Sam Hale, WOKY Milwaukee, WI July 1962 (0:29:16)

… . this week on the totem pole of popularity …
[Description by contributor Sam Hale]Studios were located at the transmitter site at WOKY during this era. Engineers manned the turntables and controls and they were on rotating shifts. Some were “with it” and some were not. There are several instances on my WOKY airchecks that highlight the frustrations of not being “in control”, as I was, for example, at WQXI.

However, my years with Bartell were among the most satisfying of my relatively short radio career. At this time, I was Music Director/Gavin Reporter and afternoon drive host.

Bill Taylor, who is heard as the WOKY Question Man and on Headline News, was still at WOKY as of 2004. He was in the Northwestern University graduating class with Ann Margaret. Although it isn’t represented here, he was a very talented voice mimic.

Don Phillips followed me at 7PM. Don was later hired by Gene Taylor at WLS. Years later, when I arrived on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange to become a market maker in IBM options, I encountered Don on the floor. He was trading General Motors and Eastman Kodak. Don was building a yacht from concrete at the time. I had never heard of a boat built of cement, but I’m told he completed his project, and a few years ago, I heard he was retired and at sea.

Record Hops were tremendously popular during this period in Milwaukee. I had CYO hops just about every Friday night and, being ecumenical, I often did a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah on Saturday night.

Picture of WOKY in Milwaukee Sing Along Survey logo

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