Composite, KVIL Dallas, March 1977 (0:31:35)

… Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in bed …
[Description by Steve Eberhart] This composite offers a glimpse at one of the most dynamic personality oriented radio stations of all time — KVIL, Dallas, Texas! It begins with Morning Man and Legendary Programmer Ron Chapman and his original cast including Andy McCollum and Ben Laurie on news, Bill Mercer on sports, and Suzie Humphreys when she was doing traffic reports from the KVIL-o-Copter. This is Ron at his finest! Fast-paced, topical, funny, and of course, the best listener call-ins of anybody in radio. Next up is Larry Dixon, fresh from WAPE. Later, Larry inherited the morning show at KVIL, but here is a peek at Larry doing 9 till noon. An amazing voice, tremendous content, and a cheerful, upbeat show in mid-days! Jim Edwards follows from noon to three. Another dynamic voice and great communicator, ready with the one-liners. Afternoon drive at KVIL was handled by what Chapman used to describe as a “boogie artist”! Mike Selden came from KLIF in 1973 and brought many listeners with him. He “cooked”, always ever-so-carefully, walking the fine line of blue humor. Johnny Michaels had been at KNUS doing mornings and came over to KVIL in 1976 to do nights. Here’s a sample of his nighttime insanity on KVIL. One of the interesting things about KVIL at that time was the belief George Johns (National PD for Fairbanks) had of putting bonafide morning jocks on around the clock. After morning drive, formatics were tighter, but the jocks still played it as a morning show. Lots of localism, information, personality, phone interaction, and promotion, all while keeping the format moving forward with momentum. Indeed, any of KVIL’s lineup could have done mornings effectively anywhere at the time. Enjoy this slice of “Highland Park Radio” from the station “Never Restin’ in the Shade”, KVIL in March 1977.

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