WIVK is like the Energizer Bunny, it just keeps on keeping on! Other Knoxville radio stations have had shorter lives, but made huge impacts. Last week 101 wrote about 15Q. It's shelf life was less than one year...but oh what memories. Another station came to life in 1976. It survived many years and became a listener staple, but eventually WRJZ changed from a top 40 to a religious station, which it features today. There were some great jocks that came thru those hallways...CP and Walker, John Boy, Adele, Tim Edwards, JJ Scott, Fred Story, Rick Kirk, Mark Thompson, wow...you name 'em. Today 101 hears from the original night jock at WRJZ, Tony Taylor...
Where do I begin. First let me try to remember the cast of characters. Me...The unfortunately late Bob Kagan...and others whose names escape me. Hell, I can't even remember my on-air name at WRJZ. Maybe it was Chris Marshall, that's the name I used at WQXI under Scott Shannon (name dropper! ed.)
To begin, yes, I worked with the amazing Johnny Walker at WDXB, Chattanooga during the early 70's. Also there was Alan Dennis (PD), John Reed (whose whereabouts I don't have a clue) and others.
My clearest memory of WRJZ was new years eve, 1976, I believe. Kagan had worked his *#% off producing a spectacular midnight piece of audio and had it cued up and ready to go. On the air at that moment was a part-timer. Here is where the story gets weird. Since we were all relatively new to the station, Bob suggested that we all get together in the studio and do the countdown live. Now, back in the day, it was not at all unusual to see dj's tugging on what we now affectionately refer to as 'jazz cigarettes' and that night was no exception. When you throw in a few beers and a new years eve attitude, we had a pretty good party going. This is exactly why the FCC frowns on having booze in the studio.
When it came time for us to go on the air, yours truly decided that since this was his usual time slot, he should be running the board. And since this was going to be an outrageous piece of live radio, we should record it. So, being the idiot that I was, I immediately flipped the switches on the reel to reel (pre-loaded and properly labeled by Kagan with his masterpiece midnight audio) to RECORD, hit the play and record buttons, made sure the mic's were in audition so we could warm up our voices and that we did. Someone made a joke, he said something to the effect that I was born with a 'joint' hanging out my mouth. I said something like 'you were born with a joint hanging out your *#%'......(are you getting the picture?)
It was at this very moment that Bob Kagan, who we could see thru the window sitting in the production studio, had this quizical, horrified look on his face. He immediately starting waving his hands and screaming at us thru the window. The part-timer was equally shocked. Why, you ask? Well, yours truly forgot to bring down the faders for the reel to reel on the console. Everything we had just said, even though the mic's were in audition, had now been leaked on the air...live. It was about this time that I actually saw my life flash before my eyes! After examining the board, I realized what I had done. What an idiot I was. Not only had I aired our private conversation replete with expletives and accompanying dialogue, I had erased and recorded over Bob's magnificent midnight audio. As we all realized what had happened, they all looked at me with fear and growing horror. Bob's brain had seized up after going into shock at what he had just heard and the prospect of losing his job; we all realized our jobs were at stake and the part-timer had by this point in time fainted in the corner.
This is not the end of the story. There is much more. After what seemed like an hour (in reality it was about 30 seconds) we all stared at the phone expecting the owner to call on the hotline and fire all our butts right then and there. But the phone didn't ring.....not until about 5 minutes later. I answered it and to my relief it was just a kid. After I asked him what he wanted to hear, he asked me if I wanted to hear something. I said 'what'? He then proceeded to play a perfectly recorded aircheck of what we had just done. Holy S*%t! Not only had we screwed up, there was now documented evidence to be used against us at a later date. We couldn't catch a break.
In the end, I think Bob bought the kid off with some concert tickets, tee shirts, his office desk, etc. Needless to say, I left the station soon after and returned to Huntsville, AL. Not long after that Charlie Maddox and I accepted gig's at KIKI, Honolulu, Hawaii, and life returned pretty much to normal. Whatever that is!
Do I wish it never happened? Yes. Do I still get a chuckle now and again? Absolutely. Many years later I did learn how to be a proper recording studio engineer and have shared that story to a few select individuals. And I still get that same sick feeling in my stomach....even now.
