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Post by John Quincy on Feb 8, 2005 10:11:59 GMT -5
We got this on February 7, 2005 from Larry Miller from WRKA-FM in Louisville:
Don't have any airchecks to share but I did want to commend you on an outstanding web site. FANTASTIC ! I also programmed (I use that word loosely) at WAXU 1980-mid 1984. Weren't you there just prior to that? Wonder what ever happen to that warm-hearted, big spender Bob Johnson? Any way, keep up the good work. I work with John Ashton here at Cox in Louisville. He's on the morning show on WVEZ. Have a waky day.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 8, 2005 10:16:38 GMT -5
On February 7, 2005 we got this from former Louisville radio personality Brian Jackson:
That's great -- thanks so much for the passion and hard work. I first heard Mason Lee Dixon on KXOK/St. Louis, and was so inspired by his artistry that I wound up pursuing a career behind the mic, myself. After getting fired from WJYL/Louisville in early 1882, I was hired by Lee Masters (then PD at WAVE 970/Louisville) as utility jock. A few months later, one Saturday afternoon, a tall, thin, bearded hippie in boots and a feathered cowboy hat sauntered into the studio and began rolling a fat one on the news desk. It was our new part-timer, Mason Lee Dixon!
Between Jarl (Lee) and Dave (Mason) I learned more about radio in a year than I have in the rest of my 20-yr career put together -- mostly by listening to dozens of old airchecks. Just being able to say I once served on a staff with two of the most glittering gems from the WAKY crown is a source of great satisfaction to me, and sort of connects me to what had to be one of the most incredible stations ever. Thanks again for binging it all back.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 9, 2005 13:47:42 GMT -5
On February 9, 2005 we received this from Mark Mulloy from Louisville:
John --- I was looking at Terry Meiners' web site yesterday and he had a link to your web site. Fantasic stuff. I was born in 1958, so the late 60s and early 70s were fun to be a kid roaming the dial, especially between WAKY at 790 and WKLO at 1080. (WHAS & WAVE were for those old-timers!)
I used to tape a lot of songs on an old reel-to-reel tape recorder off of WAKY --- unfortunately they are long gone -- Skinny Bobby Harper, etc. I very vividly remember Dude Walker doing a telethon for Danny Thomas and the St. Jude Hospital one weekend. Danny Thomas cut a promo clip that said "Help the Dude help St. Jude." I did tape some songs off WAKY when then went to all-oldies in the early 80's. I have several clips of Steven Lee Cook, Bob Moody, and Liz Curtis, mostly coming in and out of songs. Thanks for the great memories.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 9, 2005 13:50:47 GMT -5
We got this e-mail from Allen Brown on February 9, 2005:
Awesome site, John. I can tell you're a real radio nut (and I mean that in the nicest way). I doubt there's a better station tribute anywhere.
I never worked at WAKY, but I worked with many of the staff at other stations between 1968 and 1989. And, like most Louisvillians of that era, I grew up listening to WAKY and WKLO.
It was great to know that Ben Pflederer (aka Rudy Ratfink) is still kickin'. He and Pete Boyce were engineers at my first station in 1968, WHEL in New Albany, Indiana.
Thanks for the memories and keep up the great work!
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Post by Jacob on Feb 9, 2005 19:54:22 GMT -5
I'm from Lebanon, Ky., and vividly remember the ole, "Here's where you'll find the WAKY DJ's....and they would be at the Golden Horseshoe and The Club 68. I enjoyed listening to the clips...especially of Bill Bailey and Coyote...
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Post by WAKY Travis on Feb 10, 2005 18:56:38 GMT -5
It was also read as, "Here's where you'll find the big 79 jocks" and generally ended with "Commercial paid appearances with the (WAKY DJs) or big 79 jocks." The spots were usually voiced by Johnny Randolph and had a very catchy musical bed which enhanced Johnny's delivery quite nicely. I can hear it in my head as if it had played yesterday.
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Post by Alan on Feb 10, 2005 21:31:01 GMT -5
Which station did the "Tenna Toppers" promo? These were orange balls to put on top of a car antenna. Circa 1967 or so.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 11, 2005 21:38:04 GMT -5
On February 11, 2005 we received this e-mail from Roy Hargis in Louisville: I just found your tribute to WAKY while surfing around. I check Terry' Meiners' website every day and found the link there. Some of this stuff from Bill Bailey, Coyote and Gary Burbank really brings back some memories of days gone by. Thanks for the effort!
