romer979fm said:
Yeah, but don't forget: You and I are Geezers, so of course we get the refrence!
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Nashville's Glory Days
- Thread starter TruThdeTecTor
- Start date
Yeah, but don't forget: You and I are Geezers, so of course we get the refrence!
Tenn Radio Boy said:
I know this is an old thread - just wanted to set the record straight on the WLAC switch to Rock as best as I can remember - 'cause I was there. This would have all gone down in '72/'73.
Kent did afternoons at MAK (for years, he was iconic) and left to be LAC's first rock PD. Shannon moved from nights (remember "Cryin' Time?") to afternoons and Downes came in from The Big Ape in Jax to do nights as Brother Dave (7-Mid).
McCloud came into MAK after Dick Kent and Dick Downes (under his real name) bailed to start-up WLAC as a rocker. Dan Daly and Don Sullivan were also at LAC. Spider came in a few months later and was the lead-in to the Gospel shows WLAC was famous for: John R, Gene Nobles & Bill "HossMan" Allen ("Red-Top Baby Chicks. Buy 'em by the dozen. Delivered postage-paid to your farm. If more than two chicks arrive dead, send us the carcasses and we'll credit your account." I swear!)
Downes did middays at LAC (and later WSIX-AM) and Coyote replaced him on MAK at night. I'm a little fuzzy on some of the shifts, but the rest of the line up is pretty accurate except you left out Van Winkle and Bear Bradley who did early nights at LAC and had to keep pinching himself for getting into a market that big.
And groupies! Anyone remember Elaine (Star, sometimes Starlet) Paige?
Hairl Hensley, Noel Ball, Gene Clark, Jim Kent. I met them all and remained friends with Hairl and with Jim till his death. Hairl is a true gentleman and so was Jim!
I'm not familiar with your mentors. I was a rock 'n' roll guy so I never knew any of the WSM crowd. But my favorite of the Old Guys on Late-Night WLAC was Hossman. He and I started a small production company to have his shows pressed onto disks and syndicate to other Gospel stations. He'd also narrate Gospel anthologies/compilations that sold in record stores on his own (I think) label. I was just a kid then. The three of them on that all-night flamethrower were well-known throughout the south: John R, Gene Nobles & Bill "HossMan" Allen were like Amos and Andy in that they were white guys with big voices who sounded black.
It was always a hoot to watch the reaction of black people when they'd meet any of them - they were always astounded. That would happen every once in a while when an advertiser who happened to be AA would come to do a deal or just meet the guys.
I tore up my pinkie nail moving an Ampex 601 out of the production studio because it was too new for the Burt Reynolds movie "WW & The Dixie Dance Kings." It would have been an anacronism. In the movie, our production studio was where the angry preacher broadcast. That nail still doesn't grow right ;<)
Also worked with Gerry House at SIX-AM (which was hot A/C 73-76) when the FM was Beautiful Country. Just like any Bonneville format, except we'd get country hits re-recorded as elevator music by a local orchestra. Doug something was the PD of the FM. Don Sullivan PD of the AM, I was Ops Dir and Prod Mgr for all three. This was AM/FM/TV on Murfreesboro Rd. Worst radio studios I ever worked in, but that was GE - all lightbulb guys trying to run a radio station.
Memories...
It was always a hoot to watch the reaction of black people when they'd meet any of them - they were always astounded. That would happen every once in a while when an advertiser who happened to be AA would come to do a deal or just meet the guys.
I tore up my pinkie nail moving an Ampex 601 out of the production studio because it was too new for the Burt Reynolds movie "WW & The Dixie Dance Kings." It would have been an anacronism. In the movie, our production studio was where the angry preacher broadcast. That nail still doesn't grow right ;<)
Also worked with Gerry House at SIX-AM (which was hot A/C 73-76) when the FM was Beautiful Country. Just like any Bonneville format, except we'd get country hits re-recorded as elevator music by a local orchestra. Doug something was the PD of the FM. Don Sullivan PD of the AM, I was Ops Dir and Prod Mgr for all three. This was AM/FM/TV on Murfreesboro Rd. Worst radio studios I ever worked in, but that was GE - all lightbulb guys trying to run a radio station.
Memories...
I know this is an old thread - just wanted to set the record straight on the WLAC switch to Rock as best as I can remember - 'cause I was there. This would have all gone down in '72/'73. Bear "with the hair" Bradley was in there somewhere around then..not to be confused with Kris "with a K" Bradley ..Bear, can't remember his real name..i couldn't spell it much less pronounce it..married one of our WHIN girls, Patty Brockett..sadly she died about three years ago from cancer..I believe they lived in Illinois or Indiana....and as far as todays "hosts" compared to yesterday's real jocks...all you had to do was listen the WLS rewind this past weekend...thats the way it is done...my nickles worth.. 
According to 440int.com (440: Satusfaction), Bear Bradley was a/k/a Zen Cymbala.
I could be off a bit with the time/dates but here goes...Didn't the movie "FM" help kick off the move from music radio moving over to am? Seemes it did for me. I grew up in Franklin (before it was cool) and remember all my friends listening to Kx-104.I still held on to MAK and LAC for a wile, Woke up to Dick Kent and Pat Reiley ( sp?) on LAC at the time? MAK was my ststion at night but KX won me over. The first morning man on KX wasn't Mccloud it was Darell Dougles. He was my teacher a few years later at The Nashville School of Broadcasting. Seems I also remember Bobby Cook doing mornings for a wile and McCloud moving to afternoons.
WWKX had a great looking van and I recall saying how great it would be to drive it...Never drove THAT van but I did drive others...some weren't as cool as I thought...hahaha seems a LOT went on in em'!
