"I really enjoyed revisiting lots of memories on your WAKY web site. I was privileged to do 7:00 PM to Midnights in 1958 - 1959. A few of my colleagues at WAKY were Jack Sanders, Jim Light(foot), Chuck Dunaway and Phil Page.

"Following WAKY, I went to KQV in Pittsburgh for 4 years. At that point I returned to my hometown (Evansville, IN) to open my business, Aiken Management. From 1963, until selling my company in 1999, we promoted over 1400 entertainment events all over the country, and in the '80s and '90s designed and operated several restaurants in the Evansville area .

"Far and away, my best business project was the purchase in 1987 of WGBF AM and FM. We were able to turn the fortunes of GBF from bad to good (including becoming the first station to syndicate The Bob and Tom Show). I sold the stations in 1996.

"Thank you again for the excellent work you've done in establishing the WAKY web site."

Larry Aiken (1999)

"When I arrived at WPOC in Baltimore they had a morning team of Rocky Marlowe and Laurie DeYoung. When Rocky's contract wasn't renewed we hired Bill Bailey to be Laurie's new partner. What looked like great creative conflict on paper -- male/female, young/old, liberal/conservative -- didn't work out so well on the air. Bill had his moments; I recall one time when Laurie was arguing with a female caller and Bill was muttering something about 'ovarian lunacy' in the background. But it soon became obvious that we needed to make a change before Bill moved his family to Maryland.

"As it turned out, Laurie didn't really NEED a partner. We made her the star of the show and she just celebrated 20 years at WPOC. Meanwhile, Bill has always been gracious about what must have been a difficult situation for him. Everyone involved had the best of intentions."

Bill Bailey Fans! Bill would love to hear from you!  Send a card or letter to:
Bill Boahn c/o Friendship Manor, 7400 La Grange Road, Pewee Valley, KY 40056

"My WAKY story is fairly long. When I was in junior high, I called into Tim Tyler and Jack Daniels a lot. I got to know 'Rudy Ratfink' who was the all night program. I met Ben Allen who ran the board..

"I spent most Saturday mornings at the studio and helped to set up when Tim Tyler had a remote at Stewart's department store on Saturdays.

"Then when I was 15, there was an opening for the 6-8 PM request line. Bill Crisp called me and hired me on the spot.

"I worked from July 1966 to August 1968. I left to take a job as an announcer at WSTL in Eminence. I was able to get my FCC 3rd class RTO license because so many people at WAKY tutored me before I took the test.

"I was close to Bill Crisp, Bob Watson, Byron Crawford (who I still talk to often), Ron Statzer (who was killed in Cincinnati working for a TV station there I think), John Randolph, Weird Beard, as well as several of the sales people and secretaries. It was a fine group of people who put up with a lot of my immaturity (after all I was 15 and running around a business office).

"We were in the old studios in the Kentucky Home Life Building on 5th and Jefferson.

"I became a Christian while in college and then called to full-time Christian work when in the army.

"Today, I am a pastor. I have worked as chaplain in mental hospitals (working at WAKY was great preparation for that task), jails, prisons, and hospital emergency rooms. I have also pastored several churches around the country.

"I also traveled as a missionary to Costa Rica and Siberia Russia."

"For the past 27 years I have been at the CBS O&O TV station in Baltimore, WJZ. [He uses his real name, Marty Bass.] For 23 of those years I have done a three-hour morning show which was, at the time, the prototype for all the TV morning shows currently on in the country. For the past 17 years I have also been a part of the CMA award-winning Laurie DeYoung Show at Bob Moody's old haunt, WPOC. (The Colonel put me on that show and it has been heaven ever since.)

"To this day I use the lessons learned from, and standards set forth by Johnny Randolph. I also try to keep it fun. That was part of the allure of "The Big 79." (Recently I flew home to visit Bill Bailey, and he stressed to me that if you don't love your job, you will not love your audience, and you are DONE.)

"My brother was a band manager, (and a DAMN good one), in the '60s and '70s. That was my ticket into WAKY. I cut my on-air teeth at WXVW in Jeffersonville, but at that time I was one of a cadre of Johnny Randolph "interns." We did what needed to be done. "Sure, I'll go over to Walgreen's and get you a patty melt and some condoms!"

"In 1971 Michael Lewis Griffin needed a break and Johnny made me production director for a summer. That led to some on air work. I was hooked. I got a job at WVLK in Lexington, then went with Gary Burbank and Len King to start (actually refresh) WNOE in New Orleans. They left for Detroit and I went to college. Herein lays my BEST WAKY story and the reason that I am where I am now.

"I graduated from Southern Illinois University in December 1976 with a degree in R/TV. At the same time I get a call from Johnny Randolph. He had let his primary weekend jock go, he needed help. He was very honest. AM was on the wane, and WLRS was becoming the force in Louisville. I told him I could give him 6 months to a year, but I was SERIOUSLY looking for a job in TV news.

"I had so much fun, and lived out such a fantasy being a 'jock' at WAKY that I turned down at least 6 TV jobs. The headhunter I was working with finally told me that I had to take a job soon, or he was moving on. The next job opportunity was at KENS-TV in San Antonio, which I took. That led to Baltimore.

"Over time I have had a good run, and run into a lot of old radio people, the legendary Ron Riley of WLS to name one. Every time, I mean EVERY TIME I mention WAKY, it becomes the topic of conversation. We all knew at the time it was special. But to those in the know...it was a legend.

"This will sound so geek-like, but I am the broadcaster I am because of time spent in that building. One of the last times I was there the carpet was being replaced, and I took a small square, about coaster size. Every morning at 5 a.m. when the theme for the 'Eyewitness News Morning Edition' rolls, my cup of coffee is on it. 'Put me to work Reed...'"

1963 WAKY "Personality Information" biography of Jerry Barr

The "Jerry Barr Show" is highlighted by such features as the "Jerry Barr Gagster Club," news, weather, time and temperature reports, spiced with Jerry's outstanding wit.

Interest in all areas of broadcasting, the 18-year-old air personality is currently studying electronics in a home-study course of De Vry Tech in Chicago.

Though relatively young in radio, Jerry lacks nothing in enthusiasm and interest in the field. He says he thoroughly enjoys his work and hopes to make broadcasting a lifetime career.

Jerry's proven ability and his enthusiasm for his work make him and outstanding addition to the WAKY staff.

