Station: 102.1 WAWA-FM Milwaukee (Menomonee Falls), Wisconsin, USA (WLUM)
Format: Black Gospel / R&B
Featured Air Personality: Hoyt Locke (Dr. Bop)
Contributor: James Edwards
Comments:
This goes way back to 1966. It’s a rare FM show, rare because there were very few FM stations that programmed popular music independently of a co-owned AM. Here, Dr. Bop mentions that some of the day’s programming is on FM only.
This show is what would probably be classified today as Urban CHR… but in 1966 there was no such format, so we’ll just say it’s a mainly R&B oriented Top 40. A purely Rhythm and Blues station surely would never have played The Beatles!
Its “dr. Bop” Not “Dr. Bob” of 1590, WaWa!
This clip is from the newly purchased WMKE-FM station studio in a partitioned carpet store at 5609 W, North Avenue in Milwaukee. This station was sold to Suburbanaire (WAWA) for $75,000, and the seller couldn’t wait to get the cash! He was drowning in a sea of debt at the time. Low and behold if he would have hung on a few years longer, WMKE would have been worth easily 20 times more than the selling price. The station transmitted with a Standard Electronics 5 kW transmitter to a 6 bay antenna mounted on a 125 foot self-supporting tower constructed through the roof of the carpet store. I was one of the people who removed the tower in 1968 and the roof had to be re-done where the tower poked through. The station got out pretty well since the carpet store was located on a very high elevation point in Milwaukee. The echo in the aircheck is natural do to the high ceiling with concrete walls and no padding or acoustical tile. Console was an Altec-Lansing and microphone was an EV 636.
The Echo in the background is not room reverb but sound coming out of speakers
in the background that was the custom
used at the time wmke did a lot of live
programming before it was sold to wawa by Richard V steffen owner of wmke.
I worked at the AM on Bluemound Road and frequently on North Avenue and there and it was actual room echo. Speakers were muted during voice transmission or acoustical feedback would have occurred. Steffan ran almost all taped programming from Ampex 350 machines with little announcing prior to the sale and the room had terrible acoustics. After the sale in October, 1966, Saints & Sinners ran a gospel show on FM along with much AM simulcast during the days, and initially Dr. Bop live in the evenings at North Avenue followed by Jockey Jack.
I love it. My brother and I made cassette
recording of his show.They all got destroyed by fire.
Thank you so much for the aircheck. I have Dr Bop’s intro but never this. This is history!
Yeah this is whats up.. I remember all of this and Jerry, Hub, and Harvey is y i’m a dj today. I was kicking it with u in the clubs in Atlanta back in 1997 when I move down there!!!
Who knows the name of the artist and song that Dr. Bop used at the end of his broadcast? The lyrics were something like this…so long, bye bye, so glad we met so sad to say goodbye, now we’re friends and i know we’ll meet again.
That was fats domino
that was Dr Bop himself!!!
I grew up as a youngster growing up 20th & Vliet St.-listened to WAWA-Dr. Bop, OC White, Jim Frazier (what’s all I can remember) so does anyone remember the names of the DJs between the years 1970-1980s?
I borrowed Dr. Bop’s line: “I should have been triplets; it’s unfair for one man to be so good looking.” LOL!!!
“The Boss and Most Luxurious Mint Lounge”
Anyone remember was that the North & Humboldt location.
“All you foxes bring your boxes and all you boys bring your toys” I think the Dr. got into hot water over that comment.
The original Dr Bop show was on WAWA 1590 AM and went off the air at sunset, having been a daytime only station.
anybody have the intro that DR Bop used to use…”I’m a chick chaser and a money waster”, etc? I’d LOVE to have the whole thing but this is all I can recall…
“I’m a stone lover and an ex-golden glover;
I’m a chick chaser and a money waster;
I really should have been twins, cause it’s unfair for one cat to be so cool.”
I’ve just provided Airchexx with two Dr. Bop air checks dating back to the late 60’s and very early 70’s. Hopefully they will be available soon.
I would love access to some of Dr. Bop’s and O.C. White’s full shows from the 60s and 70s. Mike Downs
So would I!
STEVE, I’M a Milwaukee filmmaker completing a film on Dr. O.C. White , how do I reach you? Mwhite@uwalumni.com
How about : “How now brown cow the Dr. Bop show is on the air” ?
Hello and goodbye, I have but one eternal wish, that you may live for ever, and Dr. Bop never dies.
I’m O.C.White youngest daughter and I was just recently able to listen to one of my dad’s full shows. I cried and laughed. I have a few memories of Dr.Bop because I was so young. Losing him was like my dad losing his better half, it was the first time that I had ever seen my dad cry. They are missed and there will never be anyone like them, even after all these years.
Where can I buy something by DR.BOP AND JIM FRAZIER
I noticed that he was plugging WVTV (Channel 18) at the beginning. Did he also have a show there?
Any idea what the first song was on this aircheck,something cookie.
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