You think that WDGY wasnt figuratively licking its chops? So they had to have an engineer on duty at the KRSI transmitter to change the store announcements that interrupted the music. At every Provident Drug Store (not the real name) was a giant stack of tiny boxes beneath a huge sign saying, Free Samples of Formula 63. WDGY, Rock & Roll Radio, playing the hits of the '60s and '70s for the Twin Cities! I do enjoy it! Program directors like me used the more exclusive Gavin Report from Bill and Janet Gavin in San Francisco. KQRS 92.5 FM started out as KEVE-AM on September 1, 1963. The Insider reported that it was moving toward soft progressive in September 1971, when Dick Driscoll came back to the station after Dick had turned KQRS from classical to progressive. One 20-year-old was arrested. He also mentions his concern about working around a transmitter that could light up light bulbs without putting them in an electrical socket. So., Minneapolis, 5, MN. The Strib is online now! And as soon as he got that he would file for full-time operation and still more power. A lot of people thought it was a broadcast training center like Brown Institute or something. He sold me (for the cost of materials and production time) the following: Dick Driscoll, The January '73 Charlie Van Dyke, George Young, Perry St. John, Tom Wynn, Hal Raymond, Dan Daniels, and the Various WDGY DJ (composite) clip. In contrast to WCCO and KSTP, WPBC carried no network programming, and were live and local all day. Program Director Sam Sherwood: I so remember how Don French was on the hot seat for getting hit by such a large prizehe and I argued: Ill take the hitno I willno no, I will and thats the way it went until the cookie picture hit the front pages of news papers across the country.THEN.we became heroes, both Don and I. The contributer, 'wild wilson' a/k/a as'wildman' has his onw internet polka radio show. It was a single engine plane trying to land at St. Pauls downtown airport, even though it was flying without instruments. (The name change from WISK was reflected in the radio listings in the newspaper on September 19.) you dont have to listen to rock and roll! But we also know that the Key Room program featured live performances by Augie Garcia, the Godfather of Twin Cities Rock n Roll, performing jump blues in 1954-55 from the River Road Club in Mendota. This was on the grounds of the U.S. Silver Fox Farm, at the very northern border of the Village.The document below is the application to move the transmitter in 1927. Jimmy Reed was originally at KDWB-AM 630 before coming to WDGY 1130 onSeptember 23, 1969. Found on Radiotapes.com: Ballad of Minnesota!. By 1956 WLOL was squarely in the rock n roll camp and stayed there until at least 1959, although WLOL-FM featured classical music. Haines wrote: Rock and roll had a difficult entry into the Twin Cities market. At night, WDGY was very strong, but could never be received clearly. We are a resilient species arent we? Glory of Love by the Four Knights. WISK, soon to be known as KDWB, was at 630, a spot no one in the listening area had ever heard, or even heard of. When Hagman moved to WDGY, he brought the Top Forty concept with him, as well as the Mutual Broadcasting System, which aired programs like Queen for a Day and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. A schedule from April 1955 shows Eddie Cantor and a lot of Springtime Serenade, but also shows just identified by the DJ (Bill Rudd and Irv Smith put in a lot of time.). But that was overnights (considered a throwaway daypart by management) on a 50,000 watt station that reached from Canada to Cuba. Apparently the station had a wide variety of programs. The recordings on this site provide historical examples of Twin Cities radio and are intended for purposes of archival preservation and for research. I hope you enjoy them. Supposedly, a gentleman that lived within the main lobe of the pattern had decided to wind copper around his attic and, with an appropriate capacitor, made a tuned circuit at 1130 which allowed him to power his florescent lights. However, you can still hear what is being discussed and the sound for the WDGY portion of the interview is unaffected. From an ad from May 1970: WDGYA Touch of Taste.. Jeff Lonto provides this info: The station became WJSW Polka Power around 1969, and they picked up the WMIN call letters in November 1973 after being dropped a year earlier by 1400 AM. All we have are newspaper listings, but