It's the fall of 1978...I'm a student at UT and a weekend DJ at WIVK. Where were you? 

Other weekend warriors at 850/107.7 were Bob Thomas, Suitcase Simpson, and Arch Bishop.

Joe Grant joined WIVK at that time...he had previously worked at WCOR Lebanon, WSSO in Starkville, WROL Ktown, and WBNT Oneida. This was Joe's second stop at WIVK having been in sales and on in the air in 1971.

Big movies that fall included Animal House and Grease!

In Oak Ridge Clyde Scott Jr. took over as PD at WATO.

WBIR-FM was playing country and featured James Freeman, Bill Page and Mark Mabry.

Chris Gallu was named GM at WNOX 990, after Pete Dreyer held that position for years. Shortly thereafter Bob Savage arrived as PD from WKTQ in Pittsburgh.

WKGN was AOR at the time, the DJ line up was 6-10 Kelly Stevens, 10-3 Frank Greene, 3-7 Keith Lambert, 7-12 Jennifer, and 12-6 Rick Long.

The 101 Audio Vault features Mark Mabry...

George,

Loved the control rooms revisit. The old WKGN control room at 22nd and Cumberland was a pit, but it was all business and very functional.

That old station was in a former grocery store. There was still a track and a hook back in the storage room from the days when they would hook a hog carcass and bring it in for butchering.

The control room was very small and built up on a wooden platform, so there was somewhere to run the wires.

There was in 1969 a Gateway console with 10 pots, a 16 inch Gates turntable on each side of the talent and a shelf structure that held four old Spotmaster cart players. Racks behind the talent held a couple of open reel tape decks and other gear.

The news booth was to the right and the control room looked in to the production studio, which featured an ancient RCA Consolette board, but had a couple of Ampex 351 tape decks.

Bob Goodman "Goodie" kept it all humming for years after it should have been replaced. Great memories of a treasured part of my life. What a staff! Sonny Knight, Eddie Beacon, Don Smith, Jeff Kaye...wow!

thanks for hangin',

Possum Riley

The New 62

WRJZ hit the airwaves in late 1976...and the following year was a banner year as both John Boy and Adele ere added to the air force!

Adele initially joined as the all night DJ but later moved to middays.

Here are some of the DJ names in 1978...CP and Walker, Rick Kirk, JJ Scott, Bob Kaghan (PD), Carson King, Ernie Baker, David Henley, and Foster Arnett.

The 101 Audio Vault features Adele...

Hi George,

I was the original midday guy on Rock 104 in 1979, when we went on the air. Left the station in 1984 to pursue grad school and a research career in the DC area. Just recently moved to the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area in NC and am doing radio again, at WCOM-FM. Doing a free form album rock and jazz show on Sunday afternoons between 3-5p ET. People can listen online- WCOM

Larry Solomon

ain't nuttin' better than olde control rooms...

Didn't you love the magic of being in the control room, headphones on, vinyl records on the rack, carts for your commercials, big speakers hanging on the walls.

How many Knoxville area controls did you peak in to, either as a DJ there or just as a visitor?

My first gig was WBLC in Lenoir City up on Browder Hollow Hill with that concrete white one story building with WBLC painted on the wall in orange. Lots of Ktowners worked behind that mic...Mike Beach, Bob Thomas and Scott Sams to name a few.

I worked at WIVK for 5 years, those were the Bearden Hill years and during the time the addition was built. When I arrived there was a ladder that basically anyone could climb up to the 2nd floor and look in to the control room.

I visited 15Q once with Scott Sams, that would be in the summer of '76...Bob Thomas was on the air. The following year Bob joined WIVK and the rest is history. 

WKGN on Alcoa Highway was always a treat, I even sat in Wayne Bernard's office one day. I do faintly remember peering in to the WKGN studios on Cumberland Avenue.

At different times I applied at WNOX (Eddy Roy) and WOKI (Gary Adkins)...at WOKI, when Scott was a DJ there, I sat in as he created his voice over announcing work for the upcoming week.

I recall WIMZ being almost all glass and one could easily peer in to the DJ booth.

I was hired at WECO in Wartburg, short stay due to the drive, but OMG what a modern facility.

When Q94 debuted I was on the air staff, neither Q94 or WATO studios were well maintained at that time...I was morning DJ at WATO (briefly) and there was no access to using head phones and a turn table did not work. Oh well, at least I can say I was a morning DJ.

My last gig was WRJZ...this was '82 when the station was country. Great little control room...I even helped move furniture as the station was reduced from being on two floors to one floor. And one could not ever allow his/her keys to get out of sight as the bathroom was down the hall outside of the station doors, that were always locked.

got stories? Send to 101 via ktownradio@gmail.com!


Page 3...

HBD to Bob Thomas on March 1.

Do you remember...

...the WKGN Pool Parties?

