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Your favorite radio story

F

fullness

I spent nearly 20 years in radio and had the honor to work at some great stations with great people. Like a lot of you I started in my teens at the local, low power station but along the way I've collected lots of good stories.
One that happened to me was when I was working weekends and swing shifts at WKY about 1978-79. I was filling in for Mike Munday one afternoon and David Rucker was getting ready to read the 5 p.m. news. The top story that day was about a break out at the McAlester pen where the escaping convicts shot and killed some troopers before getting shot to death themselves.
Rucker reads the story then goes into the tease for the break - "the news brought to you by Smokey Davidson Dodge. Finally there's a smokey you can deal with."
I hit the spot which begins with the sound of a siren. The copy went something like this..."Me and Lefty just busted out of Big Mac and we're looking for hot deals." Needless to say, Rucker and I stared at each other in horror before I popped in a PSA and killed the spot. Doh.

I would like to know from some others unforgettable stories about your radio daze. We all hear about the newscaster getting his copy set on fire or a girl undressing while he reads. There are also stories of close calls and huge faux pas. I'm collecting some of the better stories for a book so lets hear what cha' got.
Thanks
(and hi to Skip E. I saw an earlier post from you. We worked together at KOMA in the 70s....)
 
KVOO's Jay Jones had lost a leg during WWII. The late Robert Comstock told me Jay had a favorite way of breaking in new news guys:-- He'd make a big deal of waving a sheaf of teletype paper...then hurry into the studio...prop his foot up on the edge of the desk...and attach the hot story to his leg--with a pushpin.

Robert also told me something that has that 'urban legend' smell. When KVOO was still downtown in the Philtower, the studio was not in sightline with the control room, so they had a big bell hanging in the announcer booth. As Robert's story went: a new, nervous board op pulled the rope a little too hard, in his eagerness to be sure the announcer knew his mike was going hot. Came time for his spiel, and nothing happened. Engineer ran (believe it was, down some stairs) and found the announcer unconscious -- the bell had broken loose and
cold-cocked him.

Well, Mary my Hopkin, my friend, those were the days.
 
Hello Bro John, how have you been all these years. I remember the last time I saw you. You were with Bo ? at Michaels Plumb where I was spinning, you guys wanted to know if I would be interested in PT at KLTE. We need to get caught up some day.
SKIP
 
Talking with Jerry Wallace on Saturday...recounted this story and he suggested I put it here. Mid 80s or so... I'm doing mornings at K95 and Charlie Derek is at KRAV. We were in Liberty Towers; they in University Towers, with each building visible from the other. I get a call from Charlie at 8:15...wonders if I'm OK.
"Sure, Charlie, why not?" "Your building is on fire!"

We were on the second floor...he saw smoke pouring from the seventh...Larry Hoefling, my news guy was prepping his 8:30 cast in room without windows, isolated. We had no idea. Turned out to be no big deal, but I couldn't resist reporting it on the air...and grabbing the cellophane off my cigarette pack (yes, we did that evil deed in the studio then!)...crumbled it in my hand, close to the mic, as I spoke. Amazing how much like flame that sounds. Promised my audience I'd stay FOR THE DURATION...at whatever cost. Couple people called, buying into my "bravado"...
 
And one more...from my rookie year of 1968, at WJIC in Salem, NJ...250 watt daytimer. I was in high school, eager to get going in radio...found out one of the guys at the station lived in my town, about ten miles away. Walked to his place one day...knocked on his door...asked if I could join him Sunday afternoons for his county show to learn the basics. Nice guy! Said yes, picked me up and took me several Sundays, taught me the board...ran it for him...then let me go solo from 6:30-7:00pm, signoff time in September in Jersey.

Turns out...about 6:30 almost every Sunday, a female visitor showed up...they disappeared to the back and she left about 6:55. I was curious (yellow!)...but would NOT leave the studio lest a piece of vinyl run out on me.

My guess is he was training her as he had me...using the same words, perhaps..."You have to work this mic REAL close..."
 
I got the bug for radio when I was 8 years old. I heard my brother (Tom, now in Lawton, KSWO-TV), on the air one day on KBIX or KMUS and thought that was a pretty interesting job. The next morning, I get on my bike and peddled my way down to KOKL on 6th street in Okmulgee. I planted myself outside the window on the sidewalk in front of the Enterprise building and watched.... for EIGHT HOURS. I stayed there all day and it became a habit. I was outside that window watching those guys doing whatever they did as much as I could. I must have driven those poor people nuts ("There's that damn kid again!"). Finally I made friends with the secretary who told the owner, Bill Brauer (who passed in 1992) about me. Bill was great. He let me in the station and I got to CUE UP A RECORD! I was in heaven. He finally hired me when I was 15, dubbing music onto carts (we had the old IGM Carousel automation--another story in itself!), and doing other things around the station. I met Bill's son, Bob, a great broadcaster, now in California, through KOKL and there were some really talented guys who when through there. Danny Caywood, Ty Dixon, Ron Langley, (I have no idea what happened to Danny, Ty, or Ron--wish I did), Steve Suttle (who went on to KAKC), and Don Bishop (now at KRMG--We share KOKL stories when I fill in doing traffic for John Filbeck on KRMG). All great guys. Bill Brauer sold KOKL to Bob Brewer in 1973. Bob Brewer is a great radio man. Bill taught me how to talk on the radio, Bob Brewer taught me what a radio station is supposed to be. I learned just about everything I know from those two great, inspiring broadcasters. KOKL, I'm proud to say, is still on the air on AM 1240 in Okmulgee, and is still operated by Bob Brewer. You want to know how to run your local station--and keep it on the air? Go talk to Bob. KOKL moved out of the Enterprise building several years ago and is now in the former Kress' building (where I bought a copy of Bob Dylan's "I Want You," in 1966). Paul Brown, who worked at KOKL when I started there in 1970, still works for the station. Some of the best years of my life were spent in that station. I have the old Gates console from the control room and the 4 pot Gates production board from my time there in my garage. God Bless KOKL.
 