"In 1979 George Francis became manager of WAKY & WVEZ. George had a vision of challenging WHAS for the adult audience. If the out-of-town ownership had left him (us) alone, we would have succeeded. Anyway, George and I talked for a couple of months and I was impressed with his plan. In early 1980, I resigned at WHAS and moved to WAKY/WVEZ as News Director. George committed to increasing the budget commitment and size of the staff and we set up an operation that was indeed respected and competitive.

"I left WAKY at the end of my two-year contract to establish a syndicated program called 'Pondering Kentucky.' We had a successful 13-year run with this broadcast which aired on 85 stations across the state.

"I semi-retired from broadcasting in 1993. I am delighted (and humbled) that I was later presented the Kentucky Mike Award by the Kentucky Broadcasters Association and inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. As you correctly state on your web site, I am now with the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels as Senior Ambassador. (The title is a fancy way of saying I am Chief Operating Officer.)"

"My tenure at WAKY started in 1960 and continued until 1967 or 1968. I worked for Gordon McLendon and was sent to WAKY as Program Director. I had also been informed that McLendon was planning to sell the station. The sale to LIN Broadcasting occurred a year or so later.

"In 1961, after WAKY had been sold by McLendon to LIN I left the station for 3 months. I took a job with Plough at WMPS in Memphis. Plough was not McLendon and I longed to return to WAKY, which I did.

"The staff included Bill Ward(law), who did mornings He later became GM of Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasters. Bill died last year. (2004)

"Hal Smith did middays. Hal joined Bill Ward in California and I believe he was the PD at KLAC and later in management in Philadelphia. Hal is retired.

"George Williams did noon-3 and at one time did nights. From WAKY, George went to the Albany, New York market and subsequently, he became one of the first programmers for Satellite Music Network. I have lost contact with George.

"Afternoon drive was handled by "Jumpin' Jack Sanders." Jack was one of radio's first mega personalities. When he left radio, he worked briefly for Audrey Williams (Hank Williams Senior's ex-wife). Jack died in his early 30s.

"Jay Reynolds did evenings at WAKY. Jay later did overnights at WABC in New York. When he left the Big Apple, he returned to his native Indiana and has held a number of management positions in Indianapolis.

"Our overnight man at WAKY was Jack Grady (Anderson). Jack is still broadcasting as the overnight host of ABC's Stardust format out of Dallas.

"Two other 60s era WAKY deejays were Bill Crisp, who came over to us from WKLO and Rusty Reynolds, who replaced Jack Sanders. Bill owned stations in Rhode Island or Delaware and Rusty has owned stations in Texas and Mississippi. I am not sure whether Bill Crisp is still active in broadcasting, but I know that Rusty was a few years ago.

"Two names from the WAKY origin that are missing are Phil Page and Chuck Dunaway. These were two of Don Keyes' original staff members. Page did mornings and Dunaway was the midday man.

"Tom Perryman (Tom Perry) left Louisville to move back to Dallas and worked for the NBC affiliate at the time John Kennedy was shot. He later was offered a network position with NBC (as Dan Rather received from CBS), but turned the offer down.

"Another legendary WAKY newsman was Bill Gill. In later years, Bill was a TV newsman for ABC.

"Don Keyes and I were roommates in college at SMU. Don owned stations in Canton, Ohio and Tallahassee, Florida. He now resides back in Dallas.

"When Bill Ward departed WAKY, I moved into mornings and served in the dual role of jock and PD. I stayed with LIN Broadcasting as Group PD and later as manager of WIL-FM (the only mono FM station in St. Louis). In 1968, I joined WLEE in Richmond, Virginia and the following year, I was hired by Max Richmond to be a co-PD of WMEX in Boston.

"About a year later, a friend of mine from LIN purchased a station in Gainesville, Florida. He urged me to join him to switch the station to a country format. I've been in this market and in one capacity or another associated with WDVH AM and FM for 35 years."

1963 WAKY "Personality Information" biography of Jim Brand

Jim, a native of Fargo, North Dakota, attended Southern Methodist University and the University of Kansas City, where he majored in Radio speech. He was a part-time announcer for KGKO in Dallas, but launched his full-time professional radio career when he joined the staff of KDOK in Tyler, Texas in June, 1958. From there he went to KOKE, in Austin, Texas where he served as disc jockey and Production Manager. In search of more experience, he joined KICN in Denver, Colorado; and in February of 1960, he became program director of KDOK. He joined the staff of WAKY in September 1960.

Jim's trained air voice and his easygoing style make him both an effective air salesman and a popular air personality. He is an important link in the family flow programming of WAKY.

Gary Burbank
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gary Burbank (born Billy Purser in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American radio personality. He currently appears on WLW-AM in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he has hosted the station's afternoon drive time programming for more than two decades.

Burbank began his radio career in his hometown at WMPS in the mid 1960s, where he was known on the air as Johnny Apollo. In 1968 he moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he became an instant hit on WAKY-AM. It was at WAKY that Billy Purser officially became Gary Burbank, a name taken from radio and television legend Gary Owens, who as a regular on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In would announce that he was broadcasting from "beautiful downtown Burbank." (Burbank's natural voice is remarkably similar to Owens' on-air voice.)

Burbank stayed at WAKY until 1973, when he moved to New Orleans for a brief stint as program director of WNOE. From New Orleans, Burbank went on to CKLW in Detroit/Windsor, and then back to Louisville for a successful, lengthy afternoon gig on WHAS-AM.

Burbank left Louisville again for a brief spell in Tampa, Florida, but returned to the Ohio Valley in 1986 when he signed with WLW. It is there that he has enjoyed his greatest success, developing his best-known characters: Earl Pitts Uhmerikun, Gilbert Gnarley, Eunice and Bernice, and the Right Rev. Deuteronomy Skaggs (the latter two carried over from his WHAS days). Burbank regularly satirizes former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer, local newscasters, and the Cincinnati Bengals, among many others.

Burbank often does his show from a home in north central Florida, while the rest of his show's cast and crew is in the WLW studios in Cincinnati.

Burbank's Earl Pitts daily "commentaries" are syndicated throughout the country on about 200 stations. Burbank's show is also heard, along with the rest of WLW's programming, on XM Satellite Radio Channel 173.

Burbank has won several major awards, including back-to-back Marconi Awards as Large Market Personality of the Year in 1990 and 1991.

