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Post by John Quincy on Sept 4, 2005 15:39:12 GMT -5
Marc Jennings sent us this on September 3, 2005:
I was just looking at the site and reading about the reunion. What a gas! Congrats for putting such a thing together. Joe London's comment said a lot---that Louisville was lucky having two powerhouse stations. Of course, what did I know at the time? I was just a kid cruising on Friday and Saturday nights, punching the buttons back and forth. Wasn't every place like this? Again, neat stuff, even for those who were only listeners.
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Post by John Quincy on Sept 4, 2005 15:43:32 GMT -5
Doug Swanner e-mailed us on September 4, 2005:
Hello, I used to live in Louisville, recently transplanted to Columbia, KY. I'm a member of Louisville's First Unitarian Church (a really wild and strange group). We have an "unofficial" chatlist and from time to time the odd thing pops into the conversation. WAKY, along with Gary Burbank, popped up. Then the question of what happened to/how/why is WAKY gone (the actual question was "How could anyone in their right mind allow the call letters WAKY get away from them?"). Soooooo... being the good UU that I am I did WAKY during my Sunday morning Google Devotion Hour (no wonder my moniker is the rather long "Right Reverend Deuteronomy Skaggs," a tribute to Gary Burbank's White Wing Gospel Hour - it's not stealing if I call it a tribute? Right? If it is, I'll change it to a homage<G>) I found your site. I had the Rev down to the fine points (which really didn't please my minister/father at the time, but hey, I was 13 and it was my job to teach him not to cuss - you'd be amazed how many adult preacher's kids are in Unitarian Universalist churches). Anywho, what did happen to WAKY, what caused the swan song? Regards, Doug Swanner
We replied: As FM gained popularity in the late 70s, the days for Top 40 stations on AM were numbered. Johnny Randolph tried to get LIN Broadcasting to move the WAKY call letters to an FM frequency prior to 1975, but the company saw no advantage in doing so since WAKY on AM was still doing well and FM penetration in Louisville (and other cities) in the early 70s wasn't that great. Eventually music radio listeners abandoned the AM dial for FM. In the late 70s WAKY morphed into an adult contemporary station. Then in the early 80s it switched to an oldies format. However, by 1986 WAKY's management saw no further value in the call letters or the oldies format and put beautiful music on the 790 dial position, while switching the call letters to WVEZ-AM. The WAKY call letters were transferred to another station in Kentucky, but from I've been told, not utilized to the extent of the "real" WAKY. Right now the call letters are assigned to yet another Kentucky station (a country outlet) but are only used for top-of-the-hour IDs. BTW, the call letters for 790 eventually became WWKY and the station tried to call itself "Wacky" again but by that time the magic was all gone...and so were folks who wanted to hear music on AM.
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Post by bruiser on Sept 4, 2005 16:32:12 GMT -5
I don't think it was LIN that let the call get away. I think it was either the company that bought WAKY from LIN, or the company that followed them.
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Post by John Quincy on Sept 4, 2005 16:52:35 GMT -5
No, LIN was long gone from Louisville when the WAKY call letters left 790 in 1986. It was LIN who didn't want to put WAKY on FM in the early 70s...or maybe it was Metromedia. I don't know exactly when LIN sold WAKY to Metromedia...but it was during the Johnny Randolph years. They probably saw it as a gamble, since WAKY on AM was still a cash cow and a ratings success.
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Post by John Quincy on Sept 27, 2005 6:48:19 GMT -5
Rory Cunningham asked us on September 25, 2005:
I remember as a kid the older neighbor girl calling in to a radio station, and putting me in the "Gone Machine." They would say your name on the radio and then do a bunch of echo sound effects, and say you were gone. Any clue where/what that was?
Anybody know the answer?
