Jim O'Brien, WFIL Philadelphia 1972 (0:02:58)

… as Beulah the Boss music lady tabulates your votes …
The late Jim O’ Brien shines in this all-too-short sample of Famous 56 in 1972. As always, WFIL’s powerful production elements are part of the fun. Note also the Call for Action promo, a reminder of a time when the privilege of owning a broadcast license (even a little AM license!) required broadcasters to generate clever programming to meet their responsibilities to the public interest.

While the public interest is forgotten these days, there’s no doubt that Jim O’Brien was of great interest to the public in Philadelphia, which he called home until his tragic death in 1984.

Aircheck courtesy of Man from Mars Productions, edited by Randy Roberts.

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