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Post by John Quincy on Feb 12, 2007 10:43:23 GMT -5
This came in from Steve Bass on February 12, 2007:
I enjoyed finally looking at the WAKY site. GREAT JOB!
I was a concert promoter in the early '70s and all of my concerts were sponsored by WAKY. Do you know of any of my old commercials? I brought in George Carlin, Ricky Nelson, Curtis Mayfield, Mac Davis and Helen Reddy.
I would love to get a hold of these if at all possible. My company name was Steve Bass Productions.
After my concert days I went to work for LIN at WBBF in Rochester in sales.
I was so sorry to read what happened to Burt Markert as he was a good friend, but I lost contact with him when I moved back to Louisville from WBBF.
Anyway, great jobs and thanks for all your efforts.
Steve
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 19, 2007 14:36:18 GMT -5
This came in on from Steve Hancock on February 19, 2007:
Just wanted to thank you for keeping the memory of WAKY alive and all the wonderful info on the Duke of Louisville. I have sent him some fan mail in the past at Friendship Manor and he is in my prayers.
I hope everyone from WAKY knows how much they are missed. This town has never appreciated all the talented people we are blessed with till it's too late.
Thanks again for your wonderful work and site. (I wish someone would do the same for the Hayloft Hoedown and T-Bar-V show to keep their memory alive.)
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Post by bruiser on Feb 19, 2007 15:56:22 GMT -5
There was also "The Kentucky Barn Dance" which was on WHAS. Part of it was broadcast on the CBS network.
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Post by John Quincy on Jul 4, 2007 9:22:45 GMT -5
This was received on July 4, 2007 from Rhonda Molden:
Any clue to where to find: "Where Were You When The Sewers Blew?" or "Please Don't Close Down Durrett?" and other songs played on WAKY?
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Post by John Quincy on Sept 6, 2007 7:08:58 GMT -5
Debbi Broach sent us this on September 5, 2007:
WAKY was my teenage years. There was no other radio station. In southern Indiana on Friday and Saturday nights (when gas was cheap) all of us teens would drive around and around singing and playing the radio as loud as it would go to the one and only WAKY. It got us up in the morning and put us to bed every night.
When my husband and I were in Clarksville we were looking for an oldies station and I almost cried...WAKY is alive again!!!!! The memories have been flowing again.
I guess we were all so lucky to be teens in the '70s and to have WAKY and all the WAKY family (that is what it seemed like) in our lives.
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!!!!!!!!
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Post by John Quincy on Jan 9, 2008 14:16:42 GMT -5
This was received on 1/8/2008:
I remember the Duke of Louisville very fondly. My brothers, sisters, and I still talk about him.
I just found your Website and emailed the link to everyone I know. The Duke was the best I ever heard at that time and still to this day is the best I can remember.
Keep up the good work and keep us posted of his progress and if he has an email address please link it for us.
I can't wait until my family sees this website. We thought WAKY was dead for good.
Dwayne Miller Little Rock, AR
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Post by John Quincy on Jan 26, 2008 6:31:49 GMT -5
This e-mail was sent to Rene Bell, the GM of WAKY and CC-ed to Johnny Randolph and John Quincy on January 25, 2008:
Rene,
Wow! My past couple months have been filled with great memories. I am a Durable Medical Equipment Repair Service Tech from Danville and work often in Louisville.
I stumbled across the new WAKY recently. You guys make me feel 18 again!
Let me tell you a little about my relationship with WAKY, then a little story about me and my friend Charlie skipping high school one day to travel to Louisville for a WAKY event.
I graduated from Danville High in 1968. A whole group of DHS kids used to sneak away most weekends to Lebanon and the Club 68. We got to know all of the WAKY DJs. (They were compensated -- because they were worth it, by the way.)
After high school and a few failed months at EKU, I wound up in the US Navy. While in the Mediterranean, I become the early morning DJ aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, CVA-42. I was actually playing the same music as Johnny Randolph, Bill Crisp, Gary Burbank, etc.
After my 4 year hitch in the Navy, I gave college another try. I attended Lees College in Jackson, KY and worked at WEKG part time as a Newsman & Part time DJ. From there, after College, I worked a while at a small upstart FM station in Stanton.
