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This page features KILT and KNUZ in the 60's
and 70's. For more KILT and KNUZ material, please see the following pages: Alex
Bennett, News
and Talk, and Mainly 80's.
KILT enters the second half of the 1960's
I need someone to absolutely, positively identify the voice
on the first newscast below. No guessing, please!
Write
to this site
KILT, (KOST-FM)
Houston,
January 1, 1965, hourly newscast
The was the very first KILT newscast of 1965. I recorded
it myself.
The newsman doesn't give his name. Write to me about the
name only if you are absolutely sure.
This material may sound like it was recorded in the studio,
but it actually came off the airwaves of KOST, the name for
KILT-FM at the time. KOST-FM simulcast with KILT from about
6:00 PM till midnight. I am fairly certain the FM side signed
off right after this newscast.
As a listener, it was frustrating to have the simulcast only
last six hours a night. The KOST set up became ever more exasperating
later in 1965 when the station ran independently from about
6:00 AM till noon. That was its entire schedule. It sounded
like the same tape of a beautiful music tape running every
day without any other program content.
If you have read my commentary on KXYZ, you know that I don't
have anything against beautiful music formats. The problem
with KOST was the way it was presented and the limited schedule.
I would have preferred that it simply simulcast with KILT
24 hours a day.
I'm sure that one factor here was that the FCC was about
to limit a station's freedom to simulcast.
Off
site link on the history of simulcasting
Remarks revised September 8, 2009.
KILT, Houston,
January 24, 1965, hourly newscast
It's Sunday morning, and Dan Lovett reports the death of
Winston Churchill. Jim Carola gives details on the voter defeat
of the Harris County Hospital District.
Added April 3, 2009
KILT in the early 60's
KILT, Houston,
July 17, 1961,
Red Jones, Thom Beck
This aircheck arrived unexpectedly in my regular mail. The
clasp envelope included a cassette and the following letter:
Grady... Happened to get to your web site.
Very nice layout. Having worked in Houston radio some
time ago, I looked for names I knew. Sadly, most of the
guys I worked with then have "gone on" one way
or another. I worked Texas radio 1948-1962. With KILT 1957-1962 as PD and afternoon drive. Fun Times. During
the time our numbers went through the roof. Went to WOXI,
Atlanta, in 62, and have been in Georgia since then. Could never fully retire. In "semi retirement" work as independent contractor doing mornings
on 50,000 watt WKNG.Red Jones
Georgia Radio Hall Of Fame
WKNG is AM 1060 in Tallapoosa,
Georgia, near the Alabama state line. I have relatives
within their coverage area.
In a later email, Mr. Jones stated that this aircheck was
recorded on July 17, 1961, as a "single take" in
the control room. He added the following comments:
You mentioned KXYZ. Coming out of
the Army (Armed Forces Radio Berlin) in 1956, I came to
Houston with KXYZ as they flipped to a top 40 format. Staff
then included Chuck
Dunaway and Larry Kane. We sounded good, but McLendon
in 1957 bought the old KLEE 610 and the market really changed.
I went to McLendon with KILT, Larry Kane to KNUZ , others
scattered as KXYZ changed directions. Interesting times
in the market...
Thom Beck was indeed a real talent. I had long lost contact
with him but I ran across an LA site mentioning the "late"
Thom Beck. As Claude Hall says "They come, they do,they
leave." Sad but true.
This is just the kind of aircheck I
like to receive. Although it is scoped, the recording includes
several newscasts, promos, and commercials. Such details help
create a real feeling for the time when the material was recorded.
— Grady McAllister
A Roundup of KILT and
KNUZ Airchecks
These airchecks came from other people.
The undated items seem to be from the late 60's and early
70's. I determined the names simply by listening to the material.
In the case of K.O.
Bayley, I had to look up the spelling on the internet.
Please let me know if there are any errors.
