Legendary Philadelphia Daily News personal-finance columnist and radio talk-show host Harry S. Gross, 92, died of heart failure Sunday at his home.
Gross was a trailblazer in local media, providing financial advice to consumers. In 1978, he started a call-in radio program that ran for more than 20 years on Philadelphia radio stations WCAU and WWDB. He wrote his personal-finance column for the Daily News from 1981 until his retirement late last year.
Among his mantras were "Live beneath your means," and "If it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true."
In 1679...Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz described binary numbering.
In 1922...WSB, Atlanta, Georgia, began broadcasting becoming the fourth Southern radio station.
First Employees Walter Iller, Walter Tison
The call-sign "WSB" carried an infamous history before it was assigned to a land-based broadcaster in Atlanta.
In very early days of radio licensing, sea-based broadcasters were included in the call-sign assignment system. The first licensee of the call-sign "WSB" was the S.S. Francis H. Leggett. After foundering off the Oregon coast on September 18, 1914, taking a toll of two of the 67 lives aboard, the call "WSB" was reassigned to the Firewood, the name of which forms a grim coincidence with its fate: the ship burned off the coast of Peru on December 18, 1919, with 28 persons on board, all of whom were saved.
Because superstitious seafarers objected to being issued a call "used by that ship which went down with all hands last month", "tainted" calls like "WSB" were quietly issued to unsinkable land stations.
Lambdin Kay, First GM
Originally on 740 kHz until the 1936 FCC band plan, WSB was the fourth radio station in the South, behind the first AM station, WBT 1110 AM in Charlotte, licensed in December, 1920... WNOX 990 AM in Knoxville, Tennessee licensed in November, 1921... and WWL 850 AM in New Orleans, licensed 13 days before WSB in March, 1922.
They, among others, are all considered "clear channel" stations. That designation is given to frequencies on which only one or two stations are assigned to a frequency that allows full power transmission day and night.
The WSB broadcast callsign stands for "Welcome South, Brother". Founded by the Atlanta Journal newspaper (once a competitor of the Atlanta Constitution, now merged), the station began broadcasting on March 15, 1922, just a few days prior to Constitution-owned WGM 710 AM (eventually swapped to WGST 640 AM.
In 1956..."Colonel" Tom Parker signed a management deal with Elvis Presley. In 1964... Alan Freed indicted by Federal Grand jury for income tax evasion - 1964
In 1972...Robert W. Morgan of Los Angeles radio station KHJ 930 AM played Donny Osmond's "Puppy Love" for 90 minutes straight. Police eventually raided the station fearing foul play, but discovered a publicity stunt instead.
In 1976...After 11 years as an AM Top 40 radio giant, WCFL 1000 AM Chicago, in its most recent years known as "Super 'CFL," changed to a Beautiful Music format.
In 2010... Air Personality Ron Lundy WABC 770 AM, WCBS 101.1 FM died at the age of 75.
Lundy was born June 25, 1934 in Memphis, Tennessee, the only child of Fred Sr., a railroad engineer, and Mary Lundy. He served in the United States Marine Corps after graduating from high school.
Following the completion of his military stint, he returned to his hometown and attended a local radio broadcasting school on the G.I. Bill. At the same time, he worked across the street at WHHM-AM, where he got his first on-air experience one night when he substituted for the regular disc jockey who failed to report for his shift. This resulted in Lundy being hired as a full-time radio announcer by Hodding Carter for WDDT-AM, the latter's new station in Greenville, Mississippi.
After a stop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at WLCS-AM, Lundy was brought to WIL-AM in St. Louis, Missouri in 1960 by Dan Ingram, who was the station's program director until the middle of the next year. Nicknamed the "Wil' Child", Lundy had a style which was described as a combination of "country and crawfish pie" by Bob Whitney, who also played a major role in the appointment.
Lundy was reunited with Ingram at WABC 770 AM in 1965. He made his New York radio debut on September 1, working the overnight shift as "The Swingin' Nightwalker."