I never made it in radio, even though I worked my butt off trying to pass the infamous "Third Phone" test back then. I was involved over the next 30 plus years in the snack food business. I got to know Johnny Randolph when he was part owner of WKLO (the Danville version). I even worked as a part time DJ for Johnny in country music for a while.
Country's OK, but my first love is the music that I am now once again able to listen to (when I'm in the Louisville-E-Town area) on the current WAKY. Although I left the radio business a long time ago (I've got a Radio voice made for Newspapers--Ha!) but still have wonderful memories of the business.
Now for the High School story:
My childhood Bud and me skipped high school one cold, snowy February day to travel to the Ohio Riverfront event commemorating Presidents day. WAKY was going to throw cherry pies across the Ohio. Some of the pies were to have Silver Dollars in them.
Well, that was enough for Charlie Perry (the current morning show personality on the local Danville radio station) to risk the trip. We had a great time, ate a bunch of cherry pies and found one or two with money in them. It was a great trip and great memory (even though we got caught -- can't remember the punishment -- just the good stuff).
Keep up the great work and welcome back WAKY!
Jim Johnson (radio name: CC Biggs)
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Post by John Quincy on Feb 10, 2008 7:33:39 GMT -5
This came in on February 9, 2008:
I totally remember the wild DJs at WAKY in the mid 70s and I'm wondering where is the Original Tom Dooley? He put on a great show at Scottsburg High in Scottsburg IN in I believe 1974. Haven't heard of too much of him since. The thing I remembered most of him other than his hair was watching the tubes pulsate in rhythm as the good ole rock and roll was cranked out from that old amp that he brought for the show. Those two things combined to put on a show that will never be forgotten. It's one of those "You had to be there" moments. I thoroughly enjoy the website you have put up and I wish you the best. Sincerely, Dwight Gross
We thanked Dwight for his e-mail and directed him to the DJs page at 79WAKY.com to find out about Tom Dooley's current pursuits, plus we told him about the Tom Dooley audio interview we have online.
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Post by John Quincy on Mar 21, 2008 13:05:43 GMT -5
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Post by John Quincy on Mar 24, 2008 12:43:08 GMT -5
Tom Roehm e-mailed us this on March 23, 2008:
I have fond memories of WAKY from the 1960s, when there were few radio stations we were able to receive up in the hills of Perry County, Indiana, near Alton: WLS, Chicago; WABC, New York; and WAKY kept us up to date.
My two brothers and I would always keep track of where our favorite songs were in the Top 40 lineup. Would it go to number one? WAKY was the conduit to the "outside" world for us teenagers of that era.
Reading and saving the PDF of the [1960s] surveys is a treasure to me, a member of the Class of 1967, Perry Central High School, Perry County, IN.
Thanks go to you for that.
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Post by John Quincy on May 25, 2008 19:18:22 GMT -5
This was received on May 24, 2008:
Greetings, Moving back to the area (Leitchfield, KY) has provided me with a huge amount of flashbacks from the days of my youth in Louisville. I grew up 3 blocks south of Churchill Downs until leaving for college at Western Kentucky University in 1965. Finding WAKY on a FM format was a delight. My wife (of 38 years) is also from Louisville (across the street from the Fairgrounds, although her house has been swallowed up now). We relocated to an old Boy Scout camp I went to as a kid 2 years ago. The old cabin I lived in the summer of 1964 (at age 15) is still on the property we bought and built our cabin. I remember the first day of broadcasting for WAKY when 'Purple People Eater' was played over and over again. I listened to it on our 1953 combined radio, record player, and Admiral television. I still have it. My mother was raised during the Depression and so I still cannot throw things away. I have refinished it but I am not sure what continues to work on it. Thanks for all you do and allowing me to walk down memory lane. Dr. Jerry Adamson
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Post by John Quincy on Jul 26, 2008 11:17:15 GMT -5
I'm not sure if this was meant for 79WAKY.com or WAKY-FM (I get e-mail meant for WAKY-FM occasionally, probably because 79WAKY.com comes up first in Google when somebody types in "WAKY".) But, just in case...
Hello,
I remember the radio station WAKY. It was called "The Mighty 790" as that was its AM frequency. It has been reborn in Louisville: 103.5 FM. It has the same general format that it had in the late 1950s.
