Who played sax on purple people eater11/28/2023 ![]() "I learned to ride a motorcycle in the hallways of WAKY, salesmen jumping out of the way," said Burbank, who also pretended to be shot by an outraged fan on his last day at WAKY. They were the cream of Top 40 radio, respectable, hard-working, reputable men.Įxcept, maybe, when they were wrestling Jerry "The King" Lawler at Louisville Gardens, or staging a murder in the studio for fun, or slamming into each other at demolition derbies, or drinking most of a fifth during a morning shift. You may like: Forecastle reveals two after-hours shows on the Belle of Louisville "To have a whole radio station, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, of personalities was unique then and it's impossible today." "Johnny had a great ear for talent, he hired really unique personalities, and then he gave us all plenty of room. "It's hard for people in Louisville to believe but it's true: Johnny built something really unusual," said Mohn. These were the guys you heard on any given Tuesday in Louisville – the radio equivalent of a movie starring a young Keanu Reeves, Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Ryan Reynolds and George Clooney. Newsmen Len King and Mike Summers founded CNN Radio for Ted Turner while Al Smith became Turner's Director of Broadcast Operations, overseeing his television and radio empires.Įven the station's freelancers were stars-to-be: Southern High School student Dan Mason contributed sports reports and went on to be CEO of CBS Radio. ![]() The characters created by Gary Burbank at WAKY propelled him to become one of radio's pre-eminent humorists at Cincinnati's WLW and his Earl Pitts editorial satires are still heard on 200 stations. He's in the Country Music On-Air Personality Hall of Fame. He also founded the E! Network and was an executive at MTV and VH1.Ĭoyote Calhoun was WAKY's Wolfman Jack and went on to become one of the most decorated program directors and DJs in country radio history while at WAMZ. WAKY's staff in the early 1970s included Jarl Mohn, then known as Lee Masters, who is now president and CEO of National Public Radio. Randy Michaels, longtime radio executive and CEO of Merlin Media, last year selected vintage WAKY as the 13th greatest Top 40 station of all time in a survey conducted by radio-industry trade publication Radio INK. On-air personalities such as Mark Strauss, Bobby Jack Murphy and Joe Fedele are veterans of WAKY and other stations, and their voices have been heard in Louisville for decades. Instead of breaking new hits, it plays classic songs from the 1960s to the 1980s to a much smaller audience than at its peak.Īnd while it's still active on the Louisville scene, sponsoring concerts with appearances by DJs, its studio is based in Elizabethtown. ![]() WAKY celebrates its 60th as a far different station than it once was. "It has been rewarding and it is rewarding," said Randolph, 76, who came out of retirement to DJ again. Five days a week, from 3-7 p.m., Randolph slides up to a microphone and introduces songs he's played thousands of times. For all of the, um, wackiness associated with the station during its glory years, the truth is that the station represented high-level radio, and some of the voices those cruising teens worshiped eventually shaped radio on a national level.Īnd Johnny Randolph, the man who many credit with making WAKY a powerhouse, is still at it. WAKY is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, looking back at a history that includes record-setting ratings, unhinged disc jockeys, barely controlled mayhem and sweet radio espionage.īut WAKY is more than a quaint local icon. The station blasted hits all night at 790 AM as kids cruised past its Fourth Street studio on their way to Kingfish and back again.Īs Louisville's first Top 40 rock 'n' roll station, WAKY represented a cultural earthquake and it held sway over Louisville's airwaves until the rise of FM. The soundtrack was provided by Top 40 radio and WAKY was king. Please feel free to share your variation, request some sheet music or inform me of any funny songs that should be added to the list.On any given Saturday night in 1960s Louisville, a string of cars filled with hormonal teens and the sound of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Her" stretched from Broadway to River Road, a mobile party that lasted hours. You will also find that there are multiple versions for each song or rhyme. Most of these songs should be in the public domain. I find them a great means of stress relief both in and out of the classroom. ![]() I still sing many of these songs to this day, whether it is with my own children or the children that I teach at school. Many of them I remember from my childhood and many of them I have discovered since then. This is a collection of my favourite songs, rhymes, riddles and poems. Treading in Dog Poo is a Rainbow of Regret What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor FS4K Songs Nobody Likes Me (I think I'll go eat worms)
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