By Still 16 (198.109.0.136) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 02:44 pm:

The "Lee Alan On the Horn" thread got me to thinking: When we think of the legendary DJ's of the 60's (Lee Alan, Tom Clay, Robin Seymour, Marc Avery, Martha Jean, Butterball, Jack the Bellboy, etc.)is there any radio personality today, local or otherwise, that captures the flavor and charisma of those 60's Jocks? I used to look forward to the DJ and his style ("The Cream of the Crop until 12 O'Clock," "I'm a Glum One," "Don Zee...two "E's" if you please," "The Ugly Little Prince.") as much I listened to the music. Today, with formula radio, we seem to be void of any real personality. One station sounds like another. Does anyone come close to being a real presence on the radio today? (Maybe Ramon with "Blues with A Feelin" on local WQBH from 6 - 9 pm.)

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 05:16 pm:

Still 16:
For the exception of a FEW radio "personalities" there are hardly any today who have picked up the torch from the 60's & 70's legends and carried it past the millenium's finish line. Mainly because radio is so damned corporate it practically discourages such uniqueness. There are exceptions - WCBS-FM here in NYC employs several local legends who dominated the airwaves during the 60s & 70s from Cousin Brucie Morrow to Dan Ingram. Over at WBLS-FM, Hal Jackson (of WLIB-WWRL fame) hosts "Sunday Classics" every weekend which is THE oldies show of NYC. As for today's jocks, there's very little personality.
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By STUBASS (206.135.204.2) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 05:28 pm:

GREETINGS: STEVE HARVEY OUT HERE IN LA DOES A GOOD JOB!!!...RICK DEES HAD A GOOD THING GOING...BUT SOMEHOW...SEEMED TO LOSE IT A BIT...I THINK IT WAS A DELAYED REACTION TO "DISCO DUCK"!!!...NOW...THE TREND HAS GONE TO "SHOCK JOCKS"...THE LIKES OF HOWARD STERN AND STEVE DAHL...PLUS...COMPUTERIZED AND SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMMING OF TODAY DOES NOT LEAVE MUCH ROOM FOR THE TRUE "RADIO PERSONALITIES" OF THE PAST...WHO COULD INTRODUCE YOU TO THE MUSIC IN A WAY THAT FIT THEIR INDIVIDUAL STYLE!!!...ALSO...WE MISS "THE REAL DON STEEL" HERE IN L.A.!!!...FINAL NOTE...THE "HIP HOP" SCENE IS TOO FRANTIC (SORRY ERNIE) FOR A TRUE...EASY GOING...FRIENDLY VOICED PERSONALITY TO PARTAKE!!!...STU

By Jim Feliciano in Detroit. (152.163.188.68) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 05:31 pm:

The question was: Any DJs today like the legends?
The answer is: NO.

By Sue (63.85.105.20) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 05:32 pm:

It was Raymone on WQBH AM in Detroit who was playing "I Just Don't Want to be Lonely" the other day ...you can hear great Philly soul, Detroit, Memphis, the whole thing on the Q, plus personality radio. So what that it's AM?

By Jim Feliciano in Detroit. (152.163.188.68) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 05:42 pm:

Again,
The question was: Any DJs today like the legends?
The answer is: NO.

By Sue (63.85.105.20) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 05:52 pm:

I hear an echo in here.

Raynome is on the air today.

By Chancellor of Soul (66.207.40.18) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 05:52 pm:

At this point Still 16, there are no great on the
air personality today like the ones I grew up
with such as the late Frankie Crocker, Hank
Spann, Rocky G, the late Eddie O'Jay, the late
Jerry Bledsoe, Hal Jackson as Kev Go mentioned,
and so on................ I wish there was a way
to turn back the hands of time (just for a minute)
to relive that golden era of sweet soul radio...
God, do I miss it !!!!!!!.............

Peace,
Mike Boone
(Chancellor of Soul)

By Jim Feliciano in Detroit. (152.163.188.68) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 06:09 pm:

Hi Sue,
What time is this "Raymone" on, WQBH AM? Never heard of him, I'll check this guy out.

Hey, not being sardonic towards anyone, just being redundant to the question, and of course, my response is most emphatic--without further adieu.

By Sue (63.85.105.20) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 06:12 pm:

Jim,
Being redundant means something is repetitive and unnecessary ...is that really the word you meant?

