Bob McLain, WTOB Winston-Salem, N.C. 1967 (0:22:31)

… Hi, this is Burl Ives saying thank you for playing all my records …
[Description by Uncle Ricky ] It turns out that contributor Len Hyde and I both grew up somewhere in central North Carolina, and we now both live somewhere in northern California. Of course, it follows that Len would write me about this aircheck of WTOB in Winston-Salem, and that I would welcome it as a Golden Gift. This is really fabulous Piedmont Carolina Top 40! Len says he got this one from Bob McLain himself, who had stashed it in his attic. WTOB was a giant at the time. I couldn’t hear WTOB in Concord, but Len listened to it in Lexington, N.C. Bob is Bob-A-Lou J. Bob-A-Lou on July 4, 1967, complete with reverb button and lots of funny drops. Richard Watts is the newsguy. It’s all such great and innocent fun!

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