''Beaker Hour" on KCCK-FM

One of our readers, Steve, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sent us this information about a Beaker-Street tribute program that runs at a local station:

FWIW our local FM station has a Beaker Street tribute hour. It's KCCK-FM in Cedar Rapids IA. kcck.org is the website. It's on at 9:00 PM Friday's CST. John Hein has Clyde's blessing as he has appeared on the show. I love it, Steve

I checked the  kcck.org  website, and the station's playlist is pretty impressive, especially if you're looking for a station that goes beyond the usual "smooth jazz" stuff.  Unfortunately, the timing of KCCK's "Beaker Hour" clashes with Clyde's show on  arkansasrocks.com,  but folks around here are pretty creative about dealing with these things, so I thought I would post this and let you take it from here....

--Dave S.

 

Happy Birthday, David B. Treadway, 2021

 Barry Mac posted this picture on Facebook and I had to steal it to post here:

David B., you are sorely missed...you touched a lot of lives, including this poor ol' boy from Alabama.  See you in heaven one day....

Thanks, Barry McCorkindale.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY Request Lines

 Friend of this blog, Doug Virden, sent in some interesting phone information:

"This past month the radio stations currently located at 2400 Cottondale Lane have dropped their 433 prefix studio numbers.  I will go into the reason for that and the reason for the establishment of the prefix for radio stations in Little Rock.

Thanks to having some old phone books I was able to gather information on the studio phone numbers for KAAY.

When KAAY premiered in September 1962 the studio and main office shared one phone number which was FRanklin5-5311.

 

Sometime after moving to 7th Street the name prefixes were dropped by the phone company and the 7th Street number became 375-0105.  The offices kept the 375-5311 number. When KAAY moved to 2400 Cottondale in the fall of 1976 the studio number was 661-1212.  Within about a year or two KAAY's studio number became 433-0059.  According to someone who currently works in the Cottondale building KAAY may have been the reason the 433 prefix was established for radio stations in Little Rock.  The prefix was set up to be able to handle a large amount of  calls without blowing up phone circuits all over town.  These were also known as choke lines.

 

The reason the radio stations currently in the Cottondale building discontinued their 433 numbers is because those particular phone lines won't transfer to the digital system and if the lines went down there is really not anyone from the phone company that knows how to work on those lines anymore since all those workers have pretty much retired."

 

Yes, folks who actually know analog technology are few and far between now. In fact, in our area of Alabama, the phone company is quietly encouraging people to drop their terrestrial phone lines in lieu of all cell phone coverage.  I personally know (being in the emergency power generations field) that cell sites can go down because of power and emergency back-up generator failure.  Those cell phones are only portable radios that are linked to physical phone lines somewhere, just not at your domicile.  You're friendly, neighborhood phone technicians are slowly retiring and all you get is someone in India who can't speak in English wanting to tell you that your cell phone is at fault.

Enough of that.  Speaking of call-in lines to radio stations, my wife used to be the Chief Operator at a local hospital and had a bank of lines available to her; when a local station had a contest going on, she could start calling and put them on hold, then come back and answer them.  When she was the "nth" caller, she won!  I know, that was "loading the bases", but she was so successful, she won a lot of loot...and had to pick it up in different family's names, like her sisters and her mother's names.  In fact, one of the biggies was WABB (now defunct, so I guess the statute of limitations is over!), which was where Wayne Moss worked for a bit.  I'll have to look back at the timeline and see when she was calling the station, but I think Wayne was long gone before then.  And another tning- the hospital was only two city blocks away from WABB!

Thanks, Doug!  Keep the interesting stuff coming!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Undated Herman's Hermits Photo

 Thanks to Barry Mac, from his post on Facebook:

Per Barry: "I don't think I've done this one before, but if I have, it's been quite awhile - Herman's Hermits and a lucky KAAY listener! And based on the expressions I see, Peter Noone is pretty much the only one putting on a really good face here."

 

Thanks, Barry!

