Knoxville Radio History 101

2009-12-03T08:44:00.003-05:00

MY NAME~ BEACON WAS GIVEN TO ME BY MY GRANDMOTHER. I USED TO CARRY A FLASHLIGHT AROUND ON MY BELT. I LOOKED UNDER ROCKS...LOGS...ECT...WHEN I WAS 14 SHE GAVE ME A HAT WITH A LIGHT ON IT AND SHE SAID....LOOK HES GOT A BEACON LIGHT. I SAID YEA GRANNY I'M NOW CALLED EDIE BEACON AND I'M GONNA LET MY LITE SHINE....SHE GOT MADE AND SMACKED THA CRAP OUT OF ME...BUT I GOT NEW BATTERIES AND KEEP ON GOIN'...WHILE I WAS DIGGIN' AROUND UNDER A CHURCH WITH MY LIGHT ON MY HEAD...ONE OF THA CHURCH MEMBERS CAME OUT AND SAID....LOOK ITS THA BEACON WITH HIS LIGHT...LETS MAKE HIM A DEACON...I RAN AWAY AND JUMPED IN A TREE ...AND THEY SAID LOOK....THA DEACON IS SWINGIN' WITH HIS BEACON...WELL ANYWAY THAT'S HOW I GOT MY NAME...ITS INSEGREVIOUS I KNOW BUT ITS REAL THAT'S MY STORY...WORD UP...EDDIE BEACON THA SWANGIN DEACON

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101 heard from Your Dave~ "Hey GMV, this Sat. 12-4, the history of WNOX book signing at Barnes and Noble, Kingston Pike @ West Town."

2009-12-02T05:41:00.002-05:00

Happy Hump Day!

What's in a name? Ktown has had some unique and fun on air names thru the years...Smokey Burns, Eddie Beacon, Suitcase Simpson, etc.

Did you use your real name or did you have a made up DJ name?

This DJ was called Beaver Cleaver on WOKI~

2009-11-28T00:00:00.002-05:00

Q94 WETQ did not last a long time but they sure had some talented DJs behind the mic! From 1981...Rick Hudson and Russ Brown~

2009-11-26T00:00:00.002-05:00

Ken Russell is a WIVK legend, he was known as "Big Music" on the air. He started at WIVK in its early years...and then came out of DJ retirement to work weekends in 1981...

Happy Thanksgiving from 101~

2009-11-24T00:00:00.001-05:00

Here's a classic from the 101 Audio Vault, Brother John on WOKI...

2009-11-22T00:00:00.002-05:00

In the early days of Rock 104 (WIMZ), Mike Beach was the morning drive DJ and he teamed with news man Jerry Howell...

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got Tweet? Heather Harrington of The Sports Animal has joined Twitter!

2009-11-20T05:36:00.001-05:00

Somewhere long ago, push pinned on a bulletin board...the history of AM 620!

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You can now find Dave Foulk at www.foulknews.com

2009-11-19T06:10:00.004-05:00

Chris Grabenstein brought a unique voice, personality, and name to Ktown radio...

2009-11-17T03:55:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday wishes to Knoxville's true news hound Dave Foulk...Dave cohosts the morning show on WNOX with HHH. Dave is a frequent contributor here at 101 adding photographs and memories and humor to our daily trip now radio's memory lane!!!

2009-11-16T07:32:00.007-05:00

The 101 Audio Vault returns to 1986 and the DJ reunion! Here's Gary Adkins talking about "The Brothers"...

2009-11-15T09:14:00.003-05:00

It's always fun to listen to the late Jim Donovan...

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101 will soon conduct a poll about Ktown's all time favorite DJ, send your nominees to KtownRadio@gmail.com

Our first poll has closed and 2/3's did like the black Vols jerseys!

2009-11-13T06:13:00.005-05:00

Back in the early 80's Ktown added a new contemporary sounding FM to the radio, WMYU 102.1 (U-102). The first Program Director was Bill Burkett~

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BasketVOLS begin play tonight versus Austin Peay. Foto is from 2008 in Orlando, that's "Little 101" with Bob and Bert. I worked at WIVK with Bob and graduated from Bearden High School with Bert back in '76...Go Vols!

2009-11-11T05:34:00.004-05:00

After Claude, Lester and Mr. Schultz and before Andy and Alison...Wilhite and Wall on WIVK~

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The CMA awards are on the telly tonight, watch as Jack Ryan wins Medium Market DJ of the Year!!!

