Joe Donovan WHAS presents Alan Freed, AFRTS 1956 (0:29:11)

… a legend in his time …
[Description by Dave Smith]LIVE performances from Count Basie and his Orchestra, Laverne Baker, The Platters, Chuck Berry and Bill Haley and the Comets headline this lightning-sprinkled genuine off-the-air aircheck. We hope that Joe Donvoan will contribute the original recording, (sans static) for our non-profit Repository. In the meantime, our thanks to Dave Smith for sharing this treasure with REELRADIO visitors.

This recording of Alan Freed for the AFRTS was rebroadcast on Joe Donovan’s Friday Night Revival on WHAS/Louisville on September 23, 1988. Joe introduces it as produced for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service in 1956.

The program appears to be a “highlight” show as it was produced with many obvious edits. It was recorded on a Hammerlund HQ-140X communications receiver in Kensington, MD, so the bandwidth and quality is subject to those conditions

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!

Carl Davis
Trustee
North Carolina Broadcast History Museum