Iconic Detroit radio personality Alan . Over the years he has won a prestigious Peabody Award for uncovering corruption in Detroit Federal Bankruptcy Court, and aired a series of reports on faulty bite mark evidence which lead to the freeing of two men who had been serving life prison terms in, Ken Rogulski is a news anchor and reporter for WJR. It was always a great ending for his show. A bit later he moved over to WOMC. Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox. I wouldnt have become a Detroit Tigers fan (since 1966!) Passions include Cars & Bars, Music & Sports. Tom's career in radio spanned more than four decades. He passed away in early 2018. "Because it hasn't been done this way before. Joe Baccarella had never experienced being with a number one rated station. Reply to me adeernest@umich.edu In 2003, Ryan Seacrest took over the American Top 40 program. I will soon be releasing the Audio Book version of my book, Turn Your Radio On. My compliments to Jim Feliciano and the MCRFB staff for this terrific site. More great information can be found in Dick Osgoods book: WYXIE Wonderland if you can find a rare copy. But on the side, there was still glimmers of hope. Channel 955 is the #1 Top 40 radio station in Detroit, MI, serving all of Southeast Michigan. When I was in Junior High School, I went to a Friday night football game at Birmingham High School. I remember when Lee had his horrible car accident. That in 1966 the listeners instead wanted more of the music. The WXYZ line-up in late 1965 consisted of some of the greatest radio voices heard on Detroit radio during that time. He said he would pick a song and dedicate it to my girlfriend at a certain time. Rumors spread that he was intoxicated and fell asleep at the wheel. Now heading forward well into the early 1960s, the 1270 top 40 notables would comprise of great air names as, Storer-owned WJBK and RKO Generals CKLW for the Top 40 crown in the Motor City. . Meanwhile, during a short stay in Cleveland in early 1966, Lee Alan discovered the sound of Joey Reynolds at WIXY. [1] He is the former host of the Stoney and Wojo radio show on WDFN in Detroit, Michigan until it was canceled on January 20, 2009. Why wouldn't I want to interact with people?". if it wouldnt have been for Dave Diles! iHeart and Radio One have used a national blueprint that shifts more toward syndicated programs and less toward local, for example. Seymour, now 94 and living in Texas, was twice named national "Disc Jockey of the Year" and was said to possess an uncanny knack for spotting up-and-coming talent for Swingin' Time. Download Our Free iHeartRadio App! He was hired with the hopes in retaining the older Wolf audience, while at the same time appeal to a younger audience being drawn to the New Radio 13 popularity on the radio dial. , Where is John E. Smooth Edwards? "If you grew up here you can't help it. DEERNEST@UMICH.EDU. Recently Lepidi won a Gracie Award for her interviews with artists such as Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Adele and many others. What about 105.1 Magic and 93.9 the River? When first starting out in Detroit, the personality hosted Jay Towers and the Morning Revolution for six years. He came to central Ohio which is where his wife was born and raised and worked for 3 Columbus radio stations in the 60's and 70's. His last on air work was for a small radio station in Marysville, Oh. May 23, 2012 - Explore Pure Detroit's board "Detroit personalities", followed by 1,467 people on Pinterest. Mojo, Spike and Shannon are the main personalities of the morning show that established legacy segments like War of the Roses and the various Phone Scams. and on the television side Club 1270 was gaining Detroit audience popularity asJoel SabastianandLee Alanintroduced the hottest WIXIE hits on WXYZ-TV. They look like a country music group. "It's going to be terrific seeing all these people again. None to speak of. A co-host of the , Mike Valenti, 97.1 The Ticket host (YouTube Screenshot). Still can be heard on WNIC and seen on Fox 2 Detroit, the media personality has been juggling both radio and TV since 2004. While the Detroit radio station was ABC parent-owned at the time, the button concept was dual inasmuch as a promo while pushing their new (at that time) ABC-TV series Batman both on WXYZ-AM radio and WXYZ-TV television here in Detroit. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and reflections on the website as well. It is absolutely true that Brother Joel Sebastian, Dave Prince, and I went to my late friend Chuck Fritz and literally begged him to champion the cause and petition the New York Brass (Hal Neal President ABC owned and Operated Stations) to drop the old, out dated network programming. (He told me that in 1989.) But the problem about network programming was still there. The three of us actually went to Chuck BEFORE Keener was launched while it was still WKMH. Cannot remember the year. June 16, 2015 / 7:29 PM / CBS Detroit. The new jingles custom were produced in Chicago byDick Marx Productions for Lee Alan and were beautifully sung for WXYZ by the famous Anita Kerr Singers. Dumas, who now co-hosts a podcast with former Fox-2 and Detroit News reporter Charlie LeDuff, is referencing the shrinking local control of Detroit radio properties, which in turn diminished the number of locally originating programs. As a teen, to me, you and the horn were as close to teen heaven as it got.. "It didn't matter who they were or what they were or where they came from, and it just kept going and growing," he marvels. The format was changed. I would be very curious if anyone knows anything about my grandfather, Lawrence Larry Kelley. CLOSED NOW. Which Jack McCarthy? The on-air personality can also be heard nationally and locally on the Church of Lazlo show. Remember Nights with Alice Cooper? One night he informed his followers what actually happened. NJ/PA/WV/IN/IA/CO/TN/MI/VA only. The list Radio personalities from Detroit, Michigan includes George Noory, Casey Kasem, Paul W. Smith, Mike Wallace and Hugh Downs . From Business: 96.3 WDVD-FM is an adult contemporary-formatted radio station in Detroit. I was looking for it on line but no such luck. I have been remembering back to when I was working at WXYZ radio in 1966 til May 1967. Real NameDon Zemenski, My husband remembers a disc jockey named Bob Beasley during the late 60s Or early 70s on WWJ when it was music. dave@dptv.org Peter Whorf 10a to 3p, weekdays Peter Whorf came home to Detroit in 2019 when he joined WRCJ as host of Midday Music. It has all those voices in it for all to hear again. Is Detroit artist Jonathan Harris on his way to going viral again? The first radio station in Detroit went on air Aug. 20, 1920. Gentlemen: Those of us who were teenagers in early 1950S will remember Leroy G. White from WJLB Detroits Home Station (AM 1400) Name of his show Rockin With Leroy. He played latest R&B music and rocked the town. Johnson will also continue serving as the station's midday show host, weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. He also seemed to stay away from the oldies from his era. He had a show on Detroits WXYZ doing human interest stories during the 1940s and also did some voice acting work on radio in the 1950s. January 18, 2023 ~ Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at The Heritage Foundation Policy Analyst David Ditch, talks with Kevin about the financial state of families in America. Some had advocated openly to the station manager, Lee Alan among them, that network programming out of New York was killing the station. ", That bond will be acknowledged. Get our top picks for the best events in Detroit every Thursday morning. The following week I listened to him until I ran out of signal just this side of Des Moines, Iowa. Wed pack up and go. There was the legendary broadcasts from the, By early 1963, after coming on board the ABC-owned and operated station in February the previous year, Lee Alan, with the, was by then pulling in a phenomenal 40 per cent share of the Detroit audience during the early evening and night time hours, according to a 1963, of the Top 40 business. Interesting to note that had we not hired Martin and Howard I never would have known Specs Howard. While WWJ is one of many legacy radio stations in Detroit, lets take a look at radio personalities from the 20th and 21st centuries who have helped shape the radio community. The new Keener Sound was by then fast retaining the largest rise in total market share in Detroit radio history. Music News Lizzo, Justin Bieber, Lil Nas X & More Attend . 1 pick for the mid-morning time-slot over Robin Seymour at WKNR, according to Billboards Radio Response Ratings in the same July 17, 1965 issue. Saturday's affair, for the first time, will be open to the public and feature live and video presentations, Q&A sessions, and book signings. A Detroit radio legend. But by mid-1966, not much had changed for WXYZ during their battle for higher ratings in Detroit. When WXYZ insisted that I recommend hiring Martin & Howard we all knew that with the size of that investment at stake the station would back off and drop the mainstream audience format we had going. We told Chuck what was going to happen, but he and many others were convinced that nothing could ever topple the historic WXYZ. Now heading forward well into the early 1960s, the 1270 top 40 notables would comprise of great air names as Fred Wolf; Joel Sabastian; Paul Winter; Steve Lundy; Don Zee; Fred Weiss; Dave