KILT,
Houston, Michael
KILT, Houston, Jay
Rogers#1
KILT, Houston, Jay Rogers #2
KILT, Houston, Bill Young & Todd Wallace
KILT, Houston, Barry Kaye #1
KILT, Houston, Barry Kaye #2
KILT, Houston, Captain Macho with K.O. Bayley
KILT, Houston, K.O. Bayley #1
KILT, Houston, K.O. Bayley #2
KILT, Houston, K.O. Bayley #3
KNUZ,
Houston, 1970, Scotty Morgan
KNUZ,
Houston, December 12, 1961, Paul Williams
KNUZ,
Houston, June 14, 1965, Arch Yancy
KILT,
Houston, June 6, 1977, Beau Weaver
KILT,
Houston, December 22, 1966, Bill Young
KILT,
Houston, July 8, 1967, Bill Young
KILT,
Houston, July 11, 1966,Chuck Dunaway
KILT,
Houston, February 13, 1967, Chuck Dunaway, and Russ Knight
KILT, Houston, July 8, 1967, Cousin Tom Sherwood
KILT,
Houston, June 23, 1969, Todd Wallace
Ron Foster, John Jackshaw, and
University of Houston News
KILT,
Houston,
December 22, 1968, Ron Foster
KILT,
Houston,
December 29, 1968, Ron Foster
You can also hear Ron Foster on the
short aircheck for August 4, 1968.
On April 10, 2008, Ron Foster sent
this message:
Hi Ya!
I appreciate your posting the airchecks from KILT from 1968.
I don't actually remember the particular show with the guest
DJ but it might be interesting to note that, that's how
I got the gig at KILT! "The University of Houston Show."
I was on for 8 weeks after which I got a call from Bill
Young asking if I'd like to work there on weekends!
That was a huge break in that I'd been laughed out of the
building at KNUZ where I'd applied a few weeks earlier.
Eventually I wound up on the 10 PM to 2 AM shift.
I'm still playing many of the same songs included on the
aircheck. Only then, they were "new." I have been
with ABC Radio for over 20 years - same time - 2 PM - 7
PM Central and am the webmaster of our format web site.
http://oldiesradioonline.com
(SOON TO BE CHANGED TO CLASSIC HITS RADIO ONLINE).
If you type in "listen" in the search box on the
web site, you can listen any day 2 to 7 - Monday through
Friday. You can also check out the Ron Foster bio if it's
of interest.
Again, thank you for posting the airchecks. If you would
like more, please let me know and I'll see what I can come
up with.
Sure, you can quote all or any of this.
Yo Bro, Ron
These airchecks also feature John T.
Jaksha (John Jackshaw). Jackshaw appears as the guest DJ from
the University of Houston. It was probably the first time
he was ever on the air.
These airchecks were the only reel
to reel recordings that I made at 1.875 inches per second.
I used a Norwegian made Tandberg, a machine designed to work
well at its slowest speed.
Since I had to drive Jackshaw to the
station, I started the recording just before we headed to
KILT. The long recording time was enough to capture the entire
show without changing tapes.
Besides being new to the airwaves,
John Jackshaw was already legally blind and had to write everything
out in big letters. He later became a full time broadcaster
and worked in the Houston area at a station featuring Christian
programming.
He is best known today for his comedy
acts. Jackshaw's shows are aimed at audiences in the Christian
community and at anyone seeking family friendly entertainment.
John
Jackshaw's web site.
In the recording for December 22, Jackshaw
includes a Christmas greeting to James Lovell, an astronaut
then aboard the Apollo 8 mission to the moon. Later, while
orbiting the moon, the Apollo 8 crew would broadcast a
famous Christmas greeting of its own.
"And even then, your journey
will be just beginning"
KILT,
Houston,
August 4, 1968, Ron Foster
OR
click here to go directly
to the Ron Foster newscast
This short item was preserved only
by chance. I appear to have been testing my Tandberg tape
recorder, a very temperamental machine.
Since I did not make note of the date,
I have established it by comparing the material to information
on the Internet. A news item on the recording indicates that
it was made on the Sunday prior to the Miami convention which
nominated Richard Nixon as president. The recording also mentions
a York, Pennsylvania, riot from that weekend and a Jimi Hendrix
concert scheduled for that night.
