Earlier in the week, I’d put together a tape together at the company’s headquarters in Indianapolis utilizing some of the great voices we had at WIBC and WNAP. I did a couple of two-man newscasts using stuff out of the two Dallas papers, mixed in a few commercials, added some killer promos voiced by Chuck Riley and sweetened it with some beautiful jingles from Hugh Heller. Next, I added a new form of music which would later be called Adult Contemporary.
Once all the elements were blended perfectly, I started inserting some local content from Ron off the tapes the GM had sent me. I had lots of stuff like weather, traffic, what was going on in town and the Cowboys. As Ron took you around the format clock, he, of course, hit all the posts, hey he ain’t no rookie.
Besides Bill and Ron, (Ron is now in three radio hall of fame’s) we also had a