The Drake Jingle Series Demo, 1970 (0:06:12)

… 12-07-1997 00:00 …
For those young broadcasters (like Uncle Ricky) who weren’t privileged to hear an actual “Boss” station in 1970, this was likely their first introduction to Boss Radio , The Johnny Mann Singers and, of course, the 21 Top-Flight Hollywood Musicians who made radio history with what is one of the most sought-after radio ID packages ever created. The original demo, distributed by American Independent Radio included a 25hz tone throughout. This primitive form of copyright protection made it impossible to play the tape on automation-ready reel decks, and it slightly degraded the audio quality as well. Nevertheless, it probably didn’t deter some smaller market stations from ripping off the instrumental tracks. Here, the demo has been edited to remove lots of “dead air” between the jingles and the simulated airchecks, which include Robert W. Morgan, The Real Don Steele, Humble Harv, J. Paul Huddleston and those memorable ” And now, Ladies and Gentlemen ” introductions by none other than Bill Drake himself.
Drake Jingle Series Demo

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