The Phantoms loved to
party a way too much
We’d lost our focus
and were out of touch.

Had to so something
before it was too late
Maybe a name change
would also change our fate

So far, I’ve had some great years but none of them come close to 1964 when my whole world changed. I married my childhood sweetheart, saw the Beatles, signed a recording contract, began my radio career, and met Jim Hilliard. So Frank nailed it when he sang my song, “It Was A Very Good Year”
However, before my world exploded, I was still living at home, and even though I was making money playing with my band, my father insisted that I also needed to get a real job. As he said to me many times, “Son, we Johns men work for a living; we don’t play guitar.” Unfortunately, for him, it meant that he had to find most of my jobs because I could never manage to find one that I liked. He, of course, didn’t have that problem, he didn’t care if I liked the work or not.

With my father’s continuing support, 🙂 I ended working at a bunch of different jobs which included my becoming the Assistant Manager of a bowling alley. What made this job so strange was that I didn’t know anything about bowling. Being an enterprising kind of guy though, I decided to see how far up the ladder the assistant manager’s title would take me. So it was a no brainer when I spotted a new bowling alley being built, of course, I applied for the GM’s job.
What made this particular bowling alley cool was that it was also going to have a pool room and pool I knew about. Hell, I got my formal education at a pool hall on my way home from school every day.

My interview with the new owners went well, but before they could consider me, I had to be a certified bowling instructor. So it was “Hi Ho, Hi Ho” it’s off to bowling school I go. I crushed the course and got certified, (see below) but seeing as the bowling alley was still under construction, it would be a while before I would know whether they were going to offer me the job or not. I was in no rush because as I said, I wasn’t hurting for money, but the part I loved the most was that my folks were off my back about me finding a job. I’d figured out early that fame usually leads to fortune, so I always made sure that the venue hired a dee-jay from CKY to MC our dances which resulted in our getting an enormous amount of on-air publicity.
The way it worked at the dances was the dee-jays would kick the evening off by throwing out a bunch of records to the crowd, introduce us, and before we finished our first tune, they’d be gone. Then the following Monday I would bring their money to them at the radio station.
On this particular life-changing Monday, I was at the CKY studios around noon to give Mark Parr (pictured above) his appearance fee. Embree McDermid, who was at the front desk, told me that Mark was waiting for me in the FM studio where he was filling in for the FM board op who was on his lunch break.
Once we got the business part out of the way, Mark asked if I’d ever run a radio board and when I told him that I hadn’t, he put me in the chair and proceeded to show me. It all seemed simple enough and was going well until he spotted Deno Corrie in another studio and said, “I’ll be right back.”
Can you spell PANIC? Everything was running at once and I had no idea what was on the air. I was frantically waving at Mark but he was too busy yucking it up with Deno to notice me.
To make matters worse, all of a sudden several “suits” walked into the studio. I was told later that one of the suits was the owner who was there proudly showing off his brand new 360,000-watt radio station to all his old cronies. Wouldn’t he have freaked out had he known that the kid piloting his new flame thrower, only had about ten minutes of radio experience?
When they finally left, I took a deep breath and slowly started to sort things out and by the time Mark got back, everything was running smoothly and all he said was, “See, I knew you wouldn’t have any problems kid; you’re a natural.”
Mark pestered everybody until they finally hired me as a part-time board op which didn’t pay much but I was thrilled and of course, had no idea that I had just embarked on what I’d be doing for the rest of my life. My good news though wasn’t good news for my Mom because when she overheard on the phone telling the bowling alley guys, “Thanks but no thanks, I’m a radio guy now” (pictured below) she cried.

GEO’S LIFE-LINES

When and who was it that decided that the rich people on the losing side of a war, never lost anything? Oh, and how come Cuba and Israel didn’t buy into that concept?

How long do you suppose it will be until the overused word, “racist” finally burns out?

When you stumble, just make it part of your act and keep on dancin’.

