On Wednesday night, July 13,
2005, dozens of former WAKY and WKLO employees gathered -- along with family and
friends -- to remember the time spent at Louisville's two great Top 40
stations of the '60s and '70s. Besides renewing old friendships, we
honored one of the Derby City's greatest DJs, Bill Bailey. Even
though it was a mid-week event with short notice (just over a month), 80 people
turned out at the Corner Cafe in Louisville. This page will feature photos
and sound clips from the reunion.
Besides the Duke of Louisville, WAKY and WKLO
DJs and Program Directors in attendance included: Bill Crisp, Bob Cline, Bo Brady,
Dude Walker, Gary Griffin, Gary Guthrie, Joe Elliott,
Joe London, John Ashton, Johnny Randolph, Karl
Shannon, Leonard Yates, Mac Hunter, Mason Lee Dixon,
Mike Griffin, Rip Rinehart, Robin Walker, Ron Lake, Scott Goettel,
Steve Cook, Tim Tyler, Tom Dooley,
Tom Hardin and Tom Prestigiacomo.
WAKY Staff Members
Standing L-R: Mason Lee Dixon, Leonard Yates, Byron Crawford, Rich Gimmel,
Mike Griffin, Ben Pflederer,
Tom Maxedon, Karl Shannon, Steven Lee Cook, Scott Goettel, Bill Graham, Tom
Dooley and Don Meyers
Sitting L-R: Bill Bailey, Dude Walker, Johnny Randolph, WAKY DJ wannabe John
Quincy, Bill Crisp and Tim Tyler
WAKY and WKLO newspeople
present were: Bob Watson, Bill Graham, Byron Crawford,
Tom Maxedon, Tom Perry, Rich Gimmel, and Angie
Gimmel.
Representing the WAKY and WKLO
engineering staff were Ben Pflederer and Pete Boyce.
In addition, former WAKY GM Don Meyers
and former WKLO GM Bernie Thompson were on hand.
WKLO Staff Members
Standing L-R: Pete Boyce, Angie Gimmel, Bo Brady, Joe London, Bob Cline, Rip
Rinehart, Scott Thompson,
Bill Graham, Gary Griffin and Mason Lee Dixon
Sitting L-R: Tom Maxedon, Bill Bailey, Ron Lake, Johnny Randolph. Bill
Crisp, Barry Steiger and Mac Hunter
Other friends and fans attending included
WHAS' Terry Meiners, WVLK's Jack Pattie, former WVLK newsman
Noel Thomas, Gary Rawlings, Scott Thompson, Robin
Oldham, Travis Hardwick, Max Highbaugh, Gil Herbig, Jr.,
Jennifer Wilson,and Weird Beard's niece, Debie Kerns.
Plus, Bill Bailey's "last ex-wife" Peggy was on hand along with
Bill's three daughters and grandchildren.
Our thanks to Coyote Calhoun for making
arrangements for the venue and Bill Bailey's trophy, and to Clear Channel
Louisville, for use of a PA system. Thanks go out also to those who pitched
in to pay for the Duke's award...and a special thank you to Mike Griffin for
behind-the-scenes assistance.
Here is a YouTube playlist
containing video of the 2005 WAKY-WKLO reunion, split up into three parts.
Our thanks to Max Highbaugh for the video, and to Mike Griffin for the
digital transfer.
Here you can download or stream
just the audio from the presentation of Bill Bailey's award. You'll
hear John Quincy, Johnny Randolph, Bill Bailey, Mason Lee
Dixon, Don Meyers, Dude Walker, Tim Tyler, Tom Dooley, Bill Crisp, two of
Bill's granddaughters, Bill's daughter Jennifer, and Gary
Rawlings. Some of this audio wasn't included in the video.
"I just
finished listening to the Bill Bailey Tribute! Wow! It brought tears to my
eyes. I had the privilege of working with Bill when he was at WICK and I was
the Production Director for Tragic 100, a Great Fails Broadcasting station,
formerly "The New KJ 100." It was new for about 5 years.
