Greetings from Munich, Germany, ya'll!! My name is Monte Jones. I stumbled upon this forum while searching for information about stations from my distant past. I started at WQBC, Vicksburg, in 1955. Bored with my weekend shift riding the Mutual network I took another part-time offer from WVIM, Vicksburg. I left Vicksburg for WRBC, Jackson, after high school, and did the night shift. I was at WRBC when owners McCarty and Wright brought in account executive Chuck Stewart from WTIX, New Orleans, to be the GM to get serious and make money. Chuck announced talent would be paid based on ratings. I didn't think I had a chance against more talented and experienced on-air personalities. I returned to WVIM as PD. I soon after got from a friend at WRBC a copy of a market rating survey (Hooper or Pulse, don't remember which), which showed the only number one rating the station had during that surveying period was at 7 PM when yours truly was on the air. Moving was a mistake. I later got a call from the new GM at WRBC who offered me the PD's job and I took it. I was very tired of listening to Jack and Mary Shea yelling and screaming at each other everyday at WVIM. I was in Vicksburg every weekend to visit a girlfriend and after we decided to get married, I returned to WVIM so my new bride would not be far from her mommy. I think it was during this last gig at WVIM that Kramer Hass came on board. Jack Shea, owner and GM, told me he had found a kid from Port Gibson who wanted weekend work and I should talk to him and decide if we should hire him to do a weekend shift. Kramer impressed me as being a great and smart kid and he was hired. I worked with Roy Harris at WVIM a couple of times; also Larry Parks. Jack Shea fired the station manager every January after business dropped off. Mary Shea started doing the books and selling. She was selling spots for 50 cents and that meant business would forever be dismal because no merchant would be willing to be bumped back up to the rate card after the slow season ended. The Shea's screaming matches got to the point where I could hear them in my headphones when I was live. I finally had enough and walked out, headed for the coast. The WVMI gig in Biloxi lasted until the time when I was about to be drafted. In 1962 I took the advice of an Army recruiter and enlisted to be an information specialist and spent most of my Army years doing radio-TV in Germany (several times), Korea and Japan. After the Army I worked at WOAI, San Antonio; WNDE and WIBC, Indianapolis, the Voice of America, Washington, DC; and then returned to my favorite city in the world, Munich, Germany. While at the VOA in DC I received a job offer to work at the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc., headquarters in Munich. That was in 1988 and I have been here since. RFE/RL closed its Munich headquarters in 1995 and moved to Prague in the Czech Republic. I declined an offer to move for more work and less money. So, I stayed in Munich. When I was doing the first WVIM stint while in high school, i often listened to George Florence and Jeff Hester (the record man) on WSLI. I visited George at the station a couple of times; took Kramer Haas to Jackson out to WSLI one Friday night to meet George and to see a radio station in the big city. I heard Kramer on the air in Washington after I arrived there to work at the VOA. I phoned him and we chatted, vowing to get together but we never did. I was sorry that we didn't because I later found out that he had passed away. He was one of the nicest people I ever met. I saw Bob Rall a couple of times when he dropped by WRBC to visit his friend there, Ron Fraser. What became of Al Simmons, PD at WSLI? Sorry to hear about the passing of radio legends in Jackson. Would be happy to hear from anyone. [email protected] Best to all!! Monte
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Gosh, Monte, you dropped some names. I knew just about every one of them. I too worked at WVIM in about 1964 with Cramer Hass and Old Man Shea. After I joined the Navy and went to Pensacola, Cramer Hass was there taking spy classes (like me) but he was a Marine.
The late Bob Rall was my hero. I got a job at WJXN because I wanted to work at the same station he did. At the "The Colonel's Stattion" (WJXN) Roy Harris was my boss for several years. I followed Bob Rall to Dallas to KBOX to try and get a job but I was too green for Big D. Later on I did get a job in Houston at KENR, and then KULF, and when the ARB came out, I was the top-rated afternoon drive newscaster and the 2nd-most-listened to. It surprised me! (KILT's morning drive, Top 40, was the only time slot that beat us at KENR, a country station.)
Well here I am bragging about myself. Well, we broadcast people do that.
Oh, my air name on WJXN was Swampwater Henry. That was embarrassing.
I later changed it to John Parker.
After Herb Guthrie left as GM at WRBC and opened his own station, WELZ in Belzoni, I became a good friend of his as I traveled the state trying to sell affiliations for my newly-created Mississippi Radio Network.
I'm out of radio now and am an editor at a small newspaper in Houston, the Montrose Star.
If you think of anymore war stories from the days of Mississippi radio, let us know with a post on radio-info.
