REEL TOP 40 RADIO REPOSITORY
Greg Barman writes: "When I was a kid growing up in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois around 1960, WLS nighttime star Dick Biondi and his GM Gene Taylor both moved into the same townhouse complex as mine and right next to each other. Neither realized it until one day when they walked out of their homes at the same time! Having them as neighbors sparked my early interest in radio, and throughout high school and college I was a true radio freak and gathered a lot of aircheck tape. At Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana I majored in Radio-TV/Journalism and spent a lot of time at the student carrier-current station WIUS. We actively sought ties to the "real" world of radio, and some great people like WIBC-WNAP/Indianapolis execs Jim Hilliard and George Johns and WAKY/Louisville PD Johnny Randolph came to Bloomington to visit us. After college I took a stab at the DJ life, doing mornings at WFLI/Chattanooga, Production Director at 15Q (WKVQ)/Knoxville and then overnights at WMEE/Ft Wayne, Indiana. Gradually I got the message I was not made out to be a star jock, so in 1977 I shifted to what became my real calling in radio - news. I was an anchor and reporter for large and respected newsrooms at WHO/Des Moines and WIRE/Indianapolis. Then in 1982 I moved to Denver where I had long been drawn by the skiing and mountain recreation lifestyle. I was also pretty tired of moving by then and vowed to stay in the Rockies no matter what. In Denver I was an anchor/reporter at KNUS, KHOW, and News Director at public radio KCFR-FM. I also did a short stint as a TV assignment Editor. As radio news started shrinking in the 80's I started looking for another career, but continued to do news part-time into the 90's at KBCO-FM and the legendary KOA/Denver. My combined experience in broadcasting and journalism was good preparation for work as a Recruiter/Headhunter for emerging technology industries. I became a Technical Recruiter for the Telecom industry in 1996 and I helped find and hire people for companies such as Qwest Communications. Even though radio lost so much individuality in the consolidations of the 80's and 90's, it's still a kind of magical medium for me and I treasure my work in it. My aircheck collection preserves some great memories of the industry that I loved to be part of." The Repository thanks Greg Barman for sharing! |
TOP STREAM 32.0 Kbps (16 Khz)
Dan Ingram for HOA, WABC New York, Summer 1968
(19:11)
. . . he's got a voice that is lower than an inchworm's navel on a subway car that is under the East river at high tide . . . [Description by Greg Barman] Here's Dan Ingram on WABC, New York, in the summer of 1968. He's subbing on the morning show for Herb Oscar Anderson and making a wisecrack about every 15 seconds. Waking up in New York couldn't be funnier! |
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TOP STREAM 32.0 Kbps (8.5 Khz)
Gary Gears, KQV Pittsburgh PA August 2, 1970
(08:56)
. . . a little lovin' from the oven this morning . . . [Description by Greg Barman] Here's Gary Gears on KQV, August 2, 1970. It's a Wheeze & Sneeze Weekend midday show, apparently at a time of bad air pollution in the Steel City. If you can't do anything about the pollution, you may as well make a fun radio promotion out of it! |
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TOP STREAM 44.1 Kbps (20 Khz)
Bob Dearborn, WCFL Chicago, November 26, 1971
(46:38)
. . . I'm all for a good belt . . . [Description by Greg Barman]
It includes WCFL's youth-targeted news called 'Young Chicago' with Mike Rollins and news from the Vietnam War era. After the show Bob had some coffee with us, told radio stories and gave us encouragement about the business. He was truly a helpful and gracious guy. | ||
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TOP STREAM 32.0 Kbps (8.5 Khz)
Wayne Moss, KAAY Little Rock Arkansas, May 23, 1972
(09:11)
. . . I guess we all have a Summer of '42 somewhere . . . [Description by Greg Barman] Here's Wayne Moss in afternoon drive on Little Rock's KAAY on May 23, 1972. The 50,000-watt "Big K" used Gary Gears voice-overs and PAMS jingles to create a big sound in a smaller market. Wayne Moss was their PD. Note the heavy spotload with plenty of political ads for an upcoming election. Sorry, no Bill Clinton ads! |
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TOP STREAM 20.7 Kbps (10 Khz)
Bill Bailey, WAKY Louisville KY August 9, 1972
(22:39)
. . . The Alpha and the Omega . . . [Description by Greg Barman] WAKY/Louisville - Bill Bailey "The Duke of Louisville" from August 9, 1972. This is a studio skimmer-aircheck [note: skimming sounds removed for this exhibit] of the same Bill Bailey who left Louisville for a brief stint at WLS, and then returned to Louisville. Bailey suffered a stroke in 2004 that left him partially paralyzed. He passed away on Saturday, Janaury 14, 2012. While certainly not a fit for Chicago, he was loved in Louisville where he gave WAKY some of the widest demographics of any morning show in the country. On this aircheck Bailey arrives late to work, which gives him a lot to talk about -- not that he was ever at a loss for words. |
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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (10 Khz)
