WAKY Louisville 21st Birthday Vignettes, 1978 (0:11:04)

… after an intensive survey, I concluded that Louisville had more piano bars than happy marriages …

I heard these on the air in what was probably 1978 or 1979 — they must have run them every hour. I called up their production director, Bill Purdom, and asked if he’d send me some. (I had worked with Bill at WEKY in Richmond, Kentucky in late 1972.) Bill did the “narration” as he played the carts onto the reel for me.

Featured: Gary Burbank, Skinny Bobby Harper , Dude Walker, Weird Beard, Tim Tyler, Mason Lee Dixon, Bill Bailey, Jason O’Brien and Lee Masters.

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