simple things like branches waving in the breeze can disrupt the incoming signal- and it doesn't have to be at your location, just somewhere along the way.

However bad it is, our government, in its "infinite wisdom" has stuck us with it, in the never-ending quest to get more money for the finite radio spectrum we do have.  Don't hold your breath, it won't get any better...and as systems start to age, as in anything, it'll get worse....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Goodwill PSA Featuring Marlo Thomas

Pete Hearn, with a "petite brunette and mighty talented"..."That Girl!", Marlo Thomas...in an ad supporting Goodwill Industries.  Man, I remember Marlo Thomas- and her dad, Danny Thomas, but I wasn't as enamoured with him as I was her!

Does anyone have any information on Pete Hearn?  Was he a spokesperson for Goodwill Industries?  Enjoy the public service announcement below, courtesy of Barry mac, the audio vault specialist of Mighty1090KAAY!

 Goodwill PSA Marlo Thomas:   stream   |   download

One More KAAY, And A KARK-TV QSL Card

Here is one more, from the  John in Montana QSL Collection...this one is like some of the earlier versions, but is much clearer and easier to read.  Obviously, this collector must have kept it in a binder or folder, where sunlight, etc. would not degrade it.

Also in his collection is this QSL card from KARK-TV, the second-oldest TV station in Little Rock- April 15, 1954- so, happy birthday to KARK!

What is so surprising is that he saw this station on his TV from Sheridan, Wyoming!

Many times, unusual contitions occur in the upper atmosphere that cause VHF and UHF signals to be seen (or heard) many, many miles from it's intended audience and coverage area.  I've personally enjoyed watching Mexican TV from here in lower Alabama a number of years ago.  Nowadays, with digital TV, this may not occur at all, any more; with DTV, you either have a signal, or you don't.  Even in the coverage area, many of us lose the signal, just by a breeze blowing trees and leaves around...sad state of affairs for television now....

You can see more of John's collection here: www.johninmontana.com/dx/qslcards.htm


Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Yet Another KAAY QSL Card!

This copy is nice and clear...and even though it was issued after the 1985 sale, Chief Engineer Felix McDonald was still The Man and his signature is nice, clear and legible!

This came from the collection of Barry Davies, found on the web.

By the way, did anyone notice that the frequency measurement is still "KC"?  This is the old abbreviation for "kilocycles", before it was changed to "kHz", or "kilohertz".  Many of us older radio folk (both broadcast and Ham) still say, "KC's" as a term of endearment.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)