Prince and Lee Alan. . . In the 1930s and 40s, WXYZ created and brought Detroit and the country great radio programming such as Eddie Chases popular Make Believe Ballroom and as well, serials such as the legendary The Lone Ranger, popularized nationally through Mutual affiliated stations after its premiere on WXYZ in 1933. Simulcast with WXYZ-AM. With the Fred Wolf era gone and out of the picture, Fritz extended his sights in search for a younger (but calmer, more contemporary) voice in filling the morning void. Under Alans tenure as new station PD, Pat Murphy would move up in the afternoon time-slot on WIXIE, from the all-night hours. The top news/talk station in the city will now have the following hosts in these time slots. In July 1967, Tom was stationed downtown with his Michigan Air National Guard unit. By this time WXYZ radio had begun its fierce battle going full force head-to-head for top ratings going against Detroits top-rated WJBK 1500. He died in a traffic accident on his way to work in 88. She also delivers traffic and weather for theFrank Beckmann Showeach day. There are so many talented DJs who have made their mark in Detroit. Never got paid, but it was a real blast. Management, the entire radio staff and Lee Alan, now as program director were convinced the right formula was now in place moving forward for 1966. for the Windy City that year. Starting in 1969, Dick has worked 51 years in radio news. By the latter part of 1965, there was several changes in the WXYZ line-up. Hi Henry, thank you for your WXYZ comments. Detroit broadcast legend Frank Beckmann retires after nearly 50 years, The first disc jockey to play a techno song on the radio. According to the Detroit Historical Society, the station was founded by the Scripps family, which founded the Detroit News. Weekdays at 5 p.m. Weeknights at 7 & 7:30 p.m. Nightly at 11 p.m. Latest News Here are some MLK Day events happening in Metro Detroit Maine gets first Mega. Website. Marc Avery, 6-10; Steve Lundy, 11-2; Dave Prince, 2-6; Lee Alan, 7:15-10; Danny Taylor, 10-1; Pat Murphy, 1-6 AM. Management, the entire radio staff and Lee Alan, now as program director were convinced the right formula was now in place moving forward for 1966. Detroiters also tuned in on WXYZ for the latest thrilling adventures of The Green Hornet, The Challenge of the Yukon (tailored after dog personality Rin-Tin-Tin). Photographs by Beth Hoxie By Hour Detroit - September 27, 2010 Facebook Comments Previous article Speaking of a very special friend, Mr. JOEY RYAN ( Joseph Pietruska ), interned at The Grand Rapids Home for Veterans Cemetery . Earlier on, these entertaining WXYZ radio programmings were heard on many stations through the Mutual group across the U. S. and Canada. No longer were the deejays allowed to play whatever they wanted to play. "His. Yes Tarantula By the Tarantulas As TV voice for over 30 years of my beloved Tigers he was a Detroit sports icon! According to the Associated Press, Banks was given a late-night weekend show at WDRQ. on By early 1963, after coming on board the ABC-owned and operated station in February the previous year, Lee Alan, with the Lee Alan Show was by then pulling in a phenomenal 40 per cent share of the Detroit audience during the early evening and night time hours, according to a 1963 Hooper radio survey. WWJ recently celebrated 100 years of being a radio station. According to the Detroit Historical Society, the on-air personality American Top 40 program was broadcasted on over 1,000 stations across the nation in the late 80s. 1-844-BUY-RADIO; 100.3 WNIC Detroit's Variety - 80's 90's & Today Kristina. Still prime on WXYZ radio since coming back to Detroit from New York in 1947 was Johnny Slagle. Yes! I had to go to bed at ten, in those days, but I had a transistor radio under my pillow and would never go to sleep until I had listened to the last two hours of Lee Alan and his closing theme I Cant Get Started by Frank Sinatra. 5 Number 3 - Radio DJo Henderson. But the problem about network programming was still there. You may recall. In the late sixties did Radio Detroit have a disc jockey named Dave Dawson. BIRMINGHAM (CBS RADIO) - The mysterious personality behind the late-night 'Pillow Talk' radio music show has died. The name itself would come to be one of the most popular and recognized names ever in 60s Detroit radio history. Photographs by Beth Hoxie, Detroit Radio Personalities, Past and Present, FGI Detroit 75th Anniversary: Diamond Jubilee Fashion & Awards Gala, Urban League of Detroit & Southeastern Michigan 57th Annual Guild Gala. Then Id listen to the 11:55 newscast and the first ten minutes of Don Zee with his zombie theme Tarantula by the Tarantulas. 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