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 12, 2005 7:16:48 GMT -5
On February 12, 2005 we received this e-mail from Farleigh Brooks:
I'm not that old, but I'm old enough to remember when the roles of AM and FM radio were reversed, and in those AM days I listened to WAKY almost exclusively.
I became acquainted with David Bratcher [Mason Lee Dixon] about six months ago at the BP station, an encounter that became a sort of "where are they now" in reverse. Obviously he's never forgotten -- or in some respects, never gotten over -- his days behind the mic. He's not at a loss for words today about anything, and so surely the same was true when he had thousands of ears to bend.
Thanks for such a great web site. Its look and navigation mean a great amount of work and thought on your part.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 13, 2005 18:30:24 GMT -5
On February 13, 2005, Bill Janes from Louisville sent us this e-mail:
I just happened to see your article on Terry Meiners' Web site about WAKY. I am from Bardstown originally and can remember working as a lifeguard at the public pool during the summer and listening to WAKY. The lifeguards would sit or stand on our stands and have a transistor radio listening to WAKY play "Where Are You Little Star," and all of the other popular music of the 1950s. I had a little cream-colored Philco radio. It had a brown case I carried it in. I took it to college with me. I remember when WAKY first came on. I am not sure of the exact year, but it was in 55-57. I graduated in '58. Reading your article made me realize that you missed out on some of the very best years. They always had the new records and best music. I think of "rock and roll" as only the 50's -- the rest is rock. There is a difference. We started it, others changed it. I am going to send a copy of your article to all of my classmates from my class and maybe some of them will e-mail you with their memories. It will be the Class of '58 of the Bardstown High School Tigers. One of my classmates is Bill Samuels whose father founded Makers Mark Distillery. Or to be correct, Star Hill Farms, producer of Maker Mark. We will be celebrating our 50th reunion in '08. Let me know if you would like to attend. We will invite you to come listen to our stories. Old but still lively and not dead yet.
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Post by Randall Hamm on Feb 14, 2005 15:46:32 GMT -5
Due to listening to the "Duke" and many at WAKY, I am in radio today and still longing for one radio station to try again that old AKY format. Sad to hear that 1530 in Cincy tried it but as of this moment has gone back to talk radio.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 15, 2005 0:39:55 GMT -5
On February 14, 2005 we received this e-mail from Mark Hatter:
79 WAKY Radio! That jingle was a mantra to me. I was from Cincinnati but when I visited Kentucky it was always WAKY. I moved to Kentucky in '76 and worked at WFKY-WKYW Frankfort for several years before going into sales. Will never forget some of the songs I heard for the first time on WAKY. Keep it going!
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 15, 2005 0:43:18 GMT -5
On February 14, 2005 we received this note from Rob Cooper:
Love your site! Can you help me clear my memory about WAKY radio? I recollect a skit that was done that I would tune into all the time about Hiney Wine made in Waddy, KY. Are there any sound clips of that?
JQ says: There's at least one of those on one of the Bob Moody morning show airchecks.
Also I remember way back in the 70s some of my bothers and sisters got a light blue t-shirt that had the words FUNK IT written on it. What was the promotion? I remember my Dad would not allow us to wear it to school because he thought it was foul. We got those shirts from my sister's ex. who worked at WAKY, a Robert Meyer. I'm not sure in what capacity he worked there but he always had some really wild tales to tell.
Thanks for bringing back the memories.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 19, 2005 12:59:12 GMT -5
On February 19, 2005 we received this e-mail from Max Highbaugh:
Thank you oh, so much for your wonderful, fabulous Website!! I have made it my home page. I just discovered it today and haven’t had time to really explore it, but I did scan it and boy, does it bring back memories. I grew up in the 70s listening to the Duke, Coyote, and the others. I have searched for many years for a WAKY site and have found none…until now.
I've been able to pick up several surveys from both WKLO & WAKY. I grew up listening to both, but WAKY was my favorite. I listened to the Big 1080 from summer '72 to late '72/early '73 before discovering and switching to Super 79. Clearly the best two stations in radio history and obviously that Louisville has ever had.