I can`t draw on a long time radio career like all of you old f______s but I can tell you about the time I thought I killed Billy Parker. Before I took Jack Fox`s old 7-midnight shift I was filling in occasionally for the legendary & all around great guy Larry Scott from midnight until 6 am. At that time AM & FM was simulcasting midnight until 10am. Billy came on the AM at 10am & Charlene Lewis on the FM. Well someone had put a very lifelike rubber snake in my station mailbox & not knowing who the culprit was I thought I in turn would have some fun. At the end of my 12-6am shift I put said snake in Billys file cabinet wrapped around his headphones. I then went home & waited with gleeful anticipation for his 10:05 sign on as usual. But after news break music started playing with no Billy as usual most every day. At about 10:20 Charlene came on the AM (she NEVER was on the AM before to my knowledge) saying a brief 'This is KVOO'. I thought "Holy Hell I gave Billy a hear attack". After a panicked guilt ridden call to the station I discovered the switch which controlled the simulcast had stuck. Don`t think I ever owned up to the snake in the drawer. Until now anyway. Ahh good times, good times.
 
not making this up.

Traffic girl somes out of traffic on a very sleepy AC station to read the sponsorship and instead of saying "this traffic report sponsored by Tucker Federal..." out comes the worst, yep:

"this traffic report sponsored by #ucker Tederal"...she managed to keep going, didn't miss a beat and didn't lose her job.
 
Wife of one of the early-60s KAKC jocks told of almost ditching it at 70MPH, coming through Joplin. Heard a newscruiser report from a multi-alarm blaze, including "avoid the area of xxx and yyy streets. Traffic's at a total standstill. There are trire f**ks all over the place."

And the late Don Kelly (of "Kelly & Chauncey" fame) was called out of an in-station Friday-before-Christmas party, to cover the arrest of a fugitive wanted for a violent armed robbery at a strip mall on Tulsa's Southwest Blvd. Kel had had more than a couple of adult beverages before hustling to the police department and reporting back that "Joe Blow has just been booked into Tulsa Jail. He'll be charged with the hijacking of several stores at west Tulsa's Crystal Sh***y Soppping Shenter ... that's Crystal Sh***y Sopping Shenter -- no, Crystal Sh***y Sopping Shenter ... well, that big mall out on SW Blvd."
 
I have a ton of stories and maybe more will come to me but one of my funniest memories is of the early KMOD/KXXO days in '77 when we used turntables. It was not uncommon to hear the KMOD jock say something like.....'Clapton on 97.5 KMOD'....song starts at wrong speed followed by an audible "GOT!"...mic off then hearing the song speed up to normal play. I was notorious for doing the same thing just down the hall on XO, only I was famous for leaving the mic open and then letting an occasional "SON OF A BITCH!" fly through the ethers. My GM, Travis Reeves stepped into my studio one morning after one of my temper inspired vocal episodes to tell me he was thinking the exact same thing! I loved that guy. He was so forgiving.

Bob O'Shea
 
Travis Reeves your GM? Same guy who's now managing Bill Payne's station in Muskogee?

HERE'S ONE FROM MY YOUNGER, BRASHER DAYS:

Late 80s...PD at K95...doing a lot of traveling to New City's other markets for strategic meetings. Got to Orlando one morning, walked in and Ron Bisson, the morning guy at K92 called out..."Cooper! Get in the studio!" Turned out he had a guest not show and needed to kill some time with kibbutzing. He wanted to talk about Oklahoma, etc...took the regular cheap shots...cowboys, Indians, backwoods, etc...I absorbed them, then told him what the most popular bumper sticker in Tulsa was..."MRS. ROBERTS GIVES ORAL S*X".
He howled, we wrapped, I went to the meeting and thot that was it. At lunchtime I got the word the phones went nuts after my line...evidently I had upset a bunch of Oral's supporters in Florida! I finish the meeting, get on the plane, come home...get on the air the next morning and the phone rings. "You got the guts to tell the joke in Tulsa you told in Orlando yesterday?" It was a regular K95 listener...he and his fam were driving their rental car back to the airport following vaca...looked for a country station, found K92 and heard me.
I told him not to hold his breath waiting for that joke from these lips in this town.
 
So sad to hear that. I actually did a remote with Danny more than ten years ago on KVOO at a mobile home business in Tulsa. It was great seeing him and talking about the old days at KOKL. We didn't get to visit much, our remote had them pretty busy, but it was fun all the same. Please extend my condolences and respect to his family.
 
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