Tom Prestigiacomo

[dude walker]

Tom prestigiacomo won a contest on my show to have 15 minutes on the air. He took that 15 minutes of fame and made it a lifetime of fame. He became a dj on WAKY and from there came to Memphis to FM 100. He has become a great dj here and is highly regarded and respected in this community. Congratulations Tom on the outstanding job you have done in Louisville and in Memphis. Not only that but you are a truly good person as well.

[Travis]

I had a few phone conversations with Tom, after he had become a WAKY DJ, and agree with Dude Walker about the kind of person he was then and have no problem believing that he's still that way to this day. Tom's story of how he became a WAKY DJ is one of the more interesting facts on this site. Considering that the average tune was around 3 minutes in length (plus or minus) in those days, that 15 minutes of fame must have passed in the blink of an eye for Tom Prestigiacomo. What a story.

To Dude Walker: I hope you're continuing to do well. I have this board set to show eastern daylight savings time when I'm logged in (that's key) and couldn't help but notice that you made your post on Tom at around 2 AM in the morning. Hopefully, you're just keeping late hours and not having trouble sleeping. I awoke around 4:30 AM, myself (for some reason) and found myself looking in on the 79WAKY site. So, if my post shows a late timestamp, that's the reason why. Take care.

[dude walker]

Travis, thanks for replying to my post. I love reading the things you come up with. You definately have a handle on things that happened at WAKY. Tom is one of the nicest people I have ever met. You are right. Fifteen minutes goes by quickly but I think he was nervous enough that it seemed like an hour. It was a great experience for him and he has turned into a lifetime occupation. As for my staying up late, I am on central daylight time. I am doing much better butfor for some reason just couldn't get to sleep last night. I have been meaning to write about Tom for some time and thought last night was as good as any. Thanks again for all the nice things you have said in the past and the good wishes when I had my operation. I hope to read many more of your posts. Thank you very much. Dude

[Tom Prestigiacomo]

John W. "Dude" Walker, you are a gentleman and Travis, thanks for your kind words.

I am proud to say, I helped the Dude, help St. Jude back in 1969, taking money from passing cars on Fourth Street... I can't tell you how many cups of coffee I ran to get from the White Swan or how many phone calls I screened for the Mason Dixon line but I can tell you how valuable WAKY was in helping me understand what radio was (and still is) all about.

I once told Johnny Randolph that, when I grew up I was going to work at WAKY. His reply: "Jockomo, you can't do both."

That little 15 minute show you produced with me in October, 1971 really did start everything. The first song I ever played on the radio was "Grazin' in the Grass" by the Friends of Distinction... I used the show as an aircheck, when Mark, "The Spark" Anderson hired me to ride WTMT into the sunset in Spring, 1976 (to this day, he is the only PD I had who put his gun on his desk when he sat down for an aircheck session). As everyone knows the last guy on the air at AM 620 had to make darn sure that Thom Hall got those race results on as soon as they crossed the wire. Can't tell you how many times we faded out a song to get the 9th at Santa Anita on the air before sign off.

Thanks to Gary Guthrie, I made it to WAKY in the spring of 1978, and was there when Mike McVay unwrapped the Summer of 79. But I didn't make it all the way through: in September of that year, Gary Guthrie and GM Don Meyers hired me to work for WMC-FM (99.7, if you're passing through), in Memphis. This September will be my 26th year taking people home. Our website is www.fm100memphis.com

I promised John Quincy I'd send in all my old tapes and, an interview with Don Meyers, (a.k.a. on Bailey's show as Donald W. Duck) he's here in Memphis, consulting radio stations when he's not working on his golf game. He promised to sit down with me in the production studio and talk about his decade + at WAKY.

You were right, Dude. That little show was the longest fifteen minutes of my life, but it was the key that opened the door to everything I am today. Thanks to ALL of you (and you know who you are) for believing in me way back then.

Sincerely,

Tom Prestigiacomo

p.s. Please tell me you bet that horse in the Derby!!!!

[Travis]

Hi Tom. It's about time you looked in on this site, what with all the nice things that we're trying to think up to say about you. If you get around to submitting any airchecks I hope you'll include the 15 minutes of fame that you won on WAKY. That would be a real gem.

Believe it or not, I did think of you when Giacomo won the Kentucky Derby. An exchange with Dude Walker (in this very thread) got me curious in listening to what little does exist of you on this site. The dates of our posts (above) will show that they were written on Derby Day. It's even possible that Giacomo got Dude Walker thinking of you and resulted in his writing that first post in the early hours of Derby Day morning.

By the way, I should have went with my instincts and bet that horse. As it is, it's Thursday afternoon as I write and I'm still waiting for my horse to cross the finish line in the Kentucky Derby. I was just never that good with the horses. Take care.

[bruiser]

Hey, I thought the folks at WAKY got their coffee and "other stuff" and the Elbow Room!!! ;D

Speaking of WTMT, that always bugged me about the horse racing results. I wondered who the bookie was at the station. And, they had the nerve to call horse racing results "Sports News". "Here's the latest sports news, call to the post at Santa Anita in thirty seconds". Who was the guy who owned the station? E. J. something?

[RJC]

bruiser said:

Speaking of WTMT, that always bugged me about the horse racing results. I wondered who the bookie was at the station. And, they had the nerve to call horse racing results "Sports News". "Here's the latest sports news, call to the post at Santa Anita in thirty seconds". Who was the guy who owned the station? E. J. something?

Just curious, does WTMT now run their horse racing results in spanish? ;D