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WKOR-Starkville

GJames,
Do you remember that brown Pontiac Bonneville? It was a hand-me-down from you. It was huge. In the Delta we would call it a "sled". My wife called it "Battleship Bonneville", but I was glad to have it. I think Mr. Cooper ( I never called him Chuck) let me use it because I think he felt sorry for me having to ride my Honda to work when it rained.
I wrecked it in the first couple of weeks. Cooper was always very good to me. He and DePriest were into cellular licensing at the time. Remembering that led me into that biz almost 15 years ago. Turns out that it was a good move, so I do owe him a lot. Those days were fun. It has been great to go back for a while.

-Chuck

Are you the Chuck in Greenwood?

Yea. I remember that Bonneville. It was a land yacht. Huge. I recall reading that DePriest got Cooper's part of the radio station back for "no compensation." Never was sure how that happened. If you haven't kept up the the DePriest adventure, google him and see what's happened in the last few years. I talked to Chuck several years ago. He was looking for a programming/production guy for his station in North Carolina. There is a post about it on this site, if you want to search for it.
 
Checking 201 Lampkin on Google street view, the last time the Google picture truck rolled through the building sign indicated the occupant was called Video Magic 1. However, their current website indicates that business seems to have moved to Stark Street.
 
I just wrote a novel length monotribe detailing what happened to all the former locations of all the stations I worked for in Mississippi. The connection timed out before I could post. Oh well.
 
OK, I'll try again.

WJPR (now WNIX) was located, in the late 60's early 70's, in a house south of downtown Greenville, next to Ella Darling Elementary. As Walt would tell you, this place was, at best, creepy, at worst, downright haunted. However, the folks there would let the 8th and 9th grade me come goof with their unused studios, and goof I did. That location is now someone's residence. I would assume it is someone with a high tolerance of feeling like they are being watched.

WBAQ-FM was on the third floor, southeast corner, of the May building on Washington Avenue. The antenna was atop the building. I recall on a few warm spring days that Mike Ratliff would climb over the album rack, out the window, and onto the roof of the building next door for a little "fresh air." Mike was an avowed WJDX-FM-listening hippie who played easy listening music 8 hours a day for a living, on a station that signed on with "Dixie" and signed off with "The Lord's Prayer" by Jim Nabors. That location is now vacant.

The building which housed WDDT is still the offices and press plant of the Delta Democrat Times. There is no indication that a radio station was ever there, provided they washed the years of nicotine accumulation off the yellowing walls. WDDT was Bishop Willis-ed to death.

More to come...
 
We've touched on the disposition of WKOR. The prevailing rumor when I worked there was that it had been a doctor's office, and the basement had been used, upon occasion, for storing overflow clients from a nearby funeral home. My thinking now is they told us that so we wouldn't hang around late at night and run up the light bill.

WJDX is at least in the same building it was when I worked there. Many who post here can testify to the culture shock experienced when we small-town kids would first see the glamorous hi-tech pleasure palace which was Lamar Life Broadcasting's showcase.

When I worked at 1590, it was years removed from their David vs Goliath WWUN days. My 1590 was Y-16, and the studios were in the basement of the Jackson Hilton. I think, if it still stands, it's probably a state building of some sort now. I learned much at the transmitter site, in the Jim Walter home, about trying to achieve 50-j-0 with an antenna system. I was saddened that those towers were felled, and the frequency silent. In a twist of irony, 35 years later I am again (as of when I left yesterday... it IS radio after all) a program director working for the same GM I was at Y-16.
 
I've probably already written this several pages back, but Fall 1975 WKOR... GJames was morning guy and PD. He has always been the Yoda of program directors (meant in the nicest way possible), and to this day every word from his lips is golden, in my estimation.

I did middays and was "news director," which meant I did a newscast in mornings. The two events I remember covering were Gil Carmichael's gubernatorial campaign appearance in Columbus, and a debate between candidates for Attorney General held at the TV station in Tupelo.

