Station: 1300 WAVZ New Haven
Format: Top 40
Branded: “Lucky 13”
Ownership: Kopps-Monahan
Featured Air Personality: Bill Beamish (William R. Beamish, 01.16.1930 – 07.08.2009) (WMCA/WAVZ)
Contributor: Andy Bologovsky
Total Time: 11:03
…A WAVZ Flying Hit!…
Curator’s (original) Notes:
Back we go to a tape that Andy Bologovsky sent in back in 2008. This features Bill Beamish, a jock from the days when deejays sounded like big race track announcers. Listening to this, you’ll be struck by how important the DJ was considered a part of the station’s programming. Listen at about 4 minutes in for the WAVZ “Straight Shooter Sweepstakes”… its a station contest that sounds like a horse race, with all the ‘horses’ being the names of all the station jocks. The listener had to pick the winning jock to win!
This is packed with so much in 11 minutes that it takes longer than that to describe. But, the highlights are these: The PERFECT amount of reverb (I think WABC at the same time period had so much reverb they sounded like they were at the end of a long hallway), a GENEROUS helping of PAMS jingles and even a time chime, although they didn’t call it that on the air.
This is NOT the WAVZ of the mid-70s, which had a different, unique sound, but it’s every bit as good.. some may even say better, than what ‘Lucky 13’ evolved into. But it is the same ownership – Kops-Monahan, who obviously KNEW what radio was supposed to sound like.
Listener comments are ALWAYS welcome!
Great.Pure entertainment!Walt Dibble -News
Beam Billish started his career at WBIS in Bristol, Ct. I think in 1957 or 58. We kidded him becuz the day he was hired he asked me to stay late to teach him how to run the board. I was the afternoon man and also my first radio job. He told them he had experience, but he didn’t. He did a great job, but sometimes screwed up. One day he left the mike open and said a 4-letter word. Another day he was reading the news and I lit the copy on fire. He left for New Haven and then NY and then back to New Haven. We called him Beam Billish becuz he used to get things backwards. One of my favorite people of all times. Sorry he’s gone.
Worked with the late Bill Beamish at WAVZ from 1982-1991. One Saturday mnorning he got mad because the part-time weekend news man was reading all the baseball score backwards and mis-pronouncing names. He called up the, then News Director John Birchard and wanted the guy tossed. Birchard listened to his next newscast and agreed. Birchard did future Saturday morning newscasts.
“The herd shot ’round the world.”
Good GOD.
I remember Bill “The Double B” Beamish hosted “The Saturday Night Big Band Dance Party” from Studio 13 at WAVZ. He played the best Big Band music. He was at WAVZ the 2nd time from 1982-1992. His classic sign off was “this is the double b giving you the double bye”
A great jock and always had funny one liners.
Who is the guy driving the WAVZ Summer Fun Patrol Pickup truck?
He sounds good, I don’t know him 🙁 his voice is familar, like a voice in the 60’s the good old days!!!
Wow! Absolutely Fantastic aircheck!! My 27 year old wife is scratching her head while I’m grinning ear to ear!
Excellent quality recording and mix. Thank you for sharing.
Bill Beamish was also “Space Commander 8” on WNHC in the mid-60s.
Although I am not currently in radio Bill and TJ Martin were two of the DJ’s at WAVZ that got me into radio…I worked for a while (summer job) as a runner and helped print out the old “swing’n 60 survey” many a Saturday morning were spent in studio with BB and TJ….REALLY NICE GUYS….Thanks for the great memories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really wish you had some aircehecks of WSAI in Cincinnati. I cant find many online. Wonder why?
I remember listening to Bill weekday morning on WAVZ in the mid to late eighties playing Music of Your Life format. One morning Bill decides to play “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys. That just came out the blue. I never heard “Good Vibrations” on WAVZ again.
The date of this recording is Thursday, September 16, 1965, not September 6th. Beamish mentions the date at 10:30.
ahhhhh……a fine example of “how to master a convincing epiglotal slide” from lesson #3 at The Truckmaster School Of Broadcasting. (…and a very cool side shot of that 72 Mazda B1600 pickup on that promo sheet. I know, because I still have mine.) ….which puts that promo sheet at most likely 1972…..no doubt a trade out with a local Mazda Dealer. I love it . Makes me wanna run out there and grab the nearest teenager.
Would anyone have an air check of Bernie Martin at WTXL in West Springfield, Ma..
the first voice on the tape is that of newsman Walt Dibble who was my boss 5 years later at WDRC in Hartford. a great newsman and a fine human being who left us at the relatively young age of 64.