On March 7, 2007, Burbank announced that he would retire on December 31, 2007, at the expiration of his contract. The last show was broadcast on Friday, December 21, 2007. Despite Burbank's retirement, Earl Pitts' commentaries will continue to broadcast on its network of affiliates including WLW.

"As time moves on, things are changing; music, formats and yours truly. It was 1984 and I was now an account executive and doing weekends on the air at the very station my dad and I had pulled in on that little piece of crystal out in Shelby County all those Summer nights ago. I was now working for the Bingham family at 84WHAS, where I remained until the mid '90s.

"During this period my musical interests led me to form a country-rock group just for the fun of it all. Over the next five years as lead singer, I would perform with them at Rupp Arena, Cardinal Stadium, Louisville Gardens, county fairs, street fairs and the Kentucky State Fair, as well as do personal appearances from New York City to Nashville, including guest spots with Ralph Emery on his #1 rated Country Music TV show 'Nashville Now' seen on the Nashville Network. We shared the stage as the opening act for over 30 national touring artists including: Jerry Lee Lewis, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker, Eddie Rabbit, Exile, Steve Wariner, Highway 101, Rodney Crowell, Patty Loveless, Michael Martin Murphy and Ricky Van Shelton.

"In late 1997 after spending nearly four months at University Hospital and Frazier Rehab with my daughter who had been seriously injured in an auto accident, I needed a break from the business and resigned my position as an account executive at the Number One Country station in the U.S., 97FM WAMZ."

"At one time or another during my three year stint at WAKY during the mid to late '60s, I think I did news through the window opposite Rusty Reynolds, Jim Brand, Bill Crisp, Tim Tyler, Weird Beard, John Locke, Johnny Dark, Al Risen ('Jack Holiday'), Farrell Smith, Jim Fletcher, Tom Dooley, Ken Douglas, Steve Baron, Dude Walker, Mike Smith, Mark Clark, George Williams, Buddy Kaye, Gary Burbank and Johnny Randolph -- to name most, but not in that order, of course.

"We used an old Morse Code key -- actually keyed with our thumb -- to make the 'rat-a-tat-tat' tone as a breaker between our news stories when I first went there -- the reverberating tone almost like a cell phone ring of today. It was a McClendon thing -- just a little bit more conservative than KBOX in Dallas, which used a McKenzie Repeater to break up the stories with dramatic music. The station never quite sounded as good after it moved.

"Bill Crisp, whom I thought was a really good jock, finally took me off the news-writing chores in the mornings to banter in the studio with him during morning drive as a straight man and funny voice -- but I actually delivered the newscasts.

"Tim Tyler, on whose show I started as a newsman in 1966 at night, had to help me find my car the first night I was there, because I was from a small town. I had come there from Richmond, Kentucky, and couldn't find my car in the parking lot where I parked it. Tim got me in his new T-Bird and drove me around till we found my Chevy Impala in a parking lot near the Kentucky Home Life Building. That first Christmas I was at WAKY, he and Sandy had my wife Jackie and me to their home, in Jeffersonville or Clarksville as I recall, and gave us gifts. They were great folks to us, and I will always have fond memories of them. Tyler was a terrific jock -- always did his show in his sock feet, ran a tight board and was a complete pro both in music and in business.

Byron Crawford

"After Tim booked the Beach Boys into Freedom Hall, some of the band came to the station and I recall that Brian Wilson took off his sweat soaked, signature blue and white striped shirt and left it in Tim's office. A few days later, Tim cut it up and gave pieces to some of us around the station. I got a pretty good swatch of it and gave it to my sister-in-law, a huge Beach Boys fan. She still has it.

"Although I missed working with Mason Dixon at WAKY, he and I nearly started in radio together at WRSL in Stanford. He had been in Irvine at WIRV before that, but WRSL, a new 500-watt daytimer, was my first job and we both started there together when he was still a teenager. He was a jock, and I started doing news after school as a high school junior. Even then, he was immensely talented. He did all kinds of produced bits, ran an air-tight board, had a fantastic voice and made afternoon drive on that little 500-watter in the middle of nowhere sound like 50,000 watts of bright lights in the middle of everywhere...until sundown.  He drove an Austin Healy Sprite and I drove a turquoise '55 Willys turquoise Jeep.

"I could drive on and on down Memory Lane with the radio set on 790 -- as everyone could who ever worked at WAKY. Thanks, John Quincy, for giving us a place to remember."

"During my tenure we added a number of people and lost a few, most of which I don't remember. Among those we added during that time were Farrell Smith from KLO, and had also worked at WABC in New York; John Randolph, who had been music director at KLO and part-time jock; and Steve Barron. I don't remember where we got Steve but I do remember he got drunk one Christmas day and I finished his shift and we never saw him again. I was accused of being a real Scrooge for firing somebody on Christmas day, but I didn't -- he just didn't come back.

"We also added Jim Fletcher, who had been production director and on air personality at KLO, and was probably the best production man I ever encountered before or since. Bert Markert a.k.a. Weird Beard came to us from WINN. We also hired a kid we called Johnny Dark and I don't remember his real name, but I later heard he was killed in a plane crash.

"Another guy who joined us during my tenure was Tom Dooley, a real whack job, but one of the best jocks I ever heard.

"I would like to add one thing: A lot of people left WKLO to work at WAKY, but to my knowledge, nobody ever left WAKY to go to WKLO."

"At some point Jack left and Bob Moody, who was doing afternoon drive, became PD and we shifted to an oldies format. What a fun time that was! Steven Lee Cook and B.J. Koltee were other buddies who worked on-the-air at WAKY.

Liz Curtis Higgs

"I left WAKY in Spring 1984 because WHAS-AM had a midday opening and because WAKY was in the process of being sold. The new owners assured me they would be happy to keep me on the air-staff, as long as I could accept a sizeable pay cut! NOT! :>)

"I worked at WHAS from April 1984 to August 1988, when I left radio altogether to concentrate exclusively on mothering and speaking."

"And they didn't call the station 'WAKY' without reason. Other memories include gags we played on the evening newsman who shall go unnamed just in case he or his wife may ever read this. We hired a girl to stand on the other side of the newsroom glass and strip while he was doing a live newscast. We thought it was so funny that we decided to do it again a few days later -- only this time, someone let the cat out of the bag and the newsman was tipped off. Not being one to throw a monkey wrench into our fun, he didn't let on he knew...but he surreptitiously recorded the news. After the normal live teaser and intro, we brought in the girl again and she began to strip -- this time, however, he simply grinned after his lead story and punched up a cart on which the rest of the news was recorded. Without saying a word to us, only smiling, he walked from the newsroom around to the control room, took the young lady by the hand and escorted her away to an office.