Remember when they had Beecher Frank and Paul Cowley and the famous Bill Bailey (The Duke of Louisville)? Hearing the station is really nostalgic to me.
When they were first on the air they played "When The Purple Eater Meets The Flying Saucer" for 24 hours straight without commercial interruption and then never again.
I remember their very first DJ. His name is Ricky Ware from Texas. They used to have their shows originate from the Shelbyville Road Ranch House and that was the first Ranch House in the area. I remember that Mr. Ware advocated nominating Senator Lyndon Johnson from Texas for President! I wish the new station good luck. Paul McLean Jeffersonville, IN
We appreciate Paul's e-mail. However, I don't think Beecher Frank and Paul Cowley were on WAKY, but on WKLO. Beecher did do a WGRC show I hear, but wasn't part of 790 when it became WAKY. Of course, Bill Bailey was on both WAKY and WKLO.
Paul further clouds the issue of which song WAKY-FM played when it made the flip from WGRC. Legend says it was "The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley but more than once I've heard it was "The Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor" by Joe South. The former debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on 6/2/58 while the later first charted on 7/28/58, several days after WAKY's sign-on date -- but the record could have still been available.
And was it 24 hours or longer?
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Post by John Quincy on Oct 10, 2008 12:12:57 GMT -5
This came in from Joe Londerlee on October 10, 2008:
Hi John,
I grew up in Louisville (highlands) in the '60s and went to Atherton. I remember back then all of us had our ears to our little AM radios all tuned to WAKY (the Weird Beard, Chicken Man, etc.) Reading your web site sure brought back great memories.
The highlight of the year back then was spending each and every summer day at Lakeside. I remember you could walk around the whole area and hear nothing but the dozens of radios, all tuned to WAKY.
Now I live not far from you in Manning, SC. I miss Louisville, but love here in SC even more. Oh, I love WTMA too!
Great Website.
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Post by bruiser on Oct 10, 2008 14:52:43 GMT -5
He must have not listened to WAKY all of the time. Chickenman was on the competition. LOL
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Post by Travis on Oct 12, 2008 16:57:13 GMT -5
Let's admit it, we all jumped back & forth between WAKY and WKLO back in the day. I was quite devoted to WAKY when I was listening at home, but it was all too easy to press those preset buttons on the car radio whenever I was out & about.
During one particular summer, the girl next door would sit up late with me on the front porch and insist on listening to Big Joe London (burning the midnight oil) on WKLO while I insisted that we listen to Mace in Your Face (Mason Lee Dixon) on WAKY. We compromised on alternating between the two (Mason one night, Joe the next, etc.) with one exception: we never missed the Mason Dixon Line (phone-in talk show on WAKY) which aired either at 2 or 3 AM at the time. I was often a participant on the show and can even be heard on the final one which aired way back in 1972 and can be heard on this site.
Anyway, I developed a great appreciation for Big Joe London, just from hearing him on those nights, and others from my "preset" button pushing in the car. WAKY and WKLO were two great radio stations that kept each other in check (something which is sorely missing these days) but WAKY's unique call letters with their vowel and consonant placement gave the letters the look of a word and that, alone, is just one factor in why so many will remember WAKY over WKLO.
There's also a bit of an identity issue because several jocks worked for both WAKY and WKLO at one time or another. This is especially true with Bill Bailey who had quite a following on both stations. Listeners will recall hearing something Bill did or said on WAKY when, in fact, he had actually did or said it on WKLO. It's all rather confusing, but it was all certainly WAKY.
Or was it... WKLO?
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Post by John Quincy on Oct 21, 2008 16:31:13 GMT -5
This came to us on October 21, 2008:
Hi! Jim Phillips from Kingsport, Tennessee here. Saw your site and "loved it' -- brought back a lot of teenage memories in Central Kentucky from where I came.
I wanted to ask a "dumb" question -- one that is driving me crazy!
I attended UK in the early 70s and drove in about an hour or so each morning to summer school during the week in 1970. Bill Bailey was all the rage. (I have still never heard another “talking” DJ that fit the rock format better.)