Beginning in May 1966, he became the midday fixture at the station for the next sixteen years. With his catchphrase "Hello, Love–this is Ron Lundy from the Greatest City in the World," he usually preceded Ingram's afternoon drive time program, and sometimes when Ingram was running late to the studio, Lundy would keep going until Dan arrived, doing impressions of The Shadow, where he would play Margo Lane and Lamont Cranston. The two best friends hosted "The Last Show" before WABC's format conversion from music to talk radio at noon on May 10, 1982.
In February 1984, Lundy resurfaced at New York's oldies station WCBS 101.1 FM in the mid-morning slot, following former WABC colleague Harry Harrison. According to program director Joe McCoy, the station created the slot especially for Lundy, reducing other shifts from four hours to three.
In June, 1997, Lundy's WCBS-FM show was awarded the 1997 "BronzeWorld Medal" at the New York Festivals Radio Programming Awards for the "best local personality".
Lundy retired from WCBS-FM on September 18, 1997. (Click Here to listen, courtesy of Musicradio77.com)
During Ron's final show, he rests his hand on Dan Ingram's shoulder
Upon retiring from radio, Ron and his wife Shirley moved to the small town of Bruce, Mississippi.
Lundy's voice made two cameo appearances during his career. The first one was in an early scene in Midnight Cowboy, when Joe Buck, hearing a Lundy WABC broadcast while listening to his portable radio, realized that the bus he was riding soon approached New York City. The other was in Starship's 1985 hit "We Built This City."
Lundy was inducted the St. Louis Hall Radio Hall of Fame on January 1, 2006.
Buried in more than 1,700 pages of litigation filed last week between iHeartMedia Inc. and a group of its investors, who say the company technically defaulted on its debt, is a startling revelation.
According to The Express-News, If the investors prevail, that could accelerate payments on $6 billion of the company’s bonds and lead to a cascading of events that “could ultimately force iHeart to file for bankruptcy,” the company said in its lawsuit filed in state district court.
iHeartMedia had an astounding $20.6 billion in long-term debt as of Dec. 31 — debt that it has been continually restructured over the years. It’s kind of a self-imposed bankruptcy type of process designed to kick the can down the road.
A recent repositioning of assets aimed at issuing additional long-term debt sparked the debt crisis that erupted this week. IHeartMedia filed a lawsuit Monday against some of its bondholders. The lawsuit, which delves into the murky world of corporate accounting, aims to retract and stop the issuance of default notices.
If that doesn’t happen, the default notices could trigger a series of events leading to a formal iHeartMedia to seek protection from its creditors in bankruptcy court.
Two Boston private-equity firms bought 70 percent of iHeartMedia for $24 billion in 2008; the other 30 percent is publicly traded. Much of the company’s debt stems from the acquisition.
Prior to the acquisition, the company had $18.8 billion in assets and $5.2 billion in long-term debt. At the end of last year, iHeartMedia had just $13.8 billion in assets and $20.7 billion in debt.
The company also fears it will lose key employees. “Highly valuable employees have many opportunities at other companies, and if we lose them, it will cause incalculable damage to the business,” the filing adds.
But the entire company’s future is at stake. If the “default event” occurs, the bondholders “can try to accelerate the notes and claim that more than $6 billion (in other debts) is immediately due and payable,” the company said. That could force iHeartMedia into bankruptcy, according to the lawsuit.
iHeartMedia is asking the court for a trial date on or before April 1.
(Reuters) -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump refused to take responsibility on Sunday for clashes that have erupted at his campaign events, saying he was not inciting violence but giving voice to the anger of his supporters.
The real estate tycoon used a round of television appearances to beat back furious criticism from Republican rivals and Democrats alike that he was encouraging discord with divisive language disparaging Muslims and immigrants.
"I don't accept responsibility. I do not condone violence in any shape," Trump said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
The tension at his rallies, Trump said, came from people being "sick and tired" of American leadership that has cost them jobs through international trade deals, failed to defeat Islamic State terrorism and treats military veterans poorly.
"The people are angry at that - they're not angry about something I'm saying. I'm just the messenger," Trump said.
Trump, front-runner for the Republican nomination, appeared unchastened after simmering tensions between his supporters and protesters angry over his positions on immigration and Muslims erupted on Friday night, forcing him to cancel a Chicago rally and casting a shadow over his campaign appearances on Saturday.
