The Steve Sawyer Collection

 

Steve with Froggy
A Froggy 94 Concert photo: Country Star Clay Davidson, with his manager (l) and Steve (r).
Steve at the Buzz
Steve "hard at work" at The Buzz The Buzz 94.1
Steve at The Buzz
Steve "West", pausing to pose in the Buzz Studio, April 2001.
Steve Sawyer grew up in the small town of Orange, Massachusetts, about 75 miles west of Boston. Quote  I first got into radio in 1980, after mom suggested that since I loved radio so much maybe I should go down to WCAT and apply for a job. At 17, the only job I ever had was a paper route!Over the years I've done a dozen or so stations, including KOUL Cool 103.5 and KLTG Oldies 96-5 in Corpus Christi. I even was PD of little WCAT for about 6 months in 1989. After 13 years in the Navy and several years as a truck driver, I was happy to be doing what I love best full time. I arrived in Memphis in March, 2000 and was picked up for weekends on country WOGY Froggy 94. The format changed to Modern AC, I stayed on and did nights on the New 94-1 The Buzz (WMBZ) until July 2001.

As of May 2002, I work at the IRN news network during the week, and I'm on KIX 106 and sister station WJZN/Smooth Jazz on weekends.

I'm also into the other aspect of radio, the Amateur bands. My callsign is k1frc. I've been licensed since 1989 and currently hold a general class license.

As one who has worked so hard over the years doing "real" work, I only have one thing to say about my work in radio. I am incredibly lucky to get paid to do what I love. There are so few of us who are privileged to work in live radio in these days of satellite and voice tracking, and considering how few live shifts there are left in broadcasting, those who do it full time are extremely fortunate. End Quote

The Repository thanks Steve Sawyer for sharing!

… Nothing wrong with the folks here at K-Earth One Oh One …
[Description by contributor Steve Sawyer] REELRADIO pays music licensing fees to present unedited music online. If you enjoy unedited airchecks like this one, your tax-deductible contribution to our operating fund will help keep this and other “unscoped” exhibits available. This is an hour of Adult Contemporary KRTH-FM (K-EARTH 101), Los Angeles, from August 19th, 1981. (Thanks to baseball fan Pete for the date confirmation.) (There is one edit at 43:10.) My brother recorded this one from Santa Monica where he spent his summer vacation that year. The audio quality of this recording is excellent and was transferred from the original tape.
… Yup, Tastes like chicken …
[Description by Uncle Ricky] Here’s a humorous production piece used when WOGY-FM (Froggy 94, Country) became WMBZ-FM, (New 94-1 The Buzz, Contemporary) in 2001.
… We’re keeping a watch on our world …
[Description by Steve Sawyer] Here’s a ‘check of Al Bandiero on WKBW/Buffalo from January 28, 1979. I recorded this on a cold, wintry night from a small table model radio. There was a bit of fading in the original, but for the most part I think this aircheck is an excellent representation of what ‘KB sounded like in the late ’70’s. They really ROCKED around this time.
… Hot Hits! Hot Ticket! W – Z – O – U, Boston’s ZOO …
[Description by Uncle Ricky] Uncle Johnny is all excited about the all-new ZOO. I know next to nothing about 80’s-decade Boston radio, so we’ll ask our visitors to fill in the blanks about WZOU and Uncle Johnny by using our built-in comment feature. REELRADIO pays music licensing fees to present unedited music online. If you enjoy unedited airchecks like this one, your tax-deductible contribution to our operating fund will help keep this and other “unscoped” exhibits available. This is well-done mid-80’s CHR, even if it’s slightly fuzzy FM reception. The jingles in (infrequent) use here are from JAM, and are also featured as recorded for WAVA at REELRADIO. The Production Director was working long days at WZOU, I’d bet. There are a couple of locally-produced spots here that are better than average. But there are no 6-minute stopsets, no substitution of ponderous “imaging” elements for the DJ, and no “hip-hop”. Oh yes, 1985 was a very long time ago
… 97 Star, the Battle’s on …
[Description by contributor Steve Sawyer] Next up is an unbelievable aircheck of WGH AM/FM Newport News, Virginia, from 1988. I was in the Navy stationed on the USS America (CV-66) when I recorded this. Where is this guy, M.J. Kelli? This is the tightest, highest energy CHR I have EVER heard!

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