Tulsa Radio

[Bob Oshea]

The 60's & 70's! What a rush! A lot of my buds are still at it. Wavey, Mel, Andy Barber. Rick Alan West was top notch. Paul 'Mr. Music' Langston was the consumate professional, Scooter B. Seagraves, Michael 'Morning Mouth' McCarthy, Charlie Derek, Robert W. Walker, Lee Bailey, Dick Schmidt, Steve Cassidy, Johnny Rivers, Bob Brauer, Dick Loftin, Jeff Elliott, anybody remember Gary 'Oh No' Stevens? How about Dean Kelly? What a showman. I guess I've become anachronistic. I also loved the music of the 80's and there were certainly some great Tulsa radio talents from that era as well. Steve & Cindy, Mark Erdwin, man what a set of pipes.

I am glad we still have some of the best air talent in the country here in Tulsa. I hate cue card radio, but the talent is still there. G. Gordon Liddy said it best...you can't miss what you never had.

By the way, I want to clear the air on something. In another screed I eluded to meddlesome and incompetent GMs and "program directors'. My last GM was Randy Bush at Journal Broadcasting. Randy was and is a good GM. He is a great programmer. I always told Randy I knew he was a closet PD. He and I shared many a luncheons where I would field questions from him on a variety of topics and I would always respond with the truth. Or at least the truth as I perceived it. Randy and I were friends and I still consider him a friend. Randy believes in wide open personality radio, which is where I have always been the happiest. I'm glad I got to end my career with a real radio, programming oriented GM. Randy always fought the good fight with corporate when it came to my salary. He did his best. I wish him nothing but the best. I hope all his dreams come true. Except the one with me in womens clothing.

A Big Sloppy French Kiss To All,
Bob O'Shea

 

[kudzooter]

Bob, thanks for the mention -- just hope no skip tracers were reading it. ;D

Just came here from the Miss. board, where they were doing remembrances of some Dan Fogelberg appearances for WZZQ, Jackson. And that made me think of a line everybody figured I'd written, but oh no, it was from the equally wacky mind of OSU Richard Ralston alum Michael D. Grant, a/k/a "Gary Ono Stevens." KAKC was giving away Dan's "Part of the Plan" LP. Gary did one of his always excellent music-change splices, then said "And that's just the TIP of the Fogelberg," adding that one lucky listener would pick up an album with a $50 bill inside. Hey, this was 1974, when we were bitching about gas getting
close to 40 cents a gallon -- so a fifty was worth that phone-finger wear and tear. And it was Gary Ono Stevens who said it--and wrote it. Alas, we lost him to the tube -- last I heard, he was a TV GM in Dallas. Anyone have any update on that?

Still great to keep an eye on the market that inflicted me on the radio world. Actually got back there in December, to hang with former Tulsa radio AND TV guru Gary Chew. That was right after the ice storm. You people had all my old neighborhoods looking like something I'd just seen from Baghdad on CNN. But it was still beautiful. (Although my small college over there by Sixth Street, looked like it should now have its own ZIP code.)

Scooter B

 

[Radio55]

Now, all of you whippersnappers who are just starting your career in radio (or, say, you're still in your twenties and thirties), Scooter B was the absolute benchmark on what a jock should be. His work on KAKC and that of Lee Bayley, Robert W. Walker, Tom Gordon, Jim Peters, Steve Suttle... all of these guys including Don Bishop (who is doing overnight news on KRMG) were, to my mind, the cream of the crop in radio. KAKC and KELi traded places over and over for the top spot in the 60s, and to this day, these two stations are the best Tulsa ever had (KVOO in the 70's--another one hard to beat, and KRMG in the 70's during the Great Raft Race days were some glory years.)

Scooter, the work you guys did on the air 40 years ago is still talked about today in Tulsa... and not just from radio people... Everyone misses KAKC and KELi.

Some of Scooter's airchecks are somewhere on the net; believe me it is worth it to look for them. Take note of the rapid fire delivery and the PERFECT diction. Something they don't teach in radio anymore.

I bow at your feet, Scoot.