The disturbances erupted days before the next five presidential nominating contests on Tuesday, which could cement the New York billionaire's lead over Republican rivals U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and Ohio Governor John Kasich.
The scenes in Chicago followed several weeks of violence at Trump rallies, in which protesters and journalists have been punched, tackled and hustled out of venues, raising concerns about security heading into the Nov. 8 presidential election to replace Democratic President Barack Obama.
Trump's rivals for the Republican nomination, as well as Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, heaped criticism on the New York billionaire after Friday's clashes.
Trump has harnessed the discontent of white, working class voters angry over international trade deals that cost them jobs. He has proposed building a wall along the southern U.S. border, disparaged some Mexican immigrants as criminals and advocated a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country.
On Sunday, he turned the criticism of his rallies against the protesters he called professional "disrupters" sent by Sanders, the U.S. senator from Vermont.
"Bernie Sanders is lying when he says his disruptors aren't told to go to my events. Be careful Bernie, or my supporters will go to yours!" Trump said on Twitter early on Sunday.
Sanders responded by warning that Trump has been an "incredibly divisive" figure whose "rhetoric is inciting violence." "So I really hope he tones it down. This is not good for the country," Sanders said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Trump showed no signs of toning down. He accused the protesters of arriving at his rallies armed with tomatoes to throw at him or of sticking their middle finger up.
Cumulus Media has announced that it has named radio programming professional and on-air personality BigMMike as Program Director and On-Air Host, Afternoons, for Urban-formatted WYNN 106.3 FM in Florence, SC.
“The BigMMike Show” will debut today and will air weekdays on WYNN-FM 106.3 from 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. BigMMike joins WYNN-FM 106.3 from WFXE-FM in Columbus, GA, where he was Program Director and Afternoon Drive Host. Prior to that, he made stops at Alpha Media’s KBTT-FM in Shreveport, LA; Reynolds Radio’s KBLZ-FM in Tyler-Longview, TX; and Entercom’s WXSS-FM in Milwaukee, WI.
Matt Scurry, Operations Manager for WYNN-FM said: “We searched nationwide for the perfect person to lead our on-air staff, and continue the growing success of the station…and we found him! BigMMike has a proven record of connecting with listeners on and off the air, and he brings leadership qualities that we’re excited to cultivate.”
BigMMike said: “I’m so GEEKED about this great opportunity! I’m looking forward to being the PD of such a legendary station, and returning to such an awesome company surrounded by an incredible staff. I want to thank Market Manager Craig Dalla Riva and Matt Scurry for believing in me. I’m ready to start WYNN’ing in Florence!
The civil trial brought by retired pro wrestler Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker continues this week. The defense will startits presentation today in a Tampe Courtroom.
The Hogan side rested its case Friday and ABC News brings the case up-to-date...
Bubba The Love Sponge Clem originally claimed that Hogan, whose real name is Terry Gene Bollea, knew that his sex tape was being recorded, with his then-wife Heather
But after striking a settlement with Hogan, Clem walked that back.
Clem, who has denied being responsible for the tape's leak, has resisted Gawker's efforts to call him as a witness in the civil trial vs. Gawker. Clem would be questioned about whether Hogan knew he was being filmed.
According to CNN, A lawyer for Clem filed a motion on Friday asking to be eliminated from the case. "Should these statements prove to be differing, and we do not concede that they are, Mr. Clem could be subject to a state prosecution for perjury or a federal false statement prosecution," the motion stated.
His attorney had previously said Clem intends to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to not testify against himself. Clem's request will be considered Monday.
In a statement put out on the first day of Hogan's civil trial against Gawker Media earlier this week, Gawker made a point to compare the $100 million sought by the plaintiff "with the $5,000 settlement that Bubba paid Hulk for the actual taping."
"I think it's telling that he settled with Bubba, who did the recording himself for only $5,000 and is now seeking against a company that presumably has deeper pockets a much, much larger sum," Heather Dietrick, Gawker's president and general counsel, told CNNMoney. "We, of course, think that the small bits of the tape we used are newsworthy and revealed something about this very public controversy."
Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields has resigned from the conservative news site over its response to her alleged assault by Donald Trump's campaign manager.
