Turn of the century memories of Bayou 1450
> anyone know anything about this station from the 80s? i
> landed an aircheck of it from memorial day weekend 1988. the
> tape is in stereo. but the station is on am..i think i
> finally got to listen to am stereo
even if it was on
> tape..
> the format id diffrent to say the least..its all 40s!! no
> 50s! just 40s!
>
All I can contribute to this is some information about Bayou 1450's last days.
When I came to Centennial Broadcasting in 1999, working primarily on WRNO, Bayou 1450 was in the studio down the hall at 201 St. Charles Ave.
It was my great privilege and pleasure to work with 3 outstanding radio people: Jay Gardner and Bob & Jan Carr, who did the morning show.
Not long after I came to Centennial there was some issue with the tower, and for a period of several months Bayou 1450 was not broadcasting from its' tower, but a short wire, described to me as a glorified clothesline. I know I wasn't the only one who thought that Bob & Jan were unjustly held accountable for the understandable ratings drop.
Centennial sold its' stations in a friendly sale to Beasley Broadcasting, who changed the music format to 24/7 infomercials; among them, a Naples, Florida funeral home. Several months later when Beasley sold WRNO and Old School 102.9 to Wilks, they did not sell Bayou 1450 to Wilks. My heart sank for Jay Gardner when all of us were told in the same conference room about the latest owners. Jay Gardner was/is one of the hardest workers and broadcasters I ever worked with, and after Beasley got rid of Bob & Jan (New Orleans radio and TV royalty), he was the only employee at Bayou 1450. Jay Gardner could give you a wealth of information about Bayou 1450 and who killed it.
Before Beasley changed the format to infomercials, I voiced the station liners in a MOR/PBS style read, appropriate to the format. I know I have copies of them on minidisc, buried somewhere in my personal archives, along with some of the promos I voiced for 102.9 in a different dialect.
Bob & Jan always showed tremendous class and patience working in a shared work area with myself and a few others. I want to add this story about them: When Jazzland (later Six Flags New Orleans) held their media opening, Bob & Jan rode every single ride as the rest of us. I mean they rode every rollercoaster, catapult, and contraption that would suspend you upside-down, and they loved every minute of it. They are truly young at heart and shall always have my admiration and respect. Jay Gardner and Bob and Jan Carr are great broadcasters and people who deserved better than they were treated, and were another example in New Orleans of those shafted by the wicked companies spawned by Telcom 96.
At some point after WRNO was swapped with KKND to Clear Channel, Wilks sold WBYU to Disney, where they no doubt air programming that promotes their DVDs, theme parks, and other interests.
Hooks
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Telcom 96, born of greed, destroyed radio forever.
