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62JDX Mass Exodus

ronniev said:
Hey JohnnyV; Tell us what was behind the mass exodus at 62jdx that you referenced in an earlier post.
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It was January 1974. Bill Tanner pulled an on-air stunt on his morning show saying he had been fired. I'm not sure what his reason was, but the owners at Lamar Life didn't find it funny and as soon as he got off the air, they fired him for real. After pleading/arguing his case they stuck with their decision and Tanner, who commanded an enormous amount of loyalty from his staff, rallied the entire staff to walk out saying he'd take care of them and bring them along where ever he went. So, the entire WJDX air staff walked. I was PD of WZZQ and I made a very personally difficult decision not to go with them, and went on the air on WJDX along with Freddie (Lamar) Evans, and I can't remember who else to cover as many shifts as we could. I was named interim PD and within a couple of days we brought Bill Emerson over from WRBC to do mornings, Jim Chick (who came to ask for his job back) went back on middays, I did afternoon drive and, I believe, the next guy I hired was Ray Zoller from the coast to do nights & Gary Phillips was on overnights. I had new Johnny Mann jingles cut with new Jock Logos & a Shotgun Jingle and put on the old tried and true "cash call" contest and we were on our way. We continued like this through the spring Pulse ratings and the numbers actually went up.

It was one of those "moments" that was both exhilerating and maddening. It solidified my loyalty to Lamar Life who backed me when I wanted to make the changes to WZZQ that took it from the free-form format it had sustained since 1968 to the 'ZZQ everybody remembers. I believe it also permanently destroyed a longtime friendship with Bill Tanner whom I had known since 1961, even though we did work together again at Y-100 in Miami. To this day I don't think he ever forgave me, but sometimes you just have to do what is right for yourself and I felt I had to "take a shot" at something that seemed out of reach. We pulled it off and within a year I was back at WZZQ.
 
flytrap said:
So whatever became of the people that left?
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Well, that's interesting. Only Cramer Haas & Tanner's newsman/sidekick Jim Reihle ended up at Y-100. Bill Crews spent a very short time down there before coming back to Natchez. J. Mark Shands became music director there. Christopher Stone went off to Baton Rouge or someplace. I think he has since passed away. When the dust had settled, I think only 2 or 3 people actually left 'JDX, but it seemed like a much bigger deal when it first happened. I stayed on at WZZQ till July 1977, and in August 1980 Tanner brought me down from Buffalo. In Feb 1982 I was transferred up to Tampa to take over the Metroplex station here. That turned out to be a very bad scene very quickly, but I continued to work in Tampa until 1998. No more radio for me, I've "gone Postal."
 
JeffJasper said:
johnnyv said:
Only Cramer Haas & Tanner's newsman/sidekick Jim Reihle ended up at Y-100.
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Unless I'm mistaken, didn't Rodney W. Randall (Jay Marks) tag along to Y-100 at that time?
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Yes, I just looked at that Y-100 site and I believe the other jocks that ended up there had left JDX prior to the walkout and were hired from other places to come to Miami. The only one I can't remember for sure was Dave Dunaway. I remember him being at WJDX, but can't remember if he was part of the walkout or not. I pretty sure Rod Randall had left JDX to go to KULF in Houston. Reihle actually stayed at WJDX initially and then Tanner brought him in when he became PD and took over AM drive.
 
I was at a station in N. Ms when this happened, story ended up on the wire,
and Tanner went on APT-Tv 16 with that Cal guy, Bizarre! What ever life
insurance company it was, got Very upset, Very quick.

Dunaway walked out with others, went to Knus, Dallas then to Miami...
 
I remember it being a big deal at the time. Seems like Sebastian was one of the other FM jocks pressed into JDX duty. Wasn't Ronnie Grant (the Y-100 PD who was replaced by John Rook) Ronnie Grantham who became PD at JDX before Bob Burton?
 
