Martin & Jennings, 1090 KAAY Little Rock, Part 1 | 1971

Courtesy of contributor and former alumn Pat Walsh, here’s a three-part series featuring the legendary Little Rock powerhouse, 1090 KAAY.

Originally part of a presentation simply titled “The KAAY Collection”, here’s the first aircheck in a three part series, originally posted in Real Audio format. Right off, in the first few minutes of this aircheck, our morning duo play an aircheck of the previous day’s broadcast from 1190 KLIF Dallas where the station is giving away a nude fold out of the 7 KLIF jocks (I’d really have loved to seen that promotion!) in support of the Cosmopolitan foldout of Burt Reynolds. And that sets the tone for the rest of this aircheck!

Donated to Airchexx in the Summer of ’06 featuring daytime top 40 programming, full newscasts, et al. The infrequently used PAMS “Kay” jingles are so wonderful (“…Summer, is here to stay…. Kay”). PAMS jingles had such a sound that hearing them again in context when they were aired in their original form is such a warm, comforting feeling. Yes, it will take you back to your youth.

Contributor (and a former co-worker of mine) Charlie C. Allen commented (below) to criticize my original description of this aircheck series because he had thought that I somehow knocked KAAY’s Top 40 format. Perhaps the first time around, I felt it to be strange that a Top 40 station would take such a laid-back approach. But it shouldn’t be any surprise, since having lived in the South for so long, I understand the lifestyle. KAAY was very in touch with it’s community, and did a wonderful job of entertaining.

It didn’t hurt that KAAY’s 50,000 watt signal blanketed much of the United States west of the Mississippi at 1090 KHz, thus exposing an incredibly wide swath of America to it’s unique Southern brand of radio. We were all the better for it!

HERE’S PART 1