...hangin' with the Possum

George-

Did I ever tell you about the 1969 WKGN promotion where anyone who rode their motorcycle from Tyson Park to the "Rocking Chair Theatre" out on Kingston Pike got in free. Skip Broussard had a Suzuki and I had a Honda. We led a long procession of bikes out the pike to arrive for a special midnight showing. After the movie ended, around 2 am, I felt the need for a "nature break" and I walked out a few minutes later to find my bike was the only one left in the parking lot. It surely was a lonely ride back downtown seeing as I had just watched "Easy Rider".

Possum Riley aka Paul Randall Dickerson

The 101 Audio Vault travels back forty years to Xmas Eve 1979...Randy Miller on WNOX-

101 travels back to early 1977...on Saturday January 1 I broke in the new year by being on WIVK-FM from 6p-midnight.

That month the daytime only AM signed off at 5:45pm!

Over at WNOX 990 the DJ line up included- Eddy Roy 6-10, Terry Phillips 10-3, Dick Winstead 3-7, Scott Sams aka Night Bird 7-12, and Russ Brown 12-6. 

Johnny Majors was the Vols head ball coach and George Cafego was coaching the kickers!

Tony Eubanks decided to exit the 7p-12 weeknight WIVK time slot and was replaced by Don Meltabarger. At that same time Michael Gayles returned to host WIVK's afternoon sports.

January saw The Brothers joining WOKI-FM 100 in the 11p-2a time slot...oh, and Gary Gilmore was executed then too!

The BasketVols featured the Ernie and Bernie tandem and on the team was a young frosh, my Bearden High classmate Bert Bertelkamp.

On January 20 Jimmy Carter was inaugurated as our new POTUS.

WBIR-FM, later WIMZ, entered the country music format game, with Karl Shannon, Ken Johnson, Tony Eubanks, The Mulls, Don Lindsey, and Mike Johnson as their air force.

At that time WKGN 1340 was album rock~ AD, Dave Elrod, Robin Beck, and Keith Lambert all worked 6 hour shifts (automated?)...

And that's a wrap on January 1977...where were you?

Page 3...

Lizzie McGuire is returning (the reboot) including Jake Thomas (Bob's son) aka Matt McGuire- stay tuned!

Do you remember?

Marty Shayne recently joined our 101 Facebook page! He was a morning DJ at both WNOX and WKGN...do you remember Marty?

Send your photographs and memories to ktownradio@gmail.com. 

This incredible photo was recently posted on the 101 Facebook page, thank you Nick Archer.

Here's the lead up to this line up, which was hatched on July 3, 1972. In May of '72 Mooney Broadcasting transferred Alan Dennis to sister station WMAK in Nashville (the trend would continue). Eddie Beacon returned at that time to WKGN and the 7p-midnight show.

6 Bobby Rivers

9 Bob Baron

11 Chris Hampton

3 Wayne Bernard

7 Eddie Beacon

12 Frank Erwin

Eddie aka Elwood P Suggins only stayed a few weeks (would love to hear that story, ha)...Frank Erwin moved to the night show with Monte Morgan anchoring midnight to 6a.

And then on July 3 with Bobby Rivers exiting (Possum Riley can fill us in), PD Bob Baron took over mornings and added two jocks, Gary Drake and Jerry Steele.

6 Bob Baron

9 Gary Drake

12 Chris Hampton

3 Wayne Bernard

7 Frank Erwin

12 Jerry Steele

That line up (and the photo above lasted for decades, in radio years...7 months!). On February 26, 1973 enter stage left- Jack Diamond as Gary Drake left.

Jack morphed in to Coyote Calhoun and was a Louisville KY mainstay for decades.

Here's the line when Jack was added...

6 Bob Baron

9 Frank Erwin

12 Chris Hampton

3 Wayne Bernard

7 Jack Diamond

12 Jerry Steele

~ and the rest is Knoxville Radio History (101)!!!