"I had listened to Bill since I was a kid in school so working with him was
like working with Elvis or something. The best about it was discovering
that, in person, he was one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet.
Bill was the kind of man who was always nicest to those who might be
considered by some to be beneath his stature. The janitor, the secretaries,
the other jocks and yes, the lowly production guy. To them he was always
magnanimous and polite. But god help the management. If Bill thought they
were wrong or that they had treated someone badly, he would rip them to
shreds.
"I remember one time when I came in to work and Bill called me into the
studio. He handed me a $20.00 bill and asked me to run down to the drug
store and get him a pack of razors so he could shave before he met with a
client later that morning. I went down to the store and got him a pack of
the disposable razors. They cost about a buck. I was on a mission for 'The
Duke Of Louisville!' I dutifully returned to the station and handed Bill the
razors, the receipt and the change. He picked up the change, handed it back
and told me to keep it. I protested telling him the razors only cost about a
buck and that the $18 and change was too much for a simple errand. He looked
at me smiled and said 'Dave, it's a drop in the bucket compared to what I'm
going to make on this deal! So keep the change.'
"When I think of how lucky I have been to have worked with some of the
greats it humbles me. I was hired by Johnny Randolph for his Danville
station, but didn't take the job after simultaneously getting hired at WJYL
in Louisville. Then working with Bill Bailey at WCII, with Rusty Rogers at
WLRS and for the past 18 years with Coyote at WAMZ. 'Life's been good to me
so far...'
"About five or six years ago, one of the sales people booked a session for a
local chiropractor. When the talent showed up, it was Bill Bailey. I
wondered how he would do. I tell ya, his voice was strong, and without
missing a beat, he did both spots from notes, not scripts, and without a
stop watch hit them both on the first take dead-on :60.
"Sometime after that Bill appeared with Rocky and Troy on their short-lived
show on WWKY. I had the honor of going on the air and doing 'Bill' with him.
He didn't say a word, just listened to me doing my lame Bill Bailey and
laughed. From my childhood to now, Bill Bailey has given me so many
memories, laughs, joy and encouragement. Whenever I want to smile, I just
blurt out 'let's go to work Reed!'
"Thanks for the website and all you do to keep the memory of what radio
could be alive."
Dave Lee
Facility Production Director
Clear Channel Louisville
JQ
Guests on WHAS
While in Louisville for the
reunion, 79WAKY.com/1080WKLO.com Webmaster John Quincy had the honor of being
a guest on Joe Elliott's and Terry Meiners' WHAS shows. Here you can download
those segments. Also appearing on Joe's show were David Inman and Johnny
Randolph.
"John: The reunion far exceeded
expectations and goes down as the greatest night of my life. You are to be
commended for making it all happen. As you know Bailey is not well and this
gave us all a chance to show him how we feel which means so much more than
giving accolades around a casket." Johnny Randolph
"Hey John, thanks again for a
wonderful night. I actually had tears in my eyes at times. What wonderful
memories. I don't know if you really know just what a part of the WAKY staff
that you have become. They all agree with me that without you, that night
would have never happened. You are the greatest. Thanks for everything."
Dude Walker
"It was a
real treat to meet you and I hope you had a great time at the Cafe. I am
really grateful for what you are doing for all of us guys, as you could see,
we are getting close to checking off of this mudball and it is good to know
that we accomplished something of lasting value in the hearts of a few people.
I especially enjoyed Byron Crawford and Dude Walker." Mason Lee Dixon
"John.... Just wanted to say
GREAT JOB on pulling off what it took 25 years of us just talking about...
