...let's travel back to 1973! On March 30 I began my work career as a busboy at the Frank Kotsianas owned Ivanhoe House of Beef. Mr. Frank had previously owned/operated The Brass Rail on Gay Street and later founded Kotsi's (later the first Chop House in Knoxville). Enough about mE, ha!
As we travel thru the year, Bob Baron was named a finalist for the Jaycee's Man of the Year in early January.
The prominent AM stations that year were WETE 620, WIVK 850, WNOX 990, WBIR 1240, WKGN 1340, and W-149 (WROL 1490).
Morning DJs were Eddy Roy at WNOX, Bob Baron at WKGN, and Hop Edwards at WETE, who exited in late January.
WKGN was sounding better than ever, and at 1000 watts was overachieving...Frank Erwin and Wayne Bernard were staples and big additions that year were Jack Diamond, Smokey Burns, and late in '73 Your Dave Young exited from WNOX to The Famous 1340.
On the Vols football side, Larry Robinson was offered a football scholarship in late February. Soon thereafter the Basket Vols signed Mike Jackson, David Moss, and Mike Smithson.
That baseball year the Braves were on WSEV-FM and the Reds games were heard on WETE.
In August, Big Jim Hess, an original WIVK DJ from 1953, left WTVK Channel 26 to become VP at Environment Consultants.
In the fall Mike Beach was on the air at W-149 as morning DJ, Bob Hamilton, Gary Adkins, and Bill Johnson were also their jocks.
On September 20 singer/songwriter Jim Croce passed away, wow...50 years ago, but his music lives on!
In October, a young me ran into Ken Burger of WKGN...he told me Jack Diamond was going to leave for Louisville, but Bob Baron offered him a $100 raise, the Louisville folks countered so at 11:40p Jack and Guerilla left a note for Jerry Steele, put on the long song Alice's Restaurant, and exited stage left!
And that's a brief look back from 50 years ago, where were you in '73?