By Millie (68.40.209.129) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 07:06 pm:

Do any of you honestly think that the kids today will remember any of the dj's they listen to on the air now? Of course not...they won't remember any of them a year from now. What we had growing up was special...I used to listen to Lee Alan, Pat St. John, Robin Seymour, Jim Jeffries, Brother Bill Gable, etc., etc., and it all started with Jack the Bellboy Dave Shafer on WJBK Radio. The first time I heard Little Richard, The Coasters, Jimmy Reed, Bobby Blue Bland etc., was because my mother used to listen to the "Black" radio stations! She loved R&B and I grew to love it as well! Radio certainly isn't what it used to be nor will it ever be what it was again. Why? I don't know...it's a different world out there. I can also remember listening to ButterBall (Wade Briggs) on WCHB, and lucky for me, got to be good friends with Ernie Durham and Martha Jean...I miss those good old radio days as well as the music. I guess I might as well face it, I am not a kid anymore even though I act like one more times than not!!

By Jim Feliciano in Detroit. (152.163.188.68) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 07:13 pm:

Hi Sue,
Yes, while it might have been 'unnecessarily' repetitive, I was stressing my point twice in the response, to the very question at hand.

There may be 'legends' still on the radio today, as we may know of locally, like DICK PURTAN on WOMC 104.3, who has seemingly been on Detroit radio forever, since 1965, but there is no 'DJ', or DJs, on the radio today like those (former radio) 'legends'... like we knew of those former, which we hold 'dear' to the past.

TOP 40 'personality' radio, as we knew it on WKNR, CKLW, and WXYZ, is 'forever' a link to radio's former glorious heyday, and of course, it will never be a part of radio today, radio... as we now know it.

By Sue (205.188.209.38) on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - 07:44 pm:

Jim,
I'm just trying to figure out your syntax. I'm not sure how something can be redundant "to" a question?

As for radio in the future, I'm no mathematician but I'd hesitate to say "never" about anything.

By 65memories (198.109.0.136) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 08:28 am:

Sue...
Jim's right...kids today will never grow up remembering the radio personalities of today like we remember Frantic Ernie Durham, Cousin Brucie, Murray K, Lee Alan, etc. And that's really a shame. note to Jim: Ramone is heard locally on 1400 WQBH at 6 pm. on.

By Sue (64.12.97.7) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 09:03 am:

Sorry, 65 but I don't need Jim to tell me how great the djs of the '60s were.

You might want to check out a story I did in November:

http://www.detnews.com/2002/specialreport/0211/11/c01-6855.htm

But I think saying things like radio will "never" be the same is wrong. Who can see into the future? Plus it's the view of someone from a rocking chair who's letting their arteries harden.

The industry is in such turmoil right now and even the Justice Dept. is now investigating Clear Channel, after the January hearings in Congress, so I think a public backlash is going to have an effect. That and our next president will yank Michael Powell away from the FCC!

I try to have a foot in the present, and one in the past. If you don't listen to any current radio you might think it's all bad, but it isn't. Thayrone's Bone Harmony show on WEMU is fantastic, he plays old Fortune, lots of Detroit R&B, etc. Ditto Willy Wilson on WDET. And WQBH plays the old school I like with some new blues tunes mixed in.

"Little" Steven Van Zandt's syndicated show Sunday nights from 7-9 p.m. on WCSX in Detroit comes closest to the personality radio we knew in the '60s -- great music, both old and new! -- but Steven's between-songs patter is the big draw.

By 65 memories (198.109.0.136) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 10:04 am:

Sue...
I'm aware of the article and complimented you on it at the time. Your ability to impart info about that era is unsurpassed. And you're right about not knowing what the future will bring. And thanks for the info on the other shows.

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 02:01 pm:

Sue....
....speaking of legends, have you read Pat O'Day's book? And what did you think of it if you did?

By R&B (138.238.41.118) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 03:28 pm:

STILL 16,I DIG WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM,THE LEGENDS ARE GONE AND THERE ARE NO REPLACEMENTS.SOME LEGENDS OF D.C.RADIO{CLIFF HOLLAND,BOB KING,SUNNY JIM KELSEY,SOUL PAPA,NIGHTHAWK TERRY,HOT DOG,BOBBY BENNETT,MR.C,LEON THE LOVER,WHO CAME FROM DETROIT IN THE LATE 60'S.}THE CLOSEST D.J.TO THEM IS MO BETTER MAN FROM BALTIMORE WHO SPINS THE OLDIES.

By Sue (63.85.105.20) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 03:32 pm:

Doug,
No I don't know that book. Details?

By David Meikle (81.103.135.227) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 06:01 pm:

Here's a snap of the side of Ernie D's Campus Ballroom which sat across the way from Ralph's Tera Shirma Studios.

Ralph do recall being aware of his presence there or did that com later?

