F
First-time-long-time
Guest
For Bob OTJ, Chief and other long time radio folks:
The fun and unique air personalities of the 50’s and 60’s and to some degree early 70’s on AM cemented my loyalty to radio. I know they were the right people at the right time and that time has long past unfortunately. But, they made a lasting impression on us. As a kid I remember tuning in WIBC’s Bouncin Bill Baker to catch a part of his morning show before grade school. Then Easy Gwynn on WIBC afternoons was turned on in shop class by a teacher who liked him so we all got to listen. I still remember his theme song and laid back banter.
As a teen and young adult, Dick Biondi on WLS at night was punched into my AM car radio. Wonder bar radio! I can’t remember when I started hearing Wolfman Jack, that, I think was broadcast on a Del Rio Texas station with mega watts of power that bounced just about everywhere at night. What a great personality. A lot of the interesting stuff was night time AM radio like John R’s Ernie’s Record Mart at WLAC, just a fun time on radio. KOMA Koma in Oklahoma would sometimes skip in with great top 40 stuff. But that was the AM band that has gone to mostly talk now which is my primary radio listening today. An age thing I guess. I don’t enjoy listening to music on radio anymore because it’s so bland with no personalities to make it interesting.
That kind of enjoyment of personalities and radio probably will never be savored again. But I’m happy to have been there and a part of it. The twenty something agency buyers don’t want us gray haired old guys in their buy. But, didn’t we have fun during the great era of Top 40 personality radio? And so it goes.
The fun and unique air personalities of the 50’s and 60’s and to some degree early 70’s on AM cemented my loyalty to radio. I know they were the right people at the right time and that time has long past unfortunately. But, they made a lasting impression on us. As a kid I remember tuning in WIBC’s Bouncin Bill Baker to catch a part of his morning show before grade school. Then Easy Gwynn on WIBC afternoons was turned on in shop class by a teacher who liked him so we all got to listen. I still remember his theme song and laid back banter.
As a teen and young adult, Dick Biondi on WLS at night was punched into my AM car radio. Wonder bar radio! I can’t remember when I started hearing Wolfman Jack, that, I think was broadcast on a Del Rio Texas station with mega watts of power that bounced just about everywhere at night. What a great personality. A lot of the interesting stuff was night time AM radio like John R’s Ernie’s Record Mart at WLAC, just a fun time on radio. KOMA Koma in Oklahoma would sometimes skip in with great top 40 stuff. But that was the AM band that has gone to mostly talk now which is my primary radio listening today. An age thing I guess. I don’t enjoy listening to music on radio anymore because it’s so bland with no personalities to make it interesting.
That kind of enjoyment of personalities and radio probably will never be savored again. But I’m happy to have been there and a part of it. The twenty something agency buyers don’t want us gray haired old guys in their buy. But, didn’t we have fun during the great era of Top 40 personality radio? And so it goes.