The commercials and promos are especially
interesting on this recording.
Added October 6, 2007 . . .
KNUZ,
Houston, July 7, 1966, Joe Ford.
KNUZ,
Houston, June 16, 1965, Buddy McGregor
Thanks to Vicki Ayo for sending these
KNUZ recordings. These two items help fill a significant gap
in my collection.
My original collection has a great
big lack of unscoped recordings of well known DJ's. If fact,
I only kept only about ten seconds of KNUZ material -- a news
intro from 1964.
I didn't remember anything about P.J.
Proby, but the singer and his mom are prominent on the
MacGregor aircheck.
The
P.J. Proby web site
The same KNUZ recording was also my
first exposure to that Garner State Park anthem since 1965.
Some songs stay with you even if you never hear them again.
That second KNUZ aircheck shows Buddy
McGregor pitted against KILT's Russ Knight in the battle of
the nighttime top 40 jocks.
Somebody please send me some Russ Knight
(Weird Beard) airchecks.
I almost kept a great Russ Knight
aircheck of my own. Have you heard my recording of the KILT
newscast from 12:00 A.M., January 1, 1965? I also recorded
Russ Knight's New Year's Eve show immediately before the newscast.
That recording had some very exciting
examples of the Weird Beard "pretending" to be drunk.
Unfortunately (with the immense maturity which I possessed
at that age), I decided that the recording was stupid and
lacked the historical value of the newscast. And so I erased
over it. And so it goes.
But wait . . . Take a look at the
aircheck below.
KILT,
Houston, June 14, 1965, Russ Knight
Actually, I do have this Russ Knight
aircheck. Unfortunately, I can't claim that I recorded it
myself. I traded one of my original tapes for this material
several years ago, and I am only now getting around to listing
it.
I generally avoid posting items which
have come from another web site. Nonetheless, this recording
captures the essential style of the Weird Beard and KILT in
general.
I believe that I was listening at the time of this recording.
During that particular month,
I was tuned to KILT much more than usual. I also remember
hearing Russ Knight make that remark about WXYZ in Detroit.
So, unless he made the WXYZ remark on more than one occasion,
I had to have been listening on the night of June 14.
For more about Buddy McGregor and the
KILT Vs KNUZ saga, please see the Jim Wood aircheck further
down this column.
Added October 20, 2006 . . .
Jim Wood addresses The Boobies
KILT,
Houston, 1964, Jim Wood
In 1964, if you weren't watching the
Boob Tube, you were probably listening to Jim Wood address
his Boobies on KILT.
The notorious B-I-G Jim Wood was Houston's
first shock jock and KILT's main night DJ of the early sixties. Marv Miller, a former
engineer at KILT, sent this recording.
According to Miller, Wood "was
always doing things that would raise the wrath of management.
They let him get away with a lot of things that others couldn't
because his ratings were #1." He was eventually replaced
by Russ Knight sometime in mid or late 1964.
Although Wood was noted for his risqué
patter, the only specific instance I can remember was when
a young female listener wrote or phoned to ask if he was married.
He suddenly changed his voice to a more intimate tone and
said, "No I'm not, baby, but if I was, would it make
a difference?"
It was remarks of a different kind
that lead to Wood's departure from KILT. According to Marv
Miller, Wood did "a thing where he would 'Hurl an Invective.'
" He would start by asking listeners "in a hushed
tone" to turn their radios up full blast and open their
windows. He would then say something provocative.
According to Miller, in the case leading
to his firing, Wood exclaimed, "THIS IS THE POLICE. THE
BOMB SQUAD NEEDS YOU TO EVACUATE THE BUILDING." Marv
Miller recalls that "Several buildings were evacuated
including a church where services were going on. They let
him back on the air but told him he was on probation."
It was the beginning of the end for
Jim Wood at KILT. Even back then, the Powers That Be had short
fuses when people joked about bombs or shouted "fire"
in a public theater.
