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Slim, KNBQ Tacoma/Seattle Washington Composite 1987 (0:12:42)

The Jeff Randall Collection
… These are the Men Without Pants …
The Slim One rolled into the Northwest for reasons unknown to me, but we were glad she found us at KNBQ. We all knew her reputation from her past work at some legendary stations and I couldn’t believe I got to work with someone like Slim – she did weekends and I did afternoon drive! 1987 was about the time that Viacom acquired the station from local owner the Tacoma News Tribune and from the time they took over there was a plan — but Slim managed to make any shift at any station her own! Around 1988 Viacom changed the calls/format to KBSG/Oldies thinking that we were the third top 40 in the market. Shortly after the switch the “research” showed that KNBQ would have been #2, beating KPLZ just behind longtime market leader KUBE. After a long run with the oldies format the frequency is now KIRO-FM news/talk.

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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