Airchexx.com » Nashville

Coyote McCloud, Rhett Walker and the Y107 Morning Show, WYHY Nashville | November 19, 1987

Steve West — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:30:03 +0000

First posted on the 3rd Saturday in May, 2002, here’s one of the first airchecks we put up! Courtesy of early Airchexx Contributor Rhett Walker, we present Y-107 Nashville and the zany morning crew of Coyote McCloud, Rhett Walker News & Buck Naked Traffic – along with a bit of the rest of the broadcast day.

This station and the Toucan are long gone, and Nashville radio has never been the same.

Runs 30 minutes, scoped.

Coyote McCloud, Rhett Walker and the Y107 Morning Show, WYHY Nashville | November 19, 1987 is a post from: Airchexx.com

WSM Nashville Sales Presentation |1973

Steve West — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 05:57:27 +0000

Originally intended as part of a sales package to potential clients, here’s a production highlighting the entire broadcast day from the morning show right through WSM’s overnight trucking show, the Grand Ole Opry, in house productions, house bands and custom recording sessions. WSM really was a powerhouse in so many ways.

Just as a comparison for those of you who do radio sales today, would your GSM even DARE to create something like this? Hell no, just numbers, charts, arbitron figures, etc would do… and that’s only if you were lucky enough to convince the national chains to at least barter first. Man, y’all got it tough now. No wonder one person works on 7 radio stations at a time these days. But, in 1973– This really was convincing. You had to be there.

WSM Nashville Sales Presentation |1973 is a post from: Airchexx.com

Pat Sajak on "Radio 65″ WSM Nashville | June 23, 1975

Steve West — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:01:12 +0000

No Joke! “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak, as many television stars have, really did their time in radio and Sajak had his turn behind the mic.

Actually, aside from the fact that this is Pat Sajak like most of you have never heard before, this is also a side of WSM that MOST of our listeners have also never heard. Many of you probably know that there was a period of time that WSM had a split format, a Pop format during the day, and Country all night. If you’ve never heard that pop format, it was quite good, so good, in fact, you really won’t quite believe your ears.

Listen now, courtesy of one who recently left the WSM family. Thanks so much to our newest contributor, Jack Shell. Jack writes:

Sad thing is that station has gone from the Air Castle of the South to the Little House on the Prairie employing only seven full time staffers. I resigned a year ago as production director, but it was a nice time. The Sajak aircheck is a treasure.

Thanks, Jack. What your webmaster remembers most recently, was the fight to keep WSM Country and not take it Sports just a couple of years ago. It seemed so important at the time, but now perhaps that importance has faded along with the intelligibility of most of the AM signals these days… maybe due to the millions of computer devices flooding the AM band with digital noise… but I digress.

Y’all just listen to the aircheck now and enjoy, because its great and belongs to the ages!

Pat Sajak on “Radio 65″ WSM Nashville | June 23, 1975 is a post from: Airchexx.com

Craig Cooper / Kevin Kincaid on 103.3 WKDF Nashville | June 1, 2003

Steve West — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:00:50 +0000

There aren’t many cities that can claim FOUR major Country stations in the station lineup. Well, this is Nashville, and on one end of the scale lies 650 AM WSM – the heritage Country station that plays mainly gold and hosts the Grand Ole Opry. In between, WSM-FM, which really hasn’t been able to maintain decent numbers for a few years now, WSIX which has been a market leader, and then THIS station, WKDF.

WKDF, a former album rock station, flipped to Country a few years ago and really took the Nashville market by storm. On this 16 minute scope, we get to hear Craig Cooper and Kevin Kincaid, a couple of high energy Country jocks. While Country is a hotter format than a decade ago, most stations are pretty tame. WKDF, while targeting an AC audience, formats itself more like a CHR station playing Country. After having heard all four stations in Nashville recently, one has to really wonder what it is that makes one station top the ratings and the others not, since there is a similar approach and level of talent… but this station in particular has been on top of its demo for much of its existence as a Country station. Maybe its the relative newness or something else. Well… listen for yourself and decide.

Craig Cooper / Kevin Kincaid on 103.3 WKDF Nashville | June 1, 2003 is a post from: Airchexx.com

Hoss Burns on the Big 98 (97.9) WSIX Nashville | April 2000

Steve West — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 05:00:39 +0000

We’re in a Country state of mind as we head down to the Mid-South region and one of the nation’s TOP Country stations, then AND now. Courtesy of Karl Phillips, we head back to the turn of the century for this tightly scoped recording of Hoss Burns. This guy’s voice sounds a little like Ray Dunaway who does mornings on WTIC AM Hartford (and your webmaster remembers odd little details like that), only deeper. Could be the processing.