I went to a music convention at Executive West and picked up a double WKLO album, and I've found a WAKY album (local artists) and WAKY ballpoint pen. I clearly remember Bill Bailey doing a spot for Pass Pets and some spot where he starts out talking first in a light voice and then shouting 'Wake up Louisville!' Can't remember who that is for.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 19, 2005 13:07:17 GMT -5
We got this from Marty Messex on February 18, 2005:
I just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying the WAKY site. I look forward to new additions as you receive them.
Growing up in Louisville, I have great memories of the AM rock stations, WAKY and WKLO being so important to me as a kid. My brother Danny Messex worked in FM radio from the 70s through the early 90s, and I was lucky enough to meet some of my radio heroes through him.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 19, 2005 13:26:28 GMT -5
This came in from Susan Morreale on February 17, 2005:
My father and mother used to take me up to the radio station [WKLO\ when I was a teenager and my father would talk to Bill [Bailey] for long periods of time.
I have for years wondered what happened to Jack Sorbi. (I don't know his real name.). We became friends with Jack, Bill, and somewhat with Johnny [Randolph]. We'd stand on the curb and look up at the sky to see how many people driving by in their cars would look up and the DJ on the air would make comments about it. It was Johnny Randolph who introduced me to Davy Jones who was here for Ken Douglas' wedding. Davy kissed me on the cheek before he left, and after I got home and called all my friends to tell them my boyfriend at the time broke up with me for a week over it. Jack used to play all the "Susan" songs for me when we'd go visit. I also got free concert tickets on a regular basis. Ah.....those were the days!
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 19, 2005 13:39:57 GMT -5
Mike Schneider send this in on February 17, 2005:
Wow, did you trigger some memories with this Website.
I received my first transistor radio on my eleventh birthday June 16, 1958. It was a GE radio about the size of a cigar box. It had eight transistors packed into that box! I found WAKY immediately.
I can remember Jumpin' Jack Sanders sitting on a pole at the Ranch House on Preston and Phillips Lane until a certain percentage of Louisville listened to WAKY. Seems like he was up there for a number of weeks. I also remember him locking himself in the control room and playing Purple People Eater until he got a raise. I think that lasted a little over a day. What a terrific idea you had in starting this.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 20, 2005 23:07:03 GMT -5
Chad Quick wrote this on February 20, 2005:
This is an excellent site and brings back many memories of what a great station WAKY was and how good radio used to be in Louisville. I really like the old surveys. It is fascinating how many songs were big hits here yet never made it nationally.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 21, 2005 21:54:29 GMT -5
On February 21, 2005 we received this note from Mark Mulloy:
John -- Glad to see the site has come together so well. Not only are the sounds are good, but your site layout & design is top-notch. I knew that there would be many contributors out there.
I think my favorite two airchecks are the Oldies Composite with Bob Moody from 1982 and the WAKY-WLKO composite from 1972.
The reason I started listening to AM music was because I broke my leg badly when I was 10 (in 1968) and I was bedridden for 2 months in my room at home -- no TV. I used to have the radio on 24 hours a day -- even all night. This was when Bill Bailey was at WLKO -- before he went to WLS. I still can recall most of the weekday DJ's and their shift hours from fall 1968 through spring 1969. I really didn't get into WAKY until Bill Bailey came there. Bill Bailey: 6 am - 10 am Jack Sorbee: 10 am - 1 pm D. Braun: 1 pm - 3 pm Carl Truman Wigglesworth: 3 pm - 6pm (He would sign off every afternoon by saying, "If anybody calls you a name, it can't be any worse than.... Carl Truman Wigglesworth!") (Bob) Shannon: 7pm - 10 pm (I think he only went by his last name on the air -- "Shannon showtime is 7:23 on a Monday evening....") Mark St. Matthews 10 pm - 1 am I can't remember the all-night guy's name from 1 am to 6 am. Any clues? I think the newscaster on Bill Bailey's show was named Ty Meredith. I'm glad you found Ed Phillips. I thought Joe Elliot worked at WAKY too, but he's been at WHAS so long, I can't remember him not being there. Kevin Goemmer --- I had no idea he was a radio guy, too. I knew Kevin a little bit from around the race track. I used to go up to River Downs and visit him in press box every summer. Nice guy, great voice, and a tragic loss. I used to call him "Kevin Goober" -- get it? Gomer & Goober (ha, ha)
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Post by Tom Prestigiacomo on Feb 22, 2005 17:27:47 GMT -5
Here's a couple of conversation starters..... Anyone have any memories and/ or stuff from the old WAKY Ramblin' River Raft Races? ..... How about the bottle and aluminum can drive that filled the WAKY basement with recyclables?..... Who shopped at the House of Adam because of the Weird Beard.... Ever go to Club 68 (in Lebanon) because you heard it on The WAKY Hop Caravan?..... Anyone help the Dude help St. Jude?..... What was the best/ worst thing you ever won as a prize at WAKY?