Early each morning during my drive -- and I was often on the road before 7am, Bailey was on and was always goofing off with the news guy (Reed Yadon, I believe, who was a great straight man) and about that time Bailey would always play a country tune by Charlie Pride -- I mean loud and every morning -- which kind of woke me up and I always thought it funny to do on a rock show. I actually got to where I looked forward to it! I believe Bailey would also do some hooping and hollering in the background as well.
QUESTION: Could you PLEASE tell me the name of the Charley Pride song that he played each morning? This has been driving me nuts as I cannot seem to remember the name of the tune!
PS: THANKS AGAIN FOR THE GREAT SITE AND MEMORIES! The WAKY DJs (especially Bailey) were truly unique and knew how to balance the talk with the music so that you didn’t get too much talk. Sadly these days such formats are too much talk, not enough music and of course rock is nearly dead as well -- but I digress, another story for another day!
I'm guessing the Charley Pride tune was "Kiss An Angel Good Morning." Correct?
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Post by bruiser on Oct 21, 2008 19:35:58 GMT -5
I'm with JQ. I'd also say "Kiss An Angel Good Morning". That was a million seller for Charlie. My other candidate would be "Is Anybody Going To San Antone".
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Post by John Quincy on Dec 15, 2008 8:43:58 GMT -5
We received this from Ken Koeltz on December 11, 2008:
Is there a copy of the parody song "Where Were You When The Sewers Blew?" that WAKY did after the Ralston Purina sewer explosions? Please put it on the website, if possible.
We'd love to post it if we had it. If anybody has a copy, please contact us. Thanks!
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Post by bruiser on Dec 18, 2008 13:18:14 GMT -5
IIRC, that was Big Bill Johnson with the sewer song.
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Post by John Quincy on Mar 31, 2009 18:08:58 GMT -5
This came in on March 31, 2009:
Hello! Just wanted to drop you a line and tell you that the website is awesome! I listened to Gary Burbank for about 10 years until he retired, and it is great to hear some of his early work. I have one request for you though; I was wondering if you could repost the series of clips you had of, I believe, WAKY broadcasting during the Super Outbreak of 1974? I was born in July of that year and found those clips interesting. Keep up the good work! Brad Boehringer A 79waky.com fan
Unfortunately we don't have the requested clips. Anybody have the airchecks Brad wrote about?
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Post by bruiser on Apr 1, 2009 16:26:14 GMT -5
He couldn't be talking about the WHAS stuff, could he?
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Post by John Quincy on Jul 11, 2009 20:08:43 GMT -5
This was received on July 9, 2009:
I am a native of Evansville, IN. I was born in 1952 and left there for good in 1973 after graduating from college.
Even though we were near the fringe of the WAKY signal, it did not come in too badly on a good car radio (in the daytime).
Once I started really getting into top 40 in around 1966 I heard WAKY for the first time and it felt so "big-time!" Soon, I could not stand the local top 40s WJPS and WROZ and was constantly switching my friends' radios over to the Big 79/fun-lovin' WAKY hoping for a decent signal and not too many overhead power lines!
Obviously, I listened to the Big 79 during some of its finest years, like 1966 - 1974, and will never forget them: Mason Lee, Johnny, Gary Burbank, Skinny Bobby Harper, Bill Bailey, and at least the beginning of the Weird Beard show in the evenings. I would always hear songs on WAKY they either did not play on the locals or WAKY got them way before, and I couldn't wait to "turn on" my friends to them too.
Listen: I wanted to mention, you asked for information on a "Mark Clark" -- I actually remember a DJ by that name on Evansville's WROZ in the mid-1960's and wonder if "Lonseome Larry" Aiken may have had somethng to do with luring him over to Evansville with him? You may find out somethng if you check with Larry Aiken.
Thanks for a fabulous web site and memories.
Chip Gregory Strategic Planning
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Post by John Quincy on Nov 4, 2009 15:42:36 GMT -5
Bob Ritter e-mailed us this on November 4, 2009:
This is an absolutely wonderful website. This is Bob Ritter and I was a traffic reporter on WAKY and WVEZ from 1985-1986. I was there when the format changed and WAKY as we knew it shut down.