It's the late 60's and a typical summer day at Deane Hill Country Club!

Who shows up with a stash of prizes...Eddie Beacon, Don Smith, John Foley, Sonny Knight and more!

Such a great promotion...getting the behind the microphone voices in to the public eye. Awh, the good old day!

Your Dave and Wayne Bell on WIVK in '77...

This is a little cloudy/foggy but is really cool...Ktown radio in 1960! Look closely and you see "Date with Doc" at WBIR 1240, Johnny Pirkle on WATE 620, Claude Tomlinson on WIVK 850, etc.

Bobby Denton...

Ed Brantley's radio footprint in Knoxville travels back to the 1960's...Ed even worked at WNOX 990 back in the early days.

Ed was a mainstay on WIVK for decades, as a midday DJ, then afternoon drive. Ed also hosted the very popular Sunday Sound Off program.

Once his on air days wound town, Ed took the helm at the Dick Broadcasting Company Knoxville group, leading them to #1 over and over and over again.

Fast forward to this past decade, Ed teamed up with Bob Thomas on Johnny Pirkle's WNOX-FM 100 News/Talk monster hosting the Ed and Bob Show...they still area talking, via their weekly podcast.

Here's Ed back in his WIVK days...

Palm Trees and Beacons

It's 1973 and Eddie Beacon "The Swingin' Deacon" is nowhere to be found on the Ktown radio dial...wanna know why?

Eddie had migrated to the great state of Florida, the city of Daytona Beach, and 1450 AM on the transistor radio dial!

I wonder if he attended the Daytona 500 or the Firecracker 400?

It's 1982 at WNOX 990

1982 started with WNOX still playing Top 40 music!

530 Phil Williams

10 Jim Donovan

3 Bill Evans

7 Jeff Shannon

12 James Maurice

By springtime Bill Evans had exited for Q101 in Meridian, MS and The Aardvark was back, as Scott Majors.

6 Phil Williams

10 Jim Donovan

3 Scott Majors

7 Suzanne Dalton

12 James Maurice

As April arrives so does "AM 99 Proud Country" featuring Your Dave!

6 Rick Kirk

10 Scott Majors

2 Dave Young

6 Jim Donovan

12 Suzanne Dalton

BTW...Phil Williams flipped to the FM dial joining Mike Beach in the morning at Rock 104.

In late May both Rick Kirk and GM Chris Gallu are gone from WNOX, Scott Majors is Program Director.

6 Dave Young

10 Scott Majors

2 Jerry Howell

7 Jim Donovan

12 Jan Jennings

At the end of August WNOX is gearing up to add a sister station, WNKX 95.3 (KiX) with Phil Hunt as PD.

Some familiar voices join WNOX/WNKX...Jimmy Vineyard, Joe Grant, and Bill Jeffers.

In September the WNOX line up included- (Jerry Howell PD)...

6 Dave Young

10 Jim Donovan

2 Jimmy Vineyard

6 Joe Grant

12 Bill Jeffers

In October WNKX debuted!

6 Phil Hunt

10 Rick Davis

3 Jimmy Vineyard

7 Doug Bingham

12 Elaine Scott

...and over at WNOX-

6 Dave Young

10 Jim Donovan

2 Jerry Howell

6 Bob Berry

12 Ann Charice

...and the year ended with Your Dave Young exiting stage left from WNOX!

Hi George!

Cutting to the chase, I did morning drive on 99 WNOX "Proud Country" back in the early 80's. Fred Lee (news), Adina Chumley (traffic).

Jimmy Vineyard was PD and on the air, Eddie "insegrevious" Beacon on air too. Lively times back in the day.

I recently found some old Kodak color paper photographs (remember those?) of myself in the 99 WNOX remote van at an event.

What I remember most are the Saturday night "live" music broadcasts from the old auditorium on Whittle Springs Rd. Now, torn down, wow!

Also remember hanging out with country music singers-groups backstage and chatting before performances. And I am grateful for those moments.

Faron Young, JD Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, Sheb Wooley (who insisted I join him on 'Purple People Eater"...ha). Vern Gosdin, many others.

One particular female trio comes to mind. The McCarter Sisters, comprised of Jennifer, and the twins Lisa and Teresa. Hailed from around Sevierville.

Their mum and dad always invited me to "come and spend the weekend with us". Ha! Never did. Really nice folks.

At some point I was told to do morning drive at our new sister FM station, in I think Maryville. I politely declined and handed in my walking papers.

Remember packing up all my belongings (at that time) in a small paper bag and driving to the folks in the Detroit burbs in less than 10 hours.

Luckily within mere days I hooked up with a former broadcast group in Michigan and did a popular morning drive "oldies" show...until-

Moved to Traverse City, MI back in early '84 and have been there ever since. Left the biz in early '02 to pursue another "calling".

Cheers and thanks again for the memories!

Mark Staycer

ImagineLennon.com