Air staff at time of walk out was:

Tanner/Rheile,then Dave Dunaway, followed by Cramer Haas, then
Chris Stone-Pm Drive, followed by Jim Chick, then Mark-n-Dark Shands.
(Loved it when he would say "Wolfman!"), Thought Brian Harrigan was there
or doing weekends, he might have been on an earlier crew.
News Team:
Rheile, Howard Lett, Randy Bell, and Freddie Evans (heard from him once that)
(the day it happened, he got thrown in control to run the board when Jocks)
(and Bosses were meeting in center studio. He could have taped or put the)
(whole thing on live).

Leave anybody out?

Heard whole crew on an American Airchecks somewhere.
 
If you want to hear the blast from the past... the station composite is on my collection page at www.reelradio.com.
 
Thanks RG
WJDX Personalities: 1973
6am to 9am: Tanner and Riehle
9am to Noon: Dave Dunaway
Noon to 3PM: Cramer Haas
3PM to 6PM: Christopher Stone
6PM to 9PM: Bill Crews
9PM to Mid: J. Mark Shands
Mid to 6AM: Jim Chick
 
robgrayson said:
Wasn't Ronnie Grant (the Y-100 PD who was replaced by John Rook) Ronnie Grantham who became PD at JDX before Bob Burton?
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Yes, Grant and Grantham are one in the same. When I was in NYC some people in the business asked me where I had worked. When I said "Mississippi", more than one person would ask " you know Ronnie Grant"?. Dude must have left an impression during his time at WWDJ.
 
I recall asking Bill Crews about why he came back to JDX after going to Y-100. Bill didn't care for the "high energy" style of delivery at Y-100. He said it made him feel like a carnival barker.
 
robgrayson said:
I remember it being a big deal at the time. Seems like Sebastian was one of the other FM jocks pressed into JDX duty. Wasn't Ronnie Grant (the Y-100 PD who was replaced by John Rook) Ronnie Grantham who became PD at JDX before Bob Burton?
Click to expand...
You're right. Thanks for the reminder. Sebastian (Curtis Jones) did do some fill in initially. I wish I knew where he was now. He came to me for a job at JDX-FM from WQBC in Vicksburg (don't remember where he's from originally). Then left ZZQ to become a record promo guy in Atlanta. When I got to Miami in the summer of 1980 he was the local Warner Bros. promo guy. Think he ended up back in the Atlanta area doing radio sales, and I've lost track of him since then.

Ronnie Grant (Ron Grantham) had been at WRBC back in the mid '60's & was at Y-100 in it's earliest days. We used to have an old aircheck of him giving away $50,000 to an old lady named Mrs. Bray who answered her phone with the "phrase that pays." That phrase was "I listen to the new sound of Y-100." It was hysterical listening to him trying to get this old lady pumped up with some excitement on the phone bit. It was ironic that he came to JDX from Y-100 & Tanner went to Y-100 from JDX. That's when I went back to ZZQ. Sadly, Ronnie went through some personal hard times after leaving JDX. Got into a bad car accident and never quite recovered from it. Lived with a lot of pain until he couldn't take it anymore and he took his own life.

I also need to mention that Dave Dunaway spent a brief period as PD & afternoon jock at Mix/96. He came in as in-house PD after Dave Perkins stepped down from the day to day grind. In fact Mix/96 enjoyed its best ratings while he was there. Pulled a 12 share which was damn good.
 
Not sure how much he actually drank. Always made a fresh pot(want so badly to make a pun there,but that's later). Seems we'd find full cold cups of coffee in odd places where he'd forget where he put them down. He'd just make more!
 
All these old JDX guys ought to get together for a reunion. WABC New York, and WLS in Chicago sometimes does one on holiday weekends. Of couse WJDX is now all sports and Clear Channel so they probally wouldn't allow it. I don't know if the sports fans would appreciate it, but I would sure listen. I grew up on JDX and I'd love to hear some fast talking DJ's and some great old 62JDX jingles, if they still exist. They once did a WZZQ reunion a good many years ago, but not on 102.9, They did it on Z106. I think "Buffalo" Chip Matthews was responsible. I used to have some of it on tape. BTW, whatever happened to Chip Matthews? He went over to 98.7 when it was rock and after they changed formats he went to WOKJ (also playing rock) for a while before the station went silent. Haven't heard him since.
 
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