Burl Barer, KOL Seattle, September 4, 1969 (0:07:27)

… Stuff it right inside your left ventricle, honey. It won’t hurt a bit …
[Description by Bruce Portzer] Burl Barer,in the KOL era Burl Barer joined KOL in 1969 after stints at KJR and KYAC, a local R&B station. His lively patter and quick wit soon attracted a strong following. Like many of KOL’s better DJ’s, he came across as larger than life and down to earth at the same time. He usually worked evening and late night air shifts. Here’s Burl at the start of Labor Day Weekend. As luck would have it, he has a cold. Somehow, he manages to be entertaining, with several good lines about his condition. There are many youth-oriented spots here, and he quips about a couple of them. There’s also a Bob and Ray spot for the Space Needle. At one point, he goes into a Muscular Dystrophy PSA, realizes he needs to be serious for a moment, and then goes back to clowning around. Burl returned to KJR in the mid 70’s and has since enjoyed a multifaceted career in marketing, public relations, and production work. In recent years, he’s become an author, and written several fiction and non-fiction books. One of his works won a coveted Edgar Award. He recently moved back to the Seattle area after living for several years in Walla Walla, Washington (yes, there really is such a place).

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