Gene Weed, KFWB Los Angeles, March 27, 1959 (0:47:34)

Unscoped
… Channel 98, with seven of the top-rated shows in all of occupied Los Angeles …
The spots have been edited, and it sounds like all the classic hits were very nicely restored to this crisp recording of The Weedy One, the late Gene Weed (d. 1999), filling in on the Elliot Field frolic for Friday, March 27, 1959. If you listen carefully, the clarity of this recording reveals cue burns and scratches on the jingles and spots! Evidently, most everything was on Electrical Transcriptions (acetates?). The KFWB engineers must have been plenty busy, juggling discs and cueing up a team of turntables. That’s right, no cart machines, certainly no computers! There’s a Sports Scoreboard and a weather forecast, but the announcer isn’t identified. However, Gene does promote John Babcock as “coming up” with a newscast at the end of the hour, so maybe he is the mystery announcer.
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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