J.R. Russ, last night show on WTRU Muskeegon | Undated
For his final act (literally), new contributor J.R. Russ is heard doing his finale on WTRU. Here’s another old-line AM Top 40. This one sounds like it’s from the late 70s sometime. 6 minutes, scoped, in glorious 10k wide AM mono.
For our listeners, what frequency was this and is the station even around these days? I’m gonna guess the year at 1974. A google search comes up with a current gospel station in North Carolina.
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WTRU was a 5 kw AM radio pop music radio station from the mid 1950s until the late 1970s, originating from Muskegon, Michigan. Its frequency was 1600 kHz. Despite the weak signal, WTRU was once one of the most listened-to and most influential contemporary hits stations in Michigan. The station’s influence and popularity waned with the waxing of FM radio in the late 1970s.
In the 1970s, during its peak of popularity, its slogan was “The TRU spirit of America”. During the station’s later years, one of the DJs, Larry Allen, hosted an FM-like program called “Spectrum” on late Saturday nights. This program rivaled the FM stations of the day.
In the late 1980s, AM 1600 again became a top-40 station, called by WSNX-AM, a simulcast of WSNX-FM. Later, the frequency was used for sports-talk WSFN. Later still, the station switched to an urban contemporary format with the call letters WMHG (”Magic”). Today, the station continues with the WMHG calls and “Magic” name, but the format is now a pop standards/oldies mix known as “Stardust” from ABC Radio Networks.
compiled from Wikkipedia
I grew up listening to WTRU - True radio, am 1600, Muskegon. I can even remember some of the call letter jingles they used to play.
When the song ‘Alley Oop’ came out, one of the DJs (I think it was Bill Trapp, who doubled as the news guy if I remember correctly) set up on the roof and kept playing the song over and over again. I heard (unconfirmed rumor) that he was not a rock-and-roll guy, hated the song, and kept playing it as a sarcastic tribute to how stupid it was.
The only other DJ name I remember (early ’60s) is Ron Tindal.
Feel free to email with questions…
J. R. Russ sounds like he was influenced by Truckin Tom Cookin Kent. I am not putting either him or Mr. Kent down but that’s who he reminds me of when I listened to this check.
In the late ’60s, the late night staff used to crank up the power way beyond its FCC bounds, and direct the signal to the northeast where the population was very sparse.
They received mail from all over northern Ontario, as WTRU was heard far off in the Canadian woods.
I remember in the early 60’s when Bill Merchant and Donnie Anderson were DJ’s. I also remember the Sat when they kept playing Alley Opp all morning long. If I remember the radio station got in trouble with the FCC over that Alley Opp deal.
I, too, remember Bill Merchant and, I remember him as Don Anderson. I remember picking up their top 40 list every week - some place. I don’t remember where now. I’m thrilled to have this tape to help recall old memories. My brother worked there for a short time.
Bill Merchant was my father. The Alley Opp deal was a well told family story. Yup…my dad got really sick of the song, but he did love that old (well, it was new back then) rock n roll. Wouldn’t be the last time he got in trouble with the FCC for other antics. Ah, me…memories.
Don’t recall him using the name Don Anderson. Are you confusing it with his partner Skip Henderson?
Ooops…misread the message and got confused. That would be Skip Knight…not Anderson. (And, yes, my married name is Anderson…no relation to Don.)
I also remember that WTRU radio in the late 50’s and early 60’s had dedication night where you would mail in a request for a song and dedicate it to your friends. It was fun to sit home doing my school homework and listening to the radio hoping my name would be mentioned. People would mail in list so long, it would take several minutes to read all the dedications. Those were the fun days.Does anyone else remember this?
I remember WTRU used to have a call in show called “Sound Off”. People would call in to give their views on defferent topics. It was a very popular show. I also remember that some times the DJ’s would do live promo’s from dances, like the Grand Haven dance at the roller rink or the Armry in Muskegon.
I used to love listening to Skip Knight, who was on in the mornings, in the 60s, (”Your night in the morning”) as well as Bill Merchant (”A tenth of a ton of fat and fun”). Skip was a funny man, but I recall he always used to cut off the end of the Four Seasons version of “Under My Skin” (which got under MY skin) Musta been too wild for him. Seems he also had a contest to see who was more popular, the Beatles (who were new then) or Louie Armstrong (who had current hit with “Hello Dolly”). Skip was rooting for Louie, but Louie got smoked, as I recall. Memories.
How about the ads by “Tex” (”Tex’s Market”)? They featured Tex talking/yelling and were pretty obnoxious and very unpopular. People would regularly complain and ask to have him banned (or at least toned down) but he bought a lot of air time, and continued to use it as he wanted.
Also recall a promotion called “Bid a Bucks” where you received fake money when you made purchases at participating merchants, which was supposed to be used to buy real stuff at a later date. Turned out to be pretty much of a disaster, with thousands of people (with millions of bid a bucks) showing up on the appointed day to buy stuff. Long lines of hot unhappy people trying to get something (anything!) for all the bid a bucks they’d saved up for months.
Yeah, WTRU was a big part of the lives of all Muskegon area boomers. WTRU, WOKY, WLS, WCFL (http://radiotimeline.com/am1000wcfl.htm) and WLAV and WGRD were all my favorites, as I recall. Dick Biondi, Jerry G. Bishop, Joel Sebastion… The good old days. Wouldn’t if be cool to go back for just one day, every once in a while? Somebody get to work on a time machine eh?
Well, it was fun reminiscing - I guess that’s as close to a time machine as we’ll get for awhile…
I would guess the year at 1980 since he mentions Saturday December 14th and some of the music was after 1974. LOVED the trip down memory lane.
was a friend of bill merchant while he was in grand rapids at wgrd and am wondering what happened to him. lost contact when i went into the navy back int he 60’s but woke up one morning in norfolk to his voice and went to visit him. next i knew he worked for pitney-bowes. found him again working at a radio station in upstate n.y. and went to visit him where we had a good time. wife, betty was still there but heard they seperated and have not had contact with bill in SEVERAL years. as to Skip “anderson”, only remember him as skip bell, last known to have moved back to MN because of “radio politics”. if any knowledge of whereabouts of either, would like to know….thanks, craig
I’m Skip Knight’s son (his real name was Charles Rutledge, but everybody called him Skip) and Bill Merchant was good friend of the family when we lived in Muskegon. Bill passed away several years back. And Dad passed away in Nov 2001 in Fergus Falls, MN. After, Muskegon, we moved to Duluth MN where he managed KAOH (long gone now) and then to PA where he managed WFFM in Johnstown PA. From there he went back to Duluth to work at WAKX and then a variety of other things before landing in Fergus Falls.
I have to say he would quite pleased that he was still remembered fondly because working at WTRU was his favorite gig.