Mike West, WTIC-FM Hartford CT December 24, 1977 (RESTORED) (1:15:41)

… Have you had your Christmas goose yet? …
[Description by Uncle Ricky] This contribution was received from Bob Radil in March of 2001, and is HITBOUND for the week of December 18, 2005! Good airchecks take time to prepare, and all good things come to those who wait. This was fun to restore, much of it from vinyl. This Exhibit ‘SCOPED (17:24) If all you want is the jings and the jock and the promos and the spots, this version’s for you! Mike West is the local Christmas Eve DJ on the Music Connection, 96 ‘TIX’ – WTIC-FM in Hartford, Connecticut. On the night before Christmas, West spins the hits of the moment from fluttery tape cartridges made from rumbly turntables. The formula under which he labored later became better known as Hot Hits, an invention of Top 40 master Mike Josephs. No Christmas tunes, other than those included in the cheery seasonal commercial announcement for Bob’s Surplus. Note that Debby and Pat Boone are performing with Rip Taylor on January 12th! Thanks to Stormy Hunter and Tom Buck. Both assisted with the musical restoration of this exhibit. Please note that the ‘scoped version of this exhibit continues (for another four songs) after the last song of the restored version. The last four songs were not restored due to technical considerations.

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