JOHN R.

[carlson]

any one rembere him he was a r and b jock

 

[deltas69]

"we're down for royal crown, ;D ..yes..he was one of the real legends in radio, owned the airwaves from WLAC,.."100 baby chicks.. shiped live" he basicaly put WLAC and Randy's record shoip on the map in the fifties..he was white by the way,,the hippest souding white R&B guy ever..

 

[radionekkid]

"john aRR-ah' way down south in dixie, 1510 wlac nashville, a property of the life and casualty insurance company of tennessee". original occupation was an actor. Real nice chap on and off the air as well. it was ironic the only guy that sounded "white" of that bunch was don whitehead and he was a black fellow. only earlier exception was herman grizzard he used a lot of slang but was not black or sounded that way. now there was a piece of work.

 

[Journeyman]

"john aRR-ah' way down south in dixie, 1510 wlac nashville, a property of the life and casualty insurance company of tennessee". original occupation was an actor. Real nice chap on and off the air as well. it was ironic the only guy that sounded "white" of that bunch was don whitehead and he was a black fellow. only earlier exception was herman grizzard he used a lot of slang but was not black or sounded that way. now there was a piece of work.

Leave us not forget the late, great Bill "Hoss" Allen. I knew him the last, sober years of his life and he was a prince.

 

[jy]

In radio today you don't have to look very long to find someone who says"I listened to John R every night and he's the one who inspired me to get in radio." However in Nashville he never had great ratings and for a guy loved and considered a broadcasting legend, he could walk down 4th Avenue to WLAC's studios and never be noticed. In fact he often looked like a struggling working man. I don't know if he had any idea of the impact he had on people. When it came to 50,000 watt signals, most people talked about 650 not 1510. He had no airs about him. I wish he had been honored more locally but this was a time when many considered what he played to be "race music." I always wondered why the Gilford Dudley "L&C" Belle Meade crowd even carried that late night programming. They seemed to be very into their image around town as all the National Life guys. You know, the Chickwood, Steeple Chase high brow stuff. This wasn't the music they played at the Swan Ball, you know.

 

[olebud]

However in Nashville he never had great ratings and for a guy loved and considered a broadcasting legend, he could walk down 4th Avenue to WLAC's studios and never be noticed. In fact he often looked like a struggling working man. I don't know if he had any idea of the impact he had on people. When it came to 50,000 watt signals, most people talked about 650 not 1510. He had no airs about him.
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I would guess most of the guys on the air back then weren't very well known unless they happened to pick up a tv gig along with the radio. Oh yea, I think John knew the impact...but as you point out, he had no airs about him. When I went to work at WLAC FM in 1965, I spent most of my off-air time hanging around down stairs. Hoss, John, Herman and Gene all treated me like an old friend, even though I was in awe just being around all of them.
Most people were nice, no big heads, not telling others how they should do their job. Maybe a hint, but done with a feeling of, "hey, have you thought about trying this?" Not, "you stupid idiot, why don't you go back and sell cars or deliver groceries/"
Most of my years in radio we never asked how many hours we worked, we just did it untill we finished.
Radio for jocs was considered a six day gig. We had fun. It wasn't about the money. Give me enough to pay rent, car note, gas and have party money......that was what we did.
I don't like to get on a single post binge, but the fun was squeezed out when the corporation was more interested in the stock prices and investors than their stations.
How I got from John R to that point, you just have to know me to understand.
Nuff said.....and I do enjoy my job now, but it doesn't depend on ratings and kissing somebody's bottom. Plus, I still talk to radio people every day and it gets me out of the house. But since I've passed that majic retirement age, when it quits being fun, I'll turn my mike off and walk away. (if they dont' get me first

 

[phineas1]

In the song "Face The Music" by the Micheal Stanley Band, there is a bit of John R. in the beginning of the song. If I remember the lyrics right, it goes something like, "There's a wild man on the radio, shooting off his mouth again, he's ruthless, truthless, footloose and shiftless" ..and I can't remember the rest. Great song though and in the end, John R reappears. A kid from Cleveland loved him so much that he featured him in a song. Very cool.

 

[courier37027]

Hey Buddy, you are immortalized in lyrics too. The "Kicks 104 Rappers' Delight" calls you by name. Coyote sang your praises. Something about "... He's a good ole boy and a nifty dresser, gets his suits from the Goodwill store."

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I have read that the only way some people in certain parts of the country were able to hear rhythm & blues music was tuning to WLAC at night and listening to John R.

 

[radionekkid]

one thing about the high brow belle mead folks ownership of wlac besides being big stuff on the boulevard, they loved money more than anything else. jimmy ward once said he could hold his head up because of daytime personality of the station and most of those folks were in the bed or in the booze by the time that came on the radio anyway.

Remember the cornerstone of the l&c company, THRIFT ! Sell it Blackie! sell it!

blackie blackmon was the sales manager you know.