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Bob Dayton, WABC, New York 1965 (0:08:04)

The California Aircheck Collection
… if you’re writing in with a complaint, it’s ‘Bob’, with one ‘o’, don’t you know …
[Description by Uncle Ricky] Bob Dayton lost his job at WABC because he dedicated 16 Candles (“Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, baby”) to the twentieth anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. This aircheck was recorded in July of 1965, a month before Dayton’s last WABC show in August of that year. According to the late Rick Sklar, writing in Rocking America, Dayton “was no stranger to misjudgment” and that “with Dayton, it was an epidemic”. After being dismissed in New York, he joined KBLA in Los Angeles, then , WPIX, WCBS-FM and other New York area stations. Despite his WABC gaffe, he was part of ABC Superadio in 1982. Bob Dayton died of cancer in 1995. [From California Aircheck Classic Issue C-24]

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Welcome to the new ReelRadio!

This site is now operated by the North Carolina Broadcast History Museum. 

We want to thank the board of ReelRadio, Inc. for their stewardship since the passing of the founder Richard Irwin in 2018.  It has not been easy and they have maintained the exhibits for future generations to enjoy.

I met Richard Irwin, aka Uncle Ricky, when we were freshmen at East Carolina University.  We both had worked at local stations in our hometowns.  No one was more passionate about radio, especially Top 40 radio, than my friend Richard. 

Our goals with this site are to preserve the exhibits and make them available free of charge for people to enjoy.  Over time, we hope to add some airchecks to the site.  This will not happen immediately.  Time and resources will determine the future of new exhibits. 

Many thanks to the web folks at the Beasley Media Group for countless hours of work.  Again thanks to the board members of ReelRadio, Inc. for their faith in us. 

Richard Irwin’s hope was that his site would live on long after his passing. He said, “I hope REELRADIO will survive as my contribution to the ‘radio business’. The business is allowed to forget me, but the business should never forget the great era of radio that we celebrate here”.

We remember Richard and we thank him. If you enjoy this new site, we would appreciate a contribution. We hope you enjoy the new ReelRadio!

Board of NCBHP
North Carolina Broadcast History Project