Ii wish I knew some thing about this place. It looks so large!

Can anyone help?

By Jim Feliciano in Detroit. (205.188.209.38) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 06:58 pm:

65memories,
I think that I'm a little too 'inherent' to the past, maybe that's the problem. I am not all that attuned to present day radio any more, I find that particular medium, more times than less, mostly boring, it's seems to me 'densely lacking' if I may use the term, to say the least.

Naturally, this is only an 'open' discussion forum, and some of us (as myself) may be less inclined to provide of certain information some may consider as worthy, 'appropriate' in whatever area, of whatever subject matter that may be in question.

And that's where I may fall short. But I've learned so much from many of these 'respondants' right here, of those that have done their work.

Thanks to David Meikle, Ralph, Ritchie (England)ue (our very own news reporter), Mel(and then some), the list is endless!

Of course, with due respect to Sue, nobody here is "trying to tell (her) how 'great' the DJs of the 60s are...", that alone, is a disclaimer we will always enjoy of sharing, because we were so fortunate to witness then, of what is no longer of the present now, in terms of the medium of 'present-day' radio, as it now exists.

In reference to the article, in which Sue had authored... that was one of the best attributes to Detroit's radio past, in my opinion, that was ever written, that I have ever read... and I say that sincerely!

I'll just tip my hat, to Sue... I appreciate her candor, and of her 'selfless' time she has shared with us right here, on www.soulfuldetroit.com.

One thing is certain, I've read all of Sue Whitall's articles on the status of radio, past and present, and of course... there WAS NO disputing of that particular lenghthy DETROIT NEWS piece!

But that is what this "www.souldetroit.com" discussion quorum is all about, and while I may not have much to share, of any given information, it's been a 'learning-process'for me... in which I've (humbly) enjoyed, being allowed to be (a very) small part of, always, even if it was just for a little while.

http://www.detnews.com/2002/specialreport/0211/11/a08-6360.htm

By SisDetroit (68.42.209.170) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 07:06 pm:

DMeikle - Is this building on Livernois near Fenkle and John C. Lodge Fwy? I went to Ernie's ballroom on a couple of occasions, but you know we were just interesting the music and in dancing. Ernie played great music, that's why he was so popular.

It's time now to get information on Jay Butler. Let's not wait until he has left us. He has been on the R&B radio for as long as I can remember. He is in the film SITSOM, and I know you've heard him on the Soundtrack. He is still active and we all love him.

By Russ Terrana (198.178.8.81) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 07:17 pm:

Wolfman Jack is a classic.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 07:40 pm:

Hey Russ!
About time we see you out here! What's happening?
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By 65 memories (66.72.186.35) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 10:20 pm:

Sue...thanks for all the information and making this such a spirited and interesting discussion.
Jim...I ditto your comments.
To Russ, Ed Wolfrum, Mike McLean and anyone else associated with a studio, please discuss the relationships studios had with top jocks, even after the payola mess. Even in the 60's, DJ's were still responsible for breaking out acts/hits, correct?

By Sue (64.12.97.7) on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - 10:41 pm:

Jim F.,

You have to excuse me; because I work in a word factory I can 'go McLean' about the way they're used and misused. I didn't disagree with you but was struggling to figure out what you were trying to say ... clarity is underrated. In my line of work, the best, old school editors smack you into next week if you use a ten dollar word when a fifty cent word will do the job.

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:37 am:

Sue.....
....Pat O'Day, in case anyone doesn't know, was a Seattle legend at KJR. I'll get the details of the book to you later---early shift today.

By David Meikle (213.122.122.242) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 08:45 am:

Sis

The main entrance was on Fenkell 30 yards from the intersection at Livernois.

Jim F

Thanks for acknowledging the efforts of those above.

I would also like to thank everyone else who collectively are making this one big learning zone.

David

By Eli (151.197.5.24) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 10:21 am:

In Philly Jocko Henderson was the first rapper with his "Eee tiddly yock, this is the jock, back on the scene with the record machine, saying ohh poppa doo how do yo do, etc..."
There have ben people who borrowed his style such as Jerry Blavat who developed his style as an extention of Jocko's style.
Kae Williams would wake everybody up by yelling
"Get out dat bed an get dat bread!"
He focoused on blues and gutbucket r&b and every once in a while he would say "here's a little something for all you pop folks out there " and would play a "white record" probably after a "fifty dollar handhake" by a promo man.