"I had the 9-mid shift, behind Tim Tyler, who was 6-9pm at that time. Since I had a First Class FCC license and Tim didn't, I was essentially hired to be the 'licensed operator on duty' to take the transmitter readings every half-hour, as the regulations then required. (Sounds so archaic now, doesn't it?) George Williams was doing middays and he ended up being a close friend during the time together at WAKY. Jim also told me that he hired me because of my knowledge of the 'new' 'Drake Format.' I was one of three people (Bill Drake and Jayne Swain being the other two) who first laid out the concept of the format...we were at KSTN/Stockton at the time, and that was before Bill hooked up with Gene Chenault at KYNO.

"Most of my efforts were West Coast and my only gigs East of the Mississippi River were as a jock at WAKY and GM at WGIV/Charlotte for Tracy Broadcasting. I was working at their R&B outlet, KGFJ/Los Angeles, when they bought WGIV and sent me there to oversee the set-up and operation.

"I eventually found my way to KRUX/Phoenix and sister station KTKT/Tucson as group program director, where we set ratings records which still stand. When KRUX was sold to Lotus, I went to Australia as a consultant for 3 years and oversaw operation of 5 stations there.

"After returning to the States, Rick Sklar hired me as program director for ABC's O&O KXYZ/Houston."

Rich Gimmel

"After leaving WAKY in May, 1969 I went to WLAP in Lexington where I was News Director while I finished up at Georgetown College. After getting fired at WLAP in 1972 (right after I helped start a union) I wound up in Alabama at WHHY as ND there (the only "unions" they had to worry about in Alabama were the guys they had fought in the Civil War.) I came back to Kentucky as PD at WEKY in Richmond. Finally wound up as anchor and then ND at WTVQ-TV in Lexington 1973-78, then at WAVE-TV in Louisville as Associate News Director until 1985.

"After getting my MBA in 1985 I joined our family manufacturing business where I'm now president.

"I have a bunch of GREAT memories from WAKY... many of them from that old facility in the Kentucky Home Life Building (old RCA board, a vertical Presto reel-to-reel machine, the production facilities that still used engineers, and some of the incredible antics we used to pull).

"We really had to clean up our collective acts when we moved to the showcase studios on 4th Street in 1968. We finally had new equipment, but it wasn't nearly as much fun."

Dude Walker writes: "I knew his family well. He and his father and I used to go to harness races all over the tri-state area. The last time I saw Kevin was when he was passing through Chicago and spent a few days at my place. I was at Louisville Downs the night he called his first race. He did a good job."

*went to WSAI in Cincinnati

Bill Ward Midnight to 6am
Al Risen Morning Drive
Bob Russell Midday Mornings
Art Keller Midday Afternoon
Jack Sanders Afternoon Drive
Jack Grady 7pm to Midnight

Bill Ward Morning Drive
Bob Russell Midday Mornings
Art Keller Midday Afternoon
Jack Sanders Afternoon Drive
Jack Grady 7pm to Midnight

Bill Ward Morning Drive
Hal Smith Midday Mornings
Art Keller Midday Afternoon
Jack Sanders Afternoon Drive
Jack Grady 7pm to Midnight

Bill Ward Morning Drive
Hal Smith Midday Mornings
Jack Grady Midday Afternoon
Jack Sanders Afternoon Drive
Jerry Barr 7pm to Midnight

Other staff:

Wick Morrison, Chief Engineer
Johnny Workman, Production Engineer
Marijo Rison, Secretary to the Manager

Managers:

Jack Lee
Bob Franklin

Sales:

Al Grosby
John McCarthy
Willis "Scooter" Duff
Bob Franklin

Copy writer:

Bitt Sullivan

Mike Griffin at the closing ceremony of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles

"I left radio in 1977 and went to work in engineering at WDRB-TV in Louisville. From there I moved to WHAS-TV-AM-FM also in engineering. While there, I had the distinct honor and high privilege of having constructed WAMZ's first on-air studio when it went fully live with Coyote Calhoun in '81 or '82. In 1982 I left WHAS and became a Field Engineer for Sony Electronics. I was with Sony until last year when I left to start a company with a couple of friends. We do diagnostics, monitoring, and consulting for IT-based TV automation and newsroom systems."

Dave Jacob (2006)

"Today, I am CEO of APSI (Alternate Power Systems, Inc.), a solar/wind/renewable energy company based in Atlanta and doing business worldwide."

"We plan to get together soon and drain Austin of its beer supply...and tell radio lies all evening long.

"George is a great broadcaster and super gentleman. I'd hire him again...probably!"

"I was hired by Bill Crisp. When I was there we were in the Kentucky Home Life Building. I started doing overnights, then moved to PM drive for a short few months before I left to go to Oklahoma City.

"While I was there, Bill Crisp was AM Drive/PD, Jack Murray was Early Middays, Steve Baron was next, followed by Tim Tyler and then Weird Beard.

"After leaving Louisville, I jocked at KOMA in Oklahoma City, KRUX in Phoenix, WIFE in  Indianapolis, KCBS-FM in San Francisco, WKRQ in Cincinnati...and programmed in Evansville, Dayton, Columbus, Milwaukee, Chicago, Louisville (KISS 104), and Pittsburgh before I became Senior VP of Programming for what used to be called SFX (which became Capstar, AM-FM and Clear Channel). Did that for 7 years and now program KHMX in Houston.

"I'm from Kentucky (the mountains). WAKY was one of the greatest and most exciting stations in America. I owe a lot of my programming beliefs and fundamentals from both listening to and working at WAKY."

Update: Buddy left the Houston gig in June 2006 and now lives in Chicago.

"I don't remember what time we came in on Saturday nights, but the shift ran to around 10 a.m. After 4 a.m. we did it from one of the back production studios, while the engineers did maintenance in the main control room...so I guess that means we had Friday nights off.

"Ed had Brailed the entire wall of music carts -- something like 1200 or so songs! -- and he would send me out to help pull music for the 5-to-6 a.m. music segment of the shift, as well as the Saturday night shift, which was all music until the religious/public service programming and Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" began around 4 a.m. or so.