Is it just me or do the folks who are in charge of how much everybody makes, tend to overpay themselves?

What successful company bought out by another company ever become better? Sure hasn’t happened in radio.

Women used to know their place, but I actually had to tell my daughters that they needed to get up to the front of the line.

Does anybody know in days hours or minutes how long coming soon is?

For the last decade or so, we’ve been fighting the war in the desert door to door, yet the military still wants more money from congress to build faster airplanes and bigger warships. What are they for?

COMMENTS

Bob Christy: On December 30th, 1994, I was driving to a meeting with our station’s attorneys in Wellesley, MA. I was on the Mass Pike and had dialed around the radio checking things out, KISS, EEI, WBZ regular programming on the air. I turned on WBUR, Boston University’s NPR station and they are doing wall to wall coverage of a shooting at an abortion clinic in Brookline. I listened for a few minutes and turned back to WBZ, nothing. I called Len Malo at our station and told him what was going on, he checked it out and broke in on the air with a bulletin. I went back to WBZ, still nothing…I knew at that moment the clock was ticking on the number one radio news outlet in Boston. It took WBZ a half hour to catch up. The funny thing or maybe not so funny is at the time WBZ was in the same building as WBZ TV who was all over the story. WBUR is the top radio news station in Boston today. They are on top of breaking news and do brilliant deep-dive coverage of stories as well. The long-form stories they did on the Whitey Bulger trial were excellent Today in LA If KPCC in Pasadena had a better signal, they’d be on top on radio news in LA in short order. The thing that all these NPR news operations have in common is a total commitment to news, and they get great demographics by doing it. Fred Heckman once told me, “if there is a column of smoke in the sky and you can’t tell them why it’s there, you’re finished.” it’s still true today and always will be. (Write The Wrongs)

Talked my friend Rolly
into playing bass
Added Pete Fade and Gordy
then picked up the pace

Long before I ever even thought about getting into radio, I was a musician. First I played the accordion, then the trumpet, but when I saw Elvis on TV, I just had to become a guitar man. Shortly after buying my first guitar, I was invited to join a singing group called “Shayne and the Devines.” It was kinda fun starting my musical career as one of the Devines but being more of a band guy than a vocalist, I talked Shayne into recruiting some of my talented musician friends.
On tenor sax, we got the guy who started me playing music, Pete Proskurnik, who brought along his buddy Gordy Duke who was a drummer. I talked my friend Rolly Blaquiere, (Termite) originally a piano man, into playing bass and his brother Lawrence (Fade) on the piano.

Now that we were a band and not a vocal group, the name Devines sounded wimpy so we changed it to Shayne and the Rebel Raiders. Then when we realized that the Rebel Raiders sounded much too southern for a Canadian band, we became the Phantoms.
My Mom made us some very cool blue satin tux jackets, (see above) so not only were we sounding good, we were lookin’ good too. However, when Shayne heard that it wasn’t Shayne and the Phantoms, he walked and we replaced him with an Elvis like singer named Donny Burns (pictured above) and also added another sax player named Jimmy Harrison.

We were starting to sound pretty good and I thought that the only thing that would make us sound better, would be some more rehearsals maybe. Then I spotted Perry Waksvik at a variety show, and if memory serves me correctly, I believe that he tried to recruit Rolly for his band, so I recruited him for ours.
Perry not only had great guitar chops, but he also sang all those cool Chuck Berry songs which would give us some variety. I moved over to rhythm and within weeks, we became one of Winnipeg’s most popular bands, and I stumbled across a philosophy that I would use for the rest of my life. “He who is smart enough to hire people better than themselves is the smartest person in the room.”

Is it racist to have good thoughts about somebody just because of their race?

With greatness comes great responsibility.

The only people who tell the truth all the time are kids and drunks.

How much money can there be in Tobasco Sauce when you only use it one drop at a time?

The next thing you should do is that which you’re afraid to do.

