Archives: Wink Martindale, Saturday Morning Dance Party on WHBQ Memphis | 1956 (36:03)

Here’s your 36-minute history lesson. Listen carefully, there will be a test afterwards.

This is the tale of three legends. A performer, a future game-show host and a legendary Top 40 radio station. Put it all together and you have Wink Martindale interviewing Elvis Presley on WHBQ radio in Memphis.

To many of our younger listeners, this aircheck will have little meaning. In this Usher-Britney-Korn music environment, Elvis is as foreign as Jakarta, which many kids only learned about this week after the tsunami disaster. Wink Martindale hasn’t done a new game show in years (although he is still a dj - on the Music of your Life network), and WHBQ has been Sports 56 for many years.

But there was a time when all three were the very best in their trade. Number one in every respect. It is the time of this aircheck that the three entities began down that long road to stardom - and legendary fame.

On this aircheck you will hear a very young Elvis, a young Martindale… and a WHBQ JUST beginning it’s top 40 broadcasts. In fact, former WHBQ program director (and one of your webmaster’s personal friends) Jack Parnell told me that this aircheck was likely from a few months before the station actually went Top 40.

Click HERE to Listen!

Rate This Aircheck

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading ...

January 6th, 2005 Jack Parnell • Memphis | one comment