According to NBC News, her colleague Ben Shapiro also resigned from Breitbart, saying the site should be "ashamed" of "their treatment" of Fields, whose allegations of assault came amid escalating violence in and around Trump campaign events.
Fields accused Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski of grabbing her arm so hard she bruised as she attempted to question the candidate at an event. She wrote an account of the incident, as did a Washington Post reporter who said he witnessed it. Politico also published an audio transcript that purportedly captures the interaction and moments immediately afterward.
The Trump campaign fought back hard against the allegations. Lewandowski called Fields "delusional" and an "attention seeker," while Trump accused the reporter of having "made up" the incident. Fields, meanwhile, filed a police report.
In the immediate aftermath, another Breitbart reporter appeared to question Fields' allegations on Twitter. That reporter was suspended — and the news site's chief executive issued a statement backing Fields and calling on Lewandowski to apologize.
However, the site then published images questioning whether the Washington Post's Ben Terris misidentified Lewandowski as the person who may have physically assaulted Fields. Breitbart later published a piece purporting to show text messages from Lewandowski which it said "prove" he didn't assault Fields.
That appeared to be the final straw for Fields, who informed management of her resignation on Sunday night.
Her colleague Shapiro went further, saying Breitbart should be "ashamed" of themselves for abandoning and undercutting Fields in order to protect a "bully" — Trump — and his "bully campaign manager."
"Both Lewandowski and Trump maligned Michelle in the most repulsive fashion. Meanwhile, Breitbart News not only stood by and did nothing outside of tepidly asking for an apology, they then attempted to abandon Michelle by silencing staff from tweeting or talking about the issue," Shapiro said in a statement issued to Buzzfeed.
Global consumer spending for traditional media will continue to slow down to under a 1% growth rate in coming years -- while digital media consumer spending will maintain double-digit percentage annual hikes.
PQ Media says worldwide consumer spending on traditional media content and technology is expected to grow 0.9% by 2019 -- on a compounded annual growth rate -- to $597.4 billion.
Traditional media spend rose 1.9% in 2014 to around $571.5 billion.
By contrast, MediaPost reports digital media is expected to see strong gains -- 10.4% by 2019, on a compounded annual growth rate, to $1.42 trillion. Digital media content and technology had been growing at a 12% rate in 2014 to $863.2 billion.
Globally, media consumers are projected to spend, on average, just under $300 a year on media content and technology in 2016 -- with 65% going to digital content and technology and 35% going to traditional media spending.
By 2019, it is expected that total media and technology spending for global consumers will grow to around $350 per year.
Longtime Baltimore broadcast journalist Mary Beth Marsden is leaving WBAL 1090 AM after almost five years of anchoring its afternoon drivetime newscast.
Marsden, who joined WBAL in 2011, had previously been an anchorwoman at WMAR-TV (Channel 2) for 21 years. She left that job in 2009.
"It's just time," Marsden told The Baltimore Sun Sunday in a telephone interview confirming her departure.
She said her last day on-air was Friday. Her last official day at the station is March 18.
Marsden said she is not sure "what comes next" professionally.
The station is said to be considering changes in its on-air presentation and programming.
Marsden said only that her departure was "amicable."
Total revenues for the U.S. newspaper and magazine publishing industries dropped again in 2015, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. The latest round of declines, mostly due to continuing losses in print advertising, compound a decade of steady erosion in publishing revenues.
Newspaper publishers saw total revenues fall 3.8% from $28.1 billion in 2014 to $27 billion in 2015, according to the Census Bureau. The latter figure is down 44% from total revenues of $48.3 billion in 2007.
Total magazine publishing revenues fell 3.7% from $29.4 billion in 2014 to $28.3 billion in 2015. The latter figure is down 43% from $49.3 billion in 2007.
MediaPost reports Census Bureau figures don’t break out circulation and advertising revenues; however, results from big publishers confirm that most of the losses for both newspapers and magazines have resulted from drops in print ad revenue.
For example, Time Inc. posted a 6.6% decline in print advertising in the fourth quarter to $382 million, while the New York Times Co. also posted a 6.6% decline in print ad revenue.
