Radio - What Happened?
A look at the rise and fall of commercial radio, seen from the eyes of two baby boomers. Terry Bettis and Jim Christoferson both worked in local radio for years, in small to large markets. Their experience allows others to see what they see -- a virtual WKRP in every market across the country. Personalities, promotions, formats, actual air checks of the nation's top radio stations of the last 60 years -- all facets are talked about, listened to, and discussed in this weekly podcast.
Episodes
This week, in our first podcast without Jim -- we trudge forward with some airchecks. Jim always loved it when we played airchecks, so that's what we're going to do. This week, we listen to some Los Angeles stations back in the late 60s and 70s. We hear Dr. Don Rose, the real Don Steele, and Charlie Tuna -- 3 icons of the radio industry. Thanks for listening.
Today, we give you the sad news that my podcast partner, friend and business associate - Jim Christoferson - has passed away. Jim suffered from pulminary fibrosis, and it had gotten progressively worse over the past 6 months. We all thought he would beat it. In fact, that was his mantra -- "I'm gonna beat it." But, unfortunately, we got the call on Tuesday, April 30th that the disease had won. I'm not sure ...
This is hour two of our conversation on 710 AM, KNUS Denver on the Peter Boyles Show. He was a gracious host, as we discussed the radio business, and all the changes we've seen in the last 50 years -- and we talk about our new book - "Radio: What Happened?", available now on amazon.com
Welcome back -- to us! Sorry for the delay in getting a new episode out, but we're excited to get back in the saddle. Today, we talk about our recent interview with Peter Boyles at KNUS 710 AM in Denver. He's actually interviewing us -- about our new book that has the same title as our podcast. We also hear from Gary Owens, and hear an aircheck of when KNUS was in Dallas playing their own version of top 40 music
This week, our guest is Ron Harrell. as we follow his journey from his Dad's pulpit where he performed his first 5 minutes - to working at some of the most high profile stations in the country, including KIMN Denver and KVIL Dallas. We talk about the current state of affairs, and why he's "bullish" on the future of radio. We also have an air check of Dr. Don Rose of KFRC San Francisco!
This week, we talk again with Sean Ross, editor of RossOnRadio - a great newsletter about the current events of the radio industry. Topics include Christmas music and the songs that made a difference in 2023. We also have a snippet of Charlie Van Dyke at CKLW in 1969!
This week's guest is Hall of Fame announcer, Rudy "Fearless" Fernandez from Abilene, Texas. He's been on the same station for 45 years, and continues to entertain his audience daily. And he's done some crazy stunts to raise money for local charities - like staying in a block of ice for 48 hours - or riding a Ferris wheel for 5 days!!!! Plus, we've got an aircheck of the great Fred Winston of WLS, Ch...
This episode will start a series where we highlight some of the all time great disc jockeys of our time (if you're as old as we are!). We start off with Charlie Tuna, a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame, and maybe best known for his time at KCBQ where they premiered "The Last Contest", one of the greatest promotions ever! Enjoy Charlie on air at KCBQ, KHJ and KTNQ.
Everybody did it -- but unfortunately most of us can't find them. We're talking "airchecks". And this week's guest knows all about them. He was one of the first (if not THE first) to offer a website to house airchecks. He has literally thousands of them, all for your listening pleasure. And he's always looking for more. Take a listen to our guest, Dale Patterson of "Rock Radio Scrapbook"...
Who invented the radio? Raise your hand if you said Marconi. Most people would. But, you need to hear the story of Nikola Tesla, and his history with both the invention of not only
radio, but robots, cell phones and the light bulb (that's right, it might not have been Thomas Edison). It's a fascinating story told by our guest this week: Richard Munson.
This week, we talk to Aurora Cantu, about her time in the San Antonio, Tx market, her struggles as a woman in the industry, and her experience working with Ascap. Aurora is a member of the San Antonio Radio Hall of Fame, and has a unique perspective on this crazy industry we call "radio". We also hear from our studio announcer, Gary Owens!
We're back! Yes, after a break dealing with the pandemic, we're back with new episodes about an "old" topic - old time radio shows! This week, we talk to Gary Doty about his brother Ralph, and his program back in the 60's called "Radio Memories" which included shows like The Shadow, The Inner Sanctum, Ozzie & Harriet, The Fred Allen Show, Gunsmoke and many more. But be careful, you might ha...
It's good to be back -- and we promise to do better! This week, we give our tribute to Ron Chapman, one of the best morning drive personalities ever. For over 50 years, Ron worked in the Dallas/Ft Worth market as a morning show staple. His highlight was his time at KVIL, when it became one of the most valuable radio stations in the country. We have some great audio, including his last day before retirement, at KLUV.
We take a look back at our first 26 episodes from 2020, with some highlights you may enjoy. Chickenman, Hollywood Hamilton, George Carlin, WKRP "Turkeys Away", and others. We hope you enjoy our retrospective look at the past year, and hope you'll share our podcast with others who might enjoy. Thanks for listening.
100 years ago, KDKA in Pittsburgh became the first commercial station in the US. They also were the first station to broadcast presidential election returns. We actually have audio from that broadcast. You might be surprised as to how many listeners they had. We also have some sound from the Presidential debate in 1960 between John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon. And, as usual, our sponsor announcer Gary Owens, drops in and give...
Surely you remember the most famous of all the WKRP episodes. Newsman Les Nesman reports from the Pinedale Mall with the stations latest promotion, which goes horribly wrong.
His reporting is classic in so many ways, especially when he yells, "Oh, the humanity!" And of course, Johnny Fever's classic response.......well, you just have to listen to it. Enjoy our Thanksgiving episode, and from Jim and I -- we sinc...
This week, we remember one of the greatest radio promotions of all time -- The Last Contest, from 1972 on KCBQ, San Diego. Also, Jim discusses the digital future of AM radio, as we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of AM. Plus, we have another episode of "Chickenman", a great radio series from the genius of Dick Orkin and the Radio Ranch (thank you Lisa Orkin), and finally, our booth announcer Gary Owens brings us this we...
How many of us can say that we were hired away from a "pirate radio station"? Especially from the station that turned us in to the FCC?!? Well, Hollywood Hamilton can. His fabulous career started in Reno, Nevada back in '79, with stops in Las Vegas, Monterrey, Tampa, New York City, Los Angeles, then back to New York City. Wow, what a ride?!? Sit back and enjoy this National Radio Hall of Fame announcer. We&apos...
This week, we proudly present our conversation with Hollywood Hamilton, a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He's worked with some of the all time greats in this business, and is currently doing afternoon drive at WKTU FM in New York City, as well as 2 different syndicated radio shows, airing nationally. We also have an air check sent in by Rod Tanner, a listener of the podcast. It's from 1974, and wow, it is h...
Last week's episode is already one of our most downloaded episodes, so we're excited about Part 2 of our conversation with Stan Webb, who beat out about 5,000 other applicants for one of the 7 coveted positions with Gordon McLendon's "Magnificent Seven"! This week, we get a behind the scenes look at the beginning of Clear Channel, one of radio's biggest companies. We also have Music Montage #3, so ...
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