One time ago I was having lunch at the old Romanelli Grill in Waldo…
And as I looked over at owner Joe MacCabe I asked, “Do you miss the old KY 102 days?” He waited a moment, looked out the window as the rain came down and then said, ”Whaddayou think?” then turned and walked back into the kitchen.
Rock and Roll baby!
Deejays like Max Floyd, Dick and Jay, Randy Railey, Frankie, Katie, and then at the top of the hour – for the ten thousandth time – STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN!!!
Thirty years ago if you had your windows down at a stoplight, loved Rock and Roll but your Pioneer Super Tuner was on the fritz, no problem.
Because every one at the stoplight would be blasting KY 102 at 110 DB with 40% total harmonic distortion.
For the better part of three decades the personalities, music, humor and unbridled optimism of KY 102 was the Baby Boomer soundtrack to Kansas City life.
With eminence grise Max Floyd setting the tone for an irreverent and hilarious format, KY was there with us when we graduated from High School, chased each other through water holes, got married and raised families.
There’ been s a great deal of discussion on KCC about radio station sales and changes in ownership.
So I thought it might be nice to post a picture of some radio folks who some of us knew really well, for a really long time. People who made life better in good times and bad.
Here is a picture of some of those folks at the former KY 102, enjoy…
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Check out this “Television Field Car” from the 1940’s…
You can read, ”WDAF -TV” right above “The Kansas City Star.”
Who was “scooping” who back then when they were car pooling for breaking news? Those were salad days indeed for Kansas City journalists. Compared to now certainly.
And what’s with the cage on top? Did they buy the car used from Fred Sanford? Did they get it from the Vatican, like a used Popemoble?
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In December of 1971, the Blue Ridge Cinema opened featuring “4 Motion Picture Theaters Under One Roof!” Seating 1,250 people, the emphasis was on “Family Entertainment.”
If you ever went in there, you may remember the huge chandelier in the lobby. I thought about the Blue Ridge Cinema when I hung the two chandeliers at the Raphael on the Plaza a couple years back. And the lighting was pretty cool inside and out for a structure built in the 1970’s.
At one time, shopping malls were a “Great Notion.” Now, with the exception of Oak Park Mall, they’re deader than Paul Newman.
No, not everything old will necessarily be new again.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
sorry chuck…the hate rants will get you more comments and recognition!
Chuck, The Star owned WDAF at one time before the SCOUS put kibosh on newspapers owning TV/radio stations. The “cage” is a platform for the tv camera to do remotes. In those days the camera was a little smaller than the car.
Plus in those days KMBC and WHB shared Channel 9.
Remember having a hard time accepting Kousin Ken was also Ken Motley the Noon News guy (the weatherman was The Professor on the cartoon show).
Got a Stealer’s Wheel album from Vaughn Mac right before I went to Philadelphia.
Fred Brotski used to run Van Brunt Recreation for Russ from time to time.
Do you ever listen to Planet Radio on the internet? It is put out by Randy Railey. I think you would probably like it.
I will check it out.
“Chuck, The Star owned WDAF at one time before the SCOUS put kibosh on newspapers owning TV/radio stations. The “cage” is a platform for the tv camera to do remotes. In those days the camera was a little smaller than the car.”
I did not know that.
🙂
In KC, we all have an unjustified inferiority complex. Kansas City was home to the first Witness Protection program in the nation.
John Thomas, meet Merlin Olsen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_Olsen
What a truly great story! Really takes ya back!
good ol’ ky102. what a great line-up of talent for years. dick and jay in the a.m. were great then max in the afternoon drive. some of the mid-day guys I forget except randy. can’t recall either when Skid joined the clan…sometime after max moved to morning drive?
Where did you find that awesome theatre advertisement? I would love to have something like that. I loved that theatre! It was the place to go in my youth.
I think she is getting them off of reddit.
I saw every movie of my youth there.
From Disney’s “Snowball Express”, to every Pink Panther movie, I clocked a LOT of hours there.
Loved the big arching columns, and the tungsten up-lighting that would melt your Keds if stood on them too long.
Dick & Jay in the AM, and the Electric Lunch with Joe McCabe, then Max blowing up disco every afternoon at 3PM.
Those truly were the days. Thanks chuck!
