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Jackson Market's Best of all Time?

Johnny Sommers was PD at ZZQ in the mid 70's, then left for Buffalo, NY.

BG3B... Dudley Evans was a news guy at WRBC back in Walt's day. Again, you were one of the guys I looked up to and tried to emulate. I thank you for talking me up to Bob Burton back when. Just getting to work at JDX was way beyond my wildest dreams or goals at that time. Shoot, if someone could put on that kind of station now, I would drop everything and go work for them all over again!

I was afraid when I posted that Rodney R was an afternoon jock. I guess most of what I have heard of him was via aircheck.
 
robgrayson said:
Johnny Sommers was PD at ZZQ in the mid 70's, then left for Buffalo, NY.

BG3B... Dudley Evans was a news guy at WRBC back in Walt's day. Again, you were one of the guys I looked up to and tried to emulate. I thank you for talking me up to Bob Burton back when. Just getting to work at JDX was way beyond my wildest dreams or goals at that time.
Click to expand...
It's really hard to describe for those not around Jackson radio in the late 60's-late 70's the talent level we were exposed to,Rob. What strikes me is the young ages. We had teenagers and guys barely in their 20's that moved on to some major markets(and tho I never had the pleasure of meeting him, I think Mr. Beachguy there would've beem a helluva midday jock on JDX!). I was honored to wander across hall from JDX to hobnob with Perez and the guys at ZZQ,too. There were a lot of big time jocks that didn't get that chance.
 
I am new to this forum and will post my opinion for what its worth;

Mornings-Burt & Kurt, even though Burt was a snob when I first applied at JDX.
Midday-Dave Kimbrough aka Roscoe
Afternoon-Sergio, WZZQ
Nights-Lee Adams, JDX and then Tyx, tight, tight board
Overnights-Perez, WZZQ, never knew what he was going to do next

Best Voice-Bob Rall

Best to work for-Dave Perkins
 
tzbarber said:
It's really hard to describe for those not around Jackson radio in the late 60's-late 70's the talent level we were exposed to,Rob. What strikes me is the young ages. We had teenagers and guys barely in their 20's that moved on to some major markets(and tho I never had the pleasure of meeting him, I think Mr. Beachguy there would've beem a helluva midday jock on JDX!). I was honored to wander across hall from JDX to hobnob with Perez and the guys at ZZQ,too. There were a lot of big time jocks that didn't get that chance.
Click to expand...
By the way, I did do middays on JDX, but it was when Ronnie Grantham was PD. When Burton came in, he said he wanted more teens at night. On an A/C. With NBC hourly news and local news every hour at the top.

I brought teens up over 10 points in one book, 2 points behind WRBC and ahead of ZZQ.

We had a good staff at JDX, but the best was the Tanner staff before I was there. Sorry, but Burton and company never held a candle to the Tanner morning show, Tanner's staff, including guys who went on to HUGE success like Jay Marks, or Dave Dunaway, Kramer Haas, and others... well, JDX in those days sounded like a MUCH bigger market station. Nothing in New Orleans at the time was nearly as good, and other than HBQ, they were better than what was on in Memphis as well. I have a composite I listen to when I find it that was from 1971/1972, and I am still blown away by how good the station was.

This composite from Rob's site on Reelradio.com gives a hint, but it was after Jay left. Unfortunately, you have to be a paying member to listen, so I can't bask in memories because I don't pay for websites.

http://www.reelradio.com/ram/beg2.ram?wjdxcomp73.rm~0:00.0~14:26.1
 
Maybe this is not a politically correct category, but what the heck, new decade, new rules! Best Jackson on-air female(s).

Over the years there have been quite a few. . .wish I could remember their names (they hardly ever said their last name). Wendy. Sally (Rally). Vickie. Aside from the national shows, Delilah, Tiana, Adrianne, seems like Jackson had (and has) a good number of females announcers. As they love to say. . . voting lines are now open! HNY!!
 
Carol Taylor- Miss 103, not only a good on air personality but a nice person, of course I didn't know her that well. I was working at WCCL nights and called her to see if there were any openings at JDX. A couple of days later I talked to Dave Perkins and was hired to do weekends. She was nice to me and I think she put in a good word for me with Dave.

Another would be Sarah [forgot her last name]. I worked with her at WHNY and she later was in the JXN market, somewhere.
 
> Another would be Sarah [forgot her last name].

Kimmel. She worked at Majic 107 for quite some time, as well as 98.7, and perhaps other stations.

DE
 
IMHO "Katfish" never pulled off the image/positioning of the station. Meant to protect the cluster from an attack on Miss103, it just seemed to bottom feed. Oh, maybe that was within the positioning plan for the station. 95.5 has been a dominant frequency only twice...WLIN and WHLH. Hot95 never got off the ground, either...nor did B95.
I think had Kirby Confer still been around, "Katfish" would have been pretty good.
Alfter all, any body that does the "Maine Moose" in Augusta ME and names his morning guy "Rocky Coast" has some flair.
 
The problem, as I experienced it with Katfish, was when the initial plan of the company to supplement Miss 103's share by going after a younger audience with another station, was apparently changed. It was almost as if someone was scared that Katfish was taking market share from "the mother ship". There were times when clients told me that Miss 103 management had discouraged them from advertising on Katfish, when the ad dollars went into the same pot. The Young Country format of Katfish, targeted to men 18-34, and Miss 103's 25-54, was to corner the country audience,but it came too competitive in the same building for sales and programming, it seems. In the beginning,though,it was a fun experiment. "If it ain't Katfish,throw it back!"
 
I had totally forgotten that there had been a Hot 95 or Katfish. What I do remember is that there was Hot 98(?) and a few weeks later there was Hot 95. . . . duh! What I recall about Katfish was their cute Katfish logo. . . .under Jackson’s best of, let’s make it official . . . "in the category of mascot/cartoon logo, lets open the sealed envelope. . . the academy selects . . Katfish!"
 
OldGM said:
IMHO "Katfish" never pulled off the image/positioning of the station. Meant to protect the cluster from an attack on Miss103, it just seemed to bottom feed. Oh, maybe that was within the positioning plan for the station. 95.5 has been a dominant frequency only twice...WLIN and WHLH. Hot95 never got off the ground, either...nor did B95.
I think had Kirby Confer still been around, "Katfish" would have been pretty good.
Alfter all, any body that does the "Maine Moose" in Augusta ME and names his morning guy "Rocky Coast" has some flair.

Pun intended?
Click to expand...
 
Hot 95 tried the the "churban" thing...trying to attract a 50 - 50 black/white following. Like the Jammin Oldies thing...ain't gonna work. Not with the excellent urban stations in the market. Hasn't worked since the AM days in Jackson. The boys from Baton Rouge did as well with that as LSU did this weekend.
 
Ok, I'm in...

Morning Show.... Tanner and Reihle, WJDX (Honorable Mention Burt & Kurt, WJDX)
Midday Jock.... Cramer Haas, WJDX
Afternoon Drive... Harry Nelson, WRBC
Evenings... Dennis John Bailey, WJDX
Overnights... Perez, WZZQ
News... Howard Lett, WJDX
Program Director... Bill Tanner, WJDX
GM... Marshall Magee, WJDX-WZZQ (He later changed it to MISS 103. Marshall told me that the ownership wanted to name it PEARL 103. He talked them out of it in favor of MISS 103. THANK GOD!)
Production... Gene Wooten (Later spent 17 years as Production Director at WPLJ in New York)
Best Jackson Station of All Time... Hands down 62-JDX (Honorable Mention 13-WRBC, 16 W ONE & The Legendary ZZQ!!)
 
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