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com

Barry Mac's Birthday 2016, with Doug Virden, Oct. 2016

 

Per Doug Virden:

"Picture with Barry Mac at his birthday celebration this past weekend. Gave him a vintage KAAY sticker from the 70's. Glad I had the opportunity to celebrate his birthday with him. The 2nd pic is the phone that was out at the transmitter building for years. Barry got to take it home when he was out at the transmitter building last year (2015)."

Thanks, Doug!  Barry and I are only a few days apart, I can't remember who's gt the lead, but I ain't fussing!

I am weeding through some e-mails that Doug has sent me, when I was in a bad period of my life.  Things are much better now, an I am able to play catch-up.  I apologize for the delay on some of these posts.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Old KAAY Transmitter Remnants From Doug Virden

 Folks, when I visited the transmitter in April 2012 with David B. Treadway and Jerry Sims, we could have carted away a truckload of stuff in the junk pile, if we knew we wouldn't get in trouble.  Good friend of this blog Doug Virden visited the transmitter site back in 2017 and grabbed a couple of items and shipped them to me.  At the time I received them, there was a lot going on in my life, so I didn't get to mention them and they went into storage.  Here's what Doug said in his e-mail to me:

"Let's not forget the reason I was able to visit the KAAY transmitter building, the reason being was to pick up a remnant from the old RCA transmitter for Bud.  I  ended up taking a meter and some tubes which I sent Bud a few weeks ago.  I  got to take me home a meter and some tubes too (see pictures below).  I will let Bud do the honors of posting what he received, here are pics of mine."

 

I need to be ashamed of myself...and they got here safe and sound.  Here are Doug's:

 

 These pictures are of part of a pre-driver power deck (the tubes) and modulation meter (percent of modulation) that Doug has.

The pictures below are the articles Doug sent me, a kilovolt meter and more driver tubes:

These tubes are sitting on a little different deck than Doug's tubes...

The tubes in my picture are "813" tubes, and are high-wattage tubes many of us Amateur Radio operators "(Hams") use in our high-wattage amplifiers.  Our amplifiers for our service are limited to 1,500 watts of power, so I think these had to have been driving the much larger tubes for full 50,000 watts potput.

The kilovolt meter is just that: it measures how many thousand volts are flowing to a particular part of the system.  It's no wonder safety switches abound in high-power transmitters, if you touch something in error, you're history!

Thanks, Doug, for sending these to me!  I apologize for taking so long in getting them posted...

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Info on Buddy Carr/Tom Bigby, per Doug Virden

 Folks, some sad news on Tm Bigby from Doug Virden:

"One of the original DJ’s at KAAY has passed away.  Tom Bigby passed away Monday January 4th (2021, bs). 
Not long after KAAY launched he was kicked out of the studio by government officials to bring the people of Cuba information concerning The Cuban Missile Crisis.

He later rejoined Mike McCormick at WLS in Chicago.  Are there any of the original DJ’s from KAAY who are still alive?"

 

 https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/203183/tom-bigby-veteran-radio-programmer-passes-away

 " ALL ACCESS hears from several sources that TOM BIGBY, the sports radio programming pioneer who developed stations like WIP/PHILADELPHIA into powerhouses, died MONDAY (1/4)(2021, bs) in TEXAS. He was 76.

BIGBY spent 15 years as PD at WIP, shepherding the station's caller-driven "guy talk" format into national prominence, and programmed KRLD-F (105.3 THE FAN) and WXYT-F (97.1 THE TICKET)/DETROIT before adding corporate duties as VP/Strategic Programming for CBS RADIO. He also programmed KRLD-A and KLUV/DALLAS, WIFI and WPHT-A/PHILADELPHIA, WNEW/NEW YORK, and KFI-A and KOST/LOS ANGELES, and served as OM at WYSP/PHILADELPHIA before retiring and launching a consultancy in 2011."

 So many of The Greats are heading to Radio Heaven recently...rest in peace, Tom....

Thanks to Doug for this news.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Wayne Moss airchecks from 1976 & a Beaker Street anniversary promo

Happy 2021 Everyone!

