WROA Gulfport

[qid937]

Came across John Week's fantastic collection of Mississippi airchecks and listened to one of WROA from the late seventies when they where spinning Top 40. Does anyone know how long WROA kept the Top 40 format and when they switched to standards? I figure since Dowdy owned ROA that it may have stayed Top 40 until the launch of Power 108.

 

[Powerpig56]

Actually, it was something else before Power 108, I worked there right after they did the flip but at the moment, my old brain can't remember what it was called. It was a fairly hard edged rock format and the call were what they are today, WZKX. I want to say that it was Kix or something like that.

 

[robgrayson]

Two great jocks who made the move from WROA to 62JDX back in the mid-70's... Ray Zoller and Dennis Jon Bailey. Ray was a great one-on-one communicator, and Dennis was exceptional in deveolping creative ways to get his audience involved with his show. Before the end of that decade, Ray went on to PD at 13Q in Pittsburgh; and Dennis jocked at WRKO, Boston.

 

[IamDumbRadioGuy]

As you will recall WZKX was at 107.1 (before ownership rules changed) as ZKX 107 (chr/aor/Drake Chenault). Morgan put ZKX on 107.9 in March 1987, under new leadership. Mornings Brian Rhodes, news with late Dave Melton Sr., Mark McCraw middays, The Real Rick James afternoons (and P.D.), Mark Gunn nights, and Reverend Red 10p-2a. Maybe Scott Sands/Darren Kies overnights weekends I think. WROA was easy listening with 6 reels that had to be changed evry copule of hours. That automation was horrible. And the waether was always old. Sands was the worst about updating it.

 

[qid937]

Rob Grayson: Glad to see you visit our part of the world 'further down the river' from your old haunts in Greenville and M-town.

Dumbradioguy: U can't be that dumb to remember the jock line up? Rhodes is PD/Morning man for Kicker 108 today, what has become of the rest of the airstaff you mentioned? Scott Sands still post here on rare occasion and last I heard Kies was a lawyer, but those are the only two I can account for.

BTW in there last year as Top 40 I remember hearing either Lisa V or Pattie Stelle on one weekend and after the switch to dreaded country, they kept using the same bed for weather.

 

[robgrayson]

Thanks for the mention. I was a fan of QID back in the day, whenever we would make it to the coast I would hunt it down first thing. Had a couple of friends and acqaintances who were there over the course of time.
Perhaps my one and only contribution to gulf coast broadcasting was the long running series of radio spots for Treasure Bay casino back in the 90's, featuring the pirate and parrot. I produced them for about 5 years, and I was the parrot.
Awwk!

 

[qid937]

Thanks for the mention. I was a fan of QID back in the day, whenever we would make it to the coast I would hunt it down first thing. Had a couple of friends and acqaintances who were there over the course of time.
Perhaps my one and only contribution to gulf coast broadcasting was the long running series of radio spots for Treasure Bay casino back in the 90's, featuring the pirate and parrot. I produced them for about 5 years, and I was the parrot.
Awwk!

QID the one and only, wish they where still here! They'd make a good Adult Hits station today playing the hits they made famous in the first place.

I loved that old Tresure Bay melody used as a bed in the captain and parrot spots and promos. "It's a pirate's den at Treasure Bay...Casino"

 

[robgrayson]

The Treasure Bay spots made for a fun series of sessions. The reason we landlocked types wound up with the account in the first place is that there was a Treasure Bay in Tunica, and the folks on the coast liked what we were doing for that one, so they used us for the ads. The voice for the captain was the late Jim Ostrander. When they give out the annual theatre awards here in Memphis, they are know as the "Ostranders" in Jim's honor. He was always the consummate voice pro, and had a laugh that would kill a VU meter at 50 yards.
The lady with the ad agency always gave us latitude to spice up the gags if we saw something we could do, so we were given some creative license on them.

I was also the engineer on the series of spots with the three ladies that ran for the last couple of years before Katrina.

 

[scottsands]

Hey, DumbGuy ... I updated the weather on WROA every time Morgan called me!

WZKX was some bad TM Century Drake Rock Hits thing until it went true CHR in March 1987 with Rick James, Top Gunn, and the Rev ... and the Power 108 "worst" to first story followed.

WROA was Standards the entire time I was there, from 1984-1989. It was Mr. Dowdy's personal favorite. "Want a coke?"

I'm alive and well at Entercom Indianapolis and Darren made good as a lawyer based in Birmingham.

 

[fatman]

Hey, DumbGuy ... I updated the weather on WROA every time Morgan called me!

WZKX was some bad TM Century Drake Rock Hits thing until it went true CHR in March 1987 with Rick James, Top Gunn, and the Rev ... and the Power 108 "worst" to first story followed.

WROA was Standards the entire time I was there, from 1984-1989. It was Mr. Dowdy's personal favorite. "Want a coke?"

I'm alive and well at Entercom Indianapolis and Darren made good as a lawyer based in Birmingham.

Tell my buddy Willy B I said hello!

 

[qid937]

Hey, DumbGuy ... I updated the weather on WROA every time Morgan called me!

WZKX was some bad TM Century Drake Rock Hits thing until it went true CHR in March 1987 with Rick James, Top Gunn, and the Rev ... and the Power 108 "worst" to first story followed.

WROA was Standards the entire time I was there, from 1984-1989. It was Mr. Dowdy's personal favorite. "Want a coke?"

I'm alive and well at Entercom Indianapolis and Darren made good as a lawyer based in Birmingham.

Tell my buddy Willy B I said hello!

Willy B, formerly of WLTS-FM New Orleans? That guy cooked every night on 105.3 with the 80s @ 8.

