[BC] Philly Radio - small world story

[James Potter]

Ron: Small world --

Lots of coincidences here. In 1968-69 I worked for WFIL CE Irv Ross as a Drexel co-op job.  He signed my FCC First (when there was one). Ray McCoy was Asst. CE, and my immediate supervisor.  I worked in WFIL-FM and babysat the tape automation system and produced commercials. That was a union job and great pay for a college kid!  Interesting to hear you crossed paths with Amb. Annenburg & wife. He owned Triangle Publications which owned the Phila. Inquirer newspaper.  He endowed journalism schools around the country.  Quite a gentleman. I felt honored to meet him and be chewed-out for dust on top of the remote metering rack. He literally wore white gloves -- a legend in the BC biz.

Always wondered how Dick Clark got his start.  His name is big here in Branson, MO. He has most of the radio and TV production sewn-up for the entertainment venues.  The commercials you see around the country for Branson are made by Dick's production company.  My friends in high school used to go to his Bandstand TV show on WFIL Chan 6 at the old Arena at 46th and Market Sts. in downtown Philly.

A mile away, I worked '65-'69 for CE Bob Hoy at WHAT AM & FM, later changed to WWDB-FM (the call letter change a gift from the staff to owners William & Dolly Banks).  Sid Mark noted 'What a mouthful!' at the Christmas party when it changed.  Sid is still making syndicated programs in NYC and I talked to him a while back. He remembered me through the fog of the decades. I said 'Those were the good old days, Sid.'  He replied: 'Yeah, too bad we didn't know it back then.'  Alas. WDAS, owned by Max D. Leon,  was a half-mile to the east. It got real dangerous around there the night Malcom X was shot in NYC.  'HAT was billed as a black format station, and there were some hostile lurkers in the parking lot -- we called the Philly cops for escort to the Expressway then home. 

At 'HAT, I worked with the "Geater With The Heater / The Big Boss with the Hot Sauce," and other notorious notables like Soul Sound Sonny Hopson (Yes Sah!  Yes Sah!)  The Geater was a crazy character, later owner of WCAM, Camden -- an subsequent criminal (drugs, pimp, brandishing a gun at a cop during a car stop).  He liked me and gave me colorful shirts so I would play his show tapes when he wasn't there.  Always had to adjust the heads on our reel-to-reel machines, because his home recording alignment was always off.  He later started the Jerry Blavit School of Broadcasting in downtown Philly -- fleecing the unsuspecting students with stars in their eyes.  The reason Jerry paid for his airtime was because that was his deal with the station-- not a comment on his quality, his show was popular -- the spots he ran were his and he billed them for his pocket. I'm surprised you could hear 'HAT at night -- it was single-stick 1kW day, 250W night with the tower behind the studio on Conshohocken Avenue. When we moved the FM over to the Roxboro antenna farm, I could stand outside the TX shack over there and see 'HAT's tower beacon but couldn't copy the signal through all the other crud on that channel -- 1340. 

As to the WIBG towers -- I had a girlfriend who lived about two miles away, and we could sit in her back yard and see the Wibbage 990 five in-lines plus the 560 WFIL three in-lines.  (Sounds like Rene Tetro has been there for decades -- eh, Rene?) I thought it was fascinating just watching those red lights flash -- it was hypnotic.  The Rock-n-roll from those stations in the '60s was the all-time best. My girlfriend had other -- better -- ideas (:->))  

The Lure of the Magic of Radio -- and the passage of time since.  Ah, youth!

Regards/J