Dave Brown, WHBQ Memphis, 1968 (0:08:29)

… takin’ care of hitline business …
Here are two airchecks of Memphis legend Dave Brown from 1968. The first is from May 21, 1968, and the second (which begins at 5:01) is from September 28, 1968. A west Tennessee native, Brown came to RKO-owned WHBQ radio in the mid-’60s, as it made the transition into the Drake format.

The second aircheck is from Dave’s last day on the radio; he went down the hall to WHBQ-TV, where he began doing some news and weathercasts, and co-hosting the local wrestling show. He was there until 1977, when he defected to rival station WMC-TV, and took the wrestling show with him. Brown became the station’s chief meteorologist, a position he holds to this day … and hosted the wrestling show well into the 1990s. Brown is well-known in WWF circles as one of the best ringside announcers.

As a special treat, you hear a full, uncut James Brown concert promo! Listen for what sounds like a gaffe in the Plymouth Road Runner promo; it seems like the announcer is saying “Talent 13 Channel Party” instead of “Channel 13 Talent Party.” (I’ve played that over and over and it sounds like a mistake!) We’ve all heard of that program’s host, George Klein.

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