Happy Trails to Knoxville radio sports legend Jimmy Hyams as he hangs up his full time microphone today. Jimmy and John Wilkerson have co hosted "Sports Talk" for 25 years, currently via The Sports Animal WNML. (photo via WNML).

Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame

Congratulations to Allen Johnson aka Dr. Al Adams, he will be inducted into the TN Radio HOF this summer. 

Back in March 1975 Dr. Al returned to WKGN 1340 as morning DJ and Program Director. He had previously worked the night shift there in the 60's before adventuring to St. Louis, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and more! 

On Monday March 3, 1975 Dr. Al debuted at 6a (I air checked it, check the search engine box at the right of this blog). His morning co host along with Witch Hazel was News Director Joe Anderson. 

The station was now tagged as "WKGN Takes You To The Country"...the DJ line up featured Dr. Al 6-10, Frank Erwin 10-3, Mike Beach 3-7, Rick Davis 7-12, and Bob Thomas 12-6. Weekend DJs were David Todd and Russ Brown. Jean Ash joined Joe on the news desk as she anchored afternoons. 

At that time WKGN also added the phrase "WKGN where all the good old songs have gone". 

Thanks for this air check to Google and WKCS (Fulton High) TV and radio teacher Russell Mayes (for nearly three decades) he succeeded Dr. Al at Fulton...the 101 Audio Vault travels back to 1965 and the good doctor!

 

It's January 1980...yes, welcome to the 80s! I kicked off the new year by working 3-7p on WIVK (Tuesday 1/1/80). I was also a senior at UT. Where were you?

WRJZ 620 was in its 3rd year...JJ Scott, Rick Kirk, and Bob Kaghan were no longer heard on the air. But what a line up they had...6-10 CP and Walker, 10-2 Adele, 2-6 Mark McCain, 6-10 John Boy, 10-2 Fred Story, and 2-6 Jeff Jarnigan. Ernie Baker and David Henley anchored the news desk.

We dust off The 101 Audio Vault...

 

50 years ago...

 ...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?

 

First hired as a student assistant in 1946 by General Neyland, Gus Manning went on to a have a storied and beloved 50 years career as a key member of the University of Tennessee Athletic Department. Gus passed away on Super Bowl Sunday at the age of 99.

Most have a Gus story or two...mE~ I got to know Gus back in the late 70s as he would come up to our WIVK studios on Sunday nights to record his daily sports show that aired weekdays on the station. We had some fun and meaningful conversations.

Go rest high on that football field! Go Vols! RIP!
 

In early 1982 I was lucky enough to be hired at WRJZ 620 to be a weekend DJ at "My Kind of Country". The PD was the incredible Steve Bridgewater aka Dr. Don West on his morning drive show and formerly Steve West on 15Q, circa 1976. 

 

Being not only a radio person but a radio fan, I was in awe sitting in the same control room that had housed Bob Kaghan, JJ Scott, CP and Walker, Fred Story, etc.

 

In early 1980 the still rockin' WRJZ featured CP and Walker 6-10, Adele 10-2, Mark McCain 2-6, John Boy 6-10, Fred Story 10-2, and Jeff Jarnigan 2-6. The news crew included Ernie Baker and David Henley. Carrington Thompson was the fill in and weekender. 

 

The 101 Audio Vault features John Boy (before Billy)...

I first met Jeff Hawkins in the 70's as we were both weekend DJs at WIVK. Later we worked at the start up Q94 in Oak Ridge, his on air name was Jeff Winters. In Ktown he also spent time at WKGN and WNOX. Fast forward to the 21st century and Jeff and I were both living in Orlando, we periodically enjoyed fortune cookies together (he and family would dine at our PF Chang's). Later Jeff relocated to Middle Tennessee...and he's back on the radio!

 

Watching daughter Courtney Lyle calling the Tennessee basketball game the other day, I thought of Paul Lyle and how proud he would be!  When I arrived at WIVK in the fall of 1976, Paul and Bob Kesling were the sports reporters/anchors there. In December Paul transferred to DBCs WKDA as Sports Director.

 

The 101 Reload features Paul from a post he wrote in July 2011 for 101...

 

WIVK Interstate News!

Mike Hammond was interested in upgrading our news department so he and I went to WSB in Atlanta and spent a day with a guy down there Gordon Van Mol I believe was the guy’s name. We were blown away by their operation and brought many ideas back to WIVK. One of the most noticeable is we named our news “Interstate News.” So it was then WIVK Interstate News. I’ll never forget Bill Williams grilling Mike on Why and are we now going to carry more stories from the interstate or outside the state of Tennessee. Mike was trying to explain it and was getting flustered as Bill kept pestering him with questions. I finally could stand it no more and just butted in (as I so often do so well) and said…Damnit Bill….We’re doing the same news…..we just call it WIVK Interstate News. It just makes it bigger. That was it. Mike and I were laughing for several days after that. I also remember we always signed off with More of East Tennessee’s No. 1 Morning Radio show is next…with Claude A. Tomlinson on Tuesday morning’s GREAT DAY. WIVIK WEATHER (here we played the meteorologist). (music rolling) 72 degrees in Knoxville…I’m Paul Lyle…WIVK Interstate News!!!!

Only about 150,000 people were listening!

VERY COOL!

 Page 3...

I worked with Ron Harper and Johnny (Pirkle) at Hits 100 for a while in 1986 or 1987. I ran into Bobby Denton at the Wrangler on Northshore, and he told me to "get Pirkle to go Rock against WIMZ". Years later I worked with the station again when it LMA'd to Dick and was Classic Rock. The PD was Tim Sheenan with whom I worked in Connecticut and Long Island. (Alan Sneed)

Anything on Gayle Robinet from WEZK-FM circa 1974. He pretty much ran WEZK in that time frame, as I recall. (Rick Dodds in Lynwood WA)

Hi! I was just thinking about this. When I was in Knoxville at WKVQ in 1977 I did a TV commercial for the Gatlinburg Wave Pool at Pigeon Forge. It was with an agency, it was a funny and corny commerical. Do you think there'd be anyone in the group that may have a copy of it? I know it's a long shot. (Kim Carson)

Jimmy Hyams

East Tennessee broadcast sports legend and 101 Wall of Fame member Jimmy Hyams is retiring his microphone effective March 31. 

Jimmy has teamed with John Wilkerson to host Sports Talk, afternoons on The Sports Animal for nearly three decades. Jimmy also spent time as a writer at the News Sentinel.

Congrats and good luck...