REEL TOP 40 RADIO REPOSITORY
 Bob Green, 1963
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Bob Green of Bob Green Productions in Houston was PD of WKNR, Detroit, a great and legendary Top 40 station. Prior to WKNR, he worked at WQAM in Miami, and after WKNR, he was PD at KULF in Houston. He has about 700 reels of some of the greatest Top 40 radio ever made - and Bob made a lot of it! Bob says: I began in radio in 1958, and I remember well how radio people would tell me... "now in MY day..." I promised myself that when I got to be the old guy, I'd NEVER say that to an aspiring radio personality. And, I've NEVER said it - but I THINK it all the time. I'm very glad I had the opportunity to work Top 40 in the sixties. Bob's collection is particularly notable (and delightful!) for the focus on production elements and commercial jingles of the era. Bob has demos of his award-winning production online at the Bob Green Productions website, and he invites you to surf on in at your convenience. There is simply no other way to thank Bob for these treasures than to say, Thanks, Bob! |
[Quotes from Bob Green, some descriptions by Bob Green, some by Uncle Ricky, unless otherwise indicated]
 
KXOK, St. Louis, Essential News, 1962 (5:14)
. . . Get the facts, first, always from . . . [From Uncle Ricky: We originally believed this one to be from 1963, but a COMMENT (from a dedicated baseball fan) presents a serious case for August 23, 1962.] [Description by Bob Green] A discussion on where TV news is headed had me think of this KXOK newscast from 1963. You have to have at least a smile on your face listening to this. The carefree abundance of the use of banks of Mackenzies and the overall approach has many people in stitches. This is how it was done at many of the Storz stations in the early sixties. But, hey - wait a minute! Is this really so different than some local TV news in 1997? Instead of electronic and musical separators and purely showbizzy copy lines for each item covered - now it's wild GRAPHICS - along with electronic and musical separators along with questionable showbizzy copy. We have it here with the NBC affiliate. BIG BOLD GRAPHIC for the BIG STORY: FIRE ANTS ATTACK DEFROCKED NUN! It gives creedence to the old .. "What goes around, comes around." |
TOP STREAM 20.7Kbps (10Khz)
Dave "Sangoo" Prince, WKMH Detroit, 1962 (15:39)
. . . One-Three-One-Oh. That's easy to remember . . . Bob Green wrote:
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Originally Encoded RA 2.0 May 5, 1996, re-encoded FRESH RM 8 — G2/Web TV (5.0) compatible May 1, 2003
TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (32Khz)
Bob Green, WQAM, Miami, 1963 (12:14)
This is where WKNR Detroit was born... The Repository is honored to feature this aircheck from Bob Green on "One of the Great Storz Stations": WQAM, Miami, 1963. It's STUFFED with hot production. You'll note the station was using a wide variety of jingles, and mixing logos. (I get misty when I hear the PAMS "Wonderful WQAM" logo.) But why did Miami stations WFUN and WQAM both have "accent" reverb? (The jock pushed a button to kick it into LOUD - Was this a Miami Vice?) Also, interesting that both Miami stations had that SPECIAL reverb - It must have been a combination of tape loop and chamber (chamber chamber). [Update, 2003: Since writing this description in 1996, I have learned that the Storz stations used an oil-dampened reverb designed for a Hammond Organ - it created a delay with a tape-type "slapback" effect.] You'll actually hear a jingle for the real time - 12:23 in Miami. (How many of these did they have, I wonder?) Zing! What a feeling with a Coke! Settle back with a Del Monte Fruit Juice Drink or a Libby's Tomato juice, and a snack from the convenience food company formerly known as Prince. What were the real odds of winning with a Money Matchbook, anyway? Won-der-full..W-Q-A-M! This is top-down sound, for sure! |
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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (9Khz)
Bob Green, WQAM, Miami, August 1963 (13:43)
... when you plunk down good money for sirloin like this, you want it to taste as naturally good as it is ... [Description by contributor Bob Green] On a fairly regular basis, I receive e-mails saying.. more WQAM airchecks. Much of what I have is redundant, and embarrassing. This exhibit is from a couple of days in August 1963. The fidelity ranges from very good to NOT very good, and the use of the "echo-button" is overwhelming. But it does contain a few interesting commercials, including the best one touting the need for more monosodium glutimate in our diet. |
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Originally Encoded RA 2.0 May 5, 1996
FRESH RM 8 (G2/Web TV compatible) April 13, 2003
TOP STREAM 44.1 Kbps (20Khz)
Rick Shaw, WQAM, Miami, 1963 (8:24)
Contributor Bob Green wrote: ..Rick Shaw (the original) at night - a GREAT example of energetic, fast and fun top 40 of the 60s.
Amen! (Mr. Green is preaching to the choir on this one.) This is prime, genuine, authentic Top 40 radio from the 60's. I wonder how many tape machines WQAM had online in 1963? Emotional level of this prize exhibit is over the top - bring a hanky. Mabel! Black Label! - Everybody's heard about the bird - Identify the Daffy Dusty Melody - Prizes not Promises! - Number 5 in the PLATTER POLL - BEEP! - 56 seconds to call and win! Wow! |
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Bob Green, WKNR, Detroit, 1964 (5:59)
Great technical quality on this wonderful, comfortable aircheck of Bob Green on WKNR.
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..Gary Stevens... a brash, dynamic, Stand-up comic kinda sound that was it's own version of "shock radio" in 1964.
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TOP STREAM 20.7Kbps (10Khz)
Lee Alan, WXYZ Detroit, 1965 (06:22)
. . . and I don't serve towels with this program . . . Bob Green partially wrote: "I've been asked to include Lee Alan on WXYZ from 1965. There were four Top 40's goin' on at the time. WXYZ had 5000 watts on 1270, directional at night only.
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J. Michael Wilson, WKNR Detroit, October 1966 (06:25)
. . . J. Michael Wilson Showtime . . . Bob Green writes: "I've had several e-mails asking for some J. Mike Wilson stuff from my WKNR archives. I'm missing lots of material, but I did find a few minutes of him. He was our 10PM - 1AM guy - such a great talent - droll, fun, and heard here with his 'pal' Rodney the Wonder Rodent." |
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WKNR Promos, WKNR, Detroit (11:20)
...Rubbish. They got nothin' else to do, them fellas .. A few promos that really define the 24 hour cartoon that was "Keener". From unique promos, to cartoony ones - there are thousands of these, all produced on a full track Ampex. |
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TOP STREAM 32Kbps (16Khz)
PAMS Series 33 for WKNR, Detroit, 1967 (06:05)
. . . Big KEENER gonna treat you right . . . Here's a G2 reproduction of the classic PAMS Series 33 (aka "Fun") as produced for Bob Green and WKNR in 1967. There's a photo of the Series 33 demo box on the PAMS site. (All PAMS jingles are the copyrighted property of PAMS.) |
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TOP STREAM 44.1Kbps (20Khz)
Scott Regen, WKNR Detroit Motown Monday (14:04)
. . . From Detroit, The Supremes! . . . [Description by Bob Green] On selected Mondays during 1966-67, Scott Regen did LIVE broadcasts from Detroit's Roostertail Supper Club. I wish the full broadcasts still existed. The audience consisted of all Detroit radio, TV, newspaper & other media folks, along with other Motown invited guests. WKNR was fortunate to have stage center front seats (I can hear some of our Keener secretaries in here). It starts with Scotty introducing The Supremes. They do a six minute montage of standards, followed by Baby Love. Scotty then introduces Berry Gordy, Diana, Flo & Mary, Brian Holland, Marvin Gaye, and the Everly Brothers.
This telescoped exhibit concludes with an audience sing-along and Scott being asked to sing with Duke, Levi, Lawrence & Obie on "Can't Help Myself".
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TOP STREAM 44.1Kbps (20Khz)
PAMS WKNR Trella Hart Swiszle Jingle Party, 1967 (10:12)
[Description by Bob Green] This isn't from air — but it's a (scoped) one-time PAMS special. In the summer of 1967, WKNR had a blowout party in a giant tent in the back parking lot, where Trella Hart and other PAMS folk entertained the city's advertising executives and others. This party also introduced the "new sound" of Keener — PAMS SERIES 32A, SWISZLE. PAMS Series 32 lasted a lot longer than the "swiszle" did! |
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Scott Regen, WKNR, Detroit, 1967 (19:39)
...Scotty wasn't a "typical" sounding 1966 DJ, but he stood out well..
This clip includes The Supremes as guests on the Scott Regen Show, and Diana Ross reminisces about meeting Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad, Jr., (Commander and Pilot of the Gemini V mission). You'll also hear a live on air call to the winner of a Motown contest. (The winner was blind and in a wheelchair.) Bob says, We did 90% of our calls live, on air... without benefit of even a delay. |
..Let me get this straight - you're quitting school in the 8th grade...
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TOP STREAM 44.1Kbps (20Khz)
Gavin Jingle Retrospective, 1970 (15:00)
. . . This is a real collectors item. A quick history of radio jingles, 1957-1970 . . . This exhibit was originally presented in low-fidelity Real Audio 2.0 on May 12, 1996! On June 29, 2008, it's been polished from the original reel contribution and processed with our OPTIMOD-PC, and re-encoded in 44 kbps Real Media v8. It sounds MUCH better! But don't listen to this if your only interest in jingles is the Drake jingle series - there's one reference to Drake in the entire 15 minutes. Otherwise, this is interesting research. If you've ever wondered about the origins of the classic PAMS sound of the 60's, you'll find this piece fascinating. It includes Bill Meeks himself (the founder of PAMS), performing in a 50's jingle for KDNT, Denton, Texas. This retrospective focuses on the late 50's and early 60's classics from WNEW, New York, and KFWB, Los Angeles (Channel 98! Color Radio!). There are many others, as well, including WABC before the familiar "Manhattan" logo was finalized, and even a few early TM jings - a remarkable collection, and strong evidence that much of the history of the radio jingle business was already written in 1970. |
Robert W. Morgan & Wolfman Jack, KHJ, 1970 (14:05)..Robert's last day on KHJ, when Wolfman Jack came by. Enjoy... And enjoy we will! Thank you, Bob, for a truly classic recording. Robert W. Morgan had been with KHJ from the first week, in 1965, right up until his last hour (featured here), which Uncle Ricky guessed to be late August or early September, 1970. (Since then, our friend Don Jennett has provided a more exact date (see comments): Friday, October 2, 1970.) Morgan went to WIND, Chicago - Charlie Tuna took his place in the mornings at KHJ; Morgan returned to KHJ in 1972, and Tuna went to KCBQ in San Diego. This particular 'check contains multiple moments to remember, including phoners with Emperor Bob Hudson, Charlie Tuna and of course, the Wolfman Jack sing-a-long with Bobby Sherman and Robert W. Wolfman is introduced as "Dick Whittinghill" at 8:35 into this clip. |
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Motor City Radio Reunion Promos, April 1998 (3:01)
. . . Thought you might enjoy some shtick we did for one of several Detroit stations that participated in the Motor City Radio Reunion held on April 25, 1998 . . . From Bob Green Productions, some promos for the 1998 Detroit Radio Reunion produced for Oldies 104.3. |
The Bob Green Collection was established May 5, 1996.
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