Ron Drake memories

[RockofHBG]

Since Red McCarthy was brought up and I also discovered a Ron Drake aircheck (brought to us by the same person), how about some Ron Drake memories? Ron Drake was at WHP 580 from 1947 until August 1982, an amazing 35 years! And his morning numbers were astounding as well I understand. It was he who carried WHP those many years. I never cared for him much, he was my parents' and grandparents' morning show. When I came of age, I much rather listen to Alexander In The Morning then later Steele and Chrissy on WKBO. Now, hearing this aircheck, I realize Ron was every bit as bad as I thought at the time. Nasal voice, talking all over the records, etc. I was hoping that after 30 years in radio, 24 of them doing morning radio myself, that I might discover what made Drake so popular. So far, haven't found it.

 

[John-Summers]

While Ron Drake was at WHP for a long time, it has always been my understanding that he did not get the morning gig until 1960. I remember him mostly from WHP-TV (Channel 55!) doing a lame dance party show. My household did not listen to him because my mom and dad couldn't stand his voice. Instead I grew up hearing Ed Gonzalez on WCMB, and later Mac MacCauley, both of whom had great ratings versus Drake on a much-inferior signal. When I was doing the all-night show on WKBO in 1971, I tuned in to Drake one morning on my way home, having never heard him. I was disappointed at how bad he was. I've always thought that just about anybody, at that time, with a sense of humor and 5,000 watts at 580 kc could have gotten the kind of ratings he got. In the 1970s, as demographics changed and people who grew up on rock & roll hit adulthood, he lost to WKBO, a flea-powered station by comparison, because in the final analysis, WHP was corny and unhip, and Steele and Chrissy were contemporary. Drake was an interesting personality compared to the rest of WHP, which was dreadfully stodgy in those days, but that signal is a great part of his legend.

 

[double-d-sharp]

Who can forget those classic April Fool's jokes pulled off by Ron Drake???

Submarines up the Susquehanna -- caused traffic jams along Front Street.

The water company is going to turn off the water. Fill up your sinks and bathtubs. This caused a strain on the Hbg water system that day.

The phone company has a special machine to blow dust out of the phone lines, and they were asking all residents to take their phones off the hook and cover the phone in plastic.

 

[bossjock 56]

I first heard Ron Drake when I was about 6 years old. My folks used to turn on an old RCA table radio in the kitchen during breakfast. I almost threw up in my Rice Krispies. I remember one Saturday morning around 1969. Ron seemed to be doing a parody of the Drake format. As in Drake format I mean Bill...not Ron. He was playing only the songs that were also being played on top 40 radio and was dong Drake type chatter and taking "hitline requests" for various communities around the 'burg. It sounded like he was mocking WFEC. Wish I had an aircheck of that! There were times when WHP would make an effort to sound more contemporary. I remember around '73 Bruce Jay Holcomb did a classic top 40 crush and roll form Crosby Stills Nash's "Our House" into Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground"..started off with "58 WHP"...and proceeded to talk up to the post. A RARE moment on WHP.

 

[crdispatch]

Bruce Jay holcombe was also the "country Gentleman" who played country music on saturday nights on WHP for 13 years (1970-1983) He had country artists promote his show (something Z-107 did and admitted to Bruce that they got the idea from his show!) He had loyal advertisers (Cline's Electric, P&M Plaza 81, airport trailer sales, lehman's exxon to name a few) The show did well, even into the 80's when country was being played on FM. Bruce was also a radio salesman for WHP and told a story that Ron Drake mis-read the copy for an advertiser. Bruce received a call from the advertiser who loved the way Drake presented the commercial!

 

[loeper]

I remember Ron Drake once commenting after a news story about the dedication ceremony for the (then) brand new Harvey Taylor bridge that "since Harvey took do many people across when he was alive, it was fitting that they named a bridge after him after he died". not sure it was an original joke, but it was funny. As I recall he also used to do live spots for an "Olds" dealer that were kind of funny as well. All in all, WHP was a pretty stuffy sounding radio station in the 60s and 70s... (anybody remember the daily Arthur Godfrey show on the CBS network? what a snore)

 

[RockofHBG]

I remember Ron Drake once commenting after a news story about the dedication ceremony for the (then) brand new Harvey Taylor bridge that "since Harvey took do many people across when he was alive, it was fitting that they named a bridge after him after he died".

I think what you have there is an urban myth being that the Taylor Bridge was built in 1952 and Harvey Taylor died 30 years later in 1982. He actually lived to 105 or 106. Although Drake was at WHP starting in 1947, he went to mornings in 1960.

 

[prodgerm]

I grew up in the 1950s and worked at WHP in the 60s and 70s. His audience always was older and not always as unhip as you may think. He was a home town boy, from Steelton, who knew everybody. At the station he walked on water! He came in did his early morning show and left. No skut work like cutting spots. We had a standing joke that if you wanted to find Drake's audience look in the obituaries. No joke though that he kept Whp-TV, where I mostly worked, and WHP-FM where nobody worked since we had one of the early automation systems. Both TV and FM lost money. It is true that 5000 watts on 580 kh just rolled out over a huge area. Drake had people listening in Dover, DL.