Jerky, I hope you stopped in next door at Al's Half Shell and had a poboy with au jus. or some red beans and rice. (By the way, the WRBC studio was upstairs.)...JBI
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Jackson's old WRBC
- Thread starter Scanman55
- Start date
WRBC/WJMI studios were on North State St. in 1972.
Only now did I realize we were talking about the 70's...Can anybody support the 1964 location as near Al's Downtown for WRBC...This was pre-WJMI when RBC
was just AM. Comments? JBI
was just AM. Comments? JBI
jboydingram said:
I remember those WRBC studios on Lamar St in downtown Jackson. It was right next door to Al's Half-shell. I worked a couple of weekend shifts there in 1966 and always thought it was the benchmark for a well designed control room. It was very advanced for the time with remote starts for everything right under each of the pots. Of course there was the legendary "super" reverb button for emphasis. "Newsbeat '66" was a very involved production intensive news format with dramatic headline teaser intros and little beeps that played throughout the newcast. It all ended with the weather and a countdown to the TIME TONE at the top of the hour where you hit that "super" reverb button with "10 AM!!!"
This was that last era of the old WABC, KILT, WQAM, Good Guys radio. Shortly thereafter they went to acapella jingles, 20/20 news and some attempt at the Drake format.
B
bobrall
Guest
WRBC (Rebel Radio)went "Top 40" in the fall of 1958 from it's location on Lamar Street. The jingle package..."There's Something New Down Here in Jackson." It was the first direct competitor to WJXN (The Colonel's Station). Mike Hunter...Chuck Stewart...Freddie K (Katool)..Gordon Linge'
It took several years, but JXN (250 watts..then 1,000) gave in to WRBC and went country.
Ron Frasier did work at WRBC and WJXN. The last I heard of him was at Majic 107 in Jackson around 1990.
He worked at several larger markets...including Indianapolis...in between Jackson gigs.
WRBC moved to N State in the mid-60s. I was GM at the station in 1969 and 1970 and the building was relatively new then. I put in the TV camera to satisfy the regulation that the operator needed to see the transmitter. When they designed the building, they didn't take that into consideration and had given up their remote authority. It passed FCC inspection.
The transmitter building was first WJDX's when they were at 1300. Percy Root --the chief engineer -- and his large family lived upstairs.
WJMI -- WRBC's sister FM -- was sold by the RBC owners for $90,000 just one year before FM made its initial spash in Jackson.
Film at 11.
bob rall
It took several years, but JXN (250 watts..then 1,000) gave in to WRBC and went country.
Ron Frasier did work at WRBC and WJXN. The last I heard of him was at Majic 107 in Jackson around 1990.
He worked at several larger markets...including Indianapolis...in between Jackson gigs.
WRBC moved to N State in the mid-60s. I was GM at the station in 1969 and 1970 and the building was relatively new then. I put in the TV camera to satisfy the regulation that the operator needed to see the transmitter. When they designed the building, they didn't take that into consideration and had given up their remote authority. It passed FCC inspection.
The transmitter building was first WJDX's when they were at 1300. Percy Root --the chief engineer -- and his large family lived upstairs.
WJMI -- WRBC's sister FM -- was sold by the RBC owners for $90,000 just one year before FM made its initial spash in Jackson.
Film at 11.
bob rall
Hey, Bob....Here the "Bob and Al" Show on radio should be recognized...never heard two guts interact as well...anybody else remember? JBI
Sorry...it should be guys, of course...JBI
B
bobrall
Guest
Thanks for the kind rememberance of Bob and Al. It was my favorite nine years in the business. Trust you are well. Good to hear from you.
I recall Bob and Al quite well. It's been a long time since I saw the name Bob Rall, though.
Bob, wish I'd met you way back when... always heard good things about you.
Bob, wish I'd met you way back when... always heard good things about you.
B
bobrall
Guest
And thank YOU for the kind words. I left Jackson in 1961 and went to WKGN Knoxville, WABB Mobile, WTIX, New Orleans, and KBOX in Dallas. Came back to Jackson to get in the Ms National Guard. A lot of drafting going on...Viet Nam and all. "Bob and Al" was afternoons on WSLI. The first year we did the usual voices, bits, silliness...and tunes. Still an MOR type fare. In about 1973, we brought the music up to a lite AC and added the conversations to the show ("Interviews"). The characters, and bits were still there and we still played three or four songs an hour -- but also had two or three guests an hour for about six minutes each.
The 1900+ guests were an eclectic bunch. Roy Rogers, Mr. Rogers, Captain Kangaroo, Bob Hope, David Brinkley, Tom Snyder, Pat Boone, Charles Schultz, Bill Lear (of jet fame), Jack Paar, Ed McMahon and a woman who lived in a tree in Miami, as I recall. We also phoned events --- Queen Elizabeth on her birthday...got as far as her secretary....The North Carolina Hollarin Contest...The Beaver OK Cow Chip Sling...The USS Arizona Memorial Pearl Harbor...and on and on. I spent about three hours a day scheduling music and booking guests. Al spent a similar amount of time writing bits and researching possible future guests. It was a two and a half hour show...not completely scripted ...but tightly outlined. It took about 5 hours of prep to put it together.
