The Gene Knight Collection
 
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Gene Knight was born in Los Angeles. He writes: "At about age 2 or 3, my family moved to the NYC area. My parents gave me and my twin brother their old radio from the kitchen when they bought a new one. Up to that point, and we were in about 6th grade, all we knew about radio was what our parents listened to, MOR WNEW-AM. As we started down the dial from their 1130 dial position, we hit WMGM-1050, which was still top 40. We tuned a little farther and ran into 1010-WINS. Then we tuned around a little more and discovered WABC, which in those days was pretty much laden with lots of network news and even New York Mets baseball. We kept tuning around and finally landed on 570 where The Good Guys were cooking away on WMCA. This station sounded great: it actually sounded like these DJs were having a party, and it just sounded so good that I knew I had to be in radio ever since that moment. That was when I was about 13. A few years later the family moved back to the West Coast, and later I got my first radio job in Escondido, the town where we lived about 30 miles north of San Diego. During my career, I've been lucky enough to work with people like Rich Brother Robin and Jack McCoy at KCBQ, and Bobby Rich at B-100. In 1996, I worked for Jacor's AC station in San Diego, KJQY, 102.9, K-JOY, formerly The Beach. I've been PM drive at "Kicksy" since Labor Day, 1999. KyXy is a mainstream AC station. The station celebrated 25 years as "KyXy" at the end of March, 2003. I love the top 40 radio era. Reverb, jingles, tight formatics, it's the best radio I've ever heard, with my favorite era of music. I started airchecking stations so that I could trade aircheck tapes with friends across the country. I also collected top 40 radio surveys, because of my interest in the music and the jocks. I'm just really glad I have found a place (The Reel Top 40 Radio Repository) where I can just click on the "play" button and hear great airchecks, and where I can share the airchecks I made as a kid with you. I hope you like them!"
- Gene Knight, 1996
The Repository thanks Gene for sharing! |
[Description by Gene Knight]
I acquired this aircheck while I worked at KCBQ; apparently this tape was submitted to KCBQ while the Greaseman was working in Rochester. I was lucky to find it later floating around the Q production room. At this time WAXC was competing against top 40 WBBF… I can’t remember if they ever surpassed WBBF in the ratings, but “Greasie” sounds real good here.
[Description by Gene Knight]
Reverb in San Diego in 1974? Not normally. KCBQ had used reverb throughout the 60’s as a traditional top 40 station, but somewhere in the late 60’s or very early 70’s reverb on the “chain” was taken out.
However, for some reason, Rich Brother Robin, the PD in 1974, reactivated the reverb on the “Q” for one day, and here it is featured on the Shotgun Tom Kelly show. As you listen, it’s obvious that Shotgun grew up listening to jocks in the 60’s using the “reverb-on-demand” button on the board; Tom has fun with that button, too, especially coming out of the newscast with Boyd R. Britton. Enjoy “Reverb Day” on the Q!
This aircheck was made from my DX receiver, this time set up in Escondido, CA, where my mom still lives. Bobby Ocean was one of the first jocks I heard that excelled in “on-air production,” and it’s no wonder he’s a nationally respected production man to this day. His levels were always perfect, he was always rolling a song early to hit a post with the jingle, then he’d hit the vocal himself!
Although KGB had many great jocks in the Boss Radio era, The “Osh” was my favorite. You can hear that he’s always having a good time on the air. Check it out, it’s top 40 radio at its best.
[Description by Gene Knight]
I was lucky enough to dub this from the original tape of WAKE from 1959, which I found at KCBQ when I worked there. From what I’ve read, KCBQ and WAKE were co-owned by Bartell in 1959, and both stations were Top 40. Lots of echo and production on this, and Bill Drake, one of the “WAKE HitParaders”, worked there at this time.
WAKE, an original “Local” (Class IV) AM station, would have been 250 watts on 1340 in 1959, but was a ratings leader in Atlanta before more powerful stations like WQXI and WPLO adopted the Top 40 format.