Georgie Woods was "the man with the goods" as he called himself.
He would blow whistles and ring bells and sing "Oh mary dont you weep" a lot.
Early on he actually mentioned the label that each record was on.
Tiger Rose was an early female jock who played r&b and later metamorphasised into Gospel Queen Louise Williams who was the wife of Jimmy Bishop who also was on WDAS and tagged himself JB the DJ
John Bandy who tagged himself"Lord Fauntleroy" took on a fake British Noble accent and led some to believe that he was from some aristocratic family and carried himself in a somewhat pompous, stately manner complete with an ascot!!.
The first time that I heard him talk"regular" through a closed door I nearly fell on the floor especially when he went back into character after exiting the meeting.
Larry Daly, Cannonball, LLoyd Fatman, rockin Robin who gave me my first big break by playing my early records, lovely man.

On the pop side there was Joe Niagra who stole his "rockin bird" tag from Rockin Robin, Hy Lit who had the tag Hyski Oroony mcvaddio zoot!!
Of course the afforementioned Jerry Blavat"the geator with the heater"
Not many of the white jocks had colorful persona except for the afforementioned oned.

By Bob Olhsson (68.32.96.67) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 10:39 am:

I don't think it's fair to say that nobody's picked up the ball. It's really all about economics.

A classic personality DJ is a star in their own right who can demand star-level wages and take a huge audience to a different station if the owners won't comply. When there was real competition in radio, stations NEEDED star DJs. Now that there isn't any competition, stations go out of their way to not allow anybody become a star.

Combine this with the use of focus groups to determine what will be allowed on the air rather than actual record sales and you've got an effective formula for destroying the quality of what used to be called "popular" music.

By KevGo (64.115.26.80) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 10:57 am:

Hey Bobby!
Don't forget our man Joe "Butterball" Tamburro at WDAS!
Kevin Goins - KevGo

By Sue (63.85.105.20) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 11:56 am:

Bobby,
By "Rockin' Robin," do you mean Robin Seymour? And what station was Jocko on?

By Sue (63.85.105.20) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 01:04 pm:

...And any fans of Martha Jean the Queen out there?

By JSG (4.60.51.82) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 05:49 pm:

Hunter Hancock and The Magnificent Montague of KGFJ in Los Angeles are two legendary soul DJ"s

By Ralph (209.240.198.62) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 05:55 pm:

David,
I suppose I was aware of Frantic Ernie's place but in all honesty I don't recall thinking anything noteworthy about it. Maybe I just took it for granted at the time. It amazes me how much WAS taken for granted in those days.

Sue..I was a HUGE Martha Jean fan..you betcha.

By Sue (63.85.105.20) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:13 pm:

Ralph --

What did you like? Prosperity day? Buzz the Fuzz? The Paul's Cut Rate Drugs ads?

By Sue (63.85.105.20) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:15 pm:

Ralph --

What did you like? Prosperity day? Buzz the Fuzz? The Paul's Cut Rate Drugs ads?

By Sue (63.85.105.20) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:16 pm:

Oh man I've never done that before ...that's what happens when you multi task (talk to two people AND post)

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:28 pm:

Sue....
....Take Robyn Seymore's "Recommended Record Stores", Dave Schaffer's teen dances times 50, and add a little Scott Regan and you still don't have Pat O'Day. He was a fixture at KJR for 15-18 years, booked 50+ teen dances a week through a company that became Concerts West (who booked Jimi Hendrix everywhere) and was considered to be at one time the largest concert booking operation in the U.S..
He's written a book called "It Was All Just Rock And Roll" that I haven't seen yet. The local library doesn't have it, and it goes for $140 a shot. This was one of those guys who made (Wailers, Ventures, Sonics) or broke bands not only in the Northwest, but across the country.
At a bill and a half, I'm not going to even think of buying this thing until I find a decent revue.

By Sue (152.163.188.68) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 08:25 pm:

Oh nonononono no way, no way those are fighting words ...you mentioned three of my favorites, Robin Seymour, Scotty Regen and Dave Schafer.

No possible way. Should I list how many bands these guys broke?

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 08:47 pm:

Sue....
......I didn't mean to knock Robin, Scotty, and Dave. Remember, I grew up with these guys too. But Pat had an influence over the northwest rock scene between about '59 and '74 unmatched by any SINGLE DJ I can think of.
Try this site www.kjrseattle.com
It's the classic KJR site (I was playing the jingles--my wife was singing along), and has a very good bio of Pat on it.

By Sue (152.163.188.68) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 08:51 pm:

No I can't look, no way is he better than any of those guys ...

