Happy Friday! Condolences to Hallerin Hilton Hill...

101's Audio Vault has been enjoying 1975 lately...here's YDY on WKGN~




PS- Coming soon an absolute classic photo of a complete DJ team from the 70's!!!

Hair Wars Deux!!!

101 received this photo and note from Carson Cooper! Do you have any fun CC memories? 101 wants to hear from you...

Okay – how about this one: I was a senior in high school – working at WATO in Oak Ridge (when they had three towers.) This pic is from a remote I was doing (with my ORHS radio-TV class) at the TVA&I Fair – probably 1977. I still have the hair, by the way, though it’s a little more gray. And I donated the shirt to the Glen Campbell Good Time Hour Museum! Photo credit: James Finch.

Carson Cooper
Radio Margaritaville Sirius 31/XM 55
And Morning Edition Host WUSF-FM Tampa, FL

Hair Wars!

101 heard from Alan Sneed after posting Mike Beach's 1978 mug...

"Some of us still have nice hair! Alan D. Sneed-o"

This is a classic from 1978...Mike Beach at WNOX! 101 wants to hear from you, send your photographs and memories to KtownRadio@gmail.com

WKGN became a spring board for many Ktown radio personalities. Yesterday 101 featured Jean Ash on the Famous 1340, today Bob Thomas from '75~



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The BasketVols All Century team was recently announced and the names sure bring back great memories...Ernie and Bernie, Mike Edwards "The Greenfield Gunner", Bill Justus, etc. Some favorite memories were watching the theatrics of Roger Peltz riding a unicycle, seeing the Vols play at Stokley against Pistol Pete Maravich...and of course every John Ward radio broadcast was a classic as he would say "bottom" when a Vol would score!

Jean Ash spent decades on the air at WIVK but she got her start at WKGN...

The 101 Audio Vault returns to 1975 and WKGN. Here's a great sounding promo by Mike Beach followed by a DJ that first called himself "Young Phillip Michael" and then Phil Michaels~

Here's how Wilhite and Wall would start their show on WIVK~

Here are some instant classics from WIVK @ The Grand Ole Opry~

Back in '76 WRJZ debuted. One of their huge talents was JJ Scott~

Here's Mike Beach, one of our favorites...

After getting a good nap just before Jerry Steele's last show, I went on to do afternoons on WAVA, and WPGC in Washington DC, mornings on KBEQ, Kansas City, KS-04, Denver, KTFM, San Antonio, and took Kiss-102 Charlotte from the ground up as PD and morning man with Chuck Baron. Amazing what some sleep can do for one's career! Update: I am currently living in central Florida, and have an active life managing my real estate. Some days I must admit to missing air work a great deal, then I remember how much control management exerts these days. Then I am glad to be working for myself. There are still a very few pockets of real personality around the country, the guys in the back offices don't seem to want original thinkers. Too hard to replace I suppose. Dave Young and I mentioned the possibility of a reunion some time this year in Knoxville.......Bill Beason emailed me of a few people who were interested. Please let Bill, Dave or me know...only 3 or 4 people responded.

Happy Tuesday! Here's TSB...

What great memories! Scott Black trained me at WGAP when I was a young sprig of a girl - I had the honor of working with Jeff Caylor for several years – he’s one of the best dry humourists I’ve ever known. We lost a real talent when he went to the dark side and got a real job.

I was oh, so young when I started working at WGAP. I spent the first six months thinking that the chief engineer hated me. Harry Plumlee never cracked a smile when I said hello to him and refused to carry on a conversation with me. I found out later that he was practically deaf and couldn't hear me chattering at him. His hearing aids did wonders for our friendship.

I spent the summer of my 18th year working afternoons on WGAP and had more fun than should be allowed by law for a teen aged girl. I think management only got serious about hiring a full time jock for full time pay when they figured out that the cheap labor was going to have to go back to school in the fall. ED RUPP was hired to work the shift and did a great job before leaving to take up residence with WIVK. I stayed at WGAP for four years working weekends.

WGAP was a great radio station, a great training ground for a lot of us, and a tremendous asset to Maryville. It’s sad that local radio with live jocks is becoming a thing of the past.