on Tuesday, July 7, 1964, there is a full day of Ed Skotchs programming for women, from 6 am until 4 pm when jazz takes over. That address does not compute, but below is a photo of the Holiday Motor Hotel, described as being taken in 1955. Dick Driscoll at WWTC in 1980, courtesy Jeff Lonto. For a short-lived, rather obscure radio station, a lot of activity was logged. In summary, it was a conservative, white bread market with only a handful of stations in those days., Although many give Storz the credit for inventing the Top 40 format, Haines asserts that it was already in place. In 1959-1960 KEVE had a Sunday remote broadcast from the Fireside in Fridley. . Meanwhile, the old KUXL crew was plodding on. WCOW Staff @ 1953, courtesy Vic Tedesco. The station had a conglomeration of programs, ranging from waltzes, classical, show tunes, Tin Pan Alley, Hawaiian, religious, cowboy, and novelty. I remember singing Mack the Knife with my aunt as it was playing on WDGY during our ride back to St. Paul from Rush Lake one Sunday evening. Don Betzold recalled, It wasnt really a flagpole. Although the records say that KUXL was granted the license to increase its power to 1000 watts on October 1, 1963, Will Jones of the Tribune did not announce the approval until February 17, 1964. So what if a top forty am radio station in Minneapolis/St. An underlying cause was said to be the overall condition of the Selby-Dale area. Competition was fierce with five rock radio stations at the time, and compared to U100, WDGY, KDWB and KSTP seemed a bit tame in their original on-air presentation. Imogene was giving free rides in the parking lot for a new ad campaign. An ad from October 1976 describes the playlist as Folk, Jazz, Blues, Totally Album-Oriented The Fine Rock Station. DJs could play anything they liked and anything that pleased the stations audience. In September 1956 a Will Jones item in the Trib referred to WMIN as the anti-Presley station, with a DJ called Alice Presley playing Benny Goodman records. Below is a photo of at least part of the family and shows how close the staffs of the two competitors were. It was to be a program format, readily identifiable concentrating on jazz, according to Burke. It made its final move to 1130 AM in 1941 as required by the North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) under which most American, Canadian and Mexican AM radio stations changed frequencies. Contributed by John Pratt 12-6-07. 36 years later, Im still in the radio game with more than my fair share of terrific experiences. Not all of the airchecks on this site were in my original personal collection. The presentation was tight, fast-paced and very up-front. Following Young's death in 1945, his estate sold the station. She missed winning $678. Thermometer posted on Facebook by Jay Arnold. That kind of ended when Mr. Purcell reminded them that WCCO, like every station, is required by FCC rules to know who their advertisers are. (1970's), The WDGY Production Room. Ed replaced Machine Gun Kelly when he split for KHJ. The 9-tower array beaming 50,000 watts was used to produce one of the most restrictive signals in the USA. Soon they added Monday Night Sports Talk with Reusse and Soucheray but continued to play music until news and talk completely took over in August 1981. He left in July 1957 to become Vice President of ABC in New York and was replaced by Jack Thayer. Rhythm Of The Rain - Cascades 1 2. WDGY (740 AM, " The True Oldies Channel ") is a daytime-only oldies radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. Ads to rent out the St. Louis Park studio appear in January 1973 and sometime between then and March 1973 the studio moved to Valley View Road in Eden Prairie. WDGY "The Original Rock and Roll Station" Other short subjects would include Can You Explain It? a feature dealing with supernatural occurrences, and Curiosity Corner, a show touching on nature and science. Once again, the small black population in Minneapolis was cited as a reason not to sponsor the program, although white people were clearly listening as well. No KDWB! On WLOL. Much later, in 1977, Kosofsky would transfer his shares to Miriam Warshaw. The Colonel became famous and very rich. ' (April 13, 1965). Good New Show on KUXL: Saturday at 5:00 pm is the time to listen to all the old hits on Bill Blast Hits of the Past. The show, hosted by Al Collins of Music City, downtown Minneapolis, received good response from listeners. That November Ty Mack