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Post by John Quincy on Sept 28, 2005 9:39:27 GMT -5
We received this on September 28, 2005:
Hey! What about the year or so that Bailey spent at WTMT? I had the honor of working with Bill during that time. Some of Bill's antics included waking me up one morning about 7am, I was filling in for the PD who was gone on vacation, "Hey! You better get down here or I'm gonna shut this son-of-a-bitch off!" this loud and familiar voice growled at me over the telephone. It seems that when Bill came in that morning the overnight guy had a 12 pack waiting for quitting time and him and Bill started imbibing. So I rushed to get there and I'm greeted with, "d**n, that was fast. You must be paid by the hour!" followed by the familiar Bailey chuckle. What could I do? As pissed as I was I still idolized the man. The last time I saw Bill was during my 6 to midnight shift. Bill came in about 10pm or so and I ask, "Bill, what the hell you doing here?" He went on to say he had had enough and was there to take a piss, get his coffee cup and records and head on down the road. Needless to say I asked where he was going. He said he was headed to Vegas to deal blackjack! d**n, Bill. You couldn't help but love the guy. It wasn't too long after that that he wound up at WVLK. Of course Bill was a prolific artist and was skilled at painting these awesome oil portraits, which he had lithographed and sold. He tried to get me to buy an original oil once. "It's only $700," he said. I commented, "Bill. Look around you. I'm working the evening shift at WTMT, I don't even know where my next tank of gas is coming from!" Of course followed by the familiar Bailey chuckle. I want to say a big thank you for putting the WAKY site together. It was fantastic going through all the old stuff and seeing people I haven't seen in years. This is the third straight night I've poured through all the memories. The picture of the WINN guys in tuxedos was amazing. Seeing a cherubic faced Dan Breeden, Danny King who I worked with at WAVE 970, and Jim Miller. Oh my God, Jim Miller. Good ole Mark "The Spark" Anderson. Jim and I did mornings at WTMT for about two years and I have never had a better time doing radio than I did with him. Sparky was undoubtedly one of my best friends in the world and I do miss him dearly. I'm so glad I got to enjoy radio as it was meant to be. Not this conglomerated, cut till they bleed, crap the 99th Congress has given us to live with today. Funny, I used to lament the good ole days of radio that I missed. Little did I know that one day my years of tenure would be good ole days...yeah who'd a thunkit? Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks again for retro trip down radio row. Dean Taylor a.k.a Lean Dean The Love Machine P.S.- Mark The Spark gave me that name. It stuck too.
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Post by bruiser on Sept 28, 2005 11:59:22 GMT -5
Mark "The Spark" Anderson. Now, he was somewhat unique in his own way. Not your typical dj.
What about "Wild Willie Billy"?
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Post by 1240WINN on Sept 28, 2005 13:29:41 GMT -5
Wild Willie Billy--now there's a blast from the past. Who was the real voice behind this guy? (For those who don't recall, Wild Willy Billy did a Wolfman Jack routine, but read the news as "William Walker".)
I've read recently that Bob Cline was at WTMT for awhile and that he used to do a Wolfman Jack imitation at WKLO. Could it be???
Or am I adding 2 plus 2 and getting 5?
Good to hear that Dean Taylor is alive and well. I used to listen to him and Mark the Spark in the mornings. I can still hear Mark saying "Lean Dean, how the H*** are ya!" to open the show.
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Post by John Quincy on Oct 24, 2005 8:39:38 GMT -5
We received this on October 24, 2005:
My name is Gary Higdon , I used to listen to WAKY all the time. This site brought back so many memories. I enjoyed all the sound clips; I remember so much of this when it first played.
Keep it up. Love it. Long live WAKY!
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Post by John Quincy on Nov 24, 2005 7:33:35 GMT -5
This was received on November 24, 2005:
My name is Todd Pulliam and I live in Scottsburg, Indiana (about 30 miles due north of Louisville) and I'm 41 years old. I work in downtown Louisville and listen to WRKA quite a bit and enjoy their wild WAKY weekends and WAKY rewinds.
While driving home tonight I was listening to WRKA and they were doing the WAKY rewinds...got me to wondering if anyone had put together a website about WAKY or if I could find any info on the net about the old station. Well, obviously, I found it....and what a great website it is!