🙂
And Friday’s at around 5:55—for umteen years—-it was ‘Jack Goes To The Movies.’
Thanks for the story Chuck. Brought back memories of fun and good times in my life.
Thats right!
🙂
orget ky!
where’s glazer now that the royals are on a binge? where’s his prediction?
he can run …but he can’t hide!
Glazer: you need some lessons from the “real” handicapper on picking teams.
My friend John Enriquez had just won a KY-102 “Partyville” hat recently. One windy night at the reservoir, it blew off his head, and went off the bluff, headed for Cliff Drive below.
Being as the new had not yet worn off, John really loved that hat, so, drunker than 4 pygmies on a skateboard, John leaps after it.
Thankfully, the trees broke his fall, and he only sustained minor injuries, and was up staggering around with a bloody face, shaking the dust off his new hat by the time we got around to him.
Good times….
Nice story Chuck. Good memories.
🙂
I dearly miss KY102. And those great big theaters…were there four in the area? I remember the one at Truman Corners….very sad to see it go.
Nice job, Chuck! You need to tell the H man that lions dont lose sleep over the opinions of sheep. Well done.
🙂
Does anybody remember Bree Bushaw on KY week nights before Vaughn Mac’s all nite show would start? I think she was there from 1976-79. Gorgeous lady, great voice, very cool…. kind of looked like Tawny Kitean from the “Whitesnake” music videos I won a Contest to co-host her show one night in 1976 in the KY studios with her and had a blast….. Bree went on to become Bree Walker, an award winning San Diego TV anchorwoman who I think is still in the biz….
Nice article Chuck!
🙂
It’s Raley, but not to squabble. We were the kings and queens of the universe. I’m glad most of us are still around. And http://www.planetradio.us just logged it’s largest listening month ever in May. Can’t wait to see the June numbers. We play The Carpenters, Black Sabbath, Jim Croce, Metallica, John Denver, Zappa, etc (but not back to back). Available on iTunes radio, win amp, tunein and nobex apps. 7,000 songs and 1270 unique artists. Even have our own facebook page. Thanks for the plug. Cheers to all and we just might be putting together a nice 40th reunion for KY in the fall. Details very soon.
Oops.
Sorry.
no probs, been called worse, for sure.
this is why I must – MUST – add an internet radio rec’vr to my kitchen stack with the Bose, iPod and sat receiver.
“kings and queens of the universe”… we listeners loved it, best thing on radio, and were your loyal subjects!
hope the reunion works out randy. but, I’m still struggling to remember some of the mid-day crew – paul fredrocks, McCabe, stan….?
Ray Sherman did mid days, too.
Mike planetradio is available through your iphone and android too. just download the tunein app, search for planetradio.us and bingo! there it is. Cheers. Sounds pretty sweet too
She was married to sportscaster Jim Lampley for years. We had a large talented group walk those halls. As the Small Faces once said “…it’s all too beautiful…”
“Anyone who has ever kicked a trash can across a room after trying to get the Internal Revenue Service to explain a tax rule, or been through one of its exfoliating audits, gained a champion in Rep. Paul Ryan on Friday. At a Ways and Means Committee hearing investigating how the IRS lost thousands of emails sought by congressional investigators, the Wisconsin congressman lost it. He emptied his frustration and anger over IRS Commissioner John Koskinen like he was flushing a radiator. ”
Perhaps it is the blind-squirrel-finds-nut-syndrome but the Republicans are right in their criticism of IRS record keeping.
I wait on pins-and-needles for harley to dissect this one by a Liberal site.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/06/paul_ryan_yells_at_irs_commissioner_john_koskinen_the_hypocrisy_angers_most.html
Great link, Orphan. Not sure why you posted this here as opposed to Wilson’s piece on Alonzo Washington where the IRS issue was brought up but glad you shared this. Liberal or Conservative, I think most Americans would take pleasure in seeing an IRS commissioner get dressed down, and deservedly so. Without commenting on the IRS investigation of these organizations, I do think the Administrations’ response to the issue has been misguided.
Not looking to have any political discussion here when Chuck’s focus was on KY-102. Chuck is more than capable of lighting a political wildfire on his own.
Thanks again, Orphan, for a great link.