The Steve Farrington Collection
Steve Farrington, then.
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Steve Farrington was a long-time supporter of REELRADIO. His collection first appeared on December 6, 1998. Steve passed away on Wednesday, April 21, 2004, following surgery for cancer. Remembrances are welcome here.When Steve first contributed his airchecks to REELRADIO, he wrote:
"It all started with a high-school graduation gift from my parents, a Webcor (I think that was the brand) suitcase-type reel-to-reel recorder..." "I graduated from Greensboro (Grimsley) High School in North Carolina. The year was 1962, and I guess the biggest claim to fame for this school in recent years is a famous alumnus — Rick Dees himself who finished 6 years later. (By the way, Rick is very active in alumni affairs. Thank you, Rick!)." "Before long I was off to Georgia for a two-year stint at Oxford College, a division of and original campus of Emory University. My junior year and part of the senior year were spent at the main campus in Atlanta. It was during these first three years of college that the Webcor was put to fair use recording from the radio. After 1965 the recorder and tapes went into storage at my Mom's house in North Carolina. During the next 13 years, I lived in Jackson, Mississippi (where I obtained a B.A. degree from Millsaps College in 1969), Atlanta (twice), Dallas, and Washington, DC. I have been back in Atlanta now since 1978 — sure feels like home to me." "The story of finding old tapes in closets, basements, and attics is certainly not unique. That's exactly what happened here. I had all but forgotten about these tapes until the day I happened upon Uncle Ricky's Repository. I thought I remembered that my tapes had disappeared at some point years before in a family move. However, I searched through my Mom's more recent attic in August (1998) and...BINGO...there they were in a footlocker which I had used during earlier college days. (The Webcor, however, was not to be found.) I hope you will enjoy these exhibits. They are very crude — a lot of editing was done at the time of original recording. Most of these exhibits have been pieced together from non-contiguous segments. Snippets or not, I think you will relish these bits of Top 40 radio in its high-riding days." "I work from Atlanta as a self-employed manufacturers' rep and have run my own business since 1986 selling finer stationery products to specialty retail stores." "I would especially like to thank the following people who have helped point the way toward this new interest in my life: Uncle Ricky himself for having the most fantastic website in the world (and for me, the most appreciated); to Tom Konard of the Aircheck Factory who has been a very important resource in my collecting endeavors; to Russell Wells, a radioman in Troy, Alabama who has the most fantastic collection of Southern airchecks anywhere; and to Don Keith in Birmingham, Alabama, a great novel writer and a great dj. Without you guys, my tapes might still be in the attic..." Steve Farrington maintained "A CELEBRATION and REMEMBRANCE of BYGONE SOUTHERN RADIO and RETRO DIXIE CULTURE" at www.wakeatlanta.com. The Repository thanks Steve Farrington for sharing! |
There’s a spot for Playtex Disposable Drypers, and even a very official “assigned frequency and power” announcement. Yep, 250 watts on 1340! Though this recording is very tightly ‘scoped, (sometimes choppy – pay attention!) the fidelity is remarkable considering that on the debut date of September 7, 2008, it was made 48 years ago!
The jock tries to set up a date for a 15-year-old (and it’s a regular station promotion!), and Miss WAKE is – well, those southern girls, with the way they talk…. The jingles? Oh, the answer is on the site, we’ve heard ’em before.
It is another of many classic Atlanta recordings made by Paul in the early ’60’s.
Ernie Phillips is featured from Atlanta, Georgia in the first hour of the WAKE overnight show from Saturday, August 31, 1963. The music on this mostly unscoped recording is of particular interest. It’s a Hootenanny weekend, and every other song is a Hootenanny song.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines ‘hootenanny’ as “An informal performance by folk singers, typically with participation by the audience.” For the most part, that’s what gets played here. What is truly surprising is that a respectable number of these songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100! I suppose it’s reasonable to say that American Folk Music enjoyed a peak in popularity in the early ’60’s. Depending on your age and “cultural roots”, you
may find a number of these tunes familiar.
As for Mr. Phillips, his performance is typical of smaller market overnight guys in the early ’60’s: Casual, self-deprecating and sometimes, honestly confused!
The bits and pieces in this one were recorded in a motel room on West Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta in the Summer of 1962. It was my first time to hear Atlanta Top 40 radio, and I remember how impressed I was with the “big” sound! At the time, I chose WAKE as my favorite of “The Big Three”.
Included: Ricky Rivers on WPLO (590) as he proudly salutes Bucksnort, Georgia (did he really mean “Buckhead”?); WQXI (790) and the famous Quixie Time Tone (I was fascinated with time-tones); and peppy Johnny Angel on 1340 (WAKE).
[Description by Uncle Ricky] These very short aircheck samples are most likely from early 1966. Note the PAMS “Go-Go” jingle without the call letters. Larsh first worked at WCOG in 1962 and left for WAYS in 1965.
Contributor Steve Farrington wrote:
These very early airchecks (WAYS, 1965 and WCOG, 1966) bear witness to talents which are inborn and natural rather than developmental–it was all there, right from the very start, and it is a rare, rare trait indeed. The pure energy so evident here has remained to this day. No wonder Big Jack will forever be “Our Leader”. Thanks to Paul Allen (d. December 5, 2011.)
As of June 17, 2000, John Larsh was working as Jack Armstrong at WMQX-93.1 in Greensboro, NC. Jack Armstrong passed away March 22, 2008 at his home in North Carolina.
[Description by Uncle Ricky] One short year after this October 8, 1965 aircheck, John Larsh was working at WIXY in Cleveland as Jackson Armstrong.
Program director Jack Gale must have had some influence on the then 18-year-old Larsh, who is heard using many of the sustaining character drop-ins and sound effects that Gale used on his morning show. In fact, he appears to use as many as he likes, frequently and with sparse restraint!
This is fairly early BIG WAYS. Stan Kaplan hired Gale in the Spring of 1965. Larsh was the “original” overnight guy.
Jack Armstrong passed away March 22, 2008 at his home in North Carolina.