With ad revenues declining and print circulation stagnant or declining, more publishers are turning to digital circulation revenues, hoping to monetize online readers with paywalls and digital subscriptions.
At the New York Times Co., total circulation revenues increased 1.3% in 2015, thanks to a 13.8% increase in revenues from digital subs, which contributed $192.7 million, and the company closed the year with around 1.1 million digital-only subs.
However, other publishers have struggled to replicate this success. For example, Gannett Co. ended the year with just 125,000 digital-only subs, while Tribune Publishing had only 81,000 at the end of the third quarter.
Westwood One will present exclusive coverage of the 2016 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship on Tuesday, March 15, 2016.
Full play-by-play action from all 67 men’s basketball games includes the First Four®, games from all eight first-round and second-round sites, plus the regional semifinals and finals. In addition, Westwood One will broadcast the NCAA Men’s Final Four® on Saturday, April 2, and the National Championship Game on Monday, April 4, live from NRG Stadium in Houston. Complete NCAA Men's tournament coverage can be heard on more than 500 radio stations nationwide and via SiriusXM radio. All 67 Division I men’s games will also be streamed online for free at NCAA.com/MarchMadness and on westwoodonesports.com. Additionally, the broadcasts will be available for fans on mobile devices via NCAA March Madness Live, TuneIn.com, and the free TuneIn app.
The trio of Kevin Kugler, Hall of Fame Coach John Thompson, and Clark Kellogg will announce all the action for the Final Four and the National Championship. Kellogg will be doing double-duty in Houston, simultaneously serving as a studio analyst for CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ television coverage. Immediately following the pregame show broadcast on the TV set, Kellogg will make his way courtside to the Westwood One radio broadcast position to join Kugler and Thompson. Then he will rejoin TV for halftime before repeating the process in the second half and postgame.
Kevin Kugler, Clark Kellog, John Thompson
Jim Gray will serve as courtside reporter and three-time NCAA Player of the Year and Hall of Famer Bill Walton will provide pregame, halftime, and postgame analysis for The Final Four® and the National Championship.
In addition to Kellogg and Thompson, Westwood One's coverage of NCAA® March Madness® also features a wealth of renowned commentators and analysts, including former All-Americans Jim Jackson, Kelly Tripucka, Dan Dickau, Eric Montross, and Kevin Grevey; former SEC Player of the Year Will Perdue; former Connecticut standout Donny Marshall; and former coaches Mike Montgomery, and P.J. Carlesimo.
The roster of tournament play-by-play announcers includes Kugler, Ian Eagle, Gary Cohen, Tom McCarthy, Scott Graham, John Sadak, Wayne Larrivee, Kevin Calabro, Brandon Gaudin,and Chris Carrino.
Jason Horowitz and Coach Bill Frieder will anchor the network coverage from Westwood One's New York City studios. Brad Heller will anchor Westwood One’s coverage on the satellite, online, and mobile platforms.
For a complete schedule of games, announcer bios, exclusive audio content, and a list of radio stations airing Westwood One’s broadcast of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship, log on to westwoodonesports.com.
SiriusXM, which has aired every game of the NCAA® Division I Men's Basketball Championship since 2005, has announced that it will offer expanded coverage for this year's tournament and will now also stream games via the SiriusXM app to give subscribers access to every game on their cell phones and other devices, in addition to their satellite radios.
SiriusXM listeners nationwide can hear every game in its entirety from the First Four® on March 15 and 16 through the Final Four® and national championship game in Houston on April 2 and 4. SiriusXM added the streaming rights with its recently renewed broadcast agreement with Westwood One, radio rights holder for the NCAA® Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
Access to the SiriusXM app may require a subscription upgrade. Tournament match-ups and SiriusXM channel assignments will be available at www.siriusxm.com/collegebasketballschedule starting Monday, March 14.
"We're thrilled to give our subscribers more ways to tune in to every NCAA Tournament game, ensuring that whether they are in their car, on their computer or on their phones, they will have access to every second of the excitement," said Steve Cohen, SiriusXM's SVP of Sports Programming.