 

[scottsands]

Hey, DumbGuy ... I updated the weather on WROA every time Morgan called me!

WZKX was some bad TM Century Drake Rock Hits thing until it went true CHR in March 1987 with Rick James, Top Gunn, and the Rev ... and the Power 108 "worst" to first story followed.

WROA was Standards the entire time I was there, from 1984-1989. It was Mr. Dowdy's personal favorite. "Want a coke?"

I'm alive and well at Entercom Indianapolis and Darren made good as a lawyer based in Birmingham.

Tell my buddy Willy B I said hello!

Willy B, formerly of WLTS-FM New Orleans? That guy cooked every night on 105.3 with the 80s @ 8.

</p>

Love Willie B! He IS the last great boss jock!
Ironically, and to show you what a small business radio is ... Willie B worked with "The Real" Rick James (the PD who launched Power 108) and Joel Denver on Baltimore's Best B104 in the early 80's.
I thought *I* knew alot of radio people ... he knows ALL the greats, and probably worked with them.
You can listen to him live on The Track weekday afternoons from 3p-7p ET at http://www.1079TheTrack.com

 

[IamDumbRadioGuy]

Mark is working for WAOY, the AFR affiliate in Gulfport, RJ is selling real estate in Hattiesburg, Gunn is on the air in Louisville, after stops in L.A. and San Francisco, and the Rev works for Triad on Hank, I think (p.m. drive). Sands is in Indy, and Kies is a lawyer in B'ham. BTW, what ever became of Don Silver?

 

[sixfigure]

There were alot and I mean alot of memorable Jocks at ROA during the Top 40 days.

Tim Brando did mornings during the late seventies...you may remember him from ESPN. Does a national sports talk show now.
I replaced Jack Talley who became Jack Da Whack In NYC.

Bob Kitzmiller (Bobby K) kicked off ZKX. Now a MM in Corpus Christi.

Ben Sudduth the News Director went on to become an anchor at WWL for years.

Steve Scott and Ken Knight were on KAAY during the Hey day.

Dave Dunaway was on Y100 after working for Morgan. Now is OM for Guarunty in Baton Rouge.

I must say I enjoyed the nearly 3 years I was there and Morgan treated me fairly and paid us a fair wage.

One of my better experiences in local ownership.

 

[sixfigure]

I just thought of a good story from those WROA Days.
Each year WROA would broadcast prior to Halloween from the haunted house the JayCees did.

Gary Thieman was the night guy at the time. On Halloween night one year Thieman went into the House on Halloween night and never came out.
He actually had taken a job in the Carolina's.

Two years later on Halloween night Thieman comes out of the same Haunted House and picked up his old shift of 7-mid on WROA.
It made the papers that week and some TV coverage as well.

I thought it was a great way to send off and bring back a popular local personality.

 

[jmtillery]

WROA was programming beautiful music as early as 1979. I remember it well because we have another AM station here in Gainesville, Florida which operates on 1390 - WAJD. Back then the Gainesville station was Top 40 WAKA, but it was a daytimer. After sign-off, WROA would blast in very clear and was playing beautiul music/easy listening, and it sounded excellent. It was very well programmed, especially for an AM station playing that particular format. It was several years later before WROA would become an Adult Standards formatted station.

J. Mark Tillery
Ocala, Florida

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

WROA was programming beautiful music as early as 1979. I remember it well because we have another AM station here in Gainesville, Florida which operates on 1390 - WAJD. Back then the Gainesville station was Top 40 WAKA, but it was a daytimer. After sign-off, WROA would blast in very clear and was playing beautiul music/easy listening, and it sounded excellent. It was very well programmed, especially for an AM station playing that particular format. It was several years later before WROA would become an Adult Standards formatted station.

J. Mark Tillery
Ocala, Florida

Im guessing the WROA towers went up before the neighborhood thats there now was ever around...

I remember being able to see the WROA towers from a distance away in the parking lot of a sporting goods store in Biloxi or Gulfport... taking pics of them was pretty cool too.

I seem to recall there were some FM Bays (4 of them?) up there on one of the towers!~

 

[qid937]

WROA was programming beautiful music as early as 1979. I remember it well because we have another AM station here in Gainesville, Florida which operates on 1390 - WAJD. Back then the Gainesville station was Top 40 WAKA, but it was a daytimer. After sign-off, WROA would blast in very clear and was playing beautiul music/easy listening, and it sounded excellent. It was very well programmed, especially for an AM station playing that particular format. It was several years later before WROA would become an Adult Standards formatted station.

J. Mark Tillery
Ocala, Florida

Im guessing the WROA towers went up before the neighborhood thats there now was ever around...

I remember being able to see the WROA towers from a distance away in the parking lot of a sporting goods store in Biloxi or Gulfport... taking pics of them was pretty cool too.

I seem to recall there were some FM Bays (4 of them?) up there on one of the towers!~

I take these are the towers up in Orange Grove off of Deaduex(sp) Road?

 

[radioguybroadcasting]

Im guessing the WROA towers went up before the neighborhood thats there now was ever around...

I remember being able to see the WROA towers from a distance away in the parking lot of a sporting goods store in Biloxi or Gulfport... taking pics of them was pretty cool too.

I seem to recall there were some FM Bays (4 of them?) up there on one of the towers!~

I take these are the towers up in Orange Grove off of Deaduex(sp) Road?

I don't remember the name of the road, but they're 4 towers in 2 inline rows.

 

[Powerpig56]

They are on Klein RD. North of Dedeaux. I used to stand on the porch and watch lightning skip from tower to tower. Quite a sight!