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Terrell Metheny, Jr., 1960

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Terrell Metheny playing Santa for one of the "special kids" at his church.

The Terrell L. Metheny, Jr. Collection
Even in retirement, because of his thorough knowledge and experience in all phases of broadcasting, Terrell L. Metheny, Jr. is sought as a "trouble-shooter" by managers/owners with special needs.

Following a decade of achieving top ratings on the air in such diverse markets as Nashville (Ronn Terrell) and Milwaukee (Mitch Michael), Terrell left the air to devote full-time to his position of Vice President Programming, WKLO. His final regularly scheduled broadcast is part of this collection.

From Louisville, Terrell became National Program Director of Southern Broadcasting Company and Program Director of WMCA, New York. During his tenure at the helm of programming at WMCA, the station became the #1 music station in NYC.

He later added sales training and experience to his resume and became a top billing sales person. Now with the combination of on-air, programming and sales experience, Terrell became a General Manager and, at times, part owner of ten different stations over the remainder of his career. In each instance, ratings and sales climbed impressively.

His civic contributions throughout his career have produced walls filled with commemorative plaques. His serious involvements include being a Licensed Lay Eucharistic Minister in the Episcopal Church.

The Repository thanks Terrell Metheny for sharing!

[Descriptions by Uncle Ricky from Notes by Terrell Metheny, Jr. and Sam Hale]

G2/5.0 compatible TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (10 Khz)
Ronn Terrell, WKDA Nashville, TN January, 1960 (28:57)

. . . The result? Total Radio! The secret's in The Balance . . .

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WKDA, 1959: (L-R) Sam Hale, Dick Buckley, Brenda Lee,
Ronn Terrell (Terrell Metheny) and Bill Massey. Photo taken during a visit by area high school reporters who were interviewing Brenda Lee.
Ronn Terrell (Terrell Metheny) is featured in the first hour of his 7PM-12Midnight show on Nashville's WKDA in January, 1960.

WKDA was The Big Sound, complete with time chime and reverb-on-demand. Promos tout The Balance and Total Radio, and the production values are very high, including a few classic jingles and several big-band instrumental "bridges". (The instrumentals were played from tape, allowing time to change records.)

There are lots of celebrity liners, and Ronn ad-libs a sound-effect for a revised weather reading, too. Though the rock 'n' roll records are sparse in this 'scoped hour, Terrell's energy level more than compensates for his "little flat friends, the records."

This was taken from a reel tape. Quite a bit of click and pop and noise reduction has been applied to what you will hear, but there's still an audible level of noise on promos and spots. WKDA played everything from turntables, with the exception of the "instrumental impact music".

For more about WKDA, please read Sam Hale's description and Terrell Metheny's comments for Sam Hale's 1959 WKDA Snippets.

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G2/5.0 compatible TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (12 Khz)
Mitch Michael, WOKY Milwaukee, June 9, 1964 (30:32)

. . . got a hat on, you better take it off. If you've got a skirt on, I don't know whatcha gonna do . . .

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WOKY, 1963: (L-R) Bob White, Nat "King" Cole, Steve O'Shea, Bill Henry and Mitch Michael (Terrell Metheny). The "MB" on the blazers was for McFadden-Bartell Publishing, the station owner.
REELRADIO pays music licensing fees to bring you airchecks that include music, whenever possible. We are a user-supported organization and depend upon your support.

This mostly unscoped (but edited) recording features Terrell Metheny as Mitch Michael on WOKY in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Included are segments of the 3 and 4 PM hours from an uncommonly warm summer Tuesday (June 9, 1964.)

In addition to a few musical selections off the beaten path (and quite obviously targeted to WOKY's "upper demographics"), you'll hear several jingles, a spot for the second James Bond film starring Sean Connery, and an airborne traffic report from pilot Art Zander. In Milwaukee, Bartell's WOKY was the first station to broadcast traffic reports from the air.

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G2/5.0 compatible TOP STREAM 44 Kbps (14 Khz)
Mitch Michael, WKLO Louisville, KY May 16, 1967 Part One (56:45)

. . . music back to back, bumper to bumper, I got a twin spin, I'm gonna turn it into a triple decker sound sandwich . . .
This exhibit is UNSCOPED - all music is included as originally broadcast. We are required to pay a fee for each listener for all musical performances on this recording. Plus, we must also pay the cost of Internet bandwidth to deliver it to you. We are a user-supported organization, and if you enjoy this exhibit, please say thanks with your support.
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Mitch Michael (Terrell Metheny) on the air from WKLO's "showcase" studio on Walnut Street (now Martin Luther King Boulevard.) To his left was a large window (not shown) through which the deejays could see the sidewalk and people could watch (and make faces!) Among those who did so as teenagers were Diane Sawyer and Dan Mason, later a President of CBS Radio. The small window to his right (with a girl looking through) was in an alcove at the entrance to the station where there was a monitor for folks to listen.

Here's the first hour (3-3:55 PM) of Terrell Metheny's last regularly scheduled show as Mitch Michael on WKLO, Louisville, KY., from May 16, 1967.

Morning superstar Bill Bailey, The Duke of Louisville, is heard on a number of commercial announcements. And even though all the music is intact, the commercials in this hour are also fun to hear, including The Blues Magoos for Great Shakes, Eva Gabor for Aamco, and spots for two native Kentucky beers: Oertels and Wiedemann. And, there's a Chickenman episode at around 43:00.

This is a studio aircheck and the fidelity is excellent, allowing us to hear all the genuine grit of music on vinyl, circa 1967. One song was restored due to a flaw in the original tape, and all our exhibits are processed for online presentation, but otherwise, this one is as close to the original as possible. Enjoy!

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G2/5.0 compatible TOP STREAM 44 Kbps (14 Khz)
Mitch Michael, WKLO Louisville, KY May 16, 1967 Part Two (51:21)

. . . in the future, I'm gonna be more like Jack Paar and only do specials . . .
Three songs in this hour are 'scoped, but the rest are not. We will pay a fee for each listener for each complete song on this exhibit, and we are a user-supported non-profit organization. If you enjoy this exhibit, please say thanks with your support.
Picture of Freedom Hall with 30,000 in attendance
Toys for Tots was the biggest event of the year at WKLO. The event established a record at Freedom Hall, even beating Billy Graham. Above, spotlights beam onto the stage for a crowd estimated at 30,000, in December, 1967.

And this is the third hour (5-5:55 PM) of Terrell Metheny's last regularly scheduled show as Mitch Michael on WKLO from May 16, 1967. Three songs that were played in the 3PM hour and repeated in this hour have been 'scoped. Like Part One, it was recorded at the station.

Standout Spot: Falstaff - great jingle, and listen to the silky precision of the vocalist! Standout Song: Tramp, by Otis and Carla. Hilarious and Funky! Newsman Reed Yadon (who also worked at WAKY) is featured with an almost-complete newscast.

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The REELRADIO debut of The Terrell L. Metheny, Jr. Collection was May 8, 2005.
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