Gene Weed, WQAM Miami, 1957 (0:15:44)

… . . . the rage of the atomic age, Patti Page . . . …

It was RADIO ONE, the NEW WQAM, (560) “the perfect spot for top pop music and the latest and greatest in up-to-the-second news”. It was the newest Storz Station, and it becomes the Repository’s earliest recording of Storz Top 40 radio.
It’s 5:60 PM and Gene Weed hosts the “Top 40 Show”. In this segment, Gene is counting down the current hits from #14 to #8 (Short Fat Fanny by Larry Williams). If you can’t even imagine a time when “standards” like So Rare and Old Cape Cod dominated the nation’s popular music charts, you probably won’t be excited about the transistor radio that is “so small you can put it under your hat.” But you can bet – this was incredibly hot stuff in 1957 when your yet-to-be Fab 40 uncle was 6 years old.

Gene Weed went on to KFWB in 1958, and is featured in Don Barretts’ Los Angeles Radio People. Weed passed away at the age of 64, on August 5, 1999, a victim of lung cancer.

More Gene Weed Airchecks

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