STATION PICKS WJZR KANAPOLAS CHARLOTTE

[hballard_HB]

Re: STATION PICKS WJZR KANNAPOLiS CHARLOTTE

JP, I am surprised my name hasn't shown up here in an old radio story, but I have submitted a few. This is the overnight guy and engineer you used to relieve every morning at WXRC, late 1986-mid 1987. It is always great to reconnect with friends via all these radio web forums. I did two tours of duty with WIRC/WXRC. The first in 1977 when both stations were automated with the exception of morning drive. Butch Gryder, program director Dave Campbell, news director Lee Wagoner and I were all good friends. I still remember when the ownership transferred from Scott Smith to Jerry Oakley in 1978. I've lost track of all those guys and I wonder if Dave Campbell is still alive. I know he had some serious heart problems later on. I first met Greg Mull when we worked together at WJRI, Lenoir. I suppose he is still in Florida. There are many more stories to be told and I look forward to hearing more from rediscovered friends. I have been in television master control since 1992, first in Florence, SC at WPDE-TV, then several years at both WRAL-TV, Raleigh and UNC-TV in Research Triangle Park. Sometimes I will venture back to Florence, South Carolina and co-host the beach music show on Sunny 105.5 with my longtime friend Dan E. Lockemy, but that is about as close as I get to radio these days. I live just outside Washington, DC and work for Discovery Television Center, the originating point for all their array of channels while being in a state of terminal homesickness for North Carolina. I've also been dealing with prostate cancer since 2002, but working hard to remain above ground.

 

[thatwasradio]

Re: STATION PICKS WJZR KANNAPOLiS CHARLOTTE

The first in 1977 when both stations were automated with the exception of morning drive. Butch Gryder, program director Dave Campbell

Wow, how about that? DAVE CAMPBELL was my broadcasting instructor in College in the early '80's, at Gaston College in Dallas, NC, he left the campus sometime around 1988, when I was doing only volunteer work for WSGE there. Does anyone know if he is still around anywhere? He had some great radio stories, and did a character voice on my Oldies show, an "old" broadcaster named "Grayson Chapel" who dabbled in stocks and bonds and liked to babble on, and on, and on... it was a lot of fun. When he and I got together to order the first set of jingles for WSGE, he brought a tape into one of the two production rooms there and told the whole class "HERE IS AN ADVANCED REEL THE JINGLE PEOPLE SENT, IT IS ARTIST ENDORSEMENTS", then he played it, and on the tape was Dave's voice coming through the monitors saying "HI, I AM THE BEATLES AND YOU'RE LISTENING TO SPENCER ON WSGE...." and others like "HELLO, I AM ZZ TOP, AND YOU'RE LISTENING TO...", Gawd it was hilarious!!!!

 

[hballard_HB]

Re: STATION PICKS WJZR KANNAPOLIS CHARLOTTE

Kahuna, the last time I saw Dave was in 1984 when I went to visit him at Gaston College. In 1977 he gave me a chance to get back into radio after some time away. I've never forgotten how much he helped me regain some lost confidence and I wanted to learn as much as I possibly could from him. I heard many of his radio stories from his days at WFLB, Fayetteville and the old WSPF, Channel One, Hickory. If I am remembering correctly, Dave borrowed the name "Grayson Chapel" from the name of a road somewhere in Alexander County. I'm not too sure that voices like Dave's or the amount of radio knowledge he carried around with him exist in any one person now. I will be happy to include him as part of select group of great broadcasting teachers that also includes the late Al Stanley of Wilkes Community College, Dr. Pat Reigart of Appalachian State University, and Jerry Farmer of Central Carolina Community College in Sanford.

Harold Ballard

 

[thatwasradio]

Harold, gosh, I'm glad you mentioned that, I now recall Dave saying he got the name from a "Grayson Chapel Road" somewhere and that he always wanted to use it as an on-air name, so we did the character.
Dave got me the interview for my first "paying" radio job, at WGAS in South Gastonia, it was a God Squad station, we called it "The Gas Station Powered By The Lord, WGAS 1420", I recently tried to find the old studios to take a picture for my website but they have obviously moved it AND the tower, as I could not find it, they are not listed in the phone book in Gastonia anymore either, the FCC lists their mailing address as a Charlotte post office box, when I asked several people in the area at convenience stores and grocery stores if they knew of a radio station in the area, none of them had a clue, and I could find NO ONE who even knew there was a radio station in South Gastonia at one time, I guess South Gastonians have forgotten about AM radio!
Now that I have thought of it for a while, I remember Dave Campbell went on to Manage WLON-AM after Gaston College, the station that used to be in the parking lot at Eastridge Mall in Gastonia, the tower is still there I believe, standing right in the middle of the mall parking lot, although the name of the mall has changed. Ben Hicks at Gaston College had told me about it at the time and that I could contact Dave there, I did call him once, but never made it over to the station as I was living in Charlotte with three jobs at the time.
Kahuna

 

[eacalhoun1]

Dave got me the interview for my first "paying" radio job, at WGAS in South Gastonia, it was a God Squad station, we called it "The Gas Station Powered By The Lord, WGAS 1420", I recently tried to find the old studios to take a picture for my website but they have obviously moved it AND the tower, as I could not find it, they are not listed in the phone book in Gastonia anymore either, the FCC lists their mailing address as a Charlotte post office box, when I asked several people in the area at convenience stores and grocery stores if they knew of a radio station in the area, none of them had a clue, and I could find NO ONE who even knew there was a radio station in South Gastonia at one time, I guess South Gastonians have forgotten about AM radio!

You know, I hate it when these posts start running in dozens of different directions -- look at the original subject!! But I hate to "break the spell" and start a new post. Anyway, the WGAS question above begs a question I have been asking for quite some time...Are there ANY stations broadcasting (with at least SOME studio activity) from the Gastonia city limits?
Unless I am wrong, I don't think so -- which is a shame for a city its size. WGNC does everything from Shelby or Cherryville, right? As has been stated, WGAS is gone, and the former WLTC (now WGIV) is gone along with the tower which is now licensed to Matthews--however, the empty studio (which was also a WBTV Newsroom) remains in the Eastridge Mall parking lot. Of course the FM has been gone for years, though some remnants of this and 1450 WGNC remain behind the Days Inn off I-85 at US 321 -- an STL antenna on a pole at a daycare, which I'm assuming was the old studios.
So, again does Gastonia have any resemblance of a local radio station? The ones around Charlotte that still do are Salisbury, Concord, Kannapolis, Statesville, Hickory, Shelby, Rock Hill....

Eric

 

[nextline]

I think Cherryville and WGNC are the only Gaston County stations programmed from a Gaston County studio location. In addition to the above mentioned signals, 960 (Dallas) airs a Winston-Salem originated simulcast, 1220 (Kings Mtn)comes from somewhere in Charlotte, the old WLTC was relicensed to Pineville and moved studio and transmitter to downtown Charlotte. 1270 (Belmont) simulcasts 1240 out of Charlotte except for an occasional live preacher.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Does 1270 still do South Point football like they did when I was in high school?