In early 1982 I was lucky enough to be hired at WRJZ 620 to be a weekend DJ at "My Kind of Country". The PD was the incredible Steve Bridgewater aka Dr. Don West on his morning drive show and formerly Steve West on 15Q, circa 1976. 

 

Being not only a radio person but a radio fan, I was in awe sitting in the same control room that had housed Bob Kaghan, JJ Scott, CP and Walker, Fred Story, etc.

 

In early 1980 the still rockin' WRJZ featured CP and Walker 6-10, Adele 10-2, Mark McCain 2-6, John Boy 6-10, Fred Story 10-2, and Jeff Jarnigan 2-6. The news crew included Ernie Baker and David Henley. Carrington Thompson was the fill in and weekender. 

 

The 101 Audio Vault features John Boy (before Billy)...

I first met Jeff Hawkins in the 70's as we were both weekend DJs at WIVK. Later we worked at the start up Q94 in Oak Ridge, his on air name was Jeff Winters. In Ktown he also spent time at WKGN and WNOX. Fast forward to the 21st century and Jeff and I were both living in Orlando, we periodically enjoyed fortune cookies together (he and family would dine at our PF Chang's). Later Jeff relocated to Middle Tennessee...and he's back on the radio!

 

Watching daughter Courtney Lyle calling the Tennessee basketball game the other day, I thought of Paul Lyle and how proud he would be!  When I arrived at WIVK in the fall of 1976, Paul and Bob Kesling were the sports reporters/anchors there. In December Paul transferred to DBCs WKDA as Sports Director.

 

The 101 Reload features Paul from a post he wrote in July 2011 for 101...

 

WIVK Interstate News!

Mike Hammond was interested in upgrading our news department so he and I went to WSB in Atlanta and spent a day with a guy down there Gordon Van Mol I believe was the guy’s name. We were blown away by their operation and brought many ideas back to WIVK. One of the most noticeable is we named our news “Interstate News.” So it was then WIVK Interstate News. I’ll never forget Bill Williams grilling Mike on Why and are we now going to carry more stories from the interstate or outside the state of Tennessee. Mike was trying to explain it and was getting flustered as Bill kept pestering him with questions. I finally could stand it no more and just butted in (as I so often do so well) and said…Damnit Bill….We’re doing the same news…..we just call it WIVK Interstate News. It just makes it bigger. That was it. Mike and I were laughing for several days after that. I also remember we always signed off with More of East Tennessee’s No. 1 Morning Radio show is next…with Claude A. Tomlinson on Tuesday morning’s GREAT DAY. WIVIK WEATHER (here we played the meteorologist). (music rolling) 72 degrees in Knoxville…I’m Paul Lyle…WIVK Interstate News!!!!

Only about 150,000 people were listening!

VERY COOL!

 Page 3...

I worked with Ron Harper and Johnny (Pirkle) at Hits 100 for a while in 1986 or 1987. I ran into Bobby Denton at the Wrangler on Northshore, and he told me to "get Pirkle to go Rock against WIMZ". Years later I worked with the station again when it LMA'd to Dick and was Classic Rock. The PD was Tim Sheenan with whom I worked in Connecticut and Long Island. (Alan Sneed)

Anything on Gayle Robinet from WEZK-FM circa 1974. He pretty much ran WEZK in that time frame, as I recall. (Rick Dodds in Lynwood WA)

Hi! I was just thinking about this. When I was in Knoxville at WKVQ in 1977 I did a TV commercial for the Gatlinburg Wave Pool at Pigeon Forge. It was with an agency, it was a funny and corny commerical. Do you think there'd be anyone in the group that may have a copy of it? I know it's a long shot. (Kim Carson)

Jimmy Hyams

East Tennessee broadcast sports legend and 101 Wall of Fame member Jimmy Hyams is retiring his microphone effective March 31. 

Jimmy has teamed with John Wilkerson to host Sports Talk, afternoons on The Sports Animal for nearly three decades. Jimmy also spent time as a writer at the News Sentinel.

Congrats and good luck...

...kicking off 2023 with this classic promo, sent via Jerry Howell~

Page 3...

This from the 101 mailbag-

Hello George;

Here is a side note to about 100.3 blog you recently posted. That frequency was actually first used in Lenoir City by Arthur Wilkerson.

