Wild Child Dick Kemp, WYNR Chicago 1962 (0:07:21)

The Uncle Ricky Collection
… The mighty 1390, featuring more platter and less chatter …
Description by Uncle Ricky

This aircheck of Wild Child Dick Kemp on WYNR/Chicago in 1962 was featured on Volume I, Issue 14 of Programmer’s Digest, dated February 12, 1973. Opening narration is by Jay Franklin, at that time with WKDA-FM/Nashville.

According to the narrator, WYNR was a McLendon (KLIF) station, switching from call letters WGES on September 1, 1962. This aircheck is the fourth hour of the new Top 40 format. Despite outstanding talent like Kemp and PAMS jingles, “The Winner” failed to make significant inroads against pop-music monster WLS. WYNR changed its name again to WNUS after about two years of Top 40.

Also featured: An editorial by Mike McClennan that identifies WYNR as one of only seven full-time facilities licensed to the Windy City. Chicago had fewer full-time stations per capita than any other city in the U.S.

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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. 

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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”.

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Board of NCBHP
North Carolina Broadcast History Project