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 23, 2005 20:23:14 GMT -5
Kent Schmitt of Lumberton, TX e-mailed us this on February 22, 2005:
I want to thank you so much for the new WAKY webpage. I live in SE Texas now but grew up in Louisville during WAKY's heydays. I was at Waggener High School in Louisville from 1967-1971, probably the peak of WAKY's popularity.
I spent weeks last year searching the Internet for WAKY stuff. I remember Dude Walker, Lee Masters, Bill Bailey, and all the others like it was yesterday.
I ended up working as a DJ for several years during and after college and a lot of that because of WAKY's influence. Thank you so much for the memories.
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Post by Travis on Feb 24, 2005 10:00:07 GMT -5
Yo, Tom Prestigiacomo Regarding the bottle & aluminum can drive: I was one of the volunteers who helped to remove that seemingly endless sea of bottles & cans from WAKY's basement. They covered the floors from corner to corner and were piled from 3 to 5 feet high, even higher in some areas, but it turned out that they were stacked on top of boxes & cabinets containing old forms, logs and whatever. I can clearly remember having to wade through them to get anything done. We were fortunate that a great deal of them were contained in bags, boxes & barrels, which aided us in getting them up the stairs and out the back doors, but many were not contained and we spent a great deal of time bagging them up. Also, I made the mistake of going to the studios wearing a white dress shirt (I have no idea why I wore it) and I'm sure that my fellow volunteers thought I was an idiot. The shirt was absolutely filthy and full of sweat by the time we finished and I got plenty of looks as I rode the bus home. By the way, Johnny Randolph rewarded us with free albums (about 3 to 5 each). Unfortunately, they were promo copies recorded by groups that NOBODY HAD EVER HEARD OF!! But, it really didn't matter. We had a lot of laughs getting those cans out of that basement. Nobody ever asked why I was wearing the shirt and I never offered any explanations.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 25, 2005 7:40:29 GMT -5
On February 25, 2005 James H. Stahr of Princeton, KY wrote:
I want to thank you for this site. My brother is behind the scenes now in Louisville radio. He used to be a DJ in the 80s and on. We grew up on WAKY and you are right, it was fantastic.
I plugged it at our Valley High class of 1970 Website (www.vhs70.com). Thanks for all the memories.
I found a survey from the week after my wife and I started dating. What a great site.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 26, 2005 19:50:47 GMT -5
We received this note from Mack Elder on February 26, 2005:
My brother sent me this site. After checking it out I was 15 again.
I remember Bill Bailey always wanting to build a Stuckeys restaurant at the Waddy/Peytona exit on I-64.
What a wonderful time I had looking at this stuff.
Thanks,
Mack Elder (class of '74)
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Post by ed phillips on Feb 27, 2005 7:20:38 GMT -5
Another thing about the surveys in the mid 70s was the paper stock they were printed on.. So I would gather some of the outdated leftovers and use them for braille. I sure wish I had just saved them.
On the subject of Jim Osborne, I seem to remember him at both WGRC and WKLO. Here is an item from the CJ the morning after his death.
