Harry Harrison, WMCA, 1965 (0:13:48)

… …I have a dozen beautiful roses for you in the Harry Harrison Housewife Hall of Fame! …

[Description by Gene Knight]

I recorded this on one of those old mono Wollensaks, remember the silver metallic case with the white trim? No? That’s OK. I recorded directly off my DX receiver. You’ll notice the bass on WMCA, their audio was more limited than compressed and it sounded very good, lots of punch. This Harry Harrison tape is part of massive WMCA airchecking I did right before we moved from the NYC area back to Southern California. Lots of live copy, as was typical in most major markets in the 60’s. The station had only had reverb on its chain for a month or two, and these jingles are from Joseph P. Cuff, the same Johnny Mann voices that were heard on the Drake jingles in 1965; WMCA’s “sig” or “logo, though not acapella, is similar to the “93/KHJ” sig. Please note how tight the board ops were at WMCA, this station rocked!

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