Border Radio, National Public Radio, 1986 (0:26:37)

… And he broke in on the Reverend’s message, yelling pistoleros!, and you could hear the bullets …
[Description by contributor Rob Calhoun]This All Things Considered report prepared by Rachel Maurer was a brief history of the Border Blasters, including XER, XERA and XERF, with a focus on Dr. John Brinkley and Wolfman Jack. (Wolfman appears around 16:09.)

All that power — sources claim up to a million watts at times — spread the word about the magic of goat glands that increase virility. It was also during those years the Border Blasters gave much of the world its first exposure to Country and Soul music.

The advantage of working for an NPR affiliate is when you heard a story that’s worth keeping, you record a later feed. I stayed late that night to catch this audio gem.

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