The late Bob Rall was my hero. I got a job at WJXN because I wanted to work at the same station he did. At the "The Colonel's Stattion" (WJXN) Roy Harris was my boss for several years. I followed Bob Rall to Dallas to KBOX to try and get a job but I was too green for Big D. Later on I did get a job in Houston at KENR, and then KULF, and when the ARB came out, I was the top-rated afternoon drive newscaster and the 2nd-most-listened to. It surprised me! (KILT's morning drive, Top 40, was the only time slot that beat us at KENR, a country station.)
Well here I am bragging about myself. Well, we broadcast people do that.
Oh, my air name on WJXN was Swampwater Henry. That was embarrassing.
I later changed it to John Parker.
After Herb Guthrie left as GM at WRBC and opened his own station, WELZ in Belzoni, I became a good friend of his as I traveled the state trying to sell affiliations for my newly-created Mississippi Radio Network.
I'm out of radio now and am an editor at a small newspaper in Houston, the Montrose Star.
If you think of anymore war stories from the days of Mississippi radio, let us know with a post on radio-info.
Yes, it was the same Roy Harris as at WRKN that was manager earlier at WJXN. The other Harris brothers worked there too: Bill Harris (engineer, who taught me how to engineer), Hal Harris (who had a golden
voice and worked mid-day, and Clyde Harris (a nephew or something that eventually took my place on the 8pm-midnight shift (which we called The Pearl River Jamboree).
But one football season, right after Archie Manning signed with the Saints, we had a 15-minute "Archie Manning Show" weekdays at 5:00pm. Bill Harris was the DJ on either side of the Manning show. When the Pulse came out, WJXN beat all the other 8 stations in the market (8 AM's and 1 FM). Until that time, the whole several years, WJXN was an also-ran in the ratings. We were so proud. (We had stolen the show from WJDX and WJDX cried "Oops.")
I have another post here from about a year ago as to the morning that Mrs. Ownby (station owner) came in at 9:00 a.m., fired the whole staff, and brought in the Harris Brothers to run the station. That was the morning WJXN switched from Rock N Roll, gave that whole audience to competitor WRBC, which cried "Yea! We won." BUT a year later, or less, WWUN hit the airwaves. WWUN (through my connections) acquired WJXN's rock N roll oldies library, which was quite extensive. So when you heard the oldies on WWUN, you were listening to WJXN's old records.
voice and worked mid-day, and Clyde Harris (a nephew or something that eventually took my place on the 8pm-midnight shift (which we called The Pearl River Jamboree).
But one football season, right after Archie Manning signed with the Saints, we had a 15-minute "Archie Manning Show" weekdays at 5:00pm. Bill Harris was the DJ on either side of the Manning show. When the Pulse came out, WJXN beat all the other 8 stations in the market (8 AM's and 1 FM). Until that time, the whole several years, WJXN was an also-ran in the ratings. We were so proud. (We had stolen the show from WJDX and WJDX cried "Oops.")
I have another post here from about a year ago as to the morning that Mrs. Ownby (station owner) came in at 9:00 a.m., fired the whole staff, and brought in the Harris Brothers to run the station. That was the morning WJXN switched from Rock N Roll, gave that whole audience to competitor WRBC, which cried "Yea! We won." BUT a year later, or less, WWUN hit the airwaves. WWUN (through my connections) acquired WJXN's rock N roll oldies library, which was quite extensive. So when you heard the oldies on WWUN, you were listening to WJXN's old records.
And I have a question. Where is Wayne Edwards. He worked at WWUN in the early days, and also for me when I started the Mississippi Radio Network. Wayne, are you out there?
Whenever Cramer would talk about the old Vicksburg days he'd talk about Mr. Shea. Cramer says Mr. Shea would call while Cramer was on the air. Mr. Shea would say, "Cramer, you're drunk!"
Never could figure out if Cramer actually was drunk on the air, I think it was mostly the crazy mind of Mr. Shea.
Never could figure out if Cramer actually was drunk on the air, I think it was mostly the crazy mind of Mr. Shea.
I remember Kevin Vandenbroek. How? Because it's ME!
I now run an Internet radio station called DeepTracks.fm.
We feature the groups, artists, song writers and performers from the Classic Rock era. The only difference between us and other stations are that we play ALL the songs.
Occasionally you'll hear a hit. Only occasionally, though.
And we don't clutter your pleasure with chatty DJ's. We're all about the music.
I now run an Internet radio station called DeepTracks.fm.
We feature the groups, artists, song writers and performers from the Classic Rock era. The only difference between us and other stations are that we play ALL the songs.
Occasionally you'll hear a hit. Only occasionally, though.
And we don't clutter your pleasure with chatty DJ's. We're all about the music.
Does anyone know where Ron Frasier is these days?I lost track of him after he left WABB-Am in Mobile.We worked together in Yazoo City for Colon Johnston.
If I'm not mistaken, he was in Pensacola when I was there (I think back in the 90's). He was working for WCOA.
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