Here's a couple of new aircheck posts, courtesy of Russell Wells.  He obtained these and posted them on a KAAY Facebook group, and approved the re-post to this Blog.

The first is a composite aircheck of Wayne Moss doing middays on KAAY on various days in 1976, some of them from August 29 of that year.  Wayne is in his usual good form here.  The aircheck includes two promos of interest, celebrating Beaker Street's "8th anniversary on September 10".  That would indicate that Beaker Street began on about that date in 1968.   Other accounts, including one written by Clyde Clifford, have put the beginning of the show as late 1966.  So, was this promo in error on the anniversary year?

Here's the entire aircheck:

(or download here)

Here is one of the promos: (or download here)

---Greg Barman

Jim Hankins, "Mike McCormick"...

 Per Doug Virden on Facebook:

"This is a photo of Jim Hankins (Mike McCormick) 1st Program Director of KAAY. This photo is courtesy of Jeff Roteman and was taken in January 2016 a couple of years before he passed away."

 Per Tom Bigby: " Worked for mike at kaay. And many years later at wls. Rip Mike. Hope Patty is well."

 https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10221026014132756&set=gm.10158790272664313

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Question From Barry Mac???

 So, it's from 7th Street, probably late '60s, and...it's a black guy in front of the control board! Maybe just a visitor, but anyone have any idea when KAAY maybe hired their first African-American? And if so, maybe it's this guy?

 Posted by Barry Mac on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10224267911036152&set=gm.10158811724944313

(Dick Price said, "Johnny Scott, midnight to 5am."...?????

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

A New "Phil North" Story!

 Posted by "Pea Gee"on Facebook, a story about Phil Rowe, a.k.a. "Phil North":

"By the time Phil Rowe was in the sixth grade at Greenwood School, he had developed a passion for radio and broadcasting. Phil would tape little "radio shows" and play them over the phone to his friends. In junior high he started hanging around real radio stations, sweeping the floors and reading the occasional weather report over the air.

In high school Phil was a full blown broadcaster. He was the night time DJ at Hot Springs' radio KZNG. On weekends he traveled to Little Rock where he became "Phil North" on powerhouse KAAY. Phil's voice could then be heard from the Canadian border all the way to Cuba."

 

Unsure of where this picture was from, but we'll have to trust "Pea Gee" on it!

 https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1394551784222439&set=gm.3760513833999417

Thanks, "Pea Gee"!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Monroe Looney, Per Barry Mac

 From Barry Mac's Facebook post:

So, anyone remember this guy? Not on air talent, but a salesman from the '60s and '70s by the name of Monroe Looney, and I think he sold for several other stations in addition to KAAY.

 

And a funny story about a saleswoman:

Barry Clarke McCorkindale

I've got a quick fun Lyndae story. After we were all brought under the same roof on Wellington Hills Road off of Chenal, they were having a sales meeting in the main conference room, probably in 2001 or 2002. I was coming out of the business office and through the sales area and saw Lyndae, and asked her, "Uh, you not going to the sales meeting in the conference room right now?" And Lyndae's response was, "Oh, Barry, I don't have time for that foolishness. I'm trying to actually work." Loved it!

 

Thanks, Barry!

 

Buyd S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

 

MIke McCormick, Per Doug Virden

 Per Doug's words:

"This is how I got the information that Mike passed away in January 2018."

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/198469254312/permalink/10158790272664313/

 

Thanks, Doug....

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Vintage KAAY Poster, From Doug Virden

 From blog friend Doug Virden comes this vintage KAAY poster and in his words:

"It was announced today (e-mail dated 12/20/2020) that the Arkansas Razorbacks would take on the TCU Horned Frogs in the Texas Bowl on New Years Eve so the thing to do is post this vintage poster of a former Southwest Conference rival. 

Nowadays a team's name and logo are patented so something like this can’t be done anymore."

 

 

 Thanks, Doug!  All I can say now, is :"GO HOGS!"

