PD Profile: WLAV Grand Rapids MI. 1973 (0:09:01)

The Uncle Ricky Collection
… She’s not a tired female reporter …
Description by Uncle RickyThis profile of WLAV in Grand Rapids, Michigan appeared on Volume 1, Issue 18 of Programmer’s Digest, dated July 2, 1973.

Bob Hamilton

Larry Ryan of KEEL in Shreveport, LA. introduces Bob Hamilton (the one who looked a bit like Bill Gates) and Hamilton introduces his newsGIRL and his manly staff of Top 40 DJ dudes.

As you will hear, the technical staff at Programmer’s Digest never worried about tape head alignment and what happens to misaligned two-track tapes when they are hard mixed to mono.

But what a trip it was to get these recordings of far-away radio stations in 1973! Even today, we may never have heard of this station, were it not for the efforts of Buddy Blake, publisher of Programmer’s Digest.

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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