Charlie Van Dyke, KLIF Dallas, February 16, 1979 (0:35:00)

… somebody slipped a cherry into his drink and he got crazy, thought his eyeball had fallen in …
[Description by Steve Eberhart]Charlie Van Dyke grew up in Dallas and worked at KIXL and KVIL (before anyone listened to it) and had a long run in afternoons on legendary McLendon powerhouse KLIF 1190.

He left KLIF in 1968 for CKLW. and made tne rounds at some of the biggest Top 40 stations in the nation, including KFRC, WLS, and KHJ. In 1977 under the consultancy of RKO, KLIF was attempting a resurrection plan to return 1190 to its once glory years. In 1977, Van Dyke returned to KLIF as morning man. By 1979, he was PD and settled into the afternoon shift.

This is the last shift Charlie did on KLIF on the afternoon of February 16, 1979 before heading to WRKO in Boston. Saddled in with Bill Grady in the newsroom and Dick Siegel in the KLIF chopper, it is hard to imagine how this wasn’t the number one radio program in Dallas. It wasn’t, and the attempt to resurrect KLIF didn’t succeed, but they gave it a helluva try!

Listen closely for Dick Siegel’s very “blue” comment which was quickly ignored and covered by CVD (“or a female.”), not to mention the “let the truth be out” revelation at the end between Van Dyke and Grady (“…pompous pushy-ass”). What were they gonna do, fire him?

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