WWKX had a great looking van and I recall saying how great it would be to drive it...Never drove THAT van but I did drive others...some weren't as cool as I thought...hahaha seems a LOT went on in em'!
In an earlier post satusfaction = satisfaction. Typo, my fault, late at night.
IIRC Coyote went briefly to afternoons when Sarge came to town. I think Bryan Sargent was KX-104 morning man before he moved to middays. I could be wrong.
Shadow, like you I listened to Dick Kent and Pat Reilly mornings on WLAC. However SM95 won me over to FM.
IIRC Coyote went briefly to afternoons when Sarge came to town. I think Bryan Sargent was KX-104 morning man before he moved to middays. I could be wrong.
Shadow, like you I listened to Dick Kent and Pat Reilly mornings on WLAC. However SM95 won me over to FM.
"Bear" (Zen) is in Chicago with his daughter, still dealing with the loss of his beloved Patty. He's been selling network TV for years and continues to do so. We were best friends then and remain so.
Speaking of AKAs: Van Winkle, BTW, I believe was AKA Dick Shannon. I hear from him occasionally. He hated the name Van Winkle. I've also heard that one of the reasons Downes left MAK was his dislike of the "Brother Dave, Nashville's First Hippie Disc Jockey" monicker laid on him by Shannon (AKA: Michael Moore).
And did you know that Don Benson was SS's phone guy and producer? Talk about starting at the bottom and working your way up!
Speaking of AKAs: Van Winkle, BTW, I believe was AKA Dick Shannon. I hear from him occasionally. He hated the name Van Winkle. I've also heard that one of the reasons Downes left MAK was his dislike of the "Brother Dave, Nashville's First Hippie Disc Jockey" monicker laid on him by Shannon (AKA: Michael Moore).
And did you know that Don Benson was SS's phone guy and producer? Talk about starting at the bottom and working your way up!
When did WLAC drop Top 40? The fall of 1980 stands out as the switch. I'm just guessing FM (Kicks 104, KDF) won and LAC made a clean change.
I think it's either 1980 or 1981 (but I kinda beleive it was '81). My wife worked there for a couple of summers when Billboard owned the stations. The FM was ROCK 106 and the AM was 15WLAC with the sunshine logo. Captain Sunshine was there as was Pat Reilly, Al Woody, Spider Harrison, and Catfish. I remember a block party kind of thing for the station where Billboard invited its advertisers to mix and mingle with the jocks and journalists. Decoroations included those big canvas signs used at the fair advertising the carnival attractions (the bearded lady, the dog-faced boy, etc.). All I really remember was that the place was too small for the egos present, and the wife wouldn't watch WKRP, because it was too much like work.
B
bub
Guest
Amen to Olebud and Jack Shell for their posts! Obsevations Spot On! As recently as 10 years ago when I jocked a shift, I worked without a playlist! Yet I was to conform the music to the structure of the format that the powers that be wanted...and it showed in my ratings at the end of the book period...and I loved it! I loved the idea of "flying without a net" because that forced me to pay attention to the audience, focus and to bring my "A" game every time!
With automation, tight playlists and voice tracking, today's jocks can mail it in.
With automation, tight playlists and voice tracking, today's jocks can mail it in.
WLAC switched from Full Service/MOR to News/Talk on February 8, 1971. The R & B programming remained at night.
WLAC switched to top 40 on October 1, 1972.
The switch back to News/Talk was on October 31, 1980.
WLAC switched to top 40 on October 1, 1972.
The switch back to News/Talk was on October 31, 1980.
Thanks for setting things straight on the WLAC format changes. That was nearly 30 years ago, and all I can remember from back when my wife worked there was that rather strange block party thing and that she got some Reds tickets. As I check Sounds history, that must have been 1979. Our son, now 32, was a toddler and the Reds had just called up Rafael Santo Domingo from the Sounds that day. We went to a lot of Sounds games back then, and it was so funny when at Cincinnati the announcer called his name and my son finished the "SANTOOOOOOOOOOO DOMINGOOOOOOOOOO" part just like the Sounds PA announcer (was it Chuck Morgan then?) did it. We had to explain to the folks around us how he knew the guy. By the way, his first pitch was hit just on the foul side of the right field pole. But, sadly, Rafel didn't get a hit that night for the Reds. :'( Oh, and Jack Shell is dead on when it comes to radio personality. Where the heck did it go?
briancraig said:
I remember them well during the Top 40 years. During family visits to Southeastern Kentucky WLAC boomed in very well.
Hindsight being 20/20 I'm surprised they didn't put the format on FM. If you scroll down http://www.radiotimeline.com/survey26.htm You'll see a WLAC survey from less than a year prior to the format change. Interesting playlist with Kenny Rogers and Sugar Hill Gang, now that's Top 40!
Seeing George Burns and Earth, Wind & Fire on same 15WLAC new music additions was a rare feat, I bet.
IIRC, WSM-AM also carried Atlanta Braves baseball way back when too.
IIRC, WSM-AM also carried Atlanta Braves baseball way back when too.
I remember WSM playing "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" thirty plus years ago. They were Pop Music during the day and Country at night. They went full Country in the early eighties or so.
Yeah, they went country about the time Gaylord killed Opryland and all the tourists that would have listened to it
left Nashville. Oh, well, they can pick it up in Branson. ;D
Sure that wasn't Gaylord's theme song -- "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Ratings"??? Crumulus paid $50 billion to obtain
the rights to that, as well. It's still paying off after all these years.
left Nashville. Oh, well, they can pick it up in Branson. ;D
Sure that wasn't Gaylord's theme song -- "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Ratings"??? Crumulus paid $50 billion to obtain
the rights to that, as well. It's still paying off after all these years.
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