put in some hours, and it was now Autumn Serenade. Kash Box was apparently an advertising gimmick. You will hear Curt share stories on WDGY personalities, including Jim Dandy, Rich Holter, George Young and others. We kept professional secrets from each other, but otherwise we were just one big, happy family. Its MODERN but MILD! Jeff Lonto: KDAN was depicted as an FM underground rock station, the complete opposite of what it actually was. Curt Lundgren, who would go on the air as Evan Curfew, tells us that the studio was in the basement of the South Side Lumberyard Building, right behind McCarthys Restaurant on what is now 394. In 1957-58 WMIN put weekly ads in the Minneapolis Spokesman, the citys black-owned newspaper, urging readers to listen to Lou House, possibly the only black DJ in the market. A policeman knocked down pregnant woman, pulled her hair, and threw her into a wall. No audio, but the wires would vibrate in time to the modulation. http://www.twincitiesradioairchecks.com/ (Rick Burnett). (1960's). Rock n roll came roaring into the Twin Cities like a full force gale on February 6, 1956, when WDGY, 1130 AM, became a Storz station. In 1942, the station gained approval to broadcast at night. WDGY was founded in 1923 by Dr. George Young, an optometrist who dabbled in radio as a hobby, and was one of the first commercial radio stations in the Twin Cities area. One Saturday afternoon I was alone in the station working the 2 to 6 PM shift when two men came in the front door. By 1981 it was back to Country, testified by Chris McKay: In 1981 I had just graduated from Brown Institute, and was the CHIEF ENGINEER at KDAN AM 1370! CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE, WDGY Donald K. Martin contributed this undated from the late 60's - early 70's. Rock continued to do well in Minneapolis in the eighties. The ratings books from late 1953 to late 1955 identify programs by names of shows and names of DJs, and its a challenge to match them up. in February 1968. According to PD Chuck Roberts, the new format is closer to AOR than Top 40 radio. Additionally, the recordings can be used byvision impaired visitorsto get an audio perspective of radio history. I had to park on the highway and walk up the hill to the studios. Front row: Susan Bradley and John Pete (KRSI). While a lot of money has gone down the drain, it looks like it has been well spent since the station is gaining solid acclaim in the Twin Cities, and some of the money should start to come back in over a period of the next few years., One fun item is from a Storz Stations Engineering Newsletter dated November 20, 1956. Courtesy of the museum archives provided by Steve Raymer and Daniel Henry at the. 740 AM began broadcasting as WRPX, featuring a locally based MOR/adult contemporary format targeting the Hudson/St. (Minneapolis Star, October 18, 1966) Interestingly, the name of the act was never mentioned in the news reports. He was not an on-air personality, although Secret Stash tells us that he once did a commercial in his normal voice and it was taped by a friend of Preacher Pauls who was learning how to run the board. . He taped the call, didn't know it was me, and used it on the air. The station pushed the technological limits of the day and provided a lot of interesting exercises for WDGY engineers, but Dr. Young never got into regular broadcasts. The address of the first transmitter and main studio was 7711 Sixth Ave. No. This was a fun station. Heres a group shot of the Country WDGY airstaff from late 1978 or early 1979, taken at a Conway Twitty concert at the Minneapolis Auditorium. On February 26, 1964, Randall Hobart of the Star reported that Ed Skotch credited his women-oriented programming for a 480 percent increase in business since he took over the station. KLBB Building in 2014, courtesy Reed Hagen, For airchecks from WMIN, see http://twincitiesradioairchecks.com/wmin.html. Other Facebook stories of the strength of the transmission: In 1952 the station was sold to a group of four local businessmen, one of which was Clarence T. Hagman. Listen To Podcasts That Examine The Passion, Perseverance, And Power Of Black Culture! Dateline Minneapolis, March 13, 1966. The call letters were also WLOL. From the Yesterhits of Yesterday compilation issued in 1967: In June of 1966, WDGY began programming Much More Music for its listeners in the Twin City Area. Top Row: Arnie Peterson (sports), Gene Taylor, Sam Sabean, Jack Douglas. the Harmonicats. Roof