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Bill Bailey, WAKY Louisville KY August 9, 1972 (0:22:40)

… The Alpha and the Omega …
[Description by Greg Barman] WAKY/Louisville – Bill Bailey “The Duke of Louisville” from August 9, 1972. This is a studio skimmer-aircheck [note: skimming sounds removed for this exhibit] of the same Bill Bailey who left Louisville for a brief stint at WLS, and then returned to Louisville. Bailey suffered a stroke in 2004 that left him partially paralyzed. He passed away on Saturday, Janaury 14, 2012. While certainly not a fit for Chicago, he was loved in Louisville where he gave WAKY some of the widest demographics of any morning show in the country. On this aircheck Bailey arrives late to work, which gives him a lot to talk about — not that he was ever at a loss for words.

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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!

Carl Davis
Trustee
North Carolina Broadcast History Museum