REEL TOP 40 RADIO REPOSITORY
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Charlie Jordan received his first transistor radio in 1962 and his first battery operated tape recorder for his 15th birthday in April 1968. Charlie writes: "By the summer of 1969 I had moved up to an electric reel-to-reel recorder. That summer I began taping anything and everything around me. A big part of my world was radio as I was trying to decide if I wanted to pursue a career as a disc jockey or a writer. I once even wrote to one of my favorite DJs, Barney Pip, when he was on WCFL and asked him how to get into broadcasting. Pip sent me back a letter with suggestions and an autographed picture. As it would turn out, I became a writer and editor, actively pursing this career since 1970, which I continue to this day. But I never lost my love for radio and continued taping airchecks of my favorite stations and DJs well into the 1970s. In 1982 I became the founding editor of a national magazine called Collectibles Illustrated and the publishing company sent me all over the country promoting the magazine in the early 1980s. The magazine dealt with hot collectibles and trends in collecting. This gave me a chance to fulfill my "radio fantasy" as I ultimately appeared on some 400 radio and television programs from California to Maine, including on some of the former Top 40 giants I used to listen to, like WABC, WRKO and WMCA — by then all-talk. I did one middle of the night appearance as a guest on Larry King's radio program in 1984 at Mutual's studios in Washington and appeared on CNN television when it was just a few months old. Before Regis and Kathie Lee went national, I appeared on their New York-based show at the WABC studios in 1986 and was also interviewed for "Entertainment Tonight" in Hollywood and even the Voice of America. Today my wife and I own and operate a country newspaper in northern New Hampshire, the Colebrook Chronicle, but I still dream of those days in the late 1960s when my biggest ambition was to be a Top 40 disc jockey. These days I'm finding more time to go back over the miles of tapes I recorded between 1968-78, searching out more aircheck memories to share. Thanks, Uncle Ricky, for providing such a great place to share those recorded memories." The Repository thanks Charlie Jordan for sharing! |
[Descriptions by Charlie Jordan ]
TOP STREAM 20.7 Kbps (10 Khz)
Ron Gregory, WOWO Ft. Wayne IN May 31, 1976
(19:23)
. . . Well, come on in . . . Description by Uncle Ricky for contributor Charlie Jordan Here's long-time Fort Wayne dude Ron Gregory recorded many miles away from 50KW WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It's a "'66" Memorial Day weekend, and this DX aircheck includes authentic fading, static and narrowband response. I had hoped to hear some of those WOWO PAMS acapellas, but instead — I was delighted to hear liberal use of GWINSOUND production beds, and some genuinely mysterious early WOWO jings. |
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TOP STREAM 20.7 Kbps (10 Khz)
The Entertainers, CBM Montreal, June 1976
(31:49)
. . . '63 was a good year to be young and to be British . . . Description by Uncle Ricky for contributor Charlie Jordan This is DX from CBM Montreal, a capture of Doug Crawford hosting BBC programs broadcast in June, 1976. I suppose the interviews with members of The Beatles included here were fairly hip at the time, but how available are they now? Did you know The Beach Boys were fat? This composite exhibit features two programs that focus, in reverse order, on 1963 and 1962. It's gritty and muddy, but it's the REEL thing... |
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TOP STREAM 44 Kbps (15 Khz)
Charlie Jordan Presents NY & CT Radio, July 4, 1976 (01:08:02)
. . . should the music of many languages and many accents fill the air... take care, for just such a day was July 4, 1776 . . . [Description by contributor Charlie Jordan]
The tape includes New York City, Long Island, and Southern Connecticut radio stations — quite a range in formats, all geared to the local activities of the day. I started on July 3, and the tape opens with my introduction, and the arrival of July 4th on WCBS-AM at midnight. Then, I resumed taping the following morning about 11 AM, and go on until about 2:30PM. I started recording again with the WCBS news at 5PM, and continued until just past midnight, July 5th. There are lots of airchecks here, most a few minutes in length, with some longer excerpts, including a Disney-produced soundtrack for fireworks aired by WNBC. I was 23 years old when I taped this, and was then, as now, a big fan of radio.
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I made this Bicentennial tape in Norwalk, Connecticut, while I was visiting my sister. I was living in northern New Hampshire then (as I do now) and it was a treat to hear the NYC stations I could only pick up at night at home.