2009-11-10T05:42:00.001-05:00

Here's a vintage article about Eddie Beacon and his days at WNOX! Send your photographs and memories to 101!

2009-11-06T04:43:00.002-05:00

Today the 101 Audio Vault features more from Q94 and the morning DJ Jeff Winters...

2009-11-05T07:38:00.002-05:00

101 received several emails concerning the passing of Mike Stewart. Back in '81 Mike spearheaded a new country FM called Q94...WETQ 94.3. It was WATO's sister station.

From the 101 Audio Vault here are Jeff Winters, Mike, and Tony Perry on Q94...

2009-11-03T08:22:00.003-05:00

Congrats to WIVK night disc jockey "Jack Ryan" (Ryan Hammond) who was named CMA medium market DJ of the year!

Back in the day when 101 worked weekends at WIVK while attending UT, Jack was a mere toddler and use to crawl around the control room whenever his Dad, WIVK Radio Hall of Famer Mike Hammond, would stop in on the weekend...and Jack was reaching for the mic even then!

The CMA awards air on the telly on November 11...

Thanks to Jean Ash for providing this info!

2009-11-02T05:24:00.003-05:00

WKGN in the mid 70's was a launching pad for many young DJs who went on to have successful careers...Bob Thomas, Scott Sams, Mike Beck, Kerry Lambert, etc.

One of the jocks who came thru 'KGN around that time was called JJ Stevens, here's the 101 Audio Vault!

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Vote in our first 101 poll, "Did you like the Vols black jerseys?"

2009-11-01T08:07:00.004-05:00

Frank Erwin was a long time DJ at WKGN back in the early and mid 70's...

2009-10-28T00:00:00.001-04:00

From the 101 inbox~

I was just reading about my old station WROL or W149 as it was called. You list Loose Bruce as the all night DJ. Actually, it was me! Bruce, aka Bruce Goldberg-I named him Loose Bruce, was part time weekends. Jerry Britt was also. I was there from '73-'76. The line up was Gary Adkins at 6:30 a.m., Bob Hamilton 10-2, Bill Johnson 2-6, Leslie Shelor aka Peggy 6-midnight. Dick Strerchi was the GM. The Hawk, Bill Hawkins and Rick Remine were there when I first started but left about a year after I got there. At one point Tony Yokem and The Freaking Beacon were there but not for long. I recall Clay Gish being there before me, but Clay was gone by the time I started in 12/73. Alan Sneed came along about a year before I left. The great Dave Elrod was also there for a year or so when I was there. So was Mike Beach. We were no longer in Fountain City but on White Ave next to the methadone clinic. The station belonged to a shoe salesman who sold it to a guy named Blow. Dick Gross came in and changed it to disco and ran the rock guys off...Adkins is now a lawyer, Sneed is a radio consultant in Indianapolis. Beach remodels houses in Pennsylvania. Bill Johnson is still around. Don't know about the rest of them. Peace-(Frank Costa)

2009-10-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

WMYU U-102 signed on the air in '81 with a smooth sounding line up of DJs led by PD Bill Burkett.

Here's the original morning team, Dr. Dave Dunaway and Colvin Idol~

U-102...

6 Dr. Dave Dunaway
10 Bill Burkett
2 Tom Van Hart
6 Mick St. John
9 Steve Harrison
1 Rick Hudson

News- Colvin Idol, Mike Clark

2009-10-23T07:47:00.003-04:00

Back in early 1981 Brother John St. John returned to WOKI FM 100. The DJs at that time were Mike Beverly (mornings), Chuck Edwards (midday), and Rich Randle (afternoons).

From the 101 Audio Vault, here's a classic...

2009-10-22T07:29:00.003-04:00

Auto racing is bigger than ever...and it was rockin' back in '74 at 411 International. Enjoy the 101 Audio Vault and a commercial by Dave Young~

2009-10-21T07:00:00.003-04:00

I remember visiting the WKGN studios on Alcoa Highway back in the early 70's...the newsroom was very small, closet sized...but it packed a powerful punch. At that time WKGN was taking news very seriously and featured folks like Joe Anderson, Walker Johnson, and this gentleman, Jim Goodman~

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Follow 101 on Twitter!

2009-10-20T05:09:00.002-04:00

101 continues our Audio Vault look back at WNOX from circa- 1974. Before he ruled afternoon drive as "Disco Dick", Dick Winstead was the midday DJ at WNOX~

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Sadly, 101 has learned that Mike Wyatt aka Mike Stewart has passed away.