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com

Toys For Tots, on KAAY

 

Thanks to Barry McCorkindale posting this on Facebook!  I had never seen a picture from those times.  I had mentioned years ago in a post here that I'd wanted to take vacation during Christmas, drive up to Little Rock from Mobile, AL and work with the Toys For Tots program.  Thaty's how much I loved KAAY.

 

Unfortunately, being of meager means for a teenager (I was working to put myself through school and college and taking care of cattle on our farm), I just couldn't take off.  But this is a great memorial picture, which brought back great memories.  Thanks, Barry Mac!

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Happy Thanksgiving! Ram and Lester....

I just found this on Facebook on one of Barry Mac's posts...another bit of history!  Picture above and explanations follow:

Cliff McGaha

That's me in the bathtub. Had a lot of fun doing those ads with Ray. Ray was so strange. He would not let anybody see him doing Ram's voice. Even me. He would take my hat and cover his face.

Barry Clarke McCorkindale

YOU'RE the one! I'd posted a "Ray & Ram" picture from this time period of 1980 back a couple of years ago, but no one could definitely identify who "Ram" was. Did you work at the station?

 

Cliff McGaha

Barry Clarke McCorkindale

I wore several hats. I started as an engineering intern from UALR s RTV dept. I worked under Dave Montgomery. I became so close with Dave he was my Best Man when I got married in '85. I helped build and ran the Portable Party Machine. If you ever saw the T-shirts for the party machine I designed those too.

 

Cliff McGaha

I retired from the audio and video business but noe I have McGaha's Gizmo Studio. I build and sell Bluetooth Art pieces from old radios. If your interested you can see and hear them at Consign Design in Maumelle.

Barry Clarke McCorkindale

Never met Dave, but remember the name very, very well. And I know about Consign Design, as I work at Martinous, and we recommend to our customers who have rugs (NICE rugs) they're trying to sell to contact them. Sounds like I need to get out there and check out what you got!

 

Cliff McGaha

Barry Clarke McCorkindale

I got to work with the whole crew from Rockford. C.David Hamilton, Joe James, Dan Campbell and Jack Randall. They were a crazy bunch. Talk about being dipped into a bunch of DJs. Dave and I took them out as hosts to make extra money on The Party Machine. We travelled all over Arkansas and even up into Missouri. KAAY was the only station they could get late at night in some of those places. I even did a dance on the Hogtrain going from Little Rock to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl against Alabama. The party machine was built using Cart Machines so we were the only dance system that could handle the bumpy ride in a mail car behind the Locomotive.

 

Barry Clarke McCorkindale

Still remember Jack Randall's tag line he used, I think, every day - "...with the fury of a thousand jungle beasts..."

 

Thanks to Barry Mac on this Thanksgiving 2020!

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

A "Beemobile" For KAAY?

 

 

From Facebook, posted by Barry McCorkindale and commented on by Dale "Clyde Clifford" Seidenschwarz:

 

"

 One of the LIN chain at the time. WBBF didn't want it. Pat Walsh somehow snapped it up.

I did a bunch of remotes in that thing. We did a lot of Toy Hills in it.

It went down in it's own funeral pyre on the way back from a remote in Conway.  I was in the Marine Reserve unit and my best friend Wayne Moss did a couple Toys for Tots events glad we got to work together."

Barry: "I KNEW Dale would have some insight into this, thanks!"

 

Thanks, guys!  Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

 

 

Visit To A Warehouse, New Orleans, LA

 Just look back at our Posts here for A Warehouse, which has been advertised on Beaker Street...here's a flashback for you:

https://www.facebook.com/60saroundsounds/videos/445609169177079

Found on Facebook.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.,com)

Newspaper Article, From Doug Virden

From Doug Virden's posting on Facebook:

 

"Rex Nelson's article about the 50th anniversary celebration of The Mighty 1090."

 

Thanks, Doug!