Larry K. Blakeney followed me. He intimated that he was pursuing ownership at some point, but like so many who persued ownership, he spoke in code. He had the sort of voice that, every time he cracked the mike it sounded like a major market promo (meant in the nicest way possible).
John Boogie Bailey made it all the way to WLS-FM. Wow! Another big voice guy who left us way too soon. I still run into Fred Wilson (Buster) on facebook.
 
robgrayson said:
I just wrote a novel length monotribe detailing what happened to all the former locations of all the stations I worked for in Mississippi. The connection timed out before I could post. Oh well.
Click to expand...
Man I would love to read that.
You have been Up&Down the dial and across the land.
Always talent that radiated--> This Dude Has What It Takes and with longevity=Proven True!!
Rob, Please --> frequently copy docs...... This has happened to me so many times, it's a pisser offer ::)
C&P is natural to me after many losses involving hours of work.

Hey, Hey-- Rob consider another attempt at post on novel length monotribe.
I'd love that !
 
Rob are you the local Mississippi historian? Seems you know a great deal about who was and where it was in the old days! Actually I remember some of that also.
 
I just keep waking up and showing up, and when I talk about things that seem (to me) like fairly recent events, it turns out they are, in fact, history.
 
The prevailing rumor when I worked there was that it had been a doctor's office, and the basement had been used, upon occasion, for storing overflow clients from a nearby funeral home. Posted by: robgrayson


Bobby Gray, I mean Rob Gray, I mean Rob Grayson is correct. The Old WKOR building in Starkville was a doctors office for many years. It was the office for Video Magic for a couple of years recently and the last I heard it had been divided up for use as rental apartments. I pass by there just about every day and thought about stopping to see what the inside looks like.

When we operated the radio station out of the basement (the "dungeon" to Skinny Johnny Franklin), I remember seeing a death certificate the doctor signed. The cause of death said.. The patient laid down the boogie and played that funky music 'til he died." At least I think that's what it said. May be wrong about that.
GJames
 
Speaking of which. Whatever became of 980 AM? I know it had changed formats many years ago, but It's been off the air the last several times I've been through Starkville. I also noticed that 1450 in West Point is also gone and WCPC Houston has given up its night signal. WEPA in Eupora has been gone since the late 90's. I also remember WCBI 550 that had a decent signal that has been gone for many years.
 
FT...You would be amazed if you took a survey of AM statiions gone since 1960...including Ripley, Calhoun City, Greenville, Drew, Grenada, Cleveland,,,and these are just in N Mississippi..." The times, they are a'changin!" JBI
 
The AM radios these days are so lousy and have smaller antennas combined with the excessive static caused by power lines that nobody at the power company will do anything about has virtually wiped out the AM band in some areas. Even for nearby stations. On highway 80 in downtown Brandon 970 has powerline static even though the tower is less than a mile away. Just in central Mississippi I can think of a lot of stations that are off the air. \
720 Flowood
1550 Jackson
1450 Jackson
1590 Jackson
810 Magee
1320 Vicksburg
590 Crystal Springs
850 Forrest
1110 (?) Newton
1340 Brookhaven
980 McComb
1250 McComb
1340 Laurel
1310 Hattiesburg
1230 Hattisburg
890 Laurel
1420 Wiggens
1270 Montecello
1230 Yazoo City
1560? bay springs
and numerous others
 
That was a mistype. I meant to put 1420 for WQBC. I read on here that it was supposed to come back on, but I haven't heard anything yet. Back in the 70's there was a station in Prentiss WKPO. And I believe there was a station in Taylorsville if I'm not mistaken. Wasn't there an AM station around Port Gibson or Natchez that is gone? There also seems to be quite a few stations that were driven in the ground by Rev. Willis.
 
Believe WKPO was on 1510. Port Gibson originally had 1320 I think, and later it moved to another freq. Taylorsville WSCO 1280 was gone long long ago... I think it was silent by the mid 70s. The 1280 freq was originally used by WSJC Magee (moved to 790, then 810); Taylorsville took 1280 when Magee abandoned it. Wasn't Carthage on 1480 before moving to 1080? And yes Willis Bcstg meant the kiss of death for several stations.
 
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