The pace of this Country station is lightning fast. Country has it’s own variations of the format, some stations use an AC approach… this station sounds more CHR, in your webmaster’s humble opinion, this uptempo approach sounds better with Hot Country, but I digress.

Hoss Burns on the Big 98 (97.9) WSIX Nashville | April 2000 is a post from: Airchexx.com

Format Change - 103.3 WKDF Nashville Flips from Rock to Country | April 1, 1999

Steve West — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:45:14 +0000

Description from Karl Phillips…

WKDF-FM 103.3 (Formerly WKDA-FM – see Bill Berlin) Nashville flips from Rock to Country as “Music City 103″ and returns Carl P. Mayfield and the “P-Team” to the air after being fired from cross-town WSIX-FM a year earlier. Carl P. calls it his “release from radio prison”. Those guys were having fun.

Format Change – 103.3 WKDF Nashville Flips from Rock to Country | April 1, 1999 is a post from: Airchexx.com

Bill Berlin on 1240 WKDA Nashville - Part 2 | December 27, 1968

Steve West — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:30:39 +0000

Just to prove that 8pm to Midnight were the ‘rock hours’ on top 40 AM radio, you’ll hear (scoped) hits by the Beatles and even Deep Purple, mixed in with the top Motown sounds. What’s really amazing about this aircheck, while Berlin is a ‘puker’ (weren’t they all back then?), he does a masterful job of getting requests on the air.

Notable here, not many stations were known for airing phone requests in 1968, but there are plenty on this recording. Berlin must have been working up a sweat in a control room with no computers, just manual cueing of carts, 45s and reels. Jocks really WORKED for their pay. Note the sports and even breaking news, all handled professionally by the jock on duty. Gang, this is what we jocks got into the business for in the first place.

Bill Berlin on 1240 WKDA Nashville – Part 2 | December 27, 1968 is a post from: Airchexx.com

Bill Berlin on 1240 WKDA Nashville | December 27, 1968

Steve West — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 21:26:57 +0000

Right off the reel, here’s a brand new exhibit from Karl Phillips. WKDA has occupied three AM frequencies, that we know of, since 1968. 1240, as in this aircheck, more recently as a Spanish station on 1430, and currently on 1200 (later info courtesy FYBUSH.COM) after a move there in 2002.

This aircheck is unique for a number of reasons. First, this really is typical of most of the top 40 stations in the late 60s. Sure, there was WLS, WABC and a handful of others which always stand out. But most of the middle & large markets had stations which sounded very much like this. And they sure were popular. Especially when you realize that WKDA was only a 1,000 watt station by day and 250 watts at night. Yet, people remember the DJs who graced these stations.

Bill Berlin is one we’ve actually had numerous requests for. Aaah for the days when radio had this kind of lure. People do remember their favorite jocks, even when the signal didn’t go much outside of the city limits. Berlin had the 8pm to midnight shift. Listen to the echo that he could insert at the push of a button. Listen to the jingles. Who cut these? Heller, perhaps?

This reel was recorded on both sides, thus, it’s in two parts. Enjoy a bit of wacky Bill Berlin, and the hits that virtually NOBODY plays, save for a few Aretha Franklin hits!

Bill Berlin on 1240 WKDA Nashville | December 27, 1968 is a post from: Airchexx.com

Composite: WYHY Y-107 Nashville | May 25, 1994

Steve West — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 22:11:21 +0000

Rhett Walker once told me that Y-107 had an incredible listener base right up till the day management pulled the plug. The apparent reason: The station name and logo had become synonymous with such outrageous on air behavior that local Christian preachers were having success in deterring advertisers from purchasing airtime… despite high ratings and incredible fan loyalty.

All that to describe the atmosphere surrounding this station by 1994. About one year before the flip to “The River”, here’s the whole Y-107 bunch, Morning Zoo and all, scoped down to just under an hour.

Composite: WYHY Y-107 Nashville | May 25, 1994 is a post from: Airchexx.com

Tony Cox on WZKS 96-Kiss Nashville | July 1984

Steve West — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 12:07:32 +0000

Nashville. Not Union, MS, as is the current home of those call letters. Everything changes, including this vintage 80s CHR which these days is WCJK from Murfreesboro, outside of Metro Nashville.

Music City has always been a hotbed of radio talent and this was no exception. While the city at that time was very much buried in Country music, the mainstream side of the entertainment world was cookin’! This runs just over 13 minutes.

Tony Cox on WZKS 96-Kiss Nashville | July 1984 is a post from: Airchexx.com