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

 

Bobbie Walsh, Wife Of Pat Walsh, Passes On To Radio Heaven

Thanks to Richard Robinson, on Facebook...the entire message here:

 

"For those KAAY fans who knew or knew of J. Pat Walsh, who was a manager of KAAY and a broadcast media consultant for many years in Little Rock, I have some sad news to report. His widow, Bobbie Walsh, died on August 18, 2020. Her graveside service was held on Saturday. Bobbie loved the Arkansas Razorbacks, Pat Walsh and her family. When Pat was managing KAAY, Bobbie used to sit at home, listening to the competing stations and taking down the names of all of their advertisers for use by the sales staff at KAAY. I'm posting the link to her online obituary for your information. I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Walsh when I interviewed Pat in their home and later Bobbie after Pat's death. It was a pleasure to know her and I am sorry to hear of her passing."

https://www.arkansasonline.com/obituaries/2020/aug/21/bobbie-walsh-2020-08-21

Thank you, Richard, for your info on this....

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY COMEX Newsmobile, 1960s Style!

Again, gleaned from Barry Mac's Facebook post, and all I can say is, "Va-va-va-VOOM!" 

Thanks, Barry!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

James Wells, KTHS/KAAY Engineer

Thanks to Tony Meyer, here is a picture of James Wells, d on Facebook, who was the engineer of KTHS and KAAY from 1954 to 1965.  Just reading the comments, he is one of the few remaining engineers alive form the KTHS/KAAY era.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3230368037042110&set=gm.10158637031339313&type=3&theater

Thanks, Tony!

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Lawnmower Contest Promotion

 

This was also posted by Barry McCorkindale on Facebook, he just found it after he found the other lawnmower photos...ah, well, we can't be picky!  But this works for the blog, because latest comes firstest and you can just scroll down to see "the rest of the story...."

 

Thanks again, Barry!

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY Lawnmower Promotion?

Barry McCorkindale posted this picture on Facebook regarding a lawnmower race, obviously tied to a previous photo and post here and on Facebook. How does one win a lawnmower race? Perhaps the cleanest cut in the lowest elapsed time, it looks like!

Thanks, Barry!

 

Bud S. (staceyts4@hotmail.com

Jerry Sims, the 2nd "Sonny Martin", Presentation

Thanks again to Barry McCorkindale and his photo vault, here is Jerry Sims presenting Herman's Hermits' drummer Barry Whitwam leader Peter Noone with a car tag.  Some comments were made about the gentleman in the background (drummer Barry Whitwam) copping some Zzzz's but I'll bet they had "camera-flash-itis" where they automatically blink when the photographer said, "one, two, THREE!"

Thanks again to Barry McCorkindale for posting this on Facebook!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Lawnmower Givaway

Barry McCorkindale posted this on Facebook a short while back:

Richard Robinson (son-in-law of Eddie Graham) identified all the gentlemen here but one...I recognized A.J. Lindsay and Jerry Sims right off the bat...

"Richard Robinson Barry, I asked my father-in-law, Eddie Graham and here is the information. You are correct, all of the men pictured were air talent at The Mighty 1090. From left, A.J. Lindsey (one of the "Doc Holidays"), Bob Mullins (air name unknown, but he worked a day shift), Howard Watson ("Ken Knight," worked nights, left for a day shift on KMYO - "Cameo" in LR), Richard Wietan (Eddie isn't sure about the spelling of his last name and didn't remember his air name. This came to KAAY from Moberly, Missouri. He only worked at KAAY for six months or so. He was in the National Guard and was tragically killed a short time later in a Jeep accident, during his summer training, according to Eddie. The last jock on the right Eddie remembers, but can't recall his name. Eddie did remember that he didn't work at the station very long. That's what I have, so far."

Great history, thanks to Barry McCorkindale!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Beaker Street Set Lists

One of our blog readers, Tyler Vincent, contacted us about a web site he and others are maintaining for the newest incarnation of Beaker Street --- go to Beaker Street Set Lists,   

https://beakerstreetsetlists.com

to see the set lists and listen to each of Clyde's shows.

Thanks, Tyler!

Beaker Street Returns: Article

Thanks to Doug Virden for sending the link...photograph credit to Arkansas Online:

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2020/jun/21/underground-returns-to-the-air/#

"The show airs from 9 p.m.-midnight each Friday on the Arkansas Rocks network of classic rock stations. It can also be streamed at arkansasrocks.com. "  This, after a nine year absence from the radio waves.