Yes it didn’t come to prominence until 1974 because Arthur turned it off. It 1^st went on the air in 1950, a class B FM with 8.8kw, not sure what year he turned in the license. Glen McNish would probably have that Info.

Bob Poland

...about 100.3

100.3 FM came to prominence in East TN back in 1974 as Johnny Pirkle debuted WOKI-FM Oak Ridge. The morning DJ was King in the Morning who previously worked mornings at WNOX 990. Other jocks included Dave Lambert, Jack Bean, Mike Beverly, and JL Meyers. The station was an early precursor of voice tracking.

Flash forward to 1980 and WOKI was now live 24/7...the DJ line up was Michael Henry Martin 6-10a, Gary Adkins (PD) 10-noon, Larry Mazzeti noon-3p, Mike Beverly 3-7p. Brother John 7p-12a, and The Brothers at midnight. 

These days the dial position is owned by SummitMedia and is monikered as 100.3 The Wolf. The groovy call letters are WCYQ. 

DJs are Bobby Bones 6-10, Dana Lunden 10a-3p, Opie Joe 3-7p, and B-Dub 7p-12a. Opie Joe aka Brian Creason is the Program Director. 

The original call letters (WOKI) are now occupied at NewsTalk 98.7!

101 travels to August 1983... 

WIMZ featured Phil Williams 6-10, Keith Lambert 10-2, Mike Beck 2-7, Dan 7-12, and Patrick 12-6.

Over at WOKI FM 100 Jeff Jarnigan was morning drive, Jim Wilson 10-3, John St John 3-7, Bandit 7-12, and Ron O'Brien 12-6.

...and at WNOX 990, playing country by the way- Michael Henry Martin worked 6-10, Scott Majors 10-2, Jimmy Vineyard 2-6, Lisa Patton 6-12, and Keith Arnold did the overnight show. Anchoring the news desk were Fred Lee and Kevin Dempsey. 

The 101 Audio Vault features Jimmy Vineyard- 

 Page 3...

Happy Birthday to Johnny Pirkle, a member of the inaugural 101 Wall of Fame and a radio hall of famer in everyone's book...from WNOX to W149 to WOKI to NewsTalk WNOX and more, a true Ktown radio pioneer!

Hello George,

 I was sad to hear of the recent passing of Chuck Ketron. I’d like to share a few memories that I have of my days in the 1980s working at WSEV when Chuck owned the station. First in my memory was the many nights that I returned to the station after doing play-by-play for Sevier County High School basketball.Worth mentioning that I did a lot of broadcasts with Mike Johnson, who sadly has also passed over the last few years. Chuck and I would have some great late-night discussions at the radio station. He was funny and always very complimentary of me. I was still young, in my 20s. I’ll never forget that. Chuck wrote a personal letter at Christmas one year to each of the staff and I still have mine. It obviously meant that much to me. I wish I had more keepsakes from my many years in broadcasting, but at least I held on to that one.

 Now, a funny story to share. It was a thing at the station that from time to time your fellow on air people would try to make you break up, laugh while you were talking on the air. I was pretty good at not losing it. Chuck got me and may have really been the only one that did. I miss the old WSEV building, long since torn down. I worked in that building 4 different times. There was a window to the right of the WSEV studio, in the hallway between the studio and the newsroom. The FM, at one time U-102, was on the other side of the newsroom. Anyway, Chuck was at the window looking in making faces at me as I talked on the air. I was trying not to look at him, and I was good until he took out his teeth. It just hit me at that point, and he made me laugh. I’m sure the listeners were wondering what was so funny. Well, there’s this guy over here playing with his false teeth. Of course, I didn’t say that, but that’s what was happening. Strange how you remember certain things like that. I have many fond memories of my radio days, more than 20 years and 10 different stations if my count is right, but certainly some of the best times that I had were at WSEV. I’ll always remember Chuck as one of the really good guys in radio!

Bob Love

Oak Ridge,Tn.

 

It's the spring of 1977... 

WIVK added Elda Brown and Terri Grimelli as news reporters.

WKGN was now AOR with Alan Douglas, Dave Elrod, Robin Beck, and Keith Lambert.

In early April Scott Sams exits middays at WNOX 990 and returns to 15Q, now labeled as 1490 The Mellow Q. Ron Baptist and Gary Adkins were still at that dial position. 

 The 101 Audio Vault features Scott on WKVQ...