 

[Da Judge]

Oh Bob, bless your pea-pickin' heart. Couldn't sleep thinking about you in women's clothes.

But, I digress. It's nice to recall the greats in a market like you and Radio 55 are doing here, those folks made the business for such a long time. Bottomline for the business now is that it's in real trouble, especially with programming-meddling GM's like the one at Journal now and there are more across the country. Programming people who couldn't program, probably tried sales at one time and couldn't make it doing that, then some how got lucky and got a GM shift somewhere.

Come on Bob, quit being so PC from your previous post before the one above, where you told it like it was with this guy. You can listen to any market and tell stations that GM's with their mitts into things. This guy has screwed up all three of Journal's properties and they don't have to be. He did the same thing OKC and got nailed for it. Wait 'till the Fall '07 Arbitron comes out Bob and let's see how the Journal Group is doing then with programming-meddling GM.

Do you put curlers in your hair Bob?

 

[Bob Oshea]

Oh Bob, bless your pea-pickin' heart. Couldn't sleep thinking about you in women's clothes.

But, I digress. It's nice to recall the greats in a market like you and Radio 55 are doing here, those folks made the business for such a long time. Bottomline for the business now is that it's in real trouble, especially with programming-meddling GM's like the one at Journal now and there are more across the country. Programming people who couldn't program, probably tried sales at one time and couldn't make it doing that, then some how got lucky and got a GM shift somewhere.

Come on Bob, quit being so PC from your previous post before the one above, where you told it like it was with this guy. You can listen to any market and tell stations that GM's with their mitts into things. This guy has screwed up all three of Journal's properties and they don't have to be. He did the same thing OKC and got nailed for it. Wait 'till the Fall '07 Arbitron comes out Bob and let's see how the Journal Group is doing then with programming-meddling GM.

Do you put curlers in your hair Bob?

Please forgive me for being gracious......I was weak......or maybe my meds aren't strong enough anymore. You are right, too many GM's with a thumb in programming will hamstring a good PD. Randy used to buy my lunch so he can't be the monster you think he is. Remember, the previous morning talk show host on KFAQ went supernova and put that station in the dumpster. He did rely on a PD for two plus years to keep up with the music stations with disastrous results. When you give a guy or gal an opportunity to step up to the plate, you at least expect them to swing the bat. Just never happened. So to be fair, it just ain't all his fault.

As far as curlers in the hair, can't do it. They don't fit in my shorts.

O'Shea

 

[Bob Oshea]

Bob, thanks for the mention -- just hope no skip tracers were reading it. ;D

Just came here from the Miss. board, where they were doing remembrances of some Dan Fogelberg appearances for WZZQ, Jackson. And that made me think of a line everybody figured I'd written, but oh no, it was from the equally wacky mind of OSU Richard Ralston alum Michael D. Grant, a/k/a "Gary Ono Stevens." KAKC was giving away Dan's "Part of the Plan" LP. Gary did one of his always excellent music-change splices, then said "And that's just the TIP of the Fogelberg," adding that one lucky listener would pick up an album with a $50 bill inside. Hey, this was 1974, when we were bitching about gas getting
close to 40 cents a gallon -- so a fifty was worth that phone-finger wear and tear. And it was Gary Ono Stevens who said it--and wrote it. Alas, we lost him to the tube -- last I heard, he was a TV GM in Dallas. Anyone have any update on that?

Still great to keep an eye on the market that inflicted me on the radio world. Actually got back there in December, to hang with former Tulsa radio AND TV guru Gary Chew. That was right after the ice storm. You people had all my old neighborhoods looking like something I'd just seen from Baghdad on CNN. But it was still beautiful. (Although my small college over there by Sixth Street, looked like it should now have its own ZIP code.)

Scooter B

Hey Scoot! The Hairy Legged Godfather of All DJ's himself! Man what a terrific surprise. I always wanted to thank you for helping me get that gig in Lawton, Okla. Ron Kirby was a great friend and a hoot to work for. By the way, congratulations on the Tulsa Radio Icon Award. Sorry I missed the ceremony, I was in the middle of finishing an historical restoration project in Collinsville, Okla. 106 year old home. Just absolutely lost my ass. But it was a lot of fun.