Enjoy!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY Tower #1 Down....

Per Doug Virden's e-mail and Facebook post:

"A couple of photos taken by Pat McDonald Hardwick after the tower went down.

According to an all access media article one of the KAAY nighttime directional towers has fallen down.  Currently there are only two towers standing.According to the Chief Engineer it was caused by a rusty guy wire at the insulator.  Inspectors will be at the transmitter site this week to look over the two remaining towers.  An STA has been filed for 12.5KW ND at night, that’s seventy five percent less power.

A boatload of money has been spent in recent years to get the signal back to full power.
 

As to what will happen with the station is still uncertain.  It will be very costly to put up a new tower and wonder if the company will spend the money to replace it?  Cuts have been made recently due to the pandemic." (re: the coronavirus, or "COVID-19" pandemic...google it for all the drama you can stand. bs)

It has been estimated that the tower went down right around Memorial Day (2020).

 

I walked amongst those towers with David B. Treadway and Jerry Sims, looking for Glaspie Dillard's grave; it took Daniel Appellof to take us; we rode on his truck tailgate out to the site near one of the towers to see his resting place.
 

Sad to say, this is what budget cuts cause; lack of maintenance and inspections lead to catastrophe.  Knowing what's been going on with KAAY in these latter years, some people's opinion is that this tower may never get replaced....

 

Thank you, Doug Virden, for alerting us to this tragedy.

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Beaker Street Back On The Air: Article

https://armoneyandpolitics.com/beaker-street-returns-on-arkansas-rocks-radio-network/?fbclid=IwAR1svTUqJki0TnbM2OUawnzXHCS1-2hHDQz6gjXGZ6EpQFRgGKY7MkLZf8g

Listen to it on Arkansas Rocks every Friday night at 9PM until Midnight, Central Time:

https://arkansasrocks.com/

See the article there, too!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Blog comments keep coming

It's been a while, so here goes:  Here are comments that were submitted to the blog over the past few months.  A lot of these comments were added to blog articles that are quite old, so there is no way that anyone can keep track of all new comments without a public listing like this one.

Each comment is documented with a date, the name of its sender, and a (partial) name of the post to where it was attached.    In the past, I was able to trick the Blogger interface into saving an enlarged copy of the comments so that you could read them easier, but no such luck this time --- sorry!

Since there is a significant backlog of comments, I'll do these in stages --- more to come!

Happy reading!

--Dave S.

Vivi Parker, David B. Treadway, Good Times

This is a picture of Vivi Parker and David B. Treadway, Here's her comments:

"This was in 2015- David B. Treadway and I (were) hanging with the Hippies in the Hippie Holler at the Fundraiser for The Make A Wish Foundation.  We had a grand Time.   There was food, auction, poker run and great music. David got on the stage and played (music) with a few guys. I believe around 15 thousand was raised that weekend.  It was awesome!"

Thank you, Vivi, for sharing a great memory!  I'd always said David had a heart bigger than Arkansas!  You were very fortunate to work with such a great man, "The Voice of Arkansas"!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

REO Speedwagon Goodie

Steve Payne posted this item (?) on the KAAY-AM, The Mighty 1090 Facebook page:

Said he was cleaning out his house and found it.  Thank you, Steve!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

"Steve Scott" on WROA, Gulfport, MS

"Steve Scott" also did a stint on WROA, I think, in late 1976, if I remember him telling me correctly....

As we have done in the past with other KAAY dee jays, here is an aircheck of him on another station, WROA, Gulfport, MS


(or download here)
Thanks again to Greg B. for his great skill in saving precious audio from old, old tape!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY QSL Cards

Posted by Mark Mauney (Radio Broadcasting History) on Facebook on April 1, 2020...dated "Tuesday, March 5, 1974 and signed by what looks like "Bill Vandusen" (sp?) and looks lie from 9:30-11:00PM.  Not sure who it was to.