I've been surfing through it for about 2 hours now and looks like I've got a lot more to look at. Brings back a lot of good memories of listening to WAKY in my older brother's '62 Bel-Air and on the school bus.
I just wanted to complement you on what a wonderful job you have done with this website and please keep up the good work.
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elizabethbeller
New Member
"Old" friends from the WAKY era knew me as "Betty", though it sounds foreign to me now!
Posts: 9
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Post by elizabethbeller on Dec 14, 2005 4:49:34 GMT -5
Had a wonderful visit with Bailey back in May of this year. Wasn't sure if he'd remember me, but after just a couple minutes the light of recognition shot into his eyes, and we spent the next 2 hours reminiscing, with lots of laughter. He's actually very lucky. Not everyone is able to trip through their past, knowing they were so well loved.
Favorite jingle? "Noooooobody plays more music than WAKY" (WB)
What made Randolph's programming such genius? Apart from a great ear for talent (which--unlike most music radio stations--meant talent in the NEWS department as well as air talent) Randolph made the pre-tech time of Top 40 radio as interactive an enterprise as was possible back then. The old radio advice of "Don't talk to the multitudes, just visit with one listener at a time" was the cornerstone of their success, and was something I *always* remembered in years to come.
Michael would comment on my voice/diction, but it was Gary who actively encouraged me to get my 3rd-phone license & go into radio, as stations were beginning to get a lot of (legal) heat about the lack of women on the air. Eventually leaving Louisville, I did just that...and rather successfully, at that.
But, more importantly....
I, quite literally, owe my very breathing life to Summers, Walker, and Burbank. Though I cursed that intervention a few times over the next several years, in my heart, I eventually came to thank them...Walker, for his intuition and sensitivity...Burbank, for his strength and quick thinking...and Michael, well, Michael for his humor, intelligence, heart, and very presence.
And, Burt Markert, will always smile that smile. He was truly a gentle soul.
But, I digress...
The wondrous thing of that WAKY time period of the late '60s & early '70s was that it held together as coherently as it did, for as long as it did.
I'll close, but feel compelled to quote from a little Lennon/McCartney ditty called "The End": "...and, in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make."
Elizabeth "Betty" Beller
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Post by John Quincy on Jan 24, 2006 22:15:33 GMT -5
This came in from WRKA's Larry Miller on January 24, 2006:
Larry Miller here, APD for 103.1 WRKA, Louisville. I had the joy of dropping in and being welcomed by the Duke of Louisville at his current residence in PeeWee Valley. I live just outside Crestwood and decided I stop by and wish him well. The Duke was in good spirits about 9:30 on this sunny Tuesday morning, January 24th. Bill had done a few weekend shows at WRKA in the mid 1980s and I first met him while doing mornings with Glenn Beck and Kathi Lincoln. Being morning show mongrels ourselves, we asked how he did it so many years…day in and day out. He had a simple, if off the cuff, answer that stuck with me. Almost shyly, he said, "just gotta through that ball in the air every day catch it when it comes down."
Introducing myself as talking over the afternoons on WRKA after Wayne Perkey retired for good this time, Bill was quick to compliment and thank WRKA for being so "complimentary" to WAKY in our recent WAKY Wayback Weekends as we both lamented the growing sterile environment of radio in general. Fortunately for me, the fun hasn't gone out of radio and keeping the fun spirit Bill and his comrade created at the "Mighty 7-90" is still emulated and built upon at our humble little operation at WRKA.
Well, just few words to tell you the Duke is still sharp and witty and quite a guy. I offered to keep dropping by from time to time to say hi and he agreed so I'll keep you posted. I must say, it was humbling and just plain sweet to talk with Mr. Boahn. A UK blanket on his bed and a U of L hat on his read. Still appealing to the greatest possible audience, I guess.
A sincere thank you, John, for making it possible to keep up with our inspiration and hero, Bill Bailey. He had some good words to say about you, too.