[Description by Gene Knight]
I recorded this on one of those old mono Wollensaks, remember the silver metallic case with the white trim? No? That’s OK. I recorded directly off my DX receiver. You’ll notice the bass on WMCA, their audio was more limited than compressed and it sounded very good, lots of punch. This Harry Harrison tape is part of massive WMCA airchecking I did right before we moved from the NYC area back to Southern California. Lots of live copy, as was typical in most major markets in the 60’s. The station had only had reverb on its chain for a month or two, and these jingles are from Joseph P. Cuff, the same Johnny Mann voices that were heard on the Drake jingles in 1965; WMCA’s “sig” or “logo, though not acapella, is similar to the “93/KHJ” sig. Please note how tight the board ops were at WMCA, this station rocked!
[Description by Gene Knight]
This aircheck is from my friend Isaac Shane, who jocked in Canada in the 70’s. Ever notice that any aircheck of CKLW (and WKNR for that matter) from this era contains tons of local hits, many of which weren’t even heard on the radio in most other markets?
I had never heard Ed Mitchell before this, but this guy is really good. (Comments (BELOW) reveal he is better known as Marc Elliot.) And check out CNN’s Bob Losure on CKLW 20/20 news.
[Description by Gene Knight]
My dad worked for a Radio/TV rep firm in NYC, and as a kid I was always hanging around the radio side of the office, looking for information on AM stations like coverage maps, ratings, one-sheets, etc. One of the stations the company represented was Top 40 WSPR in Springfield, Massachusetts. WSPR’s major competition at the time was WHYN.
This is a short tape I found in WSPR’s file  it is WHYN recorded by WSPR, and the note in the box reads
“This is a few minutes of WHYN programming starting shortly after 3PM on Tuesday April 18th – it is representative of their afternoon programming.”
I especially like the live spot toward the end of the tape, where Phil Dee sounds like he’s ready to totally lose it and laugh like crazy at the ludicrous copy about teenagers selling records that are “not available in stores.” It even sounds like he turns the mike off for a moment to compose himself!
[Description by Gene Knight]
Charlie Tuna had to be the best midday jock in the country at this time. The first break with Charlie asking the rhetorical question “Does anybody play more hits than I do?” up to the vocal of “Nobody” by Three Dog Night is so typical of his style during this era. He “posts” practically every song on this aircheck!
I got this aircheck from my friend Issac Shane, but I do remember listening to Tuna in 1969 and he was every bit this good, every day.
[Description by Uncle Ricky]
This somewhat thin, scratchy and crosstalk-challenged aircheck of the great Rick Shaw on Miami’s WQAM is a true ‘scoped classic, and the music has been restored. It’s from an Hour of Solid Gold, though most of the “oldies” aren’t that old.
Roby Yonge appears with a brief news headline, along with lots of young ladies requesting their favorite “oldies.” All the famous Storz gimmicks are here, the oil-dampened reverb, extra reverb on demand, and a wide variety of PAMS jingles. They use both the Yours Truly and Wonderful signatures on this recording.
There’s also a truncated high school football report, and an absolutely WILD spot for Trader Johns, including lots of screaming about GIRLS! They swing live until five. Meanwhile, fellow Tiger Lee Vogel has won a Peabody Award.
Rick Shaw passed away on September 22, 2017. He was 78.
[Description by Gene Knight]
You’ve probably heard Mike Harvey’s satellite oldies show at one time or another… here’s what qualifies him to play all those tunes from the 60’s! He was the night jock on WFUN in 1966, and he’s playing all those oldies as currents on this show.
This was recorded the same night as the WQAM Rick Shaw aircheck, so it’s fair to compare these two stations. They were constantly battling it out all through the ’60’s. You’ll hear that WFUN was attempting a “pseudo-Drake Boss Radio” format (with reverb!) during this period.
Also featured: Bill Hayes, from WFUN News Central, and memorable spots for Scripto Pussycat pens and Burger Castle!