> Sitting here in the Tri-cities rummaging thru old Knoxville
> air checks and came across an all but forgotten
> one....15Q.Does anyone else remember that fabulous station
> with George Patrick Dooley,Rockin Ron Baptist,Suitcase
> Simpson,and even Bob Kaghan(yes his first appearance in
> Knoxville)....What a staff and what a sound. Too bad it was
> a 1Kw daytimer with .25Kw at night...Anyone else remember
> it?
>
I am Suitcase Simpson, and yes, it was a helluva staff. Almost all the other things said were also true except one - it didn't die because of WRJZ. The owners simply ran out of money and went back to doing what they did best - paid religious programming (WRJZ appeared right after, though, and they were also terrific for the era). There was almost no money coming in to the Q. Salaries were by far the best in Knoxville, but the signal faded in Bearden. Eddie Beacon was the Swangin' Deacon, but 15Q was The Swangin' Door. In addition to Dooley, Baptiste and myself, Boo Barron, Eddie Beacon, Charlie Fox (Blake Lawrence), Shotgun Kelly (one of the clones), Kid Curry, the late Birdman Bill Thomas, China Smith (Greg Barman), Scott Sams, Mike Beach and a host of others whose names don't immediately come to mind also bounced through. Every couple of weeks someone would leave - after all, we had great audition tapes! It should also be noted that Pete Michaels of local traffic reporting fame did the all-night show as Dr. Boogie. In AM Drive, he did his first traffic reporting from the 15Q production room. Pete would listen to Wayne Bell's helicopter reports on WIVK, jot down the info, then beat on his chest for that "copter" voice effect.The promotions were incredible for the time period. My favorite was when, without warning, the mysterious Q Millionaire (Eddie Beacon in a tux) dropped cash from atop the ferris wheel during the Fair and almost caused a riot. I have several 15Q airchecks and would love others. It was short and sweet and the most fun I've ever had in radio.