This was my first radio job and it was part time, as my full time job was as a cop with the Jefferson County Police Department. I was just a stiff with no experience and had the biggest case of “mike fright” on my very first day on the air, and with the help of the legendary Bill Bailey got through it and very much enjoyed my stint at WAKY.
The next year, in 1987, I was hired by Coyote Calhoun as a traffic reporter at WAMZ and had a nice 17 year run, having left there in 2004.
I’ll never forget my formative years at WAKY and all the great people with whom I worked. I reconnected with many of them at Clear Channel during my time at WAMZ. Joe Elliott, Mark Stahr, Stan Cook, Scott Goettel, and Dave Lee were some of the great people that I was fortunate enough to work with at both WAKY and Clear Channel.
As a result of the radio work, I was even hired by WHAS-TV as a traffic reporter, and was with them from 1989-1999. The other traffic reporters who made the transition with me from WAKY to WAMZ and WHAS-TV were Roy Raines, Gary Fields, and Don Dunlap. We had a blast working in the radio business and learned a little bit along the way.
I’ll certainly never forget the fun and excitement of being on the air at WAKY and how it set me up for what was to come down the road at WAMZ.
When I was just a young kid, maybe 4 or 5 years old, Jumpin Jack Sanders lived down the street from me, and I remember all the neighbors talking about how neat that it was to have somebody of that stature in the neighborhood. Conversely, whenever I moved someplace, it was always “there goes the neighborhood”, lol.
I last visited Bill Bailey in a medical facility about 3 or 4 years ago and he still has that keen wit and is still sharp as a tack.
I can’t begin to explain how much of an honor it was for me to have been a part of that great radio station, having idolized the great personalities through the years. Again, a hearty “thank you” for this great website!!!!!
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Post by John Quincy on Oct 21, 2010 3:04:31 GMT -5
This came to us on October 20, 2010:
My name is Renee DeYoung. "Jack Sanders" was my Uncle Jimmy. My mother was his younger sister. She absolutely ADORED her next-oldest brother. I remember him calling her at 2:00 in the morning; she didn't care! She loved her "big brother" so much, she was happy to hear from him at any time, day or night!
I remember Feb '79. I was in the 7th grade. My father got me out of school so we could attend my uncle's funeral. We flew to Nashville the next day. Mom wouldn't let me visit him in the hospital cuz he was " too bad" for us to see (cirrhosis of the liver.). I also remember the indoor pool being "trashed" cuz my cuz had a party!
And I remember meeting Aunt Carole. I remember meeting my cousin for the first time (U J's son). We all had a close bond, in that moment. Then it was lost....this day, I wonder where he is and what he's doing...
I'm SO happy there is a tribute to my Uncle Jimmy! It's so nice to see old family photos (in fact, I have the "sun" pic of him, to this day! WILD!).
Thank you for your tribute to my mother's very special, FAVORITE brother. It has literally moved and brought tears to my eyes...in a good way.
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Post by John Quincy on Jun 11, 2011 13:11:35 GMT -5
Joe Jecker sent us this on June 9, 2011:
I remember WAKY’s first birthday party at the Indian Trail Shopping Center, during the summer of 59. There were some stars, but I was so small, I don’t remember them. Does anyone else remember this? How about the "Be True To Your School" contest, or DJ Donkey Basketball? Perhaps,”Who’s Your Favorite Beatle” contest?
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Post by John Quincy on Aug 14, 2012 16:03:09 GMT -5
We received this on August 11, 2012:
WAKY used to play a special version of the song "Draggin' The Line" and then it added the "79" in it. Can you tell me who added the 79 to the song?
Thanks so much, Jeff Slyn in Louisville
We asked Johnny Randolph and he said it was Gary Burbank.
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Post by wildwilliebillie on May 30, 2014 14:31:19 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 wildwilliebillie on May 30, 2014 14:32:44 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 wildwilliebillie on May 30, 2014 14:40:29 GMT -5
Hi, i am wild willie Billy's son. He pasted away from a heart attack a few years back. He loved wtmt and country music period. I believe it was him on the other station, but can't be sure. He worked at several radio stations around the area. I appreciate that you remember him! I do remember all the other DJs that worked there. My dad wore a I hate bill bailey hat to the station one time, and bill told him that it was about time someone wasn't kissing I disagree!
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