Roger Christian, KHJ Los Angeles, 1965 (0:30:07)

… You can choose the champs on the KHJ Million Dollar Battle, starting at 7 tonight …
Roger Christian, (d. 1991) one of the original Boss Jocks, is featured here during the KHJ Sneak Preview in April, 1965. Christian produced The Beatles Story in 1964, and wrote Deadman’s Curve and The Little Old Lady from Pasadena for Jan and Dean. He left KHJ for KFWB in 1966, made an appearance at K-100 in 1974, and appeared in 17 movies, according to 440: Satisfaction. This unscoped 30 minutes is like being in Los Angeles that morning. The amazing thing about Top 40 viewed from the “diverse” perspective of the 90’s is that many will hear only the Rolling Stones and Them and The Beatles, others will marvel at Smokey Robinson and the The Falcons from 1959 with So Fine. Others will appreciate the historical value of the comments from California Governor Pat Brown during 20/20 news, where newsman Allan Mall reads the sponsor’s tag. And gosh, George Washington eats “Mexican” food. Here are many of the things that made the era of Top 40 radio such a cultural marvel, compared to the uptight “diversity” of today. This was real American Variety Radio in L.A., 30-something years ago.

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