that of course the big WKLO-WAKY reunion. It was obvious your efforts made a
big impact on Bill Bailey. He so definitely deserves all the praise that was
bestowed on him -- and MORE... and I'm very glad you facilitated that
activity. It was also really great to mingle with all that Louisville talent
once again. There weren't too many markets that had the caliber of a WAKY and
WKLO in the same city. Many had a powerhouse, and then maybe an also-ran, but
Louisville was blessed to have two equal powerhouse competitors. That of
course made each of us all the better. I know I am proud to have been a small
part of it, and am very glad you got us all together. It was a real treat to
spend some time again with Johnny Randolph and Mason Dixon. Mason and I were
direct competitors for two years, and were shared good memories. I'm surprised
so many actually remembered us from the '60s and early '70s... that WAS a long
time ago. Again, John, a big THANKS for all your efforts and all the time you
spent on pulling this off. It was a BIG success." Joe London
"John, gold stars for all of you who made the
WAKY/WKLO Reunion really a special night. After doubting that I would be able
to make it, I arrived about one-hour late, in plenty of time to hear some
legendary air personalities pay tribute to Bill Bailey for his work and to YOU
for your splendid arrangements and encouragement that brought all of us
vagrants together again for laughter, slaps on the back, laughter, food and
drink, stories, laughter, reminiscences, laughter and laughter. In
appreciation..." Byron Crawford, WAKY 20-20 News
"It was a fabulous night and
Bill Bailey gave me a gigantic hug. What a guy!" Bob Watson
"I can't thank you enough for
putting together the reunion. It was a great moment in my life. It was also
great meeting you and your wife." Bob Cline
Gary Burbank and Bob Todd in Florida on July 13,
2005
"Burbank and I were playing golf down here
in Florida during the WAKY reunion. The weather was hot, but we were thinking
about all of you. And after seeing the pics of the get together I think we
look exactly the same as we did in 1969, but the rest of you don't. You all
look older than Ronald Reagan. We'll make the next reunion for sure. Sorry we
missed the fun. Looks like a wonderful time for all. Thanks again for all
you're doing." Bob Todd
"Thank you AGAIN for bringing us together.
IT WAS SUPER!" Tim Tyler
"Johnny, I just got back to the
Windy City. Things were moving so fast last night; I forgot to give you my
contribution toward the Duke's trophy. Jack Pattie and I visited the Duke this
afternoon at his nursing home. He was SOOOO-HAPPY and was still basking in the
glow of Wednesday night's fete for him. You are an extraordinary man for what
you did for Bill. Wonderful meeting you and I look forward to witnessing more
of your fine work." Noel Thomas
"Thanks to you I finally got to meet some of the
guys I listened to and as kid -- the same guys that made me know I wanted to
be in radio. This was the best radio gathering I've ever experienced. All of
this would not have happened without you and your love and passion. Thanks for
finding us all." Ron Lake
"What I thought was cool was how many people who
attended were saying to you: 'It's nice to finally meet you,' when they shook
your hand. The power of the Internet! I can only second Johnny Randolph's
sentiments regarding the ability of your sites to gather so many
interconnected people back in one place. None of that would have happened
without your dedication. Partisanship would have limited the number of
attendees. You brought back ALL eras of the stations. Because of my brief
tenure as a 'talent' at WAKY, I still see the place as you do: as a listener.
The formatics subconsciously implanted as I listened and watched Dude Walker,
Burbank, Chris Lundy, the Weird Beard, Mason Lee et al...and the chance to
grow working with Gary Guthrie both there and at FM 100, shaped me into what I
do on the radio today. Thank you, John, for finding a way to bring so many
different people back together." Tom Prestigiacomo
"John...On behalf of all of us who shared part
of our lives at WAKY and WKLO, thank you thank you thank you. We owe you a
tremendous debt of gratitude. Last week's event was spectacular. Seeing those
guys for the first time in more than three decades was an absolute thrill for
me. And your efforts to preserve the audio and pictorial archives of that
piece of Top 40 Music and radio history will be appreciated for decades to
come. The reunion was an absolute hoot! And...thanks for not tipping off the
bail-bondsmen and child support attorneys. They could have really spoiled the
party." Rich Gimmel
"The reunion was fantastic! I'm not really a
player as I was only there for the last couple of years of WAKY, but it means
a lot to me to have worked at such a legendary station with those universally
respected call letters. I could tell that the reunion really meant a lot to
the older guys who made WAKY what it was, and it was great to renew old
friendships, and make some new ones." Joe Elliott
