Cat Simon, KHJ Los Angeles, June 21, 1972 (0:14:24)

… yeah, just grab another song and we’ll get it on as quickly as possible because this frightens the heck out of me …
[Description by Uncle Ricky] Bill Todd, aka Cat Simon was known as Johnny Williams at WRKO, Boston, in 1970. Because there was already a Johnny Williams at KHJ when he moved to Los Angeles in 1972, he was briefly dubbed C. C. Simon, but settled on Cat. Prior to WRKO, he was with Philadelphia’s WIBG, and after KHJ, he worked at KMET in L.A. and San Diego’s KPRI, among others. In this short, ‘scoped aircheck from June 21, 1972, Cat says “it’s been his night all along”, and you’ll hear a couple of technical snafus. Keep in mind that KHJ had board ops, so all the air talent could do is sound like it was something they could fix, even though they were completely at the mercy of their engineers (and their machines). Bill Todd died May 13th, 2007 of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s Disease.) Since 2004, he had operated a very successful web design and marketing business in Phoenix. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

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