Well, I'm rambling on. Al and I were proud of our work and it is really a good feeling to have someone say nice things after all these years.
I managed four stations over the years...each a ratings and billing success; but, I never got over my love of air work. I do enjoy the Sunday bit I'm doing on Q105...my 50th year on the air.
I'm not old...I started as a very young child.
Thanks for listening...
The 1900+ guests were an eclectic bunch. Roy Rogers, Mr. Rogers, Captain Kangaroo, Bob Hope, David Brinkley, Tom Snyder, Pat Boone, Charles Schultz, Bill Lear (of jet fame), Jack Paar, Ed McMahon and a woman who lived in a tree in Miami, as I recall. We also phoned events --- Queen Elizabeth on her birthday...got as far as her secretary....The North Carolina Hollarin Contest...The Beaver OK Cow Chip Sling...The USS Arizona Memorial Pearl Harbor...and on and on. I spent about three hours a day scheduling music and booking guests. Al spent a similar amount of time writing bits and researching possible future guests. It was a two and a half hour show...not completely scripted ...but tightly outlined. It took about 5 hours of prep to put it together.
Well, I'm rambling on. Al and I were proud of our work and it is really a good feeling to have someone say nice things after all these years.
I managed four stations over the years...each a ratings and billing success; but, I never got over my love of air work. I do enjoy the Sunday bit I'm doing on Q105...my 50th year on the air.
I'm not old...I started as a very young child.
Thanks for listening...
The Bob and Al line that's stuck in my memory all these years was something to the effect of, "And remember folks, keep those cards and letters!"
As more and more legendary folks pop on line here, I remain in awe of the talent they represented, the achievements they accomplished, and add (thanks SNL) "I'm Not Wooorrrthhhyyyy!"
As more and more legendary folks pop on line here, I remain in awe of the talent they represented, the achievements they accomplished, and add (thanks SNL) "I'm Not Wooorrrthhhyyyy!"
Notice the "five hours of prep time" mention. These days,do we have people willing to put forth that kind of effort each day? Those who complain about the decline of the business, please remember that creativity and dedication goes a long way. (And some of us don't even have to be at the office at 8AM to be working!)
I feel stunned running into some of you on here. It has over 40 years since I have even thought about some of the things that went on in those days. Talk about digging up some memories... Wow. I left a post on the WJDX / WRBC Topic last night. I found some pictures and will post on a server later. Gotta run..
B
bobrall
Guest
We put the TV in to meet the regulation that the operator had to be able to see the transmitter.robgrayson said:
The meters he had to see all the time...modulation and frquencey deviation monitors were in the control room
He went back to the transmitter to take the actual readings plate voltage, current, etc.. every thrity minutes.
The station has a relatively poor ground system with that tall quarter wave self supporting tower...the sky wave
went nuts at night. I picked up in all parts of Tennessee and Kentucky, when west of WMAK 1300 in Nshville.
The frequency was fairly clean and we were the non-directional regional station Nashville and Baton Rouge
protected us so we got a lot of mileage out the 1KW at night. Didn't have to kick it to five.
When I was living in St. Louis, there was a corner in one of the suburbs that I could pick up 1300 every night. I was reliable as clockwork. Always amazed me.
Thanks for the clarification, Bob. I recall (now there could be the problem) some station being fined for such a setup, but obviously not the big 13.
I remember WRBC quite well. I worked at the competition, WJXN, the first week they went country after giving in to WRBC. Me becoming a country DJ was not planned. The station switched format without notice on a Monday morning and fired all the old staff (on-air, sales and even the receptionist). But they forgot to fire me. They made me come up with a country name and I am embarrased to say it but I was known as Swampwater Henry. Roy Harris and all the Harris brothers were hired that morning to run the station.
WRBC was located on Lamar Street in those days and Herb Guthrie was the G.M. He later left and started his own station, WELZ, in Belzoni, MS.
I ended up in the Navy for 4 years and then came back to Jackson and started the Mississippi Radio Network (the "first" MRN). In less than a year we sold it to a group in Dallas and it became IBC-Mississippi. Then they folded. Then I restarted the Mississippi Radio News Network (the "second" MRN) and based it at the new FM just starting up by Alex Bowab, WKXI.
Back to WRBC, shortly after WJXN switched format, a group from Baton Rouge put WWUN on the air so Jackson once again had 2 rock and roll stations. The old WJXN oldies collection ended up at WWUN thanks to someone I know: me.
WRBC was located on Lamar Street in those days and Herb Guthrie was the G.M. He later left and started his own station, WELZ, in Belzoni, MS.
I ended up in the Navy for 4 years and then came back to Jackson and started the Mississippi Radio Network (the "first" MRN). In less than a year we sold it to a group in Dallas and it became IBC-Mississippi. Then they folded. Then I restarted the Mississippi Radio News Network (the "second" MRN) and based it at the new FM just starting up by Alex Bowab, WKXI.
Back to WRBC, shortly after WJXN switched format, a group from Baton Rouge put WWUN on the air so Jackson once again had 2 rock and roll stations. The old WJXN oldies collection ended up at WWUN thanks to someone I know: me.
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