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)

David B. Treadway, The Last "Doc Holiday",Former PD KAAY, 1986: R.I.P.

It is with heavy heart that I have to report that David B. Treadway passed away last night, February 7, 2020.  He fought a battle with cancer, but even though Earth lost a great man with a heart as big as Arkansas, Heaven won, in that he joined some of the other Greats and, according to Scott Charton, has probably "started a bluegrass band" there, and "has Saint Peter in stitches".  I couldn't agree more, Scott....

I'll bet he's already met with Jerry Sims and Felix McDonald, having a good laugh and enjoying old times, and yet marveling at all that is around them...this is  picture of the trio of Greats when I went to Little Rock back in 2012, and this was taken right after visiting the transmitter site just up the road....

David B. was a passionate man, passionate about radio and about those around him.  I never heard him paying music, but I understand he could really pick a tune.  The picture above is when I travelled to Little Rock in 2012 and David B., Jerry Sims and I went to the transmitter site.  We were tearing up pretty heavy when Jerry and I took pictures of David B. caressing Big Momma, and as he told me later, "listening for her soul", and "listening to her whispering to me".  I didn't know if the pictures came out or not, because I could hardly see through the tears.  This was my picture, with Jerry Sims to my left...

...and this was Jerry's picture.  Thank goodness for auto-focusing digital cameras...if I'd have had my old Pentax K1000, my picture would have been blurry and shaky.  By the way, Gordon Stephan was to Jerry's left, looking on, as well.

It was a touching few moments as David B. listened to Big Momma...I was also told by Dave Montgomery that Felix McDonald had the engineers use Simonize Wax on the face of the massive RCA 50,000-watt transmitter...and, even though she's been neglected all those years in the old building, she still had a shiny face...see David's face reflecting back?

What love David B. had for that old transmitter...he touched her as if she were a holy shrine...which to us, was.  Two Greats, David B. Treadway and The RCA 50,000-watt transmitter, which launched his and many more voices across the ether. ( That's Gordon Stephan behind David, looking on.  I'm not sure how it was affecting him.)

Later, as we tromped around in the back of the transmitter, I was able to take these candid photos:

This was a mixer (called "The Yard", because it was three feet long) that David B. found laying on the floor in back of the main circuitry of Big Momma.  That's Gordon Stephan behind him, facing away and David B.'s son Matt Treadway facing toward his dad.

This is David B. and Jerry Sims behind the panels of Big Momma, next to two of the massive transformers, looking around at the backside of the transmitter....

This is David and I behind the transmitter, just after he found "The Yard" mixer...Matt Treadway is in the background...

...and David B. at the sign out front of the transmitter building, with Jerry Sims....

...and here is an account of us looking for Glaspie Dillard out in the antenna field:

https://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/search?q=glaspie

I'll also bet my bottom bippie that David B. has found Glaspie and has smothered him in hugs and laughter...I can hear him now: "Hey, son, we been lookin' for you!  It's good to finally meet you!"

Hugs; that's what I remember about David B.  Just before we got to a meeting point just before going to the transmitter, Jerry had to stop for gas; the station didn't have batteries, so I ran across the crossroads to the Dollar General (they're everywhere, you know) and got some.  As I walked out, I heard a BOOMING voice, "Hey, Bud Stacey!".  I tuned and there was a tall man hanging out of a small pickup truck and I realized who he was...and Matt was in the passenger seat.  I tried not to break into a run, but walked up in reverence and held out my hand to shake his...and he used it as a handle to pull me through the window to smother me in a big bear hug!  Later, as he dropped me off, he smothered me again and I felt that I was truly accepted by this big, tender, bear of a man.

The Voice of Arkansas is now a Voice in Heaven.  There were quite a few people who were fortunate to work with him...the latest, I think, was Vicky Parker at US 97, 96.7 The Rocket, near Little Rock.  They were a great morning team...and I was able to call in a few times while they were on the air, all the way from Mobile, Alabama!

I'll bet there was a lot of clowning around...maybe David was wondering where his audio went for a few seconds!  His last day at US 97 was Friday, February 10, 2017.

I have been told that there will be a Celebration of David’s life at the Ron Robinson theatre on Sunday February 16th from 3-5pm.

I could write volumes about what I do know of David B., what little time I spent with him and talked to him thereafter...but there's not the time nor the space.  Suffice it to say, many KAAY fans were influenced by David B., whether he knows it or not...but if he did, his humbleness wouldn't let us know.  He was just that way.

For those of you who would like to hear a little of David B., here's some audio:

https://mighty1090kaay.blogspot.com/2016/07/from-july-10-1977-kaays-david-brian.html

To Matt Treadway and the rest of the Treadway family: God bless you, we are praying for you.

To David B. Treadway; I hope to see you again in Heaven.

Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)