My Radio Inspiration

bobby ocean kgbAs a kid I wanted to be a disk jockey. There was something about having anonymity and fame simultaneously that appealed to teenage Geoff. My chance came in 1969. I stayed in radio 11 years.

There were many inspirations: Dan Ingram and Brucie on WABC, Murray the K on WINS, Joey Reynolds, Danny Nevereth and Bud Ballou on WKBW, Shadoe Stevens, J.J. Jeffrey and Dale Dorman on WRKO.

I’m not sure any of them had the same impact as this single aircheck from KGB in San Diego. It was a station I’d never heard live.

This was the late sixties and the “Drake format” was taking hold. All of a sudden disk jockeys were given structure and rules. What should have held them back actually made them more “boss.” KGB was the perfect example.

The aircheck was assembled in the hopes of winning the annual Gavin Awards Station of the Year. I’m not sure who actually won, but this presentation is so indelibly etched in my psyche I can still recite it word-for word.

If you make it to the end, you’ll hear a ridiculous amount of 1968 dollars being given away!

The WMEX/Westclox Timecheck Jingle Story

That would be a good radio story since these timecheck jingles were quite rare (I haven’t heard them since I worked at WMEX and seriously doubt a copy still exists). There’s more.

I got an email from John Harper this morning. An aircheck of mine has been placed on the Northeast Airchecks site&#185. I went to take a look and give a quick listen. The aircheck is well over 30 years old.

Geoff Fox WPEN Phildelphia 1978. (12:40) For the last 25+ years, Fox has been meteorologist at WTNH-TV New Haven, but back in the late 70’s, he was jocking at WPEN in Philadelphia. WPEN was a significant force in those days, known as great sounding adult contemporary station. Fox doesn’t disappoint as a jock (and for that matter as a meteorologist either!) Aircheck was contributed by Steve West.

I suppose I wouldn’t have included the quote had it been less flattering. Thanks Northeast Airchecks.

As I was looking down the list or recordings I saw: Bud Ballou WMEX. That’s Bud on the left.

I knew Bud when I was in college and worked at WMEX Boston (making $1.60 per hour!) where he was a jock. I think it was Bud who told me to have a different autograph and signature–strange and probably worthless advice I still slavishly follow.

Geez — long way to go for this story about WMEX.

Back in engineering sat two tape cartridge machines connected to a electromechanical clock device. Every minute one became ‘hot’ while the other silently advanced to the next cut. When the on-air disk jockey hit a button the ‘hot’ machine fired and played a jingle sung WITH THE TIME! There were 720 (12×60) separate jingles each sung for a single minute of the day.

“The time in rhyme is six twenty three on the new W-M-E-X.”

Expensive? Very!

That makes this all quite strange since WMEX was run as cheaply as humanly possible. Spending this kind of cash didn’t fit the station’s story. Max Richmond, the owner, managed the place and he watched every penny–every one. Wikipedia says:

“Max Richmond was reportedly a challenge to work for, with his alleged micro-managing and abrasive personality…”

The station cut a deal. A few minutes of each hour the jingle sang,

“The Westclox time is five oh nine on the new W-M-E-X (or the appropriate minute).”

WMEX saved a ton of money while having these custom jingles because Westclox footed the bill. That would be a good radio story since these timecheck jingles were quite rare (I haven’t heard them since I worked at WMEX and seriously doubt a copy still exists). There’s more.

In the studio on the audio console sat the button to make it all work. Next to the button was a note. “Do not play between :10 and :20”

They got the jingles. They never played the ones with the Westclox commercials!

&#185 – An aircheck is how disk jockeys show off their work. It’s a recording of a radio show that only includes the parts when the mic is on. No commercials (except live reads) and no songs save the first and last few seconds.

Bootleg Top-40 Lives

It wasn’t a conventional LP. It was a recording of airchecks–short snippets of disk jockeys talking over the intros and outros of top-40 hits. The actual songs were inconsequential. Once the disk jockey stopped talking the track cut to the next element.

The photo on the left arrived in my mailbox early this morning. Bill Dillane found it and wanted me to forward it to my friend Howard Lapides, the guy holding the album.

Done.

It’s probable you’ve never heard Bootleg Top-40, the album in Howard’s hands. It wasn’t a conventional LP. It was a recording of airchecks–short snippets of disk jockeys talking over the intros and outros of top-40 hits. The actual songs were inconsequential. Once the disk jockey stopped talking the track cut to the next element.

I was just getting started on-the-air when this album arrived. This was disk jockey porn! It was a collection of impressive jocks to rip off emulate… and I did.

I committed it to memory! I can still recite all the lines from WAKY’s Bill Bailey or KCBQ’s Rich “Brother” Robin along with dozens of others.

Like nearly everything else Bootleg Top-40 has found its way to the Internet. If you enjoyed listening to top-40 radio in the 70s (or want to hear what it was like) it’s worth a click.