Contributor Rob Grayson has digitized more of his tape collection. This is from the first of six sent in this week. Rob writes:
“More goodies… these were recorded all on the same day in Spring of 1973, and I think I got them from Memphis DJ Don Roberts (Barney Raines), straight off the radio.
You will notice the actual signal noise artifacts in the deep background and at times you can faintly hear another station on 560 behind the music. But, this is the real thing! Authentic radio listening in all aspects.
Chris Curtis is a capable jock here, and WHBQ is still running their original Johnny Mann Singers jingle cuts – just two, three if you include the Top Hour cut. This has the famous RKO General sound all over it!
There’s more to come from this same broadcast day, later on Airchexx.com
there is no link to chris curtis
Its there.
Wow..that brings back some memories. First aircheck I’ve heard of myself since I left Memphis to go to WPGC in Washington DC that year. Not the best half hour I ever did on WHBQ a couple of stumbles but it was only my second big job in radio at the time. Thanks for posting this! I appreciate it.
Steve (Chris), you are more than welcome. Just goes to prove, you never know who was rolling tape. 1973 was HOW long ago? And after all these years to hear yourself? You must have freaked! How did you find the aircheck?
Steve…I was looking for an aircheck of George Klein and did a google search and yours was the first website to come up. Looking over George’s page I saw my name and hit the back button and wow…there it was. I don’t have any airchecks from my early days in radio (not that I’m going to sit around and listen to them over and over) but was curious what it might sound like today. BTW WHBQ was a great place back then. Elvis would rent out a theatre from time to time and show movies that had not made it to Memphis yet. I wish I had talked Geogre into letting me go. Stew Robb the morning guy went and came back with a gold karate card Elvis gave him. I think the only concern George had was what will you talk to Elvis about. You had to have something in common with him and Stew was into karate. Once again thanks for all you do on keeping radio the way it use to be alive today!
I was a BIG fan of WHBQ and WLS back in the days..I remember listening to Chris Curtis, Phil North, George Klein..I started listening to WHBQ in 1968,when it was The BIG 56, where you could hear all the HITS!!..I would start in radio in the summer of 1974…I started at 9:00 to 12:00 AM,just like Chris and David “In The Dark” Clark…Ohhhh,those were the days!!!!