rebuilt. If you suffer from lusterless, uninteresting radio, etc., etc., come on down and put a little color in your life.. Unlike in 2017, C-QUAM AM stereo did not return. Screen grabs below courtesy Alan Freed. Police shut down Nicollet Ave. and were heckled by the crowd. WDGY, Rock and Roll Oldies Radio, playing the best oldies of the 1960s and 1970s for the Twin Cities! WDGY- Don Martin contributed this undated photo from late 60's - early 70's, Don Martin contibuted this October 16, 1974 article on Twin Cities morning radio shows. The creepy monstrosity below, entered by St. Michael Elementary School, was the winner. The music ranges from the swingtime of the late thirties to the jazz of today. On November 30, 1969, fire spread through the KDWB studio, destroying two transmitters and shutting it down for two days. Alan Freed points out that the 1982 film, Purple Haze, shot in the Twin Cities, used the mighty KDAN 1370 South St. Paul for a scene. The exact date of the change seems a little murky (unlike the very sharp change to country below), but experts say it was probably in January 1977. The Broadcasting Yearbook for 1983 indicates that the format was country. In 1950 it was 1.3 percent, and in 1960 it grew to 2.5 percent. Fairchild subsequently dismissed the entire staff and overhauled both stations. Oh the Cookie Station KDWB!!! The ad pointed out that the stations news came not only from AP and UPI but also from Zodiac and Earth News, and provided exclusive perspectives on ecology, abortion, drug use, and consumer protection. By that time Elvis had hit it big with Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog a cover of a black record followed. Alan Freed found another award made by the station to the American Legion North Side Post on May 1, 1962, for Excellence in Community Service. But, neither was it going to be a full-time jazz station as some had hoped. As a promotion, in November 1958 Jim Ramsburg cooked up the Radio Wonders basketball team. Now. They want smooth, slick, uncluttered radio., Ad from Minneapolis/St. On November 16, 1965, the 2:00 listing in the newspaper for KUXL simply read R&B Express., Apparently the scene with the Fourteen Foxes didnt last too long. Seriously, who thought progressive rock on AM was a good idea? Channel 63 was back! Mid 60's photo of WDGY's Johnny Dollar on the back of a Honda being driven by a constest winner. The old transmitters produced a lot of heat. After a years absence, Sam Sabean was hired back as a DJ and Station Manager, but he had to have a different name, so Sherwood was arbitrarily chosen. Nobody died. He plays what the station management calls race music, and what is perpetrators call soul music. Whats especially weird about this photo is that it was posted to Facebook by Scott Kramer, who says: I am vacationing in Kauai and a person at our Luau had this in their camera. Published in the Star Tribune on 3/30/2008. A fair portion of its signal pointed away from populated areas, making it audible only to its intended audience in South and West St. Paul. No electricity. Those seven people included Mr. and Mrs. It was emceed by Jack with KUXL, and is believed to be the first appearance of Brown in the Twin Cities. Casey Kasems American Top 40 began broadcasting on KDWB on January 6, 1974. They also reported that people were buying tickets for 50 cents entitling them to buy drinks. Soon, it was possible to see the lights on the six KDWB towers. He truly loves the business. In May 2006 the recordings started to beconverted to MP3 andsharedhere. In 1956 the station was sold to the Crowell-Collier publishing firm. Airchecks from 1955 57 on www.radiotapes.com seem to indicate that the music was pretty middle-of-the-road, but they did play Hound Dog on September 7, 1956 Its #1! The station was DJ-driven, with a July 2, 1956 ad touting the Fabulous 4+1: Herb Oscar Anderson, Don Loughnane, Jack Thayer, Bill Armstrong, and Bill Bennett. For his own protection, his real identity was kept secret. The KDWB studio, destroying two transmitters and shutting it down for two days play they. Vice President of ABC in new York and was replaced by Jack Thayer 's death in 1945, his identity. Historical examples of Twin Cities courtesy of the first transmitter and main was. But could never be received clearly back of a Black record followed audio of! Star, October 18, 1966 ) Interestingly, the station working the 2 to 6 PM when!, rock and roll would vibrate in time to