"The lineup I recall at that time was: Bill Bailey from 6 to 10 a.m.; Gary [Cox] King, middays; not sure, but I believe Lee Gray did afternoon drive; Coyote did 6 to 10 p.m.; and "The Boogieman," Chuck Jackson, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. -- and Karl [Schmidt] Shannon was the Production Director. Overnight news was pre-recorded on cart, and I believe it was usually the voice of Ralph Dix.

"I worked with Ed from sometime in the early summer until about the end of October, when I left WXVW; I worked with Ed occasionally after that, but it was seldom, because I got married in the spring of '78 and my wife decided I ought to have a 'real' job. I believe it was about that time that Ed left.

"But for a brief, shining moment, I was part of the excitement that emanated from the 'Engine [rhymes with "nine"] Room of the Sooper 79,' as Bailey liked to say. Never before, and never again in my radio career, have I worked with as many Louisville legends. Besides Ed Phillips' approval, I also had to have Johnny Randolph's to work there, and Randolph always spoke when we met in the hall. Reed Yadon, I discovered, was all business until he sorted thru the overnight wire service copy and got his first newscast together. Bailey could be counted on to arrive anywhere from 5:30 to 6:30 to begin his 6 a.m. shift, but the man had a style that was often copied but never duplicated. Here's how an average off-air exchange went:

[Bailey] Hey, Ed...I got a question for ya.

[Ed]: Yeah Bill?

[Bailey]: Is this sh*t absolutely necessary? [meaning the routine of having to actually work for a living]

[Ed]: Yeah, Bill, 'fraid so.

[Bailey]: Then, by God, let's get on with it!

"And with that, Bailey became 'YOUR Duke of Louisville' for another day, reigning over all he surveyed.

"I began my radio career at WPDF-AM in Corydon, IN [same place Burt Markert/Weird Beard began] in the summer of 1976. In late '76 I was at WMMG-FM in Brandenburg, KY, and by April '77 was at WXVW in Jeffersonville. I was hired to fill the vacancy created when Rollye Bornstein ['Rollye B.'] left to write the 'Vox Jox' column in Billboard Magazine. I left 'XVW in late October '77, and went back to WMMG...until I left radio for the auto parts business in early 1978. In April 1983, I went back to the Corydon, IN AM station -- now called WJDW -- and from '83 thru '88 I worked weekend mornings at WJDW and weekend afternoons at WMMG. In June of '88 I left radio for good to become parts department manager at then-new Blue Grass Hyundai in Louisville. In 2000 I left auto parts to work at Tower Automotive, making frames for Ford Explorers in Corydon, IN.

"There are stories from my days [nights, actually] at WAKY that are better left untold...like the all-nighter half the staff pulled for Gary King's birthday, and the leftover case of 'Old Frothingslosh Pale Stale Ale' that Gary sent home with me because, frankly, the stuff was downright awful...but for the sake of decency and propriety, I'll spare you those details and hundreds more.

"These are memories of people and times that I'll treasure forever...because, even as a 'footnote' in WAKY history, I was part of a legend as magical as Camelot, and just as unlikely to ever be seen again in our lifetimes."

"I literally stumbled upon your WAKY Tribute site yesterday for the first time. When I arrived at WAKY in 1979, the station was at the start of its decline, so I never thought I would be among the voices on the aircheck page. What a HOOT -- hearing myself on the air from 30 years ago!

"I think the site is great for the tradition of WAKY and Louisville radio in general. It was the first medium market I ever worked in, having come from WKYX in Paducah. I still remember Gary Guthrie calling me to tell me I had the job, and the thrill I had when I caught the first glimpse of the Louisville skyline coming up I-65 from E-town.

"The radio career began in July of 1972 at a 250 watt day-timer, KYMO, East Prairie, Missouri. It was the summer before my senior year in high school, and my brother was working at the station. His boss called one afternoon looking for him, and I answered the phone. By the next week, I had the start of an almost 25 year career. Bizarre? You bet!

"I worked a few small-market jobs in Cape Girardeau and nearby Jackson, Mo. from July of '73 to August of '76 under the names of Martin Kane and Mike Mohr and then -- the big time: WKYX, Paducah, as Michael Q. Mohr, Mama Mohr's Bouncing Baby Boy! I remember thinking it was the big time, because Paducah is the biggest city in the area between Memphis and St. Louis. (Evansville was too far away.) KYX had the biggest and most professional sound in the area, and their jocks did the most fascinating walk-ups. They started songs underneath the commercials. Later I found out that all the song intros and the spots were timed out to an 1/8 of a second, and the cartridge machines were all set to auto-fire using Graylab timers. Easy as pie! Gary Guthrie worked there at one time -- that name would mean something in December of '78. Gary spoke to our Production Director at the time, Kurt Engelhardt, to see if he was interested in a production/on-air gig. Lucky for me, he had just had a child and was getting his feet wet in voice-over work. But, he passed my name to Guthrie, and asked me if I was interested. Oh, yeah.

"I hit the air on WAKY in January of 1979. Gary had us reading the IDs live -- "Its OUR year--79--W-A-K-Y, Lou-uh-vull" -- swear to God, spelled just like that! That attention to detail was really impressive to me, and I thought to myself, I will really learn a lot from this guy. Unfortunately, it was very short-lived. Within just a few weeks, Gary was gone and replaced by Mike McVay. Mike kept me in my position for a while, but the sound of the station was being steered more in an adult direction. I remember the day in late May '79 that Mike called me into the office, and told me he didn't think I was an adult-styled jock. It hurt like hell at the moment, but he did the absolute right thing. He would do something for me later on that made up for any hurt I had at that moment.

"Enter E. Alvin Davis and C. C. Mathews. A consultant and program director hired by John Otting to change WKLO's FM easy-listening station (WCSN) into something the Derby City had never seen before -- a HOT, rock-leaning Top 40 station (on Freaking FM!!!) called "the New KJ-100". In the process, the call letters of WKLO were permanently retired in favor of the new ones, WKJJ FM/AM.