Yes, you certainly were my radio hero along with my uncle Dan O'shea. He thought you were brilliant too. I'll never forget my first experience with a complete station turnover in Tri-Cities, Michigan. I was working for the 'Rockin' 1490 WMPX' back in '73 and there had been a shake up in management. Every jock on the staff quit because of their loyalty to the GM. To be that far away from home and not know where to go from there, hell I just picked up the phone and called you. I will never forget how kind you were to me Scoot. As I recall, you said I wasn't quite ready for KAKC but you knew of an opening at a good minor league station in Lawton. Man I jumped all over it. I know you put in a good word for me to Ron. Looking back, I could have stayed in Michigan and probably gone on from there but it just wasn't Tulsa. It wasn't home. It wasn't Scooter B. Seagraves on the air everyday. I was so homesick and you were the guy that made it all sound so worth the effort. Jim Peters and I worked in Lawton together. He came home to KAKC after about a year at KCCO. Again, when he left I got that terrible left behind feeling. By now I had matured somewhat and decided to stick it out for at least a full year. After that Chuck Adams hired me for 7-Mid at KXXO. Charlie Derek had worked there, gone to KELI and then to KAKC. I always kept KAKC in my sights. Never got there. I was hired by Kip Guth at this new fm station called FM 96. KRAV was the new wave and I had just reached a point where I could walk in with an air-check and not have one shoe on top of the other. You will never truly know how much you taught me, how much you inspired me and what a sense of decency and credibility you brought to the once famous Tulsa Radio sound. Tulsa Radio, like everywhere else has morphed into something else. The air talent is still great, but what made it fun is gone. If I had to point to any one guy who had the most influence on my career, from a distance, it would be you Scoot. Just as people now look back and point to the rock group 'The Who' as the epitome of what a rock band was, you were who defined what the Tulsa Radio sound was all about. I wish you the very best. You will never know how many lives you've touched, how many people you made smile, or how many crazies like me you caused to run away from home and join the circus called Top 40 Personality Radio

Man, on behalf of everybody who got to be a part of that era, Thank you Scooter B. Seagraves for choosing Tulsa. We love you forever.

Bob O'Shea

 

[kudzooter]

Bob-O...

First, you owe me for a bunch of Kleenex. First time reading a thread here, made me cry. God bless you for the nice thoughts -- if I really gave you that much incentive to keep on keepin' on, that's truly a 35-years-later PLUS. I'm in pretty regular touch with some of my right-after-KAKC Memphis-daze podjos, and we frequently lament the lack of the spirit and love you mention, in what we see from today's radio folks. I hope it's just that they're too busy to wax enthusiastic, as we probably were back when all that wonderful stuff was happening, and that they'll have some time in their later years to realize how
much fun they're having--and how much joy they're giving their listeners--today.

Second, don't ever let Ron Kirby think I called his Lawton station "minor league." He ran one that could have given us in Tulsa...or Danny Williams, Ronnie Kaye, Chuck Dunaway, Don Wallace, Jerry Kunkel, Dale Wehba, et al...a seriously blood-pressure-spiking run for our money. And if he thought I was low-rating him, he'd probably go back into the legislature and have me declared a retro-felon!

Third/finally, if they were to music "The Who," does that make me to Tulsa radio "The huh?" :

 

[Bob Oshea]

Bob-O...

First, you owe me for a bunch of Kleenex. First time reading a thread here, made me cry. God bless you for the nice thoughts -- if I really gave you that much incentive to keep on keepin' on, that's truly a 35-years-later PLUS. I'm in pretty regular touch with some of my right-after-KAKC Memphis-daze podjos, and we frequently lament the lack of the spirit and love you mention, in what we see from today's radio folks. I hope it's just that they're too busy to wax enthusiastic, as we probably were back when all that wonderful stuff was happening, and that they'll have some time in their later years to realize how
much fun they're having--and how much joy they're giving their listeners--today.

