The Robert D. Sharp Collection

Robert Sharp, KCFI 1984

In the mid to late 60’s, there not being much for a kid to do on cold winter nights in Northeastern Iowa, Robert Sharp used his brother’s portable Zenith to discover what was outside his little world. Robert writes:

What I found was the wonderful world of Top 40 in the Midwest: KAAY, CKLW, and best of all, WLS. I was totally hooked; I wanted in.At 18, I started at the campus carrier current station at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. My first show was cancelled due to a freakish April blizzard in 1973. Refusing to heed what was clearly an omen, I went on the next week, and later worked at KXEL-FM, KCFI (three times) and KWWL in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls market. In 1984 I moved on to Law School at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. I have practiced law in Des Moines since 1987.

I haven’t been on the air since 1984, but I do still occasionally have the desire to do a shift. Now when the urge strikes, I check in with Uncle Ricky at RT40RR. That usually soothes the itch; or makes it worse!

The Repository thanks Robert for sharing!

WQXI Atlanta, Composite, 1976 (0:06:33)

… nitty gritty, low-rent rock and roll …

[Description by Uncle Ricky]

This composite of WQXI-AM/Atlanta from 1976 includes an introduction

by Program Director Jack Fitzgerald, morning guy Gary McKee, and shorter segments featuring midday talent Rhett Walker and afternoon driver Dickie Shannon.

The finale is Coyote McCloud and his classic China Grove show opener.

(from American Airchexx Vol 1 No. 6, Ã‚Â©American Airchexx, 1976.)

The Ultimate Radio Trip, 1976 (0:40:36)

… it is a fact that the average DJ only works four hours a day, but worries the other twenty hours how long he’ll be working only four hours a day …

I came across an ad in one of the trades in late 1975 or early ’76 for American AirChexx, a “bi-monthly Trade Publication of the Contemporary Radio Industry” on cassette. I think a six-issue subscription was $25. I was still in school, working part-time in radio, but I scraped the money together for the first six issues.

I reasoned that it would be a good resource tool to help me learn more about my chosen profession. (OK, I wanted some cheap entertainment, and a chance to steal some bits.) I still have five issues.The first issue, Vol. 1, No. 1, featured “The Ultimate Radio Trip Ã¢â‚¬â€œ From Boston in the Morning to San Francisco at Night.” Two or three stations, Top 40, AOR or MOR, in each of the top twenty-five markets. The concept of American AirChexx was to feature a different market in every issue after number one. Subsequent tapes had Miami, San Francisco, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Atlanta, but The Trip really whetted my appetite for more.

WQAM Miami Composite, 1976 (0:04:50)

… Q – munication, for the people of south Florida …

[Description by Uncle Ricky]You wouldn’t necessarily have known that WQAM in Miami had (very serious) FM competition from this composite. It was 1976 and the station was blasting highly produced, full-featured Top 40 radio – complete with the familiar reverb and news underscoring that ruled the airwaves a decade earlier. We’re even treated to a few (short) jingles.

Narration from American Airchexx (Volume 1, #2, April 1976) names WQAM’s program director at the time as Jim Dunlap, but no further details are provided. Included: Jim London and Charlie Fernandez, as well as newsman Roger Carey.

Bill Tanner, Y-100, WHYI Miami, April 1976 (0:07:15)

… the secret to our success – predictable unpredictability …

[Description by Uncle Ricky]Long-time PD and morning talent Bill Tanner opens this composite with a description of the Y-100 format.

Includes Bill Tanner, Robert W. Walker, Earl the Pearl, and others to be identified. (from American Airchexx, Vol 1 No. 2)

KYA San Francisco Composite June 1976 (0:05:21)

… when Barbarino makes Kotter eat his own briefcase …

[Description by Uncle Ricky]This all-too-short, tightly edited and exciting composite of KYA, San Francisco in June of 1976 features Henry Winkler, Gary Cocker, Michael in the Morning, Christopher Kane, Steve Jordan, and Jack Brian(?).

WPEZ-FM Pittsburgh PA Composite, 1976 (0:06:37)

… This is my dog Shannon, he’s been very still and his eyes have been closed for three weeks …

[Description by Uncle Ricky]

Program Director Charles Lake introduces this composite of Pittsburgh’s WPEZ-FM from 1976. Lake says “we’re not doing anything here that’s terribly innovative”, and while it is true that the formatics were fairly common for Top 40 stations of the period, only a few stations achieved this polished and near-manic level of energy on a consistent basis.

Unfortunately, the mix is so dense, and the edits are so tight that it is very difficult to identify the air talent featured. One name we recognize is Beau Raines, whom Uncle Ricky met when Raines consulted WFEC in Harrisburg in 1975. Also, we picked out Dennis Elliot and some guy named Big Jim. Our guests are encouraged to help us identify the rest of this talented crew via COMMENT (below).