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When radio was fun...

How dare that man have fun? He could be profitable instead, shoot him, shoot him now!

seriously, that's how CHR OUGHT to sound, but we'll never hear it that way again.
 
;D

Oh, I remember allright!!!
I'm certainly no JO JO Kincaid, but I do recall the days of having fun, talking perfectly up to the post, and making song-to-song segues as well as jingle-to-song segues sound sharp as a tack.
I'd plan sometimes a day ahead.
I still enjoy listening to my old airchecks where I put all those in there.
I recall shift after shift of having as much fun as he was.
I remember hardly believing they were PAYING me to do it.
And the girls!!!!!!!! OMG!
Ah, Yes!
Those were the days my friend.......

Thanks for posting that. When I get time, I'm going back to listen to those other airchecks.
 
I do remember having fun on CHR at Kiss FM in Jonesboogie for many many years. Had to actually run the board and segue between each element EXCEPT the commercials. That was when you had to be on your toes, and concentrate.

Honestly I miss those days of doing song - song segs, or manualy fireing off the sweepers and liners - you could time them just right and make things sound awesome. The downside is that it would also show who really had a lack of board skills.

Now days, with the computers doing everything for you -- it's just BORING to work in a control room -- at least for me. I'm sure some shifts are different from others, but overall, when you take away the human element from radio, it's no longer radio -- it's just background muzak.
 
I was trying to describe to someone from the vinyl-and-cart days what the mechanics of doing radio now are... I told them that you tell the computer to stop here so I can talk, then you start the computer back up.
 
Thanks for posting that Rob! Makes me want to turn off the ipod, and get back into radio again! Don't know what station would play that list now either, but I would listen! Great Video! CFKane
 
I liked the way he used the (very short!) intro to "A Hard Day's Night," but at the same time, I must say that "blowing the work whistle" and playing "Working for the Weekend" every Friday afternoon at 5:00 has become something of a cliche in recent years. I can only hope this clip was from the '80s, before it became a cliche!
 
firepoint525 said:
I liked the way he used the (very short!) intro to "A Hard Day's Night," but at the same time, I must say that "blowing the work whistle" and playing "Working for the Weekend" every Friday afternoon at 5:00 has become something of a cliche in recent years. I can only hope this clip was from the '80s, before it became a cliche!
Click to expand...

Yeah, you can see him smile when he hits it.

I believe this is circa 1986-87.
 
Great vid!
News flash though, radio is still fun like that to some (it is what you make of it)...same rush, different landscape. ;)
 
jb321 said:
Great vid!
News flash though, radio is still fun like that to some (it is what you make of it)...same rush, different landscape. ;)
Click to expand...


You either own a station, or the boss doesn't know what you're doing yet.
 
robgrayson said:
I was trying to describe to someone from the vinyl-and-cart days what the mechanics of doing radio now are... I told them that you tell the computer to stop here so I can talk, then you start the computer back up.
Click to expand...

;D
 
Loved seeing that.

Of all the things that changed radio performers, the "automation software" has had the largest impact. No more physical board work to speak of, no control over the music blend really (why bother? The software does it all right?) and no more working up a sweat over the board. Believe it or not that used to happen.

Being on the air has lost its mechanics to a great extent. It's the difference between playing baseball and playing a baseball video game.

I know everything must change, but it's really too bad in a way.
 
RobHarder said:
Loved seeing that.

and no more working up a sweat over the board.

I know everything must change, but it's really too bad in a way.
Click to expand...

...being able to go to the restroom like normal folks.... ;D
 
...being able to go to the restroom like normal folks....
Click to expand...

Dano,

My mind's going, but aren't you the originator of the "...-ly cloudy today with a high of..."School of How To Sign On Late and CYA at the Same Time?" Seems like it was you who told me about that ruse and another involving you falling asleep on the air and waking up as the GM came flying through the front door---so you ran to the bathroom, splashed water on your face and staggered out in a daze, telling him something about having slipped and fallen, knocking yourself out in the bathroom.

If it wasn't you it had to be Harry Beadle, but I'm betting on you!

(For equal blame, I once fell asleep on the couch in the lobby and woke just as the program was ending. I had a 10 minute newscast to do live and sprinted in my sock feet into the control room, breaking my left little toe on the door jamb! I read that newscast with tears pouring down my cheeks and intermittent shrieks of pain timed to the downroll of the mic pot between stories. You don't forget something like that!)
 
Allan, I have to confess, but at the same time I wouldn't have put it past Harry either.

Being the sign on guy, and being young and restless at the same time, I had a tendency to oversleep. Many times I have jumped out of bed 15 minutes before sign on,raced to the station, flipped on the lights, hit the transmitter switch to warm it up, put a record on the turntable, either start it, then hit the transmitter final to put it on the air, or sit down at the mic and say "ly cloudy through tomorrow with a chance of rain, right now its 10 after six" or at least something similar. I could see people slamming their radios on the kitchen table saying "Ma, there's something wrong with this transistor radio".