I'm now retired from radio and am a Realtor with Keller Williams, Atlanta, GA. They won't let me near a microphone or a reel to reel either....can't blame 'em.
Tony Taylor...
Most recently, PD, 98.5 Breeze FM, Bangkok, Thailand...and yes, I have stories to tell about that place, too!
Where do I begin. First let me try to remember the cast of characters. Me...The unfortunately late Bob Kagan...and others whose names escape me. Hell, I can't even remember my on-air name at WRJZ. Maybe it was Chris Marshall, that's the name I used at WQXI under Scott Shannon (name dropper! ed.)
To begin, yes, I worked with the amazing Johnny Walker at WDXB, Chattanooga during the early 70's. Also there was Alan Dennis (PD), John Reed (whose whereabouts I don't have a clue) and others.
My clearest memory of WRJZ was new years eve, 1976, I believe. Kagan had worked his *#% off producing a spectacular midnight piece of audio and had it cued up and ready to go. On the air at that moment was a part-timer. Here is where the story gets weird. Since we were all relatively new to the station, Bob suggested that we all get together in the studio and do the countdown live. Now, back in the day, it was not at all unusual to see dj's tugging on what we now affectionately refer to as 'jazz cigarettes' and that night was no exception. When you throw in a few beers and a new years eve attitude, we had a pretty good party going. This is exactly why the FCC frowns on having booze in the studio.
When it came time for us to go on the air, yours truly decided that since this was his usual time slot, he should be running the board. And since this was going to be an outrageous piece of live radio, we should record it. So, being the idiot that I was, I immediately flipped the switches on the reel to reel (pre-loaded and properly labeled by Kagan with his masterpiece midnight audio) to RECORD, hit the play and record buttons, made sure the mic's were in audition so we could warm up our voices and that we did. Someone made a joke, he said something to the effect that I was born with a 'joint' hanging out my mouth. I said something like 'you were born with a joint hanging out your *#%'......(are you getting the picture?)
It was at this very moment that Bob Kagan, who we could see thru the window sitting in the production studio, had this quizical, horrified look on his face. He immediately starting waving his hands and screaming at us thru the window. The part-timer was equally shocked. Why, you ask? Well, yours truly forgot to bring down the faders for the reel to reel on the console. Everything we had just said, even though the mic's were in audition, had now been leaked on the air...live. It was about this time that I actually saw my life flash before my eyes! After examining the board, I realized what I had done. What an idiot I was. Not only had I aired our private conversation replete with expletives and accompanying dialogue, I had erased and recorded over Bob's magnificent midnight audio. As we all realized what had happened, they all looked at me with fear and growing horror. Bob's brain had seized up after going into shock at what he had just heard and the prospect of losing his job; we all realized our jobs were at stake and the part-timer had by this point in time fainted in the corner.
This is not the end of the story. There is much more. After what seemed like an hour (in reality it was about 30 seconds) we all stared at the phone expecting the owner to call on the hotline and fire all our butts right then and there. But the phone didn't ring.....not until about 5 minutes later. I answered it and to my relief it was just a kid. After I asked him what he wanted to hear, he asked me if I wanted to hear something. I said 'what'? He then proceeded to play a perfectly recorded aircheck of what we had just done. Holy S*%t! Not only had we screwed up, there was now documented evidence to be used against us at a later date. We couldn't catch a break.
In the end, I think Bob bought the kid off with some concert tickets, tee shirts, his office desk, etc. Needless to say, I left the station soon after and returned to Huntsville, AL. Not long after that Charlie Maddox and I accepted gig's at KIKI, Honolulu, Hawaii, and life returned pretty much to normal. Whatever that is!
Do I wish it never happened? Yes. Do I still get a chuckle now and again? Absolutely. Many years later I did learn how to be a proper recording studio engineer and have shared that story to a few select individuals. And I still get that same sick feeling in my stomach....even now.
I'm now retired from radio and am a Realtor with Keller Williams, Atlanta, GA. They won't let me near a microphone or a reel to reel either....can't blame 'em.
Tony Taylor...
Most recently, PD, 98.5 Breeze FM, Bangkok, Thailand...and yes, I have stories to tell about that place, too!