Flash Phillips WAVA Washington D.C. 1987 (scoped) (0:10:22)

Scoped
… I was thinkin’ this year, we could get Menudo for the 4th of July – that would be spankin’! …

[Description by Uncle Ricky, contributed by Mike Miles]

Flash Phillips sure sounds genuine here. And he’s not that Phlash person, either, who works in Satellite radio.

Flash is terrific, but the station formatting falls a bit short. No jingles, first of all… c’mon! WAVA was a modern miracle – a Top 40 station on FM in stereo with REVERB! – still kickin’ it in 1987 (and in one of the most “Urban” areas in the country…) In 44 minutes, there is ONE stopset – 3.5 minutes (but 4 units!) plus sweep intro. There’s also a killer promo at the end, but you should NEVER play a promo into a commercial set. But they did. This is one of the reasons why they aren’t around to give me (or you) a job today. Sadly AND furthermore: there are TWO of those bothersome music to music things with NO ID. (sigh.) How do people know where they heard the music unless you tell them?

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