Second, don't ever let Ron Kirby think I called his Lawton station "minor league." He ran one that could have given us in Tulsa...or Danny Williams, Ronnie Kaye, Chuck Dunaway, Don Wallace, Jerry Kunkel, Dale Wehba, et al...a seriously blood-pressure-spiking run for our money. And if he thought I was low-rating him, he'd probably go back into the legislature and have me declared a retro-felon!

Third/finally, if they were to music "The Who," does that make me to Tulsa radio "The huh?" :

Scoot-

First, I'll personally deliver the kleenex as long as your 2,000 feet away from a school. My ankle bracelet brings out the swat teams.

Second, Ron Kirby knew he was top notch. The minor league thing was my terminology, referring of course to the market size. You are right, we could've dropped the station down in Tulsa and all we'd have to change is the mailing address. I dearly loved Ron. I'll go see him as long as he doesn't live too close to a school. :

Third/final, you were and are The Man! If you come back this way, give plenty of notice and we'll plan a big reunion way out in the country somewhere away from those darned cheerleaders. ;D

 

[stan]

Some of Scooter's airchecks are somewhere on the net; believe me it is worth it to look for them. Take note of the rapid fire delivery and the PERFECT diction. Something they don't teach in radio anymore.

I bow at your feet, Scoot.

I also bow. Actually heard Scott on the air when he was over near New Orleans in recent years, and had a brief conversation with him on the phone, if I recall correctly. Almost drove off the road when I heard his voice on the radio again after all these years and in an unexpected location.

There are some really neat KAKC and other Tulsa radio remembrances at:

http://tulsatvmemories.com/tulradio.html

and Scooter's iconization in 2005 is captured here:

http://tulsatvmemories.com/icons05.html

Bless you Scooter for all the fond memories we have of radio during the years when it was fun.

 

[jackd]

I saw the name Chuck Dunaway mentioned. Does anybody know where he is? Last I heard he retired & moved to the Houston area. I worked for him in Joplin, Missouri...he was tough but I learned a lot!!!

 

[Cary Pall]

Scoot: You KNOW how much we wanted to get you on The Sound!

Still ROFL over the 1976 WNOE-FM Nawlins signoff as voiced by you: "and now, the original cast recording...of the Sounds of Silence!" (carrier off)

And, to the rest of you...Tulsa radio back in the day, and today, was/is some of the best radio I've ever heard anywhere.

 

[kudzooter]

Jackd: www.chuckdunaway.com -- almost two years' worth of "The Way I Remember It," remembrances of and from many of the people lucky enough to hear, know, or work with that lovely lunatic. There's also a book about the whole thing.
Cary Pall, thanks for a warm touch on this very cold day at Shack in da Woods.
Scoot.

 

[Bob Oshea]

Jackd: www.chuckdunaway.com -- almost two years' worth of "The Way I Remember It," remembrances of and from many of the people lucky enough to hear, know, or work with that lovely lunatic. There's also a book about the whole thing.
Cary Pall, thanks for a warm touch on this very cold day at Shack in da Woods.
Scoot.

Hey Scoot-
I met Chuck Dunaway back in '96. (That's 1996 for you younger guys.) Quite a guy. One helluva voice and from what I gather, a very storied career. I never knew you two guys worked together. Must be movie material. Hell, your WNOE days and living in 'the quarter' is the stuff of legend. I'm just happy you lived through it. Lawton, Oklahoma was a little Bangkok back in the early 70's thanks to the home of the U.S Army Field Artillery, Ft. Sill. My year there with Ron Kirby turned me into a real maniac......I mean a real air man. Ron to this day is one of the funniest guys on and off the air I ever met. I really should get in touch with him. Like you, big cat, one of a kind. Stay on the boards Scoot. We love your screeds. Hell, write a book about it and make a few million. Then the rest of us worn out old DJ's will come live on your property in a radio hobo camp. Except for me, of course, your new road manager and point man for all the book signings and screenplay contract negotiations. Well, never good to blab everything so I'd better sign off. Time for my meds. They make the voices go away.

Bob O'Shea

 

[kudzooter]

Bob-o, never worked with Chuck, although he did send me several bottles of QED Dandruff Remedy while trying to "work" me on records during his brief promo stint for Jon Abnor's Abnak label.