Tonya Stoutt-Brown

Hi...My name is Bill Love (real name~Bill Herald). I worked at WKGN for a few months in the Fall of 1968...now on the air at WKDQ in Evansville where I've been for the last 17 years...

We had a great group during the short time I was at WKGN- Jim Clark, Bob Baron, Dr Al Adams and many more. It wasn't like coming to work, It was like visiting with your buddies. I loved it at WKGN but the pay was a little on the low side in 1968- I was making $150 a week. I got an offer from WPOP in Hartford and took off on Thanksgiving Day 1968, but I'll NEVER FORGET that great group at WKGN and the old store front building on Cumberland Ave with the one toilet that had a hook and eye latch to close the door and a stack of Playboys for companionship.

There might be some other things of interest on my memories website!

Best regards and fond memories,

Bill Love WKDQ
Evansville, Indiana

So good to hear from Jeff Caylor and Scott Black about their time at WATO and WGAP. In 1978, I was 20 years old and a student at UT. I had previously attended North Carolina State University and had worked at their station (WKNC-FM.) I wanted to do some radio part-time again, so I found a weekend position at WATO, where I met Jeff and Carson Cooper. (Carson was responsible for my eventual move to ROCK 104 - WIMZ-FM.) Here are some memories from my time at WATO ---
At that time, WATO was paired with WUUU-FM (who would EVER want those call letters?) WUUU was automated beautiful music. The WATO jock would manage the automation (changing tapes, etc.) It was clear to me that almost nobody listened to WUUU. That belief was validated one night when the automation went haywire. I had no idea how to fix it, so I took the easy way out...I cut off the transmitter! After I did that, I received ZERO phone calls about the station being off he air!
WATO was an top 40/adult contemporary station in the late 70s. I didn't have much use for Kool and the Gang, the Bee Gees, and Olivia Newton-John (my musical tastes were based in progressive rock and jazz). However, I tried to follow the format --- at least most of the time! The station ran 5000 watts daytime and covered most of the surrounding counties then, but after dark it went to only 500 watts and was highly directional (in fact, in some places, you could actually see the towers but could not pick up the station!) So....I took advantage of that situation on Saturday nights. The GM and PD lived too far from the station to pick it up at night....so.....I “changed the format” myself then! Long album cuts from Yes, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, and many more (I brought in my own albums.) Never did get caught! And had some good feedback via the phones!
Jeff Caylor mentioned he made “a lot of money” at WATO. So did I! I think I was making the grand sum of $2.75 an hour when I started. One day the PD calls me in --- says “Larry, you are doing a great job....here's a 25 cent/hour raise.” I felt good about that.....until I read in the paper the next day that the minimum age had just been raised!!! (Larry Solomon)

Today is "National Wear Red Day"...

Back in 1976 Your Dave Young gave up rock and roll and put on his cowboy boots as he joined WIVK~




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Kudos to Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt for winning her 1000th game...paint it orange. 101 went to school with long time assistant Holly Warlick, in fact in junior high school 101 was the student government president and Holly was vice president!

Scott Black

I really enjoyed reading Jeff Caylor's contribution on the website today. And, I enjoy getting the emails you send. Good to know what Jeff is up to! Jeff really helped me when I started at WGAP. My first responsibility was working the Tennessee Vol Network slot. Man, I was good at pushing those commercial cart buttons when John Ward said, "this is the Volunteer Network"! I could drop my magazine and spring into action faster than anyone! LOL.I wonder what ever happened to Mike Anderson? Mike was the Program Director at the time I joined WGAP I think. He was a great guy, very patient and rarely anything but optimistic. He always ended his show with, "take care, cause I care." I remember that distinctly.I came down to Knoxville for Homecoming this year. WUTK, the college station, had a reunion. It was fun to go to down in Old Town area. I had a new experience that night. I was the OLDEST alumni of the station present! Good god, when did THAT happen! (Scott Black)

Hey 101…..Just finished listening to Jerry Steel’s last show at WKGN……..Amazing where some of the DJs from that time period went. Wayne Bernard became Charlie Chase of Crook & Chase and still does a morning TV show in Nashville. Kent Newton left for Memphis but was later at the legendary WLS as Tom Kent and still shows up for the Memorial Day Rewind on WLS. Jack Diamond went to WAKY in Louisville, KY. Bob Baron owns a very profitable business centered around TV Weather computer applications. (Keith Duckett)

101 opens our inbox today...

