WSM Nashville Sales Presentation |1973
July 27, 2008 by Steve West
Filed under Jack Shell, Nashville
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.
Pat Sajak on “Radio 65″ WSM Nashville | June 23, 1975
July 27, 2008 by Steve West
Filed under Jack Shell, Nashville, Pat Sajak
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!
Hoss Burns on the Big 98 (97.9) WSIX Nashville | April 2000
June 9, 2008 by Steve West
Filed under Hoss Burns, Karl Phillips, Nashville
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.
John R. on 1510 WLAC Nashville | Early 70s
November 12, 2004 by Steve West
Filed under Jack Parnell, John Richbourg, Nashville
Here’s one of the most unique shows ever aired on AM radio. John Richbourg’s Rhythm & Blues show on WLAC was something most fans of R&B remember, although outside of the south, I’m not sure what the ratings were… or even if ratings were available for ‘clear channel’ (frequency, not the company) stations with popular shows after dark.
At the time of this recording, WLAC was not your run-of-the-mill radio station. It ran lots of network programming and middle-of-the-road fare during the day and only at NIGHT did the station turn to a format which intentionally captured a predominantly minority audience. For the benefit of those not old enough to remember John R., or Hoss Allen, their programs on WLAC literally shaped an entire generation of black entertainers and listeners, and according to wikipedia, is partly responsible for the evolution of rock and roll’s emergence out of the blues from poverty stricken areas of the South. History does not adequately acknowledge the enormous contribution to modern R&B radio that this one nightly program lent to radio. One thing is certain: WLAC was to R&B what WSM was to Country Music.
Thanks to site friend Jack Parnell for this excellent recording. It’s a slice of history of great importance, and one you’ll find nowhere else. Thanks Jack!
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