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 23, 2006 17:27:18 GMT -5
Marcus K. Shaw sent us this on February 23, 2006:
It was a cold miserable morning on the backside at Garden State Race Track in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The year was 1972. The sleet and drizzle had been coming down for the past week or so. It was late in the Fall and I was a 20 year old long-haired product of the era from good old Kentuckiana.
I had joined a thoroughbred racing outfit at Churchill Downs that Spring when my Mom basically told me it was time to leave the nest. My place of residence at the time was a 10x10 room in the barn with a cot and a trunk full of what I could cram into it that I had packed with me from Kentucky. It was a sight seeing all that going down the road strapped to the back end of a 1960 MGA.
The heater in my room was on its last leg and I was hunkered in as tight as I could get. Part of my job was to feed the horses in our racing stable. I had brought with me on the trip my trusty old beat-up clock radio to help me get up at 4:00 a.m. in time to feed.
I was laying in my bed covers tight over my head and all of a sudden I hear the WAKY theme from out beyond my cocoon. I thought I was going nuts, I layed there and listened to the DJ and he was talking about Louisville. Somehow my old radio, probably from continuously being tuned to WAKY, was picking up the signal.
I cranked up my radio and opened the door and went on out in the cold and feed the horses who were staring at my open door wondering where all the noise was coming from. For some reason or another I didn’t feel the cold that morning but felt all warm and happy inside.
The signal finally faded in an hour or so but it was enough to bring me out of a homesick funk. How WAKY is that!
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 23, 2006 19:35:16 GMT -5
Bob in Hattiesburg, MS wrote this on February 23, 2005:
I stumbled across your site while trying to locate Louisville R&R music.
I remember calling the WAKY "Zap Line" and demanding on air that my best friend repay the $2 I lent him. His name was broadcast throughout Louisville and the next day his outraged mother showed up with my $2.
Thanks for the memories.
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Post by John Quincy on Apr 7, 2006 8:22:52 GMT -5
We received this on April 7, 2006:
Hey John, Great website! My experiences at WAKY were in the mid and late '70s. My uncle, Joe Martin, was a sales manager there. He got me involved with their remote disco lessons from the popular dance duo, Armando & Susan. I was their DJ, driving the WAKY van back & forth around town to different venues, setting up the equipment, running the audio for their show (getting free drinks at age 16)...it was heaven for me! I later emceed their shows at the KY State Fair...anything attached to the WAKY name. Uncle Joe went on to create his own successful ad agency. I went on to become successful at radio production, with gigs as Production Director at WDJX in the mid '80s...(in the old WKLO building) The Blitz in Columbus, OH...WFMS in Indianapolis...WOMC and WJR in Detroit...and back to Louisville, where I now work for Salem Radio Group, where I do production and middays on 105.9 The River. I was pretty well acquainted with Coyote (I always felt it was like being around a radio god or something), also Bob Moody, and Tom Prestigiacomo. The studios were certainly nothing fancy, but the creativity that came out of that place was amazing! There was another radio guy here in town with my same name during the 70's. He did news. (I think it was with WHAS). His name was Dave Jacob Straub! I am not related to him, just in case you were thinking I was him. BTW, he and I have since communicated, and shared radio stories. He seems like a real decent guy. Anyway, thanks for the site, and giving me this chance to revisit some of the memories! Dave Straub
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Post by John Quincy on Apr 30, 2006 17:25:39 GMT -5
We received this from Bryan H. of Louisville on April 30, 2006:
I just want to let you know how much I love your WAKY site. I’m 47 years old and grew up in Louisville listening to WAKY in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and this web site is just a real treat.
I’m a nostalgia buff anyway, collecting old songs, movies, TV shows, etc, mostly from the sixties. I also have a couple of old cars from back in the day. This site is right up my alley. I can’t stop listening to the airchecks!
Thanks for providing this wonderful web site.
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Post by John Quincy on May 5, 2006 22:37:53 GMT -5
We received this from Betsy Grimes on May 5, 2006:
Hey John, from just up I-26...if I read correctly that you are in Charleston now. My younger brother just sent me this link and a copy to my older sister in CA too. What a KICK! We all grew up in St. Matthews in Louisville during the 70's.