Mike Krzyzewski
Throughout the tournament, SiriusXM College Sports Nation offers the most extensive and in-depth college basketball news and tournament talk available on radio. SiriusXM's 24/7 college sports channel showcases a lineup of expert analysts that includes former coaches Bobby Cremins, Tom Brennan and Steve Lappas, as well as National Championship-winning guard Mateen Cleaves.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who led the Blue Devils to a fifth National Championship last season, will continue to host his weekly SiriusXM show throughout the tournament. Basketball and Beyond with Coach K airs Thursdays at 6:00 pm ET on SiriusXM College Sports Nation.
SiriusXM will also offer coverage of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship, providing listeners with live play-by-play of every regional final, the Women's Final Four® and championship game.
All Men's and Women's NCAA Tournament broadcasts airing on SiriusXM are produced by Westwood One.
NCAA, First Four, Final Four, and Selection Sunday are trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Don Henley says an emotional performance with Jackson Browne at this year’s Grammy Awards will be the Eagles‘ last.
The surviving members gathered on that night in tribute to co-founder Glenn Frey, who co-wrote “Take It Easy” with Browne in the early ’70s. He died suddenly in January.
“That was the final farewell,” Henley tells the BBC. “I don’t think you’ll see us performing again. I think that was probably it. I think it was an appropriate farewell.”
Frey’s death, after years of stomach ailments, halted plans for an anniversary presentation of Hotel California, the multi-platinum album issued 40 years ago in 1976. Henley says the Eagles had been in discussion about presenting the project in its entirety as part of a new tour. “Obviously,” he adds, “that’s not going to happen now.”
Henley, meanwhile, has turned his attentions to an on-going solo career.
in 1912...bandleader Les Brown was born in Reinerton Pennsylvania. With his “Band of Renown” he is probably best known for his 50 year association with Bob Hope, on radio, TV & personal appearances. Also was musical director for Dean Martin for 10 years on TV. His record hits include Sentimental Journey, My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time, Leap Frog, & I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm. He died from lung cancer Jan 4, 2001 at age 88.
In 1922...orchestra leader/composer Les Baxter was born in Mexia Texas. Besides his extensive bigscreen resume, he arranged the early Nat King Cole hits, “Mona Lisa” and “Too Young,” and produced his own instrumental hits of the 50’s, “Ruby”, “Unchained Melody” and “The Poor People Of Paris.” In radio he was musical director for The Halls Of Ivy and the Bob Hope and Abbott and Costello shows. Baxter also wrote the “Whistle” theme for the TV show Lassie. He died at age 73 Jan 15 1996 of heart and kidney problems.
In 1922...KSD-AM, Saint Louis, Missouri, began broadcasting.
KSD-AM Original Studio, 1922
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch launched KSD in 1922, the first St. Louis station to obtain a broadcast license from the Department of Commerce, though WIL claims earlier operation as an amateur station.
KSD Transmitter 1922
According to route56.com, first as KSD, and now as KTRS, the station has been on 550 kHz since 1923, which probably gives it the longest record of occupancy on any one frequency of any United States radio station. With its 5000-watt signal and low frequency, KTRS actually has better daytime and nighttime coverage than 50,000-watt clear-channel station KMOX in much of Missouri.
Despite that great coverage, the Post-Dispatch let KSD slip in the 1970s and, on March 19, 1984, it even lost its historic call letters under Gannett ownership. After a short-lived all-news format, on which Gannett pulled the plug just as KSD was beginning to build an audience, KSD went to country and adopted the call letters KUSA. The call letters were restored by EZ Communications when it bought KSD-AM/FM in 1993.
The call letters were switched back to KSD on October 4, 1993.
Newspaper Ad 1936
Unfortunately, the station lost the call letters again when it was sold to the Dorsey Media Group of St. Louis. EZ's successor, American Radio Systems, retained the KSD call letters for use on KSD(FM), which is now owned by Clear Channel Communications.
In1923…In Regina, Saskatchewan, Pete Parker of CKCK Radio did the world's first play-by-play broadcast of a professional hockey game. Edmonton defeated Regina, 1-0.
In 1937...What was humorously billed as the "Battle of the Century" occurred when comedians Fred Allen & Jack Benny met on Radio. This episode focuses on the feud between Benny and Fred Allen. After the discussion turns to which one could take the other in a fight, Jack, Mary and Rochester drive out to Andy Devine's farm so that Jack can train there.