Before his TV days, Scott Sams traveled the Ktown dial position as a disc jockey...WBLC, WETE, WKGN, WNOX, and 15Q (as Jamie Rivers). These days Scott is back behind the microphone at KRLD in Dallas!

The 101 Audio Vault dusts off an old cassette and visits 1977 and Double Super WNOX- 

Knoxville Radio History 101 is made each and every day...

Last Friday Q100 morphed in to 100.3 The Wolf "New Country Now".

Bobby Bones is on in the morning, Dana Lundon voice tracks 10a-3p from WZZK in B'ham, and afternoons feature the former morning duo of Opie Joe and Carina!

The new website is Knoxville Wolf. 

The 101 InBox...featuring Paul Randall Dickerson aka Possum Riley-

Hey George- As you might have heard by now, Loren Owens (Jefferson Kaye at WKGN) has signed off in Boston after 38 years. He and WROR ownership couldn't agree on a new contract and LO's last show was June 28th. His longtime co-host, Wally Brine, had retired about three years earlier. The Loren and Wally Show was a staple in the northeast, featuring a running series of skits called "Men from Maine" that are still out on YouTube.

Your friendly neighborhood marsupial~ Possum Riley

George- Saw the Ktown note on WKGN going disco in '78. Somebody at Mooney Broadcasting must have drunk some bad Kool Aid that year. WMAK in Nashville also succumbed to disco fever, rebranding as Majic 13. 1) Disco was beginning to wane by then, except for in clubs and 2) Disco fans wanted a big, stereo, thumping, danceable beat. Squeezing out Donna Summer (by then singing disco oldies) through a tiny, noisy AM signal was a lousy programming choice. WMAK, too, soon abandoned the format, selling the AM to a religious broadcaster who rebranded it (again) as "Nashville Quality Ministries"- WNQM. Ironically, the station, now doing a mix of English and Spanish talk, has managed to jack up its daytime power from 5kw to 50kw and its night signal from 1kw to 5kw. Like Grandma said when Mary Lou ran off with the Suggins boy, "There ain't no accountin' for taste."

Thanks for hangin' with the Possum

Disco 13

In the fall of '78 WKGN became Disco 13.

6-10 John aka Papa John from WRJZ

10-3 Stuart Clark (Keith Brunson)

3-7 Keith Lambert (PD)

7-12 Bob Hamilton

12-6 Jim Donovan

The station lasted about one year and changed to an adult contemporary format on December 1 1979. In between Suitcase Simpson had come on board as Program Director replacing Lambert who was hired to help create Rock 104, the soon to be WIMZ.

Suitcase handed morning drive to Randy Miller and added a couple of powerful jocks, Chuck Edwards and Jim Byrd.

Towards the end even Mike Beach jumped on the Disco 13 vinyl disc, becoming the 6-10a jock when Randy left for WNOX.

Long Live Disco!

It's the summer of '76 at WIVK...and Bob Catron decides to exit stage left! With Bob's exit, Jimmy Vineyard moves to the 10a-1p time slot with Tony Eubanks taking over Jimmy's 7p-midnight show. 

By '77 Tony was ready to move on, eventually joining the new WBIR-FM country line up. The WIVK night time show was handed over to Don Meltabarger.

The 101 Audio Vault features Dandy Don...

He went from middays to afternoon drive for many years to station manager...Ed Brantley on WIVK via the 101 Audio Vault-

WIVK Chief Engineer Milton Jones from his early radio years!

In August '76 Frank Erwin exited WKGN 1340 for Nashville and was replaced by Steve West as morning DJ. Yes, Frank had been doing mornings at WKGN. Steve West joined from 15Q...(I worked for Steve aka Steve Bridgewater in '82 at WRJZ, he was Dr Don West).

6-10 Steve West

10-3 Dr Al Adams

3-7 Pat O'Brien

7-12 Barry Tucker (Mike Beck)

12-6 Chris Lee (Kerry Lambert)

The 101 Audio Vault features Pat O...