Radio Singer Osborne Kills Himself
Dec 27, 1957
Country music singer Jimmie Osborne died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound here last night. Chief Deputy Coroner William C. Kammerer said the 34-year-old Osborne took his own life by holding a .32-caliber revolver to his right temple and firing a bullet into his brain. Kammerer said the suicide followed an argument with Mrs. Osborne in the couple's trailer home in Bluegrass Mobile Home Park, 3510 Newburg Road. The body was found on the floor of the bathroom by Mrs. Osborne and a family friend, Robert Ryan of 2530 Kings Highway, Kammerer said. Ryan had been invited to the trailer by the Osbornes and the three had been talking only a short time before Osborne shot himself. Osborne, a native of Winchester, Ky., sang country music over radio stations in Lexington, Shreveport, Nashville and Louisville during a career that started when he was 15 years old. He was reported to be the highest-paid performer in the radio and television field in Louisville. For the past year Osborne had been singing over radio station WGRC. For five years before that he strummed his guitar and sang over station WKLO and he was due to return to that station in 10 days. William Spencer, general manager of WKLO, said today that Osborne had agreed to come back starting January 6. As a recording artist, Osborne was best known for two hits--"My Heart Echoes", his first record and one that hit the best seller list in the country music field in 1947, and a few years later, "The Death of Kathy Fiscus", which sold 1,000,000 copies. Osborne wrote the song while working on radio station WLEX in Lexington. He gave half the royalties to a memorial fund for the little California girl who fell in a well and died. Like many other performers in the country and folk music business, Osborne played many benefits--for fellow performers down on their luck and for such causes as the March of Dimes. Those who worked with him said Osborne's success was based on his "infectious personality" rather than on his singing voice, which was not a notable one. His home town of Winchester never forgot him and once gave him a home-coming day. The key to the city was handed to Osborne by the Mayor, Dr. John A. Snowden, who was the physician who brought Osborne into this world. He is still remembered in Winchester as the youngster who began "picking and singin" with a guitar that cost $4 and a "get-up" that featured the oldest overalls he could find and a floppy black hat. Funeral arrangements for the country music singer are incomplete. The body is at the Owen Funeral Home, 2611 Virginia.
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Post by bruiser on Feb 27, 2005 10:51:47 GMT -5
Ed, thanks for posting the Osborne story.
For those who may not know, the WGRC mentioned in the story became WAKY. I did check with another source regarding Jimmy being on WTMT. He was on there for a short while.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 28, 2005 11:07:48 GMT -5
Max Highbaugh sent us this on February 28, 2005:
I've found a little more time to dive into your site and have found it to be exactly what I expected! It's like Christmas Day! I feel I was born at exactly the right time and am thankful I was able to grow up during the peak of WAKY! And YOU, John, have given a wonderful gift to listeners, like me, in the form of a time capsule where we can take a trip back anytime we want! For people who feel like those days (and the music) were so much better than the present you have provided an escape! Words cannot express my gratitude, man! I look forward to a possible site for Louisville's #2 station, the big 1080, which was where I started listening in the summer of 1972 and first heard Rocket Man, still my favorite song. But it was winter of 1973 I discovered WAKY and was converted! These two stations stole my ear from WSAC (Fort Knox) and WIEL (E'town, where I now work part-time) , stations that just did not have the personalities to go with the music. Thanks, again, John! YOU THE MAN!
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Post by final4 on Mar 7, 2005 12:51:23 GMT -5
My raft is the one on the bottom left. We had two kegs of beer on it. WAKY Raft Race 1978
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Post by John Quincy on Mar 7, 2005 22:00:17 GMT -5
We received this e-mail on March 7, 2005 from Mosterkamp50:
I am 54 and listened to WAKY during my pre and teenage years and up until it went to another format. I loved the music and the DJs and the cruising up and down 4th street as well. I had a cousin who was from Crandal, IN that was a sub on WAKY briefly. Rick Darby was his radio name; Duard Deer was his given name.
Many, many fond memories of th WAKY DJ's and the format and also the big competiton of WKLO radio as well. Thanks again for the memories.
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Post by John Quincy on Mar 9, 2005 18:51:50 GMT -5
We got this from Jim Malone on March 9, 2005:
John, I am Jim Malone, a reporter for The Courier-Journal who works out of Paducah. Great site.
My lingering WAKY memory was in the mid to late 1960s as a teenager in Mt. Sterling. WAKY had some sort of promotional flying saucer hovercraft powered by a gasoline motor that it took from town to town on a trailer. My recollection of nearly four decades ago is that kids could ride in it. On this hot summer day in Mt. Sterling, someone was riding on it and I think somehow it got loose, scooted across the lot and dented a parked car. I think it quickly went back on the trailer. You might want to check out that flying saucer thing to make sure I am not crazy, but the images remain vivid in my memory.
Anybody else remember this? - JQ
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