Bud Kelly on WCOP Boston | 1961 (27:28)
WCOP was an early Top 40 competitor in Boston. In 1961 there wasn’t much competition for the format, WBZ 1030 certainly, but it would be a few years before WMEX and WRKO would chime in with their own brands. WBZ would ditch Top 40 in the mid-60s for MOR and nighttime talk.
On this aircheck, we hear Bud Kelly, a very capable announcer during his show sometime in 1961. It’s one of our oldest airchecks, and likely one of the rarest available anywhere on the web. It’s a great example of how radio was done at the dawn of the Top 40 era.


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My dad is Bud Kelly, he is still on the air in San Jose California KLIV am. He has been on the air for 57 years. This was really exciting to find.
Growing up as A BABY BOOMER IN YOUNGSTOWN,OHIO HAS BEEN FUN. IN MY EARLY YEARS, I LISTENED TO WHOT AM/FM , WFMJ-AM AND LATER ON, Y-103,WYFM, IN SHARON,PA.–IN THIS AREA(OHIO),THE BROADCAST PIONEERS ARE (DT)DICK THOMPSON AND JOHNNY KAY WHO ARE NOW BROADCASTING ON AM-600,WSOM.—I REALLY ENJOY LISTENING TO MY OLD RADIO AIRCHECKS.–BUT YES, CLASSIC RADIO WAS ALIVE AND WELL IN THE 1960′S AND 1970′S.–WHOT AM/FM AIRCHECKS ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND FOR THE 1970′S AND IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND FOR THE 1960′S.–WHEN WFMJ- AM LEFT THE RADIO AIRWAVES, I DON’T KNOW, BUT THE TELEVISION STATION IS STILL AROUND.——-JOHN
David,
Your dad is Bud Kelly. Is that the Bud Kelly who worked at WCFL Chicago in 1980? That one did sports for my morning show. I’d like to contact him.
Jim Bohannon
Westwood Radio
Washington, DC
According to information from baseball-reference.com, the date of this aircheck is Monday, May 1, 1961.
Bud Kelly was an instructor for a school I attended in San Jose called Ron Bailie School of Broadcasting back in the early eighties.
The school was a ripoff, but Bud was a quality guy who told me if I ever decided to sue the school for my tuition he would testify on my behalf. I quit the school, did not pay, it went bankrupt and I never heard from them again. Thank you Bud for your support.
My Dad is Bud Kelly and on Friday June 6th, 2008 he retired from broadcasting from KLIV. This was his 60th year on the air. It is good to know that some one remembers him. He is still a quality guy and looking forward to less time talking and more time relaxing.