Want the boss to notice you?Take the blame for something, you’ll be the only one in that line.

Who gave the prosecutors the right to plea bargain? I don’t remember voting for it.

Encouragement moves the world forward, criticism stalls the progress.

We do everything online now except the thing that would change the world. Vote! 

Isn’t it strange that Ringo is referred to now as the arrogant Beatle even though he has the least to be arrogant about? 

Inconsistencies are good if done consistently.

I’ve been called a lot of things, but Daddy is my favorite.

True happiness is most often attained while working on a cause that you truly believe in.

When you’re rich, it doesn’t matter who’s in power because you can buy your way in or out of almost anything.

Good things usually happen to people who try to make things happen.

I believe that the people who are the best in the world at anything should be overly compensated, no matter the circumstances.

Bruce Walker: Hi George, Interesting conversation with Randy about Fred Turner. I bet Randy was listening to a band I was playing with at that time called Purple Haze. Fred told me that Randy wanted him to go out West and join his group.  I said pack your bags and get going.  It wasn’t long after that the band broke up and Fred went to join Randy.  Fred was not sure about leaving Winnipeg since he had just gotten married.  We met a few days later, and he was still in town.  I again told him to get out West, and he finally did it.  I really don’t think that my prodding had a huge part in his decision, but I’m glad he did it. He’s a great guy. (The “I” Word Didn’t Work For Jesus Either)

Gary Russell: The older you get, the smarter you become. It’s starting to get scary, Geo. Great stuff! (The “I” Word Didn’t Work For Jesus Either)

Geo: Thank You, Gar, unfortunately, what I know comes mostly from painful experiences, and I’ve still got all the scars to prove it. Miss you, Man!

Moto: I dunno – it seems to me that playing everybody’s favorite song is only possible in the Bizarro World.  However, playing those songs that everyone will tolerate is sadly the key to radio. Hence, Pandora rules. (Radio Radio Radio)

Geo: Exactly Moto, Better you should play what they like rather than what they love. As you know, hate is but a heartbeat away.

Jim Davis: Further addendum to your “The Three Words That Women Like to Hear”:
-“You’re right.”
-“I’m wrong.”
-“And, I’m sorry” (Angel Baby, My Angel Baby)

Scott Shannon: I’ve been reading your babbling diatribes for some time now, and without a doubt, this one is your very best. It brought tears to my eyes. (Seventeen, Seventeen, Prettiest Girl I’ve Ever Seen)

Geo: Wow! Making the great Scott Shannon weep is now the highlight of my career. 🙂

Tim Moore: At 29, arriving in Dallas to assume my student role as VP Sales for the TM Companies,
I was enveloped by “KVIL / Ron Chapman” buzz in the halls on Regal Row, I asked myself, “geez…how great could this be? I’ve grown up on CKLW, WLS, and WRIF!”
I listened for a week and thought to myself, “nice show but not a big deal.” Then I listened for two months, stood back, and said, “This is the most brilliantly conceived show on the most brilliantly conceived radio station in America.” I understated it. (Hall Of Fame Baby)

John Ryman: Made my day hearing that Ron was going into the National Radio Hall Of Fame and hearing that you were going to do the introduction even delighted me more.  I’ve known Ron for a long time….since he became a “forced” mentor to me when Bob Hanna bought the station where I was PD  in the early 70s, I later moved to Dallas and made the transition into sales/mgt.  You only know me by name but first met you in the hallway outside of the KVIL entrance in the Park Cities Bank building (I was then in the office next door). Ron and I still touch base occasionally, but I’ve followed both of your accomplishments throughout the years, and never cease to be amazed. I still try to contribute to the industry, but no one seems to listen much anymore.  It’s heartbreaking to witness the evolution…or should we say the dissolution? (Hall Of Fame Baby)

Bill Gilliand: Geez Georgie Boy, Cami’s a chip off the old block! There must be a gene for writing. (To Tat Or Not To Tat)