REEL TOP 40 RADIO REPOSITORY
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Bill Cooper writes: "It was 1964 and I was in the fourth grade at Sabin elementary in Portland, Oregon when I first became really aware of radio. The big thing in Portland was to cruise Burnside street and hit the red light at 10th & Burnside so you could watch the DJ in the "window on the world" studio at nintywonderful-KISN Radio. I remember bugging my dad to drive around the block so I could get another look at The Real Don Steele doing his stuff. Too bad I wasn't savvy enough to aircheck any of the great radio I was hearing. That would come later. It was at Portland's Benson high school in 1971 where I got my first shot on the air. At the time KBPS was the only AM radio station owned and operated by a school district. A good deal of the programing, from high school sports coverage to rock and roll music shows, was produced by the students. Its still on the air, and still turning out great radio talent. While at KBPS I landed an job answering the request line for KGW in Portland. That eventually allowed me to work into a weekend all-night shift. The program director told me he'd have someone show me how to run the board. I never told him that for at least two hours every night for nearly a year I had been running the board for the 10pm-2am jock, Joe Cooper (no relation). Joe knew just how much desire I had to get on the air, and he knew just how to help. My aircheck collecting continued as I worked throughout the northwest at KGW, KGON-FM Portland, KBZY Salem, OR, KVI-FM Seattle, WA, KITI Centralia-Chehalis, WA., KEX and KPAM, Portland. As of September, 2004, I am General Manager of KBPS-AM at Portland's Benson High School — the very station that got me started in radio back in 1971. I'm glad I can share these memories with other fans of classic top 40 radio. My thanks to the many people who helped me preserve these moments by letting me at their tapes!" Visit Bill at www.voiceimagenw.com The Repository thanks Bill for sharing! |
[All Descriptions by Bill Cooper, unless otherwise indicated]
TOP STREAM 20.7Kbps (10Khz, but low-fi)
Larry Lujack, KNEW Spokane, July 1963 (02:49)
. . . seat belts are kinda like girdles . . . Here's a couple of rare minutes of Superjock Larry Lujack on KNEW Spokane, from July 1963. |
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Robin Mitchell, KOL Seattle, 1968 (12:02)
. . . KOL - The Sound That Had To Happen . . . Robin Mitchell is featured on Seattle powerhouse KOL, along with a classic Supremes spot for Coca-Cola. "Colorful KOL" employed a lot of top talent. [EDITOR'S NOTE]: The exhibit description originally suggested that Larry Lujack worked at KOL. The contributor attributed this information to 440 Satisfaction and it now appears that information was incorrect. COMMENTS for this exhibit reflect this initial erroneous description, so this explanation is included here. |
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Chuck Bennett, WKNR Detroit, 1971 (03:41)
. . . Detroit's only rock 'n' roll station . . . Bill Bilzard, aka Chuck Bennett, and also known as Gary Bennett at KGW, worked at WKNR Detroit before coming to Portland. |
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Robert W. Morgan, KHJ Los Angeles, 1-17-72 (17:56)
. . . y' know, that five to six hour on Monday morning is a bunch of delgado, y' know? I mean, this station has gotten into some awfully bad habits in the past year, but I'll go to work on that . . . Robert W. Morgan's first day back at KHJ on January 17, 1972, after a 14 month stint at Group W's WIND, Chicago. |
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Composite, KGW Portland OR 1972 (06:53)
. . . but you can call me the Purple Mountain's Majesty . . . This 1972 KGW composite features Uncle Don Wright, Gary Bennett (Bill Bilzard), Phil Harper, Tom Watson, Joe Cooper and Ed Riley. |
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| TOP STREAM 32Kbps (8.5 Khz)
Bruce Murdock, KREM Spokane, September 20, 1974 (34:58)
. . . ahrrr brandy… such a fine girl you are — come play with my mizzen mast! — whoo ho ho!! . . .
Bruce was on the air in the Seattle market for 26-years, most recently at Sandusky's KLSY. This story now comes full circle. As of Monday January 17, 2005, Bruce returns to Portland to take over the morning show on K103-FM/KKCW, replacing Craig Walker who is retiring after a 33-year career in Portland radio. | ||
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TOP STREAM 32Kbps (10Khz)
Mike Phillips, KGW Portland OR June 1975 (12:42)
. . . I'd like to teach the world a thing, uh, to sing . . . [Description by Uncle Ricky for contributor Bill Cooper]  Mike Phillips, from his 1960 senior class yearbook picture at Benson High. In this exhibit, you will hear Mike Phillips (1942-2006) subbing for Bob Anthony on KGW/Portland, Oregon. It's from June of 1975. Here's a tight, polished Top-40 AM doing it right in 1975. A year earlier, Phillips was on WXLO-FM in New York. He was KGW PD at the time of this aircheck, and he does a fine job here! He's tight and contemporary — a veteran jock pumped to be playing popular music in 1975. Phillips was taken by pancreatic cancer on October 16, 2006 at the age of 64. He was 33 in 1975. He still had much of his career to come, working in program management for NBC radio and as Program Director for KRTH-FM from 1990-2001. |
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TOP STREAM 20.7Kbps (10Khz)
Don Rose and the Weather, KFRC, 1975 (04:16)
. . . I'm sitting right here - sitting on all fours - and I forgot my weather whistle . . . All this for the weather? |
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TOP STREAM 32.0Kbps (14Khz)
Dr. Don Rose Says Goodbye To Jack Hines, KFRC, 1975 (13:00)
. . . We work on the theory that there's nothing like a good introduction, and this is nothing like a good introduction . . . This is the KFRC Party Tape with Dr. Don Rose that was made for the goodbye gathering for newsman Jack Hines, who worked with the good Doctor at KFRC from 1972 to 1975. Although this party composite was never broadcast, it includes lots of aircheck samples of Hines and Rose. It's a great example of the creativity of DDR and the folks at KFRC. Dr. Don Rose passed away March 29, 2005. |
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TOP STREAM 32.0Kbps (14Khz)
Dr. Don Rose, KFRC San Francisco, August 1978 (RESTORED) (34:50)
. . . They've hot-wired my seat! . . . [Description by Uncle Ricky]
There's also some question that this is all from the same day. If so, it means Three Times A Lady was played twice in the 8AM hour! The "restored" version spares you the repeat, and also, the "restored" version of this aircheck doesn't include all the spots, or newscasts, because they weren't included in the original contribution.
Those technical issues aside, Dr. Don offers the weather, traffic, and every gag flawlessly. | ||
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Bill Cooper, Senior, Benson High, Portland Oregon 1972
This Exhibit 'SCOPED (17:02)
This 'scoped version has had all the restored music removed. Please remember that in addition to music licensing fees for the RESTORED version, there are bandwidth and hardware costs for this 'SCOPED version, and anything streamed from REELRADIO. We welcome your