"I will never forget the set up. Dave "Commander Hutch" Hutcheson was the morning man. C. C. and Russ Hopkins shared middays (later on, Gary Griffin), I was hired for afternoons (up against Mike McVay -- wink, wink), and Bumper Morgan was on after me at night. The night we went live with the new format, the last song to air on WCSN I can't recall, but as it ended at the stroke of midnight, E. Alvin's voice came on, something like this: "We hope you enjoyed the last several years of the sunshine sounds. And we know if you like that, you're gonna be crazy when you hear this" followed by "Oh, mama I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law...." Anyone who listened to WCSN would not have taken offense until John Young, lead guitarist for Styx on the song "Renegade" screams "YYYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHH!"-- AND WE WERE OFF TO THE RACES!! And so it went for the next almost 3 years. Lots and lots of fun. A few heartbreaks, like the day Woody Stiles crashed his banner towing plane and died. That was horrible. But the 1979-80 U of L Cardinals won the NCAA championship!

"My time in Louisville radio was about to end. In 1982, I was offered a job in New Orleans at WEZB-FM (B-97), and I took it. It lasted from October to maybe April of '83. That was a tough market for me. A lot of inner turmoil happened. My girlfriend left me to go home to Louisville, and I kind of let that get to me to the point that it cost me my job. I simmered in that apartment on the west bank till about September, then landed the morning gig at WZNE (Z98) in Tampa, FL. Now THAT was about the most fun I ever had. Problem was, the transmitter was on the peninsula where St. Pete and Clearwater are, rather than in the city of Tampa on the east side of the bay, so literally 50% of the 100,000 watt signal was heading out to sea! We never reached anything near our true potential, but damn near every radio you heard on Clearwater or St. Pete beaches was on Z-98, and that was a trip!

"Re-enter Mike McVay! I wrote earlier that he would do me a solid later that would make up for the hurt I felt in Louisville? Well, he was in Tampa and heard me on the air (as Bryan Thomas). So happened that his consultancy had been hired to turn around a legacy FM station in St. Louis (KWK, to be exact). Remember the old video of the DJ smashing an acetate, and saying "Rock-n-Roll has gotta go"? Look at the call letters on the microphone. Anyway, I can only assume Mike remembered what kind of station we had put together against him on KJ-100 back in the Louisville days, because he had contacted C.C. Mathews to program KWK. They offered me the afternoon slot. This was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of mine to work in St. Louis radio, having grown up 150 miles south in Sikeston, and listening to KXOK, the BIG 630, in its heyday (Johnny Rabbit, and, believe it or not, Mason Lee Dixon). We gave it all we had, but in the end, the CBS radio machine was too much. No matter what we did -- we gave away a freakin' Porsche! -- we never beat KHTR, one of the major regrets of my career. The KWK gig ended in a change of format after 2 years, and rather than pick up and move again, I just got tired of it. I landed a couple of part-time gigs (one on KXOK with Johnny Rabbit -- WOOO HOO!), but the writing was on the wall. I moved behind the scenes to do traffic for a Classic Rock station, went to night school and got a degree in computers.

"Thanks for all your hard work in keeping the site alive. I am no longer in broadcasting, and it was really nice to relive some of that magic. It kept me up most of the night last night!"

"Don Keyes, National Program Director for the McLendon Stations, prepared the format, hired the staff and solely put WAKY "on the air" in 1958. It hit the market like an Old Dallas Cowboys' BLITZ. Many McLendon people thought it was the very biggest and best success stories in the entire company.

"Proof of performance was WAKY's initial Hooper achievement(s). The station went from zero to a 60% share in only two months. I remember seeing Hooper trends on a large white board (looking like a real Hooper report page) on the back wall as you entered the station. Don Keyes called the market entry the 'usual flying circus.'

"The station's original call letters were WGRC that honored revolutionary war hero George Rogers Clark. Clark is also known as one of two persons that originally 'mapped' America.

"I have either lost or misplaced my notes listing names of the original staff. I joined WAKY in late 1959. The staff then included:

6am - 9am Bill Ward (and Aunt Bertha)
9am - 12N Bob Russell
12N - 3pm Art Keller
3pm - 7pm Jack (the "Jumper") Sanders, Program Director
7pm - 12M Hal Smith
12M - 6am Jack Grady (Music Director)

AM News Anchor: Mike McCormick
Day News Anchor: Jon Poston (News Director)
PM News Anchor: Tom Perry
Night News Anchor: Jack Baker
Mobile News: Craig Douglas

"WAKY was then located on the 5th (I think) floor of the Kentucky Life Building. It was the most exciting radio station in my career.

"Program Director Jim Light(foot) and News Director Bill Gill left WAKY around the time I arrived in mid-to-late 1959. They, along with a other WAKY personnel, were going to WSAI in Cincinnati to create a new and far
'better' WAKY. Their departure from the Mighty 790 seemed to be a little tense!

Jack Sanders was appointed Program Director and Jon Poston joined WAKY as News Director

McLendon's National Program Director Don Keyes later visited Cincinnati and conducted a WSAI monitor.
Before returning to Dallas he held a programming staff meeting at WAKY. I remember his report was very
structured, quite comprehensive and highly detailed with numerous specifics.

Don clearly determined the future of the new WSAI format. "Without major improvements...it would not achieve
competitive numbers...or...be around for very long." He was 100% correct."

"I joined the WAKY News Department in 1979, working 6-10AM with Bill Bailey. He started calling me 'Billy Bob' McQuage, and the name stuck. In 1982, Bailey accepted a position with rival WCII/WKJJ and asked that I join him, which I readily accepted.

"In 1985, I left Louisville and joined the Texas State Network in Dallas, and later moved to KMGC in Dallas. In 1988, I did news at WIOD in Miami, and later did a 10AM-3PM talk show at WIOD. From Miami, I moved to Norfolk where I did news at WWDE. I later worked at Metro News Network and WMZQ in Washington, DC.

"Other stations that I proudly include on my resume are WKIX (Raleigh, NC) WAYN (Rockingham, NC) WLNC (Laurinburg, NC) WATA (Boone, NC) WKDX (Hamlet, NC) WZGC (Atlanta, GA.)

"[WAKY GM] George Francis and I first met in the late '60s when we both worked at WKIX (Raleigh).

"Just recently, I relocated to Nashville, TN from Indian Wells, CA. I retired in 1995."

Mike McVay

"I loved the job, anchoring morning drive but sadly never having any staff or dollars to compete seriously with WAVE or WHAS. I recall that WRKA pulled some decent numbers, as high as 6.5 in 1982, but a revolving door of talent and management led to serious problems by the end of 1984. GM Joe Koetter mercifully gave me the axe the first Saturday of 1985. I think I was the last of the original crowd to go.

