WHTZ Z-100 Morning Zoo, July 26, 1985 (0:46:46)

… when you screw the public, that’s the lowest form of humanity …
[Description by Uncle Ricky] Listening to this 45 minutes of The Morning Zoo on New York’s Z-100, it’s hard to believe that within a few years, the dominant format in popular music radio would be iPod-programmed ghetto-oriented hip-hop. There’s lots of percussive Pop/Rock here, great jingles, and lengthy “personality” segments. The spot for European Vacation is a nostalgic reminder of the Chevy Chase film comedies. Saginaw Michigan’s WSAM sends early second birthday wishes to Scott Shannon, Ross Brittain and the Zoo crew, and Mr. Leonard shows up to claim credit for Rick Springfield’s upcoming appearance. Around this time, most would agree that Top 40 had been re-born as CHR, and this station was a much-touted example of the best of class. With the exception of one sloppy music-to-music seque, just a few days short of their second birthday, Z-100 sounded GREAT!

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