I cannot imagine the teen years without WAKY in the background. I will explore your site more in the coming days and forward the info. to my high school friends. Thanks for doing this. What a treat.
My kids are 25, 23, and almost 20 now, so it is sheer delight to feel 16 again for a little while. Way to go!
And thanks again,
Betsy
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Post by John Quincy on Aug 30, 2006 21:20:01 GMT -5
We received this from Chip Gregory on August 30, 2006:
This 79waky.com is one unbelievable web site! I just happened onto it yesterday while reminiscing and doing a Google search on WAKY Radio Louisville.
My story is nothing worth printing but I was a regular daytime listener (I HATED that nighttime power cut to 1KW with a passion!) over 100 miles to the west of you in Evansville, IN. Our local top-40 outlets were WJPS 1330 and WROZ 1400AM. but the programming, music selection, and on-air talent were very very hick-ish. With a good car radio you could get decent reception on the "Big 79", particularly out on the East side of Evansville. (KXOK from St. Louis also got some Evansville listenership and had a little better reception, but WAKY was clearly my choice between those two). I always listened and tried to influence as many of my friends and family as possible to do the same.
I especially enjoyed the crossover of WAKY into Soul/R&B, and the fact WAKY was never afraid to play tunes off the standard Billboard top-20. Some examples of those I can remember that were big hits on WAKY but often little known or unknown elsewhere were "Some of Shelley's Blues", "You, I", "Cottage Cheese", "Brooklyn Roads" and many many others. The DJs were first-rate, best in the biz. Mason Dixon, Dude Walker, and Johnny Randolph were my favorites, along with Skinny Bobby harper, Gary Burbank, and later Bill Bailey.
I left Evansville in the fall of 1969 to attend college at Vanderbilt U. in Nashville, but still always listened when I returned home for breaks. Driving up the Pennyrile Parkway you could start to pick up the Mighty 790 around Hopkinsville, heading north, and it continued to get clearer the rest of the way into Evansville. When I would go back to college after breaks, I was usually able tell my college buddies in Nashville about some song or another that WAKY played that they had never heard of, and I would get it or had it and they would be amazed!!
Anyway, thanks again for a great WebSite and many many superb memories!
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Post by bruiser on Aug 31, 2006 8:27:56 GMT -5
A little tidbit on "You, I", by The Rugbys. Another WAKY connection. As most of you know, The Rugbys were a Louisville group. They were the original Oxfords before the split. "You, I" was not the A side of the recording. However, a WAKY dj began playing the B side which was "You, I", and the song became a national top 30 hit. Look in the Louisville Lost and Found thread, and click on the link to WFPK, and listen to Steve McNicol, leader of The Rugbys, tell the story of "You, I", and WAKY radio. You'l also hear a lot of Rugbys recordings, some of which could have become hits if they had not been sabotaged by Shelby Singleton.
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Post by bruiser on Sept 4, 2006 14:01:28 GMT -5
Looks as if I should have listened to the Steve McNicol interview again, as it was actually CTW of WKLO who flipped the record. OOPS
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Post by Travis on Sept 5, 2006 1:44:16 GMT -5
That's easy to do when something is being flipped. It can get very confusing. The "A" side becomes the "B" side, the "B" side now becomes the "A" side, WAKY becomes WKLO, Johnny Randolph becomes Carl Truman Wiglesworth and... uh...
Just nevermind. I have no idea as to what I'm talking about.
Anyway, a big THANKS to you (bruiser) for bringing the Steve McNichol interview to my attention in the first place. It was good to hear Steve after all these years, and what an interesting story of how "You, I" became a hit and how it may have been shot down in its prime when WLS blackballed the Rugbys from their playlist. OuCh!