"With help from ex-WRKA PD Dan O'Toole's borrowed rolodex, I made contact with the Katz station in Orlando, whose PD put me in touch with the great John Butler, then the ND at WSYR in Syracuse (John is now at KMOX). He hired me to be afternoon anchor at the news-talker and was a terrific boss. I also later became his assignment editor and worked at WSYR for 10 years, until I hung up the mike in 1995 at age 45 to become a financial planner here in Syracuse (also a wonderful college hoops town). These days I can honestly say that I have no desire to return to the radio, but I'll always recall with fondness my WAKY days of 1978 and 1979, working with such great talents as Bill Bailey, Ralph Dix, Bill Purdom, Coyote Calhoun and the beautiful Chary Southmayd."

Bob Moody (February 2007)

"In 1984 the station was sold to a black guy from Alabama who planned to go urban with it. That Fall I said my goodbyes, packed up my stuff, and headed to Scotland for a vacation, thinking I was unemployed. When I got back I found out that the guy didn't have the money, the sale had fallen through, and I still had a job. In fact, Multimedia offered me a nice bonus if I would stay until they could sell it.

"In 1985 a Yankee named Bob Fish bought WAKY and made it clear that I didn't have a future there. So in August of that year I went to work for former WAKY GM George Francis, who had bought a Country station in Shreveport. From there I went to Baltimore, then became a consultant for McVay before joining Regent Communications [as VP/Programming] over two years ago."

 WAKY Bob Moody Promotional Handout Text

Since Bob Moody set up shop in the studio every weekday afternoon from 4 till 7, Louisville has turned to 790 on the AM dial in ever-increasing numbers.

"It's nothing special," says the Arkansas traveler. "I don't play the kazoo or bang a gong to get anybody's attention. What I try to be is a companion. I've driven in the traffic after a hard day at work. I know it's a rough time for a lot of people. So I play the music they want to hear, tell them a funny story and commiserate about the traffic."

The three hour Moody show keeps in touch with traffic developments, news, sports and weather. Glen Bastin and Aaron Notar update local news and sports on the hour and half hour, along with Accu-Weather. On the hour they're joined by ABC Network News, Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" at 6:05, and shy, lovable Howard Cosell commences "Speaking of Sports" at 6:30.

The Moody touch carries over to Sunday night when Bob unleashes his love for nostalgia on "Fourth Street Sunday Night" from 8 till midnight. Moody plays "remember when" music from the Fifties and Sixties and, in the process, has turned off more television sets than anything since the last power failure.

Moody sums it up this way: "I'm low-key. I feel comfortable with people, so they feel comfortable with me."

__________________________________

A local media critic named him "the thinking man's disc jockey." Others have called him "an American eccentric."

We have here a man whose favorite musicians are the Jive Five and George Frederich Handel, who spent four years as a professional wrestling ring announcer, in in his spare time studies 17th and 118th century English history.

As WAKY program director, Bob is the architect of the format. From 4-7 PM he uses his vast knowledge of oldies, a wry sense of of humor and one of the best one-to-one techniques in the business to construct a program that is entertaining and intelligent, yet never pedantic.

Since coming to WAKY from CKLW/Detroit in 1976, Bob has build a large and loyal following. Asked to explain his success, he quotes James Boswell: "I have a compulsion to tell everything I know."

Louisville loves to listen.

This blurb about Bob Moody appeared in Vince Staten's TV Scene August 14, 1985 column:

Bob Moody, a legend in local radio, is leaving Louisville.

Moody, the afternoon DJ (3-7 p.m.) and the program director at WAKY-AM (790), is heading for parts unknown.

In a prepared statement he said, "Two years I promised Multimedia [Inc.] I would stay through the sale of the station. Now that FCC [Federal Communications Corp.] has taken control, I feel my best option is pursue career opportunities in other markets…. I expect to announce my future plans shortly after Labor Day."

Moody had been at WAKY for nine years and had worked in numerous capacities.

In an interview Moody said, "Hell, I've been news director, music director, assistant program director, acting program director, acting news director, program director and now former program director. I was only in this for the titles."

He won Billboard magazine awards as Program Director of the Year and Air Personality of the Year.

Moody's departure can be tied to two factors: the station's declining ratings (it was 12th out of 17 stations in the spring ratings) and new ownership. His last day is August 31.

Bob Moody Airchecks
Bob Moody's Website

"After managing stations in Houston and Oklahoma City, I returned to Louisville to manage WCII/WDJX (WCII was of course the old WKLO and why they changed that great name, I don't know). This was in the early eighties, and low and behold, Bill Bailey was the morning personality. I was way before Bill at WAKY, so while I had heard of Bill, I didn't meet him until I came in as General Manager.

"They sold the station in 4 years and since Louisville was such a special place (all 3 of my kids were born here), I decided to stay and I opened a travel agency. Big mistake, but that is what I am doing now and enjoying a little travel and taking it easy.

"Anyway, a lot of memories flash before me when I start thinking of WAKY and some of the forgotten promotions and craziness that went on."

"My interest in radio goes back to the mid '50s, when even as a  5-year-old, I wondered why some stations did what they did, and why. In Louisville during this period, WKLO and WGRC began to program the typical rock 'n' roll segments, with sponsored hillbilly live programming, "good" music and network commitments the rest of the day. Then, as WAKY went on the air and WKLO changed about a year later, my interest really took off.

"I should note here that, being totally blind, odds were next to none that I could find a way to even consider radio as a profession.

"To make a long story short Ron Britain on WCFL and John Randolph changed all that. Britain re-ignited the spark of determination if not hope of getting into radio. (If you've ever heard his work, you know that Ron was 'Laugh In' years before the concept hit television.) That seemingly undisciplined, spontaneous crazy type of radio had to be too much fun to give up on. With this in mind, you can understand why John's support and encouragement were so vital.

"There's something special about just walking into the building of a legendary radio station, particularly in your home town. I found acceptance, and an unmatched learning opportunity. Hey, how could one not learn from people like the Duke, Lee Gray, Gary King, Bob Moody, Mike Griffin and of course, Coyote Calhoun. Add to that, Bill Purdom, Reed Yadon, Chuck (Mr. Boogie) Jackson and Lee Masters.

"As for handling the operations requiring sight, I hired someone to read meters, transcribe log info, etc. When computers became more adaptable with text-to-speech programs, I was finally able to work pretty much independently.

