After some months of reviewing my previous laid back performance and tuning my style to an updated station format I relaxed into more of a morning radio sound. (And perhaps drank more coffee.) The results were tangible in the ratings. I dominated the market with an Arbitron rated 36 share and Radio & Records magazine named me Top-40 Secondary Market Personality of The Year in 1977. I also got a job offer from the legendary WFIL in Philadelphia. (A phone call that came the same morning that we purchased our first house.... I turned them down because of that.)

Listening to this makes me wonder how I ever got hired. Coming from a laid back AOR (Album Oriented Rock) station I was definitely laid back, and using that signature affected 70's DJ voice. But,,, here is the first morning I was on the air at KCRG. Starting with the sign-on, National Anthem and all. (Remember when radio stations weren't on 24 hours a day? Ironically this particular recording of the National Anthem was the same one I used to listen to on my transistor radio in Marietta, Ohio when WMOA signed off, (I was probably about 13 years old) I then played it when I was the guy signing off WMOA... my first job in radio.) This includes an eclectic mix of songs played in their entirety. (Hit your snooze alarm now.) I remember the radio sales manager Red Rizor telling PD Ric Sellers that I'd be great if they could "light a fire" under me. (Listen to the next air check to hear the results some months later .)

This ends with my production of a contest promo where I was trying to emulate the sound of "The Last Contest" with phasing and flanging the track while doing my best KCBQ impression. (Okay... trying to.) Listen to the later years at KCRG to hear my evolution.

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My talk radio skills evolved after the gauntlet of three months of nightly programs. This night my guest was Councilman Jerry Springer who had been Mayor of Cincinnati in 1977-78. (Yes... THAT Jerry Springer.) He was on my show several times and one time during a commercial break he leaned back in his chair and said to me "This is fun. I think I'd like to do this. (be a talk show host)" The rest is history.

The switch is on to TALK radio at WLW. There had been a "Sports Talk" show tat ran for an hour in the early evening with Phil Sampp and Bob Trumpy, but this was new for the market and for me. This is the first talk show I hosted. (produced, scheduled, engineered, screened calls, etc.) It was literally a one man band. Compared to talk radio today it was very primitive. I did everything myself including letting in-studio guests in by going down to the lobby three floors down to let them in the front door during network news at the top of the hour. (That was when I could go to the bathroom too!) I could write a book about that chapter of my career.

No 800 number for callers, no cell phones; so they had to stop at a phone booth or call from home, no board operator, no call screener, the "tape delay" was literally a bog loop of tape that ran from one Ampex 350 recorder to another, it was a busy few hours for me.

I probably shouldn't have stayed with a sports theme as it confused some, but this one was "Do people take sports too seriously?" I had a University of Cincinnati psychology professor as a guest so I had something to fall back on if nobody called in. (A real problem in talk radio back then.) But to my surprise we got calls! Because it was a 50,000 watt signal, having an audience of 38 states helped.

I'm sure a lot of people had no problem falling asleep listening to this.

It's February 3, 1980, a Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati. The weather is cold, gas prices are climbing, the Iran hostage crisis is underway, President Carter has submitted his new budget, in sports there's basketball. Here's an aircheck of part of that 6 hour show that day. Yes, an actual live person on the air that long with no satellite feed. Even so, I was the only person there, doing it all, and in complete control of a 50,000 watt radio station. It still amazes me that they trusted me that much.

"American Hot Wax Weekend" continues and it's the day of the big St. Patrick's parade! It was also the debut of the WKRC traffic helicopter. Randy Michaels is in studio with me and has a few comments about the 55KRC Mobile Studio.

After my contract expired at WLW, I was in discussion with Taft Broadcasting PD Randy Michaels about a position at Y95 in Tampa. ( I had offers from WWWE - Cleveland, and WLCY - Tampa, pending.) He needed a weekend shift filled at 55KRC, so I did that for a while. This was my first shift to get used to running the board (The DJ used to run everything... even at bigger stations.) before moving to daytime.

This has that true AM radio sound. The static adds authenticity to the "American Hot Wax" weekend playlist.

More country morning radio.

My regular shift was afternoon drive. This continues my vacation fill-in morning show week.

More country music morning radio.