Gary Gears, WIND Chicago December 21, 1974
(11:57)
. . . stop by and see me - all of me - each of you can have a little piece, there's enough of me to go around for everyone . . . [Description by Greg Barman] Gary Gears did weekend/swing work at many stations in Chicago, mostly WLS and WCFL but also at WIND — and he had fun wherever he was. In 1974 WIND was an oldies format known variously as "#1 Music" or "best music of the 50's, 60's and now". This week was a special pre-Christmas promotion for their Forgotten Children's Fund. But still, it's a Saturday night and Gary was having a ball playing the oldies, soliciting donations, clowning around with his Big Voice, and making a few sexual innuendos too. WIND's top of the hour ID is one of my old favorites with the classic Westinghouse "Group W Boom" news intro. |
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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (10 Khz)
Jack Armstrong, WIFE Indianapolis, October 1976
(04:35)
. . . Oh was she excited! I was with this Navy guy and he said, boy, I never heard that word before . . . [Description by Uncle Ricky for contributor Greg Barman] This 'scoped composite exhibit of Jack (Jackson) Armstrong (d. 2008) was recorded off-the-air on two evenings in October 1976. Jack (and The Gorilla) say goodnight to sister Peggy and daughter Vanessa. In April 2008, this is only the third aircheck of WIFE in the Repository. We hope there are many, long-form, hi-fi airchecks of this radio station still to be contributed. Here, WIFE is using the Music Radio jingles heard on WLS. This aircheck composite is short, but the fidelity is very good, the station is HOT, and the talent is legendary. Jack's stop at WIFE was after WKBW and 13Q. How long was he in Indianapolis? And how long did WIFE stay in the Top 40 format? |
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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (10 Khz)
Pat Holiday, CKLW Windsor-Detroit, May 3, 1977
(01:02:41)
. . . Comin' up this hour, Beat The Gong - twice! . . . [Description by Greg Barman] I airchecked The Big 8 from Ft. Wayne, Indiana where they put in a good daytime signal from 140 miles away. In 1977, CKLW was in transition from rock to something a bit softer, call it adult-contemporary (or whatever.) The music mix seemed to lean more toward pop and oldies than in prior years, there were fewer jingles and more segues. As for 20/20 news, the old "blood-n-guts" style was long gone, replaced by a generally upbeat but straight presentation. The big, precision sound was still there, and so was a great jock lineup. This hour features Pat Holiday in the 11AM - Noon hour on Tuesday, May 3, 1977. |
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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (14 Khz)
Greg Barman Travelog, Des Moines IA to South Lake Tahoe CA 1977
(22:31)
. . . More powerful than any other radio station in Wyoming . . .
[Description by Greg Barman] This was the first part of my three-part audio travelog created on a trip from Chicago to California and back in 1977. My criteria for what I selected for all three parts of this composite was totally subjective: whatever caught my interest, either for being very good, very bad, or somehow representative of what passed thru the radio speaker on my trip. The entire three parts are a BIG snapshot of mid-1977 radio. The major markets demonstrated how AM top 40 was starting to feel the effects of the overall change in music, while FM rockers were starting to rise. Chicken-rockers were still alive on AM, though they were fading. Medium market stations were taking cues from the major markets with lots of imitation. Small markets were a mix of automated stations, lots of local color, and plenty of beginning announcers.
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TOP STREAM 44 Kbps (14 Khz)
California Radio Summer, 1977
(27:15)
[Description by Greg Barman] California Radio Summer, 1977 is a car-radio aircheck composite I made while touring thru California during June and July of 1977. It includes a smattering of station breaks, jocks, jingles and promotions from Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Central California, Los Angeles and San Diego - nearly 40 stations in all. You'll hear plenty of famous names, calls and formats, from the greats to the just plain weird. | |
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TOP STREAM 32 Kbps (10 Khz)
Greg Barman Travelog, Albuquerque to Memphis, 1977
(23:55)
[Description by Greg Barman] California Radio Summer 1977 was only part of my trip from Chicago to California and back in 1977. I was a young man in-between radio gigs and had a burning desire to hit the open road and see the West. I rolled tape from Des Moines to California, and through the desert southwest to Memphis. The car was a 1977 Chevy Vega equipped with a standard Delco radio. I tapped off the speaker leads and patched into a Sony cassette recorder. Somehow, it sounded pretty good. After the trip, I dubbed off selected sets and started cutting. I edited everything into three segments. This is part three. Albuquerque to Memphis, 1977. | |
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The Greg Barman Collection has been part of REELRADIO since June 9, 2002
Reel Top 40 Radio Repository ©1996-2012 REELRADIO Inc.