No, Wood didn't shout fire in a theater.
However, in an earlier "invective, " he did ask
listeners to play their radios in theater lobbies. Then, Wood
yelled "This movie stinks! This movie is terrible! We
want our money back! Kill the manager!"
Houston DJ Chuck
Tiller, a Jim Wood listener while growing up, describes this
stunt in a 2006 email to this site.
Tiller also describes an antic in which
Wood would"ask the listeners to turn up the radio and
shine a spotlight on the neighbor's house.
Jim would then
say, 'Come out! Come out with your hands up! This is the police!
The house is surrounded!'"
Miller and Tiller agree that the final
incident was one which pitted Jim Wood against KILT's arch
rival KNUZ. It was 1964, the peak of Beatlemania, and each
of the two top 40 stations claimed to have the inside track
with the Fab Four. I distinctly remember a jingle on the Jim
Wood show which went
KILT is
your station
For Beatle celebrations
The melody was the same as
Close your
eyes and I'll kiss you,
Tomorrow I'll miss you
from the Beatle song All My Loving.
KILT, a station which was already number one in Houston,
was tying its very identity to the Beatles. That tells us
something about the fierceness of the competition with KNUZ
as each vied to cash in on Beatlemania. It was within that
atmosphere that Jim Wood ventured a stunt too far. Sometime in 1964, Buddy McGregor had
left KTRH (where he had been the token male presence on the
"Woman's World" talk show) to join KNUZ in its battle
with KILT. As its nighttime response to Jim Wood, MacGregor
broadcast an "interview" with the Beatles. The recording
wasn't quite what it seemed, and that lead to a quick challenge
from Jim Wood. Chuck Tiller explains it like this:
Buddy had one of those open-ended
interviews where you stick your own voice in asking John,
Paul, George and Ringo a set of prepared questions. Jim
went nuts about it, recorded it off the air from KNUZ and
put his voice in. He told his listening audience that it
wasn't a real interview and explained how it was done and
he could do the same. Dave Morris, GM for KNUZ/KQUE was
enraged, but happy at the same time. Happy, because he could
now get rid of his 7-Midnight obstacle. Uncle Dave demanded
that KILT fire him.
Chuck Tiller reports that he learned
these details from the late Thom Beck who had been News Editor
at KILT and later a roommate of Jim Wood in California. Tiller
combines that information with his own experience as a young
Jim Wood listener:
At the time, I was 13. I hated KNUZ
for what they did. My 13 year old mind sorted it out that
way. Little did I know that would wind up working on both
KNUZ and KILT in my then future.
Marvin Miller believes that KILT "would
have stood up" for Jim Wood had it not been for the recent
bomb joke. He was already on probation. After the KNUZ incident,
Jim Wood was gone. Miller concludes his remembrance like this
Of all the people I worked with at
KTHT, KRBE, and KILT, Jim Wood was the best and most entertaining
of all. He was one of a kind and will always be missed by
those who remember him.
Jim Wood continues to be both memorable
and influential for Chuck Tiller. In his 2006 message, he
stated:
Just a few weeks ago, while on KHJZ,
I was doing a quick weather forecast and said, "it's
a pair of 7s, that's good enough to open the poker game,
it's 77 degrees at Smooth Jazz, 95.7 The Wave." As
I listened to the Jim Wood aircheck, I fell out as I heard
Jim mention basically the same thing. Somewhere inside of
me is a part of Jim Wood, uptown, downtown and all around
town, Jim Wood calls.
According to
Rock Radio Heaven, Jim Wood died in 1990 at the age of
58 when he choked to death from a cough drop while being hospitalized.
Wood, long a heavy smoker, was suffering from emphysema.
This is the first public exposure for
this aircheck. A studio recording for job search purposes,
it may be tamer than the Jim Wood you remember.Thanks to Marv Miller for donating
this material. Thanks also to Bob
Edwards of ProSound
Studio for converting the open reel tape to digital form.
Houston Retro Radio is hosted as part
of VASTHEAD.COM.
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