Superstar Personalities Invade 101 InBox...

Alan Sneed-

Great post about ‘83. I started the year in Houston at ABC O&O 97 Rock and returned to Atlanta for my second stint as PD at 96 Rock, under new owner Gulf Broadcasting, who also owned Q102 in Dallas and Q95 in Indianapolis. (Bob and Tom arrived for mornings at Q95 early that year. The show is still on here after 43 years—although Bob retired a few years ago. They peaked in syndication with 150+ affiliate stations, but I don’t believe they were ever on a Knox-patch station, probably due to John Boy and Billy’s long run on WIMZ.) ‘83!

BTW… It’s bitter cold here with almost a foot of snow on the ground! 🥶

Cheers!

A.D.

aka Big Al the Kiddies Pal (A politically incorrect nickname given to me by Steve West in about ‘75 when he arrived in Knoxville and still used by some of my old friends from radio.)

Dan Bell-

The banking empire of Jake Butcher collapsed in early 1983, centered around the failure of his flagship United American Bank in Knoxville, which was declared insolvent on February 14, 1983. This marked the end of a vast, fraudulent Tennessee banking network, with 7 other Butcher-controlled banks failing that year and another 3 in 1984. I remember because the FDIC seized the bank but missed the drive thru branch in the parking garage. The teller, who I knew, opened at 7 am as normal. I pulled in and did an interview with her for WIVK news.  The feds heard it up on the top floor and rushed down to shut it down. (Dan Bell)