Here is another one from 1969, for John Johnson, when he heard KAAY in Sheridan, Wyoming, signed for by Felix McDonald, with a much clearer written data!

"QSL" cards have long been a verification of reception, mostly traded between Ham Radio operators, but also has been practiced by CBers, shortwave stations, pirate radio stations, utility stations and other mediumwave broadcasters, such as KAAY.  They don't come free, however; one has to fill out a detailed reception report for the station (Ham and CBers usually log their own info with the other station and then swap cards by mail or e-mail).  The reception report usually has to have some detailed information, such as times and songs played, times of news reports and commercials, what the content of both were, etc.  In other words, the better details, the more likely the radio station will send out a QSL.  Prepaid envelopes help, too, or enclosed postage.  Not only that, the stations like to know where their signal is going.

My thanks to Mark Mauney and John, Johnson for these fine examples!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Third "Steve Scott" on KAAY

This is the last of the latest airchecks of "Steve Scott" on KAAY that he gave us to use.  Later, some other airchecks from other stations from which he worked!

From the Summer of 1975:


(or download here)
Thanks to Greg B. and Steve Morris/"Steve Scott" for these KAAY airchecks!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY/KEZQ Move Offices

Thanks to Michael Hibblen and his post on Facebook, he found some footage of KAAY/KEZQ move into new digs!

https://pryorcenter.uark.edu/videoplayer.php?c=2&dir=projects%2FKATV%2FMCR-2568&video=MCR-2568_x264&title=KAAY+MOVE+OFFICES&playhead=2863&fbclid=IwAR0IL9AvbSWinVWsGJJyrGKDFmtfdNie0TTjTErlq4qxhP-jiTXDI64KdoE

It's a rather long montage of different videos, but if you forward to about 47:50 or so, it's tight after a paving crew spraying tar for a new road project.

Thanks, Michael!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

KAAY Memories Remain Alive on the 'Net

As the years continue to fly by, I think it’s good to know the internet is still alive with plenty of comments that people have written about KAAY and how much it meant to them.  Just out of curiosity I did an online search to see what’s still out there and I was surprised at postings that are still active.  They are great reading.  Some folks really pour their hearts out. 

The internet is always a-changin' and these postings and links about KAAY can disappear at any time.  Catch them now before they are gone.

Here’s one from a Top 40 radio history site, Trax & Grooves:

http://traxandgrooves.blogspot.com/p/the-new-owners-turned-it-into-top-40.html

This is a remembrance of Beaker Street from the Winds of Change community radio site based in Kansas City:

http://windsofchangekc.com/custom3_1.html

ART-FM is an LPFM community radio station in Louisville KY and they are big fans of Clyde Clifford:

http://artxfm.com/clydeclifford/

Rex Nelson, senior editor & columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, blogs about all kinds of things Southern and did this one on KAAY in September 2012:

http://www.rexnelsonsouthernfried.com/?p=4396

The Arcane Radio Trivia blog has an amazing depth of stories about anything geek and unique in radio, and Beaker Street certainly qualifies:

http://tenwatts.blogspot.com/2012/07/beaker-street-with-clyde-clifford.html

Finally, here are a bunch of KAAY memories on a music comments section of the TigerDroppings site from Louisiana State University:

https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/music/beaker-street---kaay-little-rock-in-the-late-60s---early-70s/54505197/

Greg Barman

"Steve Scott" on WABB, Mobile, AL (1982)

"Steve Scott" also worked at a Mobile, AL "superstation", WABB.  I was introduced to WABB as a young lad of maybe 7 or 8 years young.  Thus, the "radio bug" bit me and I began to explore the AM airwaves.

Steve was on WABB long after I "found" WABB; if I remember correctly, he worked there somewhere around 1978...? (No, Steve contacted me and said it was 1982.  Also, see Steve's statement I posted in Comments below bs)  I am open to correction, I will have to contact Steve...nonetheless, as we have done with other dee jays in the past, we're sharing Steve with you here.