The other story didn't actually involve the station manager, but I in fact did fake a bump to the head and fainting story to a radio preacher. I had the pleasure of spending a Saturday night early Sunday morning over imbibing and arriving at the station around 5am for a 6am sign on, I decided a few winks would be proper on the lobby couch. At around 6:30 am I hear banging on the front door and realized it was one of the live Sunday morning preachers. I panicked and all I could think of was rushing into the lobby restroom, come out holding my head in my hand, opening the door and explaining that I slipped and must have knocked myself out.
After giving my explanation and getting sympathy from the preacher, no one was ever the wise.

I remember getting a call from a little lady once after the power went out at the station. After explaining to her why we were off the air, she wanted to know why we couldn't broadcast to those with battery powered radios....true story.

There were also the news copy set on fire routines.

Live ad copy where you inserted the phone number of a jock instead of the business' number.

Recording a spot at the same time you did it live on the air.

Ad libbing ad copy from the newspaper advertisements.

It goes on and on.

Dano
 
Working at K-105 in Paragould AR. I briefly did Sunday's and by that I mean I came in at 5 am - worked til noon, then came back and worked 6pm to midnight. Most of that in the AM was a live preacher and then AT40 til noon - I had like 1 live hour. The PM was live from 6-8 then repeat AT40 from 8 to midnight.

The preacher who would come in could basicly run the board, I'd get it started for him then he'd take over - meanwhile I'd sleep off whatever party we'd had on Saturday night and then he'd come and wake me up as his closing music was playing.

One morning I was just playing the AT40 on vinyl - WOW - and one of the songs was from Metallica - now for SOME reason I didn't see the little note to skip the song. Probably because it was in a 12-13 minute segument and I was still kinda nodding off. Not really sleeping but cat napping - I had the music up loud to keep me from really sleeping and I was just jamming to Metallica - now this was an AC station - I snapped to attention just as the OWNER was walking in the building. I quickly turned the music down and went about business as usual. He came in, said "Hello' and then went to the back of the building to work on a few things - well he was there for maybe 30 minutes - just smiling to himself and doing some paperwork. He came back in as he was leaving, and said "Have a good day - and umm ... read your notes next time please."
 
Live preachers in the studio on Sunday mornings were the bane of my young radio days. Why? Well, the preachers were used to preaching AT someone and the only someone they could see would be ME on the other side of the glass in the control room. Thus I became the target of many sermons.

Most of those preachers were from the fire and brimstone school and they could really get worked up. One in particular would turn his chair to face me through the glass and let me have both barrels, assuring me in no uncertain terms I was on my way to Hell strapped to the front bumper of a postal truck driven by a mad postal worker trying to reload as he drove.

One Sunday I gave in to my baser side and, just as the preacher ended one particularly juicy description of my fate in the near future, I plastered the centerfold of the September, 1968, Playboy magazine against the glass in front of his face! He double-clutched like the semi in Harry Chapin's "80,000 Pounds of Bananas" and reared back in his chair in utter shock. Spittle formed on his lips and he finally got his breath back after a good ten seconds. With eyes like saucers, teeth gleaming and spittle flying, he lurched forward in his chair and caught the scent once more, like a bloodhound after running across some black pepper. "Oh ye whorers after the heathen," he cried, "perdition and damnation await you." (I always meant to look up "perdition')

He got so wound up he never looked at the clock and I had to turn his mic off and read the close before he appealed for funds. I had to get the next program on the air. Well, he never forgave me for that - not the Playboy Bunny - the not letting him get is plea in for financial support.

He was quite wary in the weeks that followed and I was able to relax a bit and think of things other than perdition.
 
Okay...here's one.

I worked the Sunday Morning Shift (6a-12n) mostly Gospel music and "Dollar-A-Hollers" on tape (reel)
At 9 "PowerLine" with Brother Jon Rivers was thirty minutes solid on vinyl.
I'd start it, then jump in the Firebird and go to the Huck's Convenience store a few blocks away and grab a little hangover-helping breakfast.

One morning while waiting in line to pay, I heard the dreaded ,
"I'm Brother Jon Rivers, and you're on the Pow..., you're on the Pow...you're on the Pow!"

Needless to say, that was my fastest trip ever back from Huck's.

I, like each of us, have a million of 'em.

Like getting caught sitting in an old wheelchair in the basement, smoking something I shouldn't have been, during AT40 once. Thatnk God the PD was only 22, and he sat down and shared, and just told me NEVER to do it in the building again. I looked up to him, he was much older and wiser. I was 17. It was HIS wheelchair.

Okay...that was 2.

hahaha...those WERE the days!
 
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