By 65 memories (66.72.186.100) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 10:27 pm:

Sue...
Do you rememember the sock hops at the Walled Lake Casino? In Carson's book, there is an interesting story from Lee Alan (I think)about Chuck Berry playing there. When I was a teenager at St. Dennis parish in Royal Oak we couldn't get top acts or anyone like Alan or Sebastian or Tom Clay to do a sock hop. But we did get Keener mid-level DJ's like Jerry Goodwin (and every once in a while a young guy (at the time) who some of you know named Ed Wolfrum, who seemed then to own about a thousand and two 45's).
('65 memories)
Gary Torgerson

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 10:34 pm:

65 memories....
......did you ever go to Dave Schafer's shows at the Riverside Rec in Windsor? Those were some interesting dances.
Sue.....
.....the funny thing is that I don't like O'Day's style. He's not horribly funny, his voice grates on me something fierce (kinda like the way Barney Pipp's did on WCFofL), but out here, he's a GOD. And as I understand the story, he got Chip Hanauer his first unlimited boat ride. O'Day's a hydro legend out here too. That site is worth a look.

By 65 memories (66.72.186.100) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 11:07 pm:

douglasm...
no, but i did listen to Dave Shafer when he was "Jack the Bellboy" on WJBK 1500 AM and continued to listen to him when he moved to CKLW in the 60's.

By Sue (64.12.97.7) on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 11:24 pm:

'65..
I was too young to go to the Walled Lake Casino, but I listened to the radio ads avidly on my radio, and envied all you sophisticates who were swinging the night away there while I was in my footed jammies. Lee Alan was good, he made it sound like the best party in the entire universe ...

Doug, nonononono that guy may be worshiped in the northwest but he can't come close to Scotty, Dave or Robin.

By Eli (151.197.39.250) on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 03:35 am:

Sue,
Rockin Robin was Fred Robinson on What in Philly and Jocko was on Wdas in Philly and Wwrl in NYC.
His son is Doug Henderson who has been with Wdas for years.

By Sue (64.12.97.7) on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 08:23 am:

Bobby,
Ok thanks -- I don't remember him, I moved from Philly at an early age. I remember the "Wibbage" guys and Jerry Blavat ..

By dvdmike (65.208.234.61) on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 08:57 am:

In Chicago in the days when AM was king, we had the WVON Good Guys like Herb Kent, Lucky Cordell, Richard Pegue, Ed "Nassau" Cook", E. Rodney Jones and Bill "Butterball" Crane. Pre-Soul Train Don Cornelius was an announcer for the station in the late sixties. WGES had the legendary Al Benson, who was a little before my time, but when I was a teenager he was still active, doing promo ads for WVON. Daddy-O Daylie and Sid McCoy played jazz at WAAF. On the AM Top 40 side, we had WLS and WCFL and jocks like Larry Lujack, Clark Weber, Dick Biondi, Robert E. Lee, Bob Christy and Howard Miller.

By dvdmike (65.208.234.61) on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 09:02 am:

During the late-sixties thru the mid-seventies, Herb Kent at WVON had some funny characters and skits. There were The Electric Crazy People, The Wahoo Man, Black tycoon Rudolph Browner and The Gym Shoe Creeper, a super hero who would punish the bad guys by making them sniff his shoes. Al Benson did promo ads for Stotland's Furniture, Harold's Chicken Shack and Leon's Barbecue, all South Side, Black-owned establishments.

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 07:00 pm:

Joel Sebastian, Ron Britian, Larry Lujack (I used to get stuck in traffic to listen to him), Pat O'Day, Scott Regan, Bob Greene, "Big" Jim Edwards--even in the Drake format the jocks were unique--J. Michael Wilson, the list is endless, and I don't think anyone can match them. It's a sad state of affairs when I can name a bunch of talk radio hosts, and can't think of one current excellent personality jock.
By the way, no one has mentioned one of my favorites, Gary Stevens. He still in New York?

By Jim G (64.12.97.7) on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 09:33 pm:

Of all the Keener & Wixie jocks, Gary Stevens was my favorite.
He had a great sense of humor and his energy level was sometimes way over the top!

By douglasm (68.113.15.28) on Friday, February 21, 2003 - 10:40 pm:

,,,,AH HA!
.....maybe that's the difference. The jocks today (especially the "morning zoo" type) are over the top in an uncontroled way, where Regan and Stevens and early Purtin used a sort of controled chaos. They could get wild and crazy, but not stupid.

By 65 memories (66.72.182.178) on Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 09:47 am:

Sue...
Good article this morning about Martha Jean the Queen. Now I know why you whet my appetite concerning her career with your comments earlier this week. Maybe you can provide the internet page so others may get to know this radio legend.
"You betcha."
Gary Torgerson