Frankie Crocker, WMCA New York, August 6, 1969 (0:59:31)

Unscoped
… If Frankie Crocker isn’t on your radio, your radio really isn’t on …
[Description by Gary Pedoto] Here is “Instant Play” with Frankie Crocker, recorded on Wednesday, August 6, 1969, between 10 and 11pm on WMCA/570 AM. It was recorded on an Aiwa AM/FM/Marine Band cassette recorder. The marine band section was interesting to me. I would listen to ship-to-shore calls placed with the “New York Marine Operator”, the time station CHU in Canada, and other utility stations. The actual frequency range of the marine band, as I remember, was 1.7 Mhz to 4.3 Mhz. It was the lower end of the shortwave frequencies. I used a 120-minute cassette to make this recording. There were a few repairs in the tape because it broke in two or three places, but only a few seconds of the program were lost each time. TECHNICAL NOTE FROM UNCLE RICKY: 10 of the 14 reportable music performances were restored. All of the restored songs were played in their entirety. The songs that were not restored were cut short in the original broadcast. Thanks to Stormy Hunter and Rob Frankel for their assistance in creating this exhibit.

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