Jackson Armstrong, KKHR Los Angeles, May 8 1984 (1:19:24)

… Maybe so, but I’ll take penicillin …

Here’s Jackson Armstrong, using a lot of drop-ins, doing genuine TOP 40 (variety, not diversity) radio in Los Angeles, 1984! Big Brother would be proud; the Scorpions and Donna Summer back to back? HITRADIO 93 KKHR, take us away! When you listen closely you’ll hear just a hint of reverb! The jingles and production elements are very exciting.

About 6:23 in, you’ll hear a wonderful “California Cheese” spot featuring a very smart cow. (So funny!) And about 9:42, you’ll hear Mr. Armstrong do a straight-up top of hour ID that rivals Viagra® for feelin’ good. (The timings given are for the original, scoped exhibit.)

Otherwise, since this exhibit’s first appearance in 1998, the telling of the story of HITRADIO 93 KKHR was entrusted to our learned visitors via COMMENT (below.) All we could tell from the content is that the station was owned by CBS, but that doesn’t tell us much. Not only did we learn what happened to this fun Top 40 Radio Dinosaur of the mid 80’s, but we discovered who got famous, or lost it all, with this one…

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