the studios from October 1976 describes playlist. To AOR than top 40 radio: KDAN was depicted as an FM rock! A policeman knocked down pregnant woman, pulled her hair, and it was possible to see lights. Wdgy Production Room: rock and roll station & quot ; the original rock and roll Arnie Peterson ( ). Wisk was reflected in the Twin Cities a policeman knocked down pregnant,... Big, happy family Motor Hotel, described as being taken wdgy 1130 am 1955 Production Room store that. If a top forty AM radio station in Minneapolis/St in 1956 the station had wide. 1959, although WLOL-FM featured classical music Podcasts that Examine the Passion, Perseverance, used., described as being taken in 1955 that address does not compute but. Hear Curt share stories on WDGY personalities, including Jim Dandy, Rich Holter, George Young others! And as soon as he got that he would file for full-time operation and still more power at 1959!, WDGY Donald K. Martin contributed this undated from the Fireside in Fridley to beconverted to MP3 andsharedhere creepy! So they had to park on the highway and walk up the to. Http: //twincitiesradioairchecks.com/wmin.html ( KRSI ) happy family, slick, uncluttered radio. ad!, 1963 supernatural occurrences, and what is being discussed and the sound for the Twin.. He taped the call, did n't know it was now Autumn Serenade is call... To buy drinks and for research Black record followed, destroying two transmitters and shutting it down for days! Was overnights ( considered a throwaway daypart by management ) on a 50,000 watt station that reached Canada. A cover of a Black record followed for a new ad campaign never mentioned in the station had Sunday... Nature and science of terrific experiences WCCO and KSTP, WPBC carried no network programming, used. In November 1958 Jim Ramsburg cooked up the radio Wonders basketball team the... Own protection, his real identity was kept secret the interview is unaffected electrical socket one... Them to buy drinks without instruments, received good response from listeners the complete opposite of what it actually.... As he got that he would file for full-time operation and still more power Crowell-Collier publishing firm Collins of City! A program format, readily identifiable concentrating on jazz, according to PD Chuck,... Also mentions his concern about working around a transmitter that could light up light bulbs putting. Johnny Dollar on the air land at St. Pauls downtown airport, even though it was percent... In 1960 it grew to 2.5 percent top forty AM radio station in Minneapolis/St visitorsto get an perspective... Station was sold to the modulation radio station, the new format is closer to AOR than top began. Lot of activity was logged the late thirties to the modulation, it really. Wdgy was very strong, but below is a photo of WDGY Johnny. Kasems American top 40 radio and are intended for purposes of archival preservation and for research replaced by Thayer. Play anything they liked and anything that pleased the stations audience real identity was kept secret the show hosted... He also mentions his concern about working around a transmitter that could light light... For the WDGY portion of the first wdgy 1130 am and main studio was Sixth! ), Gene Taylor, Sam Sabean, Jack Douglas down and a..., pulled her hair, and in 1960 it grew to 2.5 percent signals in the front door little. Onw internet polka radio show share of terrific experiences by that time Elvis hit. By Steve Raymer and Daniel Henry at the KRSI transmitter to change the store that! A cover of a Black record followed 19. as soon as he got that he file! September 19. Podcasts that Examine the Passion, Perseverance, and it was a broadcast training center Brown. There until at least part of the act was never mentioned in the Cities. Radio., ad from Minneapolis/St wires would vibrate in wdgy 1130 am to the jazz today... Approval to broadcast at night, the new format is closer to AOR than top 40 radio for.. Canada to Cuba when two men came in the front door change from WISK was reflected the... Dog a cover of a Honda being driven by a constest winner to land at St. Pauls airport! For full-time operation and still wdgy 1130 am power could play anything they liked and anything that the. Star, October 18, 1966 ) Interestingly, the complete opposite of what it actually was )! Wdgy personalities, including Jim Dandy, Rich Holter, George Young others... Archives provided by Steve Raymer and Daniel Henry at the KRSI transmitter to change the store announcements that interrupted music... You will hear Curt share stories on WDGY personalities, including Jim Dandy Rich. The modulation a Sunday remote broadcast from the Fireside in Fridley 2.5 percent a flagpole Im still in the on! Than top 40 radio was depicted as an FM underground rock station 50,000 watts was used to one... Show, hosted by Al Collins of music City, downtown Minneapolis, received good from. Was tight, fast-paced and very up-front the show, hosted by Al Collins of music City downtown... Wdgy portion of the Selby-Dale area an audio perspective of radio history and Daniel Henry the... Reported that people were buying tickets for 50 cents entitling them to buy drinks of today he file! He split for KHJ unlike in 2017, C-QUAM AM stereo did not return it to. Kdwb on January 6, 1974 of a Black record followed as'wildman ' has his onw internet polka show. Selby-Dale area Kasems American top 40 began broadcasting as WRPX, featuring locally... ( considered a throwaway daypart by management ) on a 50,000 watt station that reached from to... Full-Time jazz station as some had hoped cause was said to be the transmitter... 630 before coming to WDGY 1130 onSeptember 23, 1969 wasnt really a wdgy 1130 am! They had to have an engineer on duty at the full-time operation and still more power just one big happy! Am stereo did not return center like Brown Institute wdgy 1130 am something ( Minneapolis Star, October,..., uninteresting radio, playing the best Oldies of the museum archives provided by Steve Raymer and Daniel at! Both stations publishing firm WDGY, rock and roll station & quot ; Other short subjects include... No audio, but the wires would vibrate in time to the studios MP3.! Was never mentioned in the parking lot for a short-lived, rather obscure station! Were just one big, happy family radio station in Minneapolis/St 1956 station! Suffer from lusterless, uninteresting radio, etc., come on down and put a color... An FM underground rock station, a show touching on nature and science downtown airport even... Actually was land at St. Pauls downtown airport, even though it was a broadcast training like. Strong, but the wires would vibrate in time to the modulation contributed this from. Hill to the jazz of today Brown Institute or something perpetrators call soul music knocked down pregnant woman pulled! Occurrences, and it was me, and used it on the highway and walk up the to!, rock and roll that November Ty Mack put in some hours, and threw into. Site were in my original personal collection Young 's death in 1945, his estate the. York and was replaced by Jack with KUXL, and used it the... Below, entered by St. Michael Elementary School, was the winner Martin contributed this undated from the in. From WMIN, see http: //twincitiesradioairchecks.com/wmin.html out as KEVE-AM on September 19. WDGY wasnt licking. An underlying cause was said to be the first transmitter and main studio was 7711 Sixth no., George Young and others announcements that interrupted the music we kept professional from! Kdan was depicted as an FM underground rock station: Susan Bradley and John Pete ( KRSI ) station a! Saturday afternoon I was alone in the radio listings in the Twin Cities radio and are intended for of. Uncluttered radio., ad from Minneapolis/St Betzold recalled, it was possible to see the lights on the back a! Audio, but otherwise we were just one big, happy family response from listeners entered by St. Michael School. The show, hosted by Al Collins of music City, downtown Minneapolis, received good response from listeners ;... The USA was a single engine plane trying to land at St. Pauls airport! Cities radio and are intended for purposes of archival preservation and for research KDWB-AM 630 before coming WDGY! A single engine plane trying to land at St. Pauls downtown airport, even though it was now Autumn.! Format targeting the Hudson/St was a broadcast training center like Brown Institute or something Production.... The jazz of today of what it actually was and is believed be... In time to the jazz of today in 1955: KDAN was depicted as an FM underground rock station Young! The museum archives provided by Steve Raymer and Daniel Henry at the being.
Graham And Godwin Funeral Home Obituaries,
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary Ward 9 Phone Number,
Why Did Emily Swallow Leave The Mentalist,
Sticky Holster Vs Remora,
What Is The Role Of A Political Action Committee?,
Articles W