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Post by John Quincy on Sept 14, 2006 19:34:39 GMT -5
We received this on September 14, 2006:
hello john my name is erick i am Bill Bailey of waky radio son. I was searching the web to find some old memories from those days and i want to thank you for what i found. Those days were the best of my life especially watching an old pro like my father tear it up and to be there first hand was even better. I also met a lot of the other djs that really came together to create the magic that surrounded that station. I sure miss those days. Anyway thanks a bunch i sure appreciate ya, erick.
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Post by bruiser on Sept 14, 2006 21:38:46 GMT -5
I recall Bill bringing Erick to work with him.
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Post by John Quincy on Sept 18, 2006 7:50:58 GMT -5
This e-mail was received on September 18, 2006:
If you remember, you emailed me shortly after a Johnny Randolph air check got posted that I sent to Uncle Ricky at ReelRadio. You sent along your site addy and I had been there for a minute or two prior to that.
I work weekends as a counselor for youth in a group home & when I send the kids to bed I have a lot of time to spent surfing. I connected to the WAKY site through the WPTR site. I wanted to let you know that I spent a very enjoyable hour or so just looking at all the PICS.
This must have been a real labor of love for you and I wanted to let you know how much fun I had looking at the old radio station sets, replete w/16" turntables, boards that had VU meters & turn 'em up pots, Ampex & Maggies, telegraph keys, cart machines, the old MICS and the interesting way you brought each generation through the pictures.
I've been to the WOLF site and many others, but nothing I've hit so far can come close to what you did. What is even cooler is the way solidarity still exists with you guys. Money can't buy that.
Thanks too for the PICS of Lee Gray and George Williams.
Best Regards, Mike Plath
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Post by John Quincy on Oct 17, 2006 11:24:55 GMT -5
We received this from Don Wrege on October 17, 2006. Don recently purchased a copy of "WAKY Remembered" and "Bill Bailey: A Louisville Legend."
I meant to just listen to a short sampling of the Bill Bailey disc about a week ago and ended up frozen in front of my stereo for the entire length of the first disc. Extremely entertaining, and massively nostalgic. I enjoyed the 2nd disc just as much, and it was a kick to hear my old WHAS-TV teen panel partner Marty Bass chime in.
I was sorry there wasn't more Bill Crisp on the WAKY tribute, but what the hell. It was a lot of fun to hear the Gary Burbank stuff I'd forgotten about.
It is obvious that these were a work of love, and you put an amazing amount of effort into them. I wasn't expecting anything near as slick and entertaining as these. I have insisted that some of my friends who really loved Louisville radio purchase them from your site.
Thanks for producing a wonderful audio experience!!
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Post by John Quincy on Oct 27, 2006 7:34:59 GMT -5
This came in on October 26, 2006:
Just wanted to say "Thanks" for all the work involved on the WAKY and "KLO" sites....They are truly a treasure!! Brent Bosler
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Post by John Quincy on Oct 27, 2006 7:38:10 GMT -5
Scott Miller sent this in on October 26, 2006 after downloading the newly-posted montage of WAKY CRC jingles from WAKY's early days:
Wow! Those CRC jingles must really be old. I am pretty old myself (49), and got started listening to WAKY via a neighbor whose house I hung around in the daytime while hanging out with her son. She always had the radio blaring in the kitchen, and I remember her washing dishes and humming along with Dion like it was yesterday. (My dad always said I have an amazing memory.) That was circa 1960. I do remember the PAMS Series 14 stuff quite well, as I kinda sang along with some of the bits. Keep that good stuff coming. (It still brings tears to my eyes, and don't tell my wife) Scott Miller Pekin, IN
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Post by John Quincy on Oct 30, 2006 23:09:10 GMT -5
We received this on October 30, 2006:
I happened across the WAKY tribute site a few days ago and I must say, it almost brought me to tears. Simply put, I grew up with WAKY. I was born and raised in French Lick, IN.
In the summers of my grade school days, I longed for Mondays as it was dollar day Monday at the local "Putt-Putt" with WAKY blaring across the speakers.
The WAKY basketball team actually played at our high school, circa early seventies. I remember most all the jocks throughout the seventies: Bailey, Randolph, Dixon, Walker, Calhoun, Burbank etc.