The feud was fake, of course. Benny and Allen got along fine, and mllked the feud for laughs for many years.
Dees began his radio career at a Greensboro radio station called WGBG while still in high school. He worked for various radio stations throughout the southeastern United States, including WXYC in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, WSGN in Birmingham, Alabama, and WKIX in Raleigh, North Carolina.
His introduction to the international entertainment arena began while working at WMPS 680 AM in Memphis, Tennessee, during the disco craze of the late 1970s, when he wrote and recorded "Disco Duck", the award-winning hit that sold more than six million copies. The song can be heard in Saturday Night Fever, in a brief scene in which a group of older people were learning to "move their feet to the disco beat". While this platinum recording earned him a People's Choice Award, and the BMI Award for record sales in one year, Dees was expressly forbidden from playing the song on the air by station management (rival stations refused to play it for fear of promoting their competition).
Dees was fired from WMPS when he mentioned that his song, "Disco Duck" was almost #1 and his own radio station would not let him play it. The station manager said it was a conflict of interest.
After a 45-day non-compete clause in his contract was satisfied, Dees was hired by RKO Radio to do the morning show at WHBQ AM 560 in Memphis.
The success of Dees at their Memphis radio station, combined with his TV appearances and hit music, motivated station owner RKO General to offer Rick the morning radio show in Los Angeles at 93KHJ AM. Dees helped their ratings, but AM music radio was rapidly losing ground to FM. When KHJ switched to country music, Rick Dees left KHJ, taking a morning position at KIIS-FM in July 1981. In a short time, he turned KIIS-FM into the #1 revenue-generating radio station in America, with an asset value approaching half a billion dollars. Dees garnered many accolades, including Billboard Radio Personality of the Year for ten years in a row.
He began his Weekly Top 40 countdown program, still currently in syndication, in September 1983; the show was created after Dees' station KIIS lost American Top 40 to a rival station over the playing of network commercials.
After 23 years on radio station KIIS-FM, Dees left in 2004 because of a contract dispute, and he was replaced by Ryan Seacrest.
Dees has garnered many accolades, including the prestigious Marconi Award, induction into both the National Radio Hall of Fame, and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall Of Fame. He is an inductee in the North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame, the the Tennessee Radio Hall Of Fame, has received the the Billboard Radio Personality Of The Year award for 10 consecutive years.
In 1972...Carole King won what’s known as the “Triple Crown” of the Grammys: album of the year for “Tapestry,” record of the year for “It’s Too Late” and song of the year for “You’ve Got A Friend.” She also won a fourth Grammy that year, for female pop vocal performance for “Tapestry.” Carly Simon won as Best New Artist.
In 1991...Radio talk-show host (CKEY-Toronto, WNBC-New York, the NBC Radio Network's weekend program Monitor)/announcer/narrator Brad Crandall died of kidney failure at 63. He joined WNBC in 1964 and stayed for about six years.
Frank Blair
In 1995...NBC announcer Frank Blair, who began in radio in the 1930’s and was the newscaster on NBC-TV’s “Today” show for more than 20 years, died at age 79. Blair began his broadcasting career in various radio stations in South Carolina in the 1930s. Blair joined station WOL in Washington, D.C. in 1937.
In 2002... WTJM 105.1 FM NYC switched from classic soul to Hip Hop. Today, the call letters are WWPR Power 105.1.
In 2008..former NBC announcer Mel Brandt died at age 88. From 1962 to 1975 his voice was heard speaking the words “The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC” with the NBC peacock filling the screen.
In 2011…While reminiscing about his experiences of going to a record store and buying vinyl discs, singer Jon Bon Jovi criticized the co-founder of Apple for introducing iTunes, saying "Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business."
Matt Scurry, Operations Manager for WYNN-FM said: “We searched nationwide for the perfect person to lead our on-air staff, and continue the growing success of the station…and we found him! BigMMike has a proven record of connecting with listeners on and off the air, and he brings leadership qualities that we’re excited to cultivate.”
She said her last day on-air was Friday. Her last official day at the station is March 18.
