WAKY Louisville Remembered, 2003 (1:02:32)

… W-A-K-Y, or “wacky”, as it was called, was just downright exciting …

This tribute to Louisville’s WAKY was written, produced and is narrated by contributor John Quincy. Long-time WAKY PD Johnny Randolph is featured with his recollections of a superstar line-up of Kentuckiana talent.

Airchecks are included from Bill Bailey, Gary Burbank, Coyote Calhoun, Lee Masters, Mason Lee Dixon, Dude Walker, Jason O’Brien, Tom Dooley, and Woody Stiles with news.

Producer Quincy says, “A few of the airchecks came from the same sources as some of the WAKY airchecks on REELRADIO. What I did was contact the contributors and asked them for a copy. So, there’s a little duplication, but the vast majority of the material hasn’t appeared on REELRADIO.” In addition, John’s tribute features lots of authentic WAKY jingles, and Randolph’s stories are typical of the realities of the “Glory Days” of medium-market Top 40, all over America. There’s even an explanation of the audio processing.

This is a very high-fidelity presentation and we are very proud to present this original production at REELRADIO. Our thanks again to John Quincy.

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