(Early on, WABB was on 1480 AM, later added 97.5 FM.  There is a long and varied history of WABB, but suffice it to say, when owner Bernie Dittman passed away October 25 of 2006, it quickly spiraled down the tubes.  Almost six years later to the day Bernie died, Oct. 24, 2012, the AM side sold, the FM side was announced to sell on Feb. 17, 2012.   Bernie was actually a customer of ours at a business where I work.  Direct wiki links to WABB no longer exist, but this link can give you some history- and WABF, who is now on the 1480 AM frequency, is another of my favorite stations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WABF_(AM)

Nonetheless, here is Steve on WABB-FM, another one of the once-great radio stations:


(or download here)
Thanks once again to Greg B. for plying his handiwork on Steve's audio!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

"Steve Scott" On KAAY II

Without further ado, here is another "Steve Scott" aircheck!  From July 29, 1974:


(or download here)
Once again, thanks to Greg B. for carefully and lovingly preserving this recording for us to enjoy!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

Arkansas Business Article, Re: David B. Treadway

https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/129961/radio-music-trailblazer-david-b-treadway-dies-at-69?fbclid=IwAR2A5RgpfAA_NYiDUB96GgAJaF5_z0DMmPYgdNISrt7I9D4t01ulMSF2W88

Memorial, Re: David B. Treadway, By Eric Thomas

Eric Thomas contacted me a few days ago after he learned of David B. Treadway's goin on to Radio Heaven:

"Sad, sad news. My thoughts and prayers are sent out to the Treadway family. David B. Treadway – a singular soul if there ever was one. My time spent with him was limited and sporadic, but it was always fantastic. Forty years ago, when I started my on-air work at KKYK David was music director. Here I was an 18-year old know-nothing and David was always kind enough to answer all my questions (often with a pun or two) and lend an attentive ear. He was a straight shooter. I certainly tried to follow his advice, and it not only made me a better employee, it made me a better person. His way of communicating was more than just simple words, it was of someone telling you about his life - what maybe worked and didn’t work out for him. And it stuck. Sometimes in life you come across a few people like that.

I ran into and talked with David over the ensuing years, and the last time I spoke with him he was leaving US97 and retiring. The quick wit and humor were flowing. David had a certain nickname he gave me and never forgot it. He said it was a “term of endearment.” I’ll take that. A cherished way to remember him. Rest in peace, friend. Maybe someday the world will discover the question you often pondered - is Mick Jagger black yet?"

 

Thank you, Eric!  Beautiful memories....

 

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.co)

"Steve Scott" On KAAY!

Steve Morris, a.k.a. "Steve Scott", contacted me awhile back after having found some reel-to-reel tapes in his storage.  (Steve and I live near the Mobile, AL area, within about an hour of one another.)  He thought that they were KAAY, WABB and WROA airchecks and he was correct!  What we have here are some airchecks, back-to-back of him on KAAY...these utilize the beginning and end of a song, with him announcing in between the songs.  (This was typical when a dee jay may be thinking about checking out another station's employment opportunities...the station personnel would hear how the dee jay handled himself/herself on the air.  The songs were irrelevant to them.)

You'll notice the usage of the callsign, "Kay-Double-A-Why", which, in earlier years, was frowned upon because under noisy conditions, the callsign could be mistaken.  In later years, it was taken up again by some dee jays.  Needless to say, KAAY somehow got mail with the callsign, "KWAY, Little Rock, AR" and other variations, but the post office always seemed to get it there, knowing that this monstrous station was in Little Rock!  (I'd almost bet there were some listeners inside the Postal Service who where cool enough to know about KAAY!).

Nonetheless, here is one of the airchecks...we figure it was in January 1976:


(or download here) MANY thanks to Greg B. for his audio wizardry and loving care in lifting these and other recordings from aging tape and sharing with us!

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)

David B. Treadway Obituary

https://www.ruggleswilcox.com/obituary/David-Treadway?fbclid=IwAR0NwnzTBxW8kt_8104UouAo_fuDmA5KOV-nf_udnWGh2DsShFNTTwlnmfE


Rest in peace, sir....

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)