I had a brief seven year stint in the radio business from the late seventies to the mid eighties. After graduating from Russ Skinner's Professional Academy of Broadcasting in December of 1977 (Pretty sure John Isley and Phil Williams are both graduates) I hit the airwaves of WATO in Oak Ridge on January 1, 1978. I started out doing weekends, and did some mid days and 7-Midnight. Great fun! Oak Ridge is a great town and WATO had what some might consider a fairly large listening audience. (Or at least I enjoyed feeling that way) Although I was only there for eight months or so there were many highlights. Two of the best memories are working with Randy Miller and a skinny high school kid who lived at the top of the hill named Carson Cooper. Randy went by "Real Randy" back then and his talent then was SO obvious. The three of us spent the summer together in 1978 and had so many good times. Randy's career is well chronicled since that time and for those who have not read it, pick up his book "Voices in My Head". The things he has done in commercial radio could be developed into a TV series. Last I heard from Randy he was doing work in television in the Kansas City market. Carson of course has done well also and I was SO proud when he landed at Rock 104 in I believe 1979 and he has traveled a long and productive road since. Carson mentioned the monstrous towers behind WATO. I had the privilege of having to take meter readings on them in the dead of night. Great fun, weeds, rats the size of Buick's and I had to put on Stairway to Heaven or some other lengthy record just to have the time to do it. After about night three I started making a reading up and jotting it down, secure in the knowledge that the chief engineer was tucked away safely in bed. And all that trouble for what??? Automated elevator music! Good thing I was making so much money. (Wink) Also met Larry Solomon back then and it was good to hear from him on your blog.

I left there and went to my home town station WGAP in Maryville. I was there for 7 years doing weekends, then afternoon drive, news, and some sports. WGAP had a huge local audience and a top notch news department which included a Blount County ICON by the name of Glenn Morton. I also worked with Scott Black there, Ed Rupp, Tonya Stoutt Brown, and previously her sister Connie. I had the honor of becoming friends with the epitome of radio sales, Carl Wells. Hopefully if Walker Johnson sees this he can chime in with more on Mr Wells. One of a kind. The great Ken Schwall worked at WGAP when I first started prior to going to Channel Ten. Radio can indeed be a small world. I love the fact that I can tune into John Boy and Billy, listen to Carson Cooper do the Morning Edition on WUSF's website and catch Phil Williams in the afternoon and hear people that are such a big part of Knoxville radio history. I'm glad I was a small part of it and if I had Walker's voice, who knows I might still be hanging around. I had to get a real job and began work as a dispatcher at Blount County 911 in 1985. Scanners! An actual large audience at last! I have been here for 24 years and have been the Director for the past ten. Thanks for letting me chime in. Your blog is great. Love local media nostalgia! Old time radio needs to be brought back. Technology has caused it to lose it's personality.

Jeff Caylor
Director, Blount County 9-1-1

February 3, 1958...a day that will live on in infamy!

Okay, it was just another day in the great USA but 101 did record my first aircheck that day as I came screaming into the world at ET Baptist Hospital. Wow, I'm age 51...the only positive about that number is that Kyle Busch uses #51 in Nascar's truck series and he seems to win every race. So I'm naming my new year the "Fast 51"!

For those of you over 40, you truly understand when I say that I was 18 yesterday!

Some things have changed since my early years...you no longer get up from the couch to change the telly channel, sodas are now available in "diet" versions, people pay with plastic not cash...you get the picture!

My 10 year old son reminded me this morning that in life it is truly better to give than to receive, as he wished me happy birthday he indicated that today is the perfect day for me to take him to Best Buy to buy him the new iPod Touch...he's right, it is better to give! Here's wishing each of you a healthy and happy year!

Super Bowl XLIII

101 is Super Bowl bound...here are Cardinals cheerleaders from Saturday night at PFC Tampa!