"As for after WAKY, I did some small market programming, then worked at WCII (1080 AM) from 1980 to 1988. I had the good fortune to do middays following Bill Bailey on WCII (the former WKLO) for just under four years. (Speaking of that, it was a pleasure to work with and for Bobby Hatfield.) Then it was on to WAVG 970, WLRS (Mix 102), and finally to WVEZ into 1998."

5:30-10 a.m. - Bill Crisp
10 a.m.-2 p.m. - Jim Brand
2-6 p.m. - George Williams
6-9 p.m. - Tim Tyler
9 p.m.-12 midnight - Dale Reeves
12 midnight-5:30 a.m. - Ed Walker

"On Saturday nights I worked 6 p.m. to 12 midnight on WAKY. And on Sunday I often did a paid appearance at Fountain Ferry Park. I almost never had a day off. We used to have WAKY staff meetings on Sunday mornings.

"I just took over as PD/afternoon drive host of the local AM Standards station (WKGC)."

1963 WAKY "Personality Information" biography of Jay Reynolds

Jay, a native of Mount Vernon, Illinois, studied radio and television at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois. While at the University, he participated in many "little theater" activities...and when he later entered the United States Army, he directed several GI productions and handled a vocal trio, which toured both military and civilian clubs throughout Western Europe.

Jay entered the professional field of broadcasting in 1957 when he joined the staff of WCNT in Centralia, Illinois as an announcer. He became the morning disc jockey for WGGH, in Marion, Illinois in 1958 and joined the staff of KIOA in Des Moines, Iowa in 1959. Within two months after he joined KIOA, he was racking up top ratings...average PULSE -- 34.4. He was assistant program director and air personality for WPEO, Peoria, Illinois; and prior to joining WAKY, was a featured air personality on WMAK, WAKY's sister station in Nashville, Tennessee, where he once again proved his outstanding ability to earn high ratings.

Jay's easygoing style, his excellent sense of humor, and all 'round good sportsmanship make him a popular personality, both on and off the air -- a vigorous asset to WAKY.

"The first stint I did there part time I was 'Chris Shannon,' because I was working full time at WINN, the country station. When I came back from Charlotte, I went by Karl Shannon.

"I've also worked in Nashville at WSM-FM, and now I'm back in Lexington doing mornings and am interim PD for WLXX-FM 92.9 The Bear (formerly K-93)."

Courier-Journal, Sunday, May 24, 1981

Mike Summers Today

"What a wonderful hour down memory lane!

"Some of my former colleagues and I have complained that -- other than a few, cracking acetate tapes -- not much is left of an incredible era in broadcasting. Thanks for taking the time effort to leave a digital reminder of sorts of the hard work and talent that went into Top 40 Radio."

Remembering An Exceptional WAKY Engineer

I finished listening to the Bill Hennes WKLO interview. Very good; it was interesting hearing different perspectives. WAKY did have a higher component of country music, usually dayparted. At nights the urban component was probably pretty close between the two stations.

Mike Rivers was a tremendous production guy who turned out some great stuff, promos and commercials; a great voice too. I didn't know Mike, but he was a master.

WKLO's multi-track production studio is something WAKY didn't match until '73, '74 or so (I don't recall exactly). It happened when we got a new chief engineer, John Timm. John did a lot for WAKY: upgrading the production studio; introducing digital timers tied to an element starting; upgrading the cart machines to three stacks with secondary tones to sequence the commercials; and taking us away from playing 45s on the air to all cart. He also upgraded the old Gates large-platter turntables in the production room to electronically controlled turntables. After the turntable upgrade WAKY would also, very occasionally, speed up a song. An example is Maxine Nightingale's "Right Back Where I Started From." John Timm's actions may have followed from a decision by management to upgrade but I remember John as the driving force and I suspect he sold them on the idea.

A lot has been said about Johnny Randolph tweaking WAKY's 'sound' and that is certainly true. John Timm came and installed equipment that gave Randolph even more handles to tweak on. WAKY had some engineers along the way who were good technically, but John was an innovator and moved the station along in ways that made an important difference on the air. John Timm was important to WAKY and I know that Bruce Clark and Pete Boyce were important to WKLO. - Mike Griffin, former WAKY Production Director

(Note: John Timm exited WAKY in the late '70s. He passed away in 1997.)

1963 WAKY "Personality Information" biography of Tim Tyler

Tim entered the broadcasting field early in life. He spent four his teen years in Okinawa with his parents while his father was in the Untied States Air Force. When he finished high school there in June of 1958, he became a staff announcer and salesman for KSBK in Naha, Okinawa. In August of 1959, he became an announcer for KAKE in Wichita, Kansas; and in February of 1960, he joined the staff of KBUD, in Athens, Texas. Tim's career includes service as a popular air personality with such stations as KDOK, Tyler, Texas, and WIRL, Peoria, Illinois. His outstanding air ability is demonstrated in the fact that while at WIRL he achieved the highest PULSE ratings ever earned by the station during the afternoon "drive time."

Tim attended the University of Wichita in Kansas, where he majored in speech. His hobbies include all sports and photography.

1963 WAKY "Personality Information" biography of Bob Watson

Twenty-three-year-old Bob, a native of Louisville, entered the field of radio-television and films at the University of Kentucky after changing his major from art. During his college career, he served as program director for WSTL, Eminence, Kentucky, and as news director of WBKY, the University's FM station. In addition, he was chief cinematographer for the radio-television films department and was very active in educational television. His efforts earned him the University of Kentucky "Mike Award" for outstanding service in radio-television films.

In June of 1961, Bob became a weekend newsman for WAKY while attending the University, and in the spring of 1962, he became a fulltime news editor for the station.

The achievements of this young newsman have earned for WAKY recognition as an outstanding news reporting agency. On the scene when fire struck Churchill Downs, Bob was the reporter of the event to Kentucky and to the Associated Press. He has interviewed such personalities as Pee Wee Reese, Arnold Palmer, Dave Brubeck, Tom Ewell, and Lionel Hampton.

Though his radio interests keep him very busy, Bob enjoys art, music, and photography in his leisure time.

Bob Watson Airchecks

Weird Beard Airchecks

"I'm still in Louisville."

Byron Crawford adds: "In the days when I remember Joe Worthy, he reminded me a lot of actor Charlie Ruggles -- almost actorly looking, and sounding, but just a great down-to-earth personality and wit. He worked nights much of the time I worked with him. In later life I know that he was a Kentucky rep. for either some agricultural products company or hardware firm."