But he did do something monumental, so far as my staying in radio was concerned. I'd been canned from KAKC for drinking about half the bottle of Canadian Club another record-promo company had brought me, during an on-the-air Christmas party. Allan Abbott--yep, the same incredible pipes/talent we later knew as both Allen King and Jimmy King--was doing KAKC overnights, and they were ready to move him to the afternoon slot since they'd gotten word Jerry Adams would not be returning from his six-month active duty thing. But Chuck was taking over KBOX, and hired Allan for 7-midnight. Don't recall the exact details, but somehow KAKC PD (now "Irving, the 143rd Fastest Production Company in the West") Dick Schmitz helped me script the exact wording and grovel posture to use for GM Bob Hoth, to be allowed to come back to The Mighty 97-Oh. But for Chuck's KBOX staffing, there's a very good chance I'd have done what my late father demanded, given up that silly bleep-bleep radio nonsense, and gone to Law School, the way I was supposed to.
If it please The Court:-- that would've sucked, bigtime.

One quick Ron Kirby thing: A Muskogee big-wig invited Ron to go to an OU game with him, to break in his brand new Male-Enhancement Mobile. The guy drove at speeds that terrified Ron (you KNOW that was some kinda fast), weaving in and out of that Saturday-hell traffic heading for Norman. They got there and Mr. Important whipped into an available space, just ahead of someone else who was moving toward it in a more sensible manner. Just as they got into it, someone in the next space slammed open his car door -- right into the elegant paint job on that first-road-trip beauty. Ron never told me how
much--or NOT--his guy appreciated the instant quip, "Fifteen seconds later, and he'd've missed us."

 

[Bob Oshea]

Bob-o, never worked with Chuck, although he did send me several bottles of QED Dandruff Remedy while trying to "work" me on records during his brief promo stint for Jon Abnor's Abnak label.

But he did do something monumental, so far as my staying in radio was concerned. I'd been canned from KAKC for drinking about half the bottle of Canadian Club another record-promo company had brought me, during an on-the-air Christmas party. Allan Abbott--yep, the same incredible pipes/talent we later knew as both Allen King and Jimmy King--was doing KAKC overnights, and they were ready to move him to the afternoon slot since they'd gotten word Jerry Adams would not be returning from his six-month active duty thing. But Chuck was taking over KBOX, and hired Allan for 7-midnight. Don't recall the exact details, but somehow KAKC PD (now "Irving, the 143rd Fastest Production Company in the West") Dick Schmitz helped me script the exact wording and grovel posture to use for GM Bob Hoth, to be allowed to come back to The Mighty 97-Oh. But for Chuck's KBOX staffing, there's a very good chance I'd have done what my late father demanded, given up that silly bleep-bleep radio nonsense, and gone to Law School, the way I was supposed to.
If it please The Court:-- that would've sucked, bigtime.

One quick Ron Kirby thing: A Muskogee big-wig invited Ron to go to an OU game with him, to break in his brand new Male-Enhancement Mobile. The guy drove at speeds that terrified Ron (you KNOW that was some kinda fast), weaving in and out of that Saturday-hell traffic heading for Norman. They got there and Mr. Important whipped into an available space, just ahead of someone else who was moving toward it in a more sensible manner. Just as they got into it, someone in the next space slammed open his car door -- right into the elegant paint job on that first-road-trip beauty. Ron never told me how
much--or NOT--his guy appreciated the instant quip, "Fifteen seconds later, and he'd've missed us."

Yo Scoot-

That Ron 'too crazy for primetime' Kirby was totally insane. He was in his safe zone from 5:30-9am, Mon-Fri. The weekends, as they used to say, were made for speedboats, naked women and Crown Royal!!!

I'm not even kiddin' a little bit! Ron would come "streaking" by in his boat, doing about 70mph with the best lookin' chicks in a four state area wearing nothing but tan lines. Over time, they were just streaking tans. :

By the time I left the Rockin' AM 1050, I was 22 in dog years. Bitchin' man! Wouldn't trade any of it for money. Wish I had a time machine. (sigh)

Bob O'Shea
Out for the Weekend