We didn't listen to WAKY after 6PM as the signal weakened or was redirected. It was Jeff Davis and John "Records" Landecker at WLS in the evenings.
I actually was in the lobby of the River City Mall studio in August of '76. My mother drove me and two friends down to buy tickets for my first concert: Kiss, Bob Seger, and Artful Dodger at Freedom Hall in September of '76.
I remember listening every day for the top 5 at 5. As we were driving to the Kiss concert, "If You Leave Me Now" by Chicago was the most requested song of the day. The jock said it had the longest #1 requested streak to date.
Funny how you remember the little things. Sam Swope Pontiac, wide, wide Dixie Hwy etc. I remember as if it was yesterday.
I always wanted to be in radio, but just didn't have the voice or personality.
This site brought back the memories when radio was good.
I hardly listen to radio anymore. The Clear Channels of the world have ruined radio. Today a #20 single is barely known. Its a capitalistic monopoly at its best.
Thanks for the memories!
God Bless, Jeff Tarr, Whiteland, IN
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Post by John Quincy on Nov 1, 2006 9:25:47 GMT -5
This came in on November 1, 2006:
I continue to be overwhelmingly impressed with the quality and content of these two sites (WAKY & WKLO). The love you demonstrate and the hard work you undoubtedly pour into these projects is quite evident. I suspect this may become some sort of standard or yardstick for others to use in developing (or re-developing) tribute sites. You may recall an e-mail I sent you regarding the sites about a year ago. I worked at WBGN in Bowling Green in the early 70s before graduation from WKU and pursuing my career in public accounting (where I remain). Yet, the era of radio in which I participated remains a fond part of my memories. Radio was fun. There was very good talent in most markets and there was exceptional talent in many of the larger markets -- and Louisville was certainly a premier example of the latter. Today, as so many before me have observed, talent is typically ho-hum and the list of personalities in the "exceptional" category has become rather slim. This factor, together with increasingly smaller target audience programming, has led to radio's current state of mediocrity. There are, of course, exceptions that can be heard in some markets but, sadly, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to find. Yet, viewing and listening at your tribute sites, reminds us all of the talent and fun that existed and always puts a smile on my face and a good feeling in my heart. Thanks again for you efforts. Dana C. Greene Middlesboro, KY
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Post by John Quincy on Jan 18, 2007 9:33:39 GMT -5
Wally Lethgo sent us this on January 17, 2007:
I was in and out of radio for a good several years. I got to work with a some really great people.
Probably the biggest thrills I had was when I was at WRKA and in two consecutive weeks I got to sign off and turn it over to Rusty Rodgers one week, and my friend Mason Lee Dixon the next.
From WZZX to Quixie 98.3 to DJX to Superstar 107 to 1077 SFR (as Dusty Rhodes to Wally Matthews) I really was lucky as a weekender.
Think about these names: Gary Clark, John Ashton, Chris Randolph, Pru Miller, Duke, Mason Lee, Rusty (twice I worked with him), Les Cook, Jeff Ramsey, Hot Rod Phillips, Brian Christopher...
In high school at Fern Creek, I dated Lynn Owen. Her sister was Lori, girlfriend of Coyote. I used to beg people to drive by the WAKY and KLO studios.
I remember hearing Mason Lee for the first time and thinking, "What a set of pipes, this guy was born with a mic, he probably announced his own birth," then actually getting to work with him. Awesome.
There have been some of the most talented jocks in radio to pass through Louisville. If you were alive in the 70s and 80s, you knew WAKY-WKLO. Bo Brady, the Duke and Reed, Lee Masters, Rusty, Johnny R, Woody Stiles..and to think I got to live and even work in that era of time. It might have been part-time and weekends, and subbing through the week, but I have a lifetime of memories I will never forget.
Thanks to all the talent for making these years so cool, and to the website people for keeping it alive. Maybe one day my wife will understand my passion for radio. These fine folks made it.
God bless.
Wally Lethgo
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