Monday, November 27, 2023

Speaking of 'Nard...

In November 1974, Wayne Bernard exited to sister station WMAK Nashville, as had many before him. Wayne had been afternoon DJ, morning DJ, and PD at WKGN.

So there was a transitional period from Wayne's exit to Dr Al Adams arrival in the spring of 1975 and the unveiling of "the good old songs" focus.

At that time, I, as an aspiring broadcaster, was part of the WKGN Junior Achievement program. When Wayne left, Your Dave Young took over the program (and who knew he would help me gain a weekend DJ job at WIVK 2 years later).

In January 1975, Larry Wayne joined WKGN as a DJ. He became the overnight show with Bob Thomas moving to 7p-midnight. 

In mid February Todd Martin left, so the line up was Your Dave, Frank Erwin, Rick Davis, Bob Thomas, and Tollie Michaels as the full time DJs.

Some promotional features included the Pleasure Treasure in January and the Scavenger Adventure in February. 

On Saturday February 22, Mike Beach was back as he was on the air from 6-10 that day. 

And on February 24, it was the return of Dr Al Adams, in the 6-10a slot. He was followed by Frank Erwin 10a-3p, Dave Young 3-7p, Rick Davis 7p-midnight, and Bob Thomas overnight. 

One week later Mike Beach took over afternoons with Your Dave leaving...and the moniker "WKGN Takes You To The Country" debuted. Joe Anderson and Jean Ash were news anchors with David Todd and the newly renamed Russ Brown on the weekends. 

As April arrived, Russ Brown moved down the radio dial to WNOX and Dr Al added Chris Lee (Kerry Lambert) and Phil Michaels.

...soon, Your Dave and Jean Ash trickled over to WIVK (I got to work with both of them there).

There you have it, a little piece of Ktown radio's history of The Famous 1340.

The 101 Audio Vault features Wayne Bernard: