Some great news arrived in my inbox last week: ReelRadio is back!
Truly, it never went away, as dedicated volunteers held the original site together at reelradio.com after creator and curator Richard “Uncle Ricky” Irwin passed away in June 2018.
Irwin’s aircheck “radio repository” is special. It is one of the reasons I broke down and bought a new “fast” (4800 baud) modem in the days of dial-up internet, just so that I could hear the recordings of radio stations and programs of the past, carefully collected and presented on the ReelRadio site.
Irwin was a former radio personality and program director at stations, including KAFY/Bakersfield and KROY/Sacramento. After leaving radio, he became a software engineer and webmaster; it was his expertise in both that allowed him to set up a site for one of his hobbies, collecting airchecks — on-air recordings — of radio stations, and sharing them with the world.
While today you can find similar recordings on sites like Facebook, MixCloud and more, what sets ReelRadio apart more than anything else is the size of the collection and the quality of the recordings, which are often processed to help the sound. It is also tremendously easy to search and find exhibits.
Some are even “restored,” as Irwin called it, with music added back to recordings in which songs were originally cut out. Irwin’s engineering expertise allowed for sound that was seamless, as if you were listening to the actual station on your radio, unlike some where the announcing is lo-fi and the music is suddenly hi-fi stereo. One example of this restoration can be found searching for Charlie Fox, KHJ 1980.
More than 3,500 recordings are available on the site, including one from 1931 featuring Bing Crosby on KHJ (930 AM). The focus is top-40, though there are others, and it is indeed a special place.
While the old site is still online for now, the new site at reelradio.ncbmuseum.com is a total rebuild with a new updated design and, more importantly, a dedicated home that will hopefully allow it to last far into the future.
The ReelRadio Board of Directors worked with the North Carolina Broadcast History (NCBH) Museum and Beasley Media Group’s digital division to make the new site a reality. According to RAMP — Radio And Music Pros at www.RAMP24.com — Carl Davis, a NCBH Museum trustee and a personal friend of Irwin, helped make the museum’s custodianship of the ReelRadio files a reality.
Museum President Mike Weeks told RAMP, “The ReelRadio project is directly aligned with (our) goals to celebrate pioneers of radio and television while preserving the rich and significant history of the broadcasting industry to be universally accessible and useful. We couldn’t be more pleased that this valuable resource is now publicly available.”
The only thing missing from the new site are the comments that used to give some background and clarifying information about the exhibits. I hope they make a return, though monitoring comments and removing spam took a lot of time, so I don’t see them making the transition.
ReelRadio dates back to February 1996, more than 29 years ago. Here’s hoping it lasts at least 29 more!
Funny Fourth
KLOS (95.5 FM) has a special “Funny Fourth of July” weekend planned for the holiday weekend, including lots of comedy clips mixed in with the regular music. It all kicks off at 5 p.m. on July 4th on the Nik Carter show, celebrating the return of “The 5 O’Clock Funnies.”
Station consultant Dave Beasing told me that a survey of station listeners found that 78% wanted Five O’Clock Funnies back, 13% had no opinion, and 10% did not want it back at all. Which highlights two things: one in ten listeners apparently can’t take a joke, and no one can add, since it all adds up to 101%. “Rounding,” says Beasing. Sure.
Beasing, of course, is the same guy who once programmed The Sound (now religious KKLQ, 100.3 FM). The Sound gave KLOS a run for the money and Beasing told me of some competitive antics, such as the time he put up a billboard for The Sound in the parking lot of KLOS’ (former) studios, among other light-hearted pranks.
That Beasing has now joined his former competitor is thus somewhat ironic, though he downplays his influence on the recent ratings success.
“I’m proud to be part of a great team,” he said, adding, “I would hate to be across the street from KLOS now. They’re crushing it.”
Turn Up
Over at Alt 98.7 FM, Stryker kicks off (or kicked off, depending on when you see this) the “4th of July Turn Up” on Wednesday, July 2nd. Described as the best Alt party tunes – no slow songs – “just bangers for your parties,” says station programmer Lisa Worden. It starts at 2 p.m. and runs through Sunday evening.
On Friday night, July 4th, from 8 to 10 p.m. (repeated Saturday at 10 p.m.), Alt presents a special “Skratch N Sniff All American Remix” show hosted by Tyson Ritter of All American Rejects.
What is “Skratch N Sniff”? It’s a syndicated show that combines special mixes of rock and alternative music … promoted online as starting with a solid rock foundation, then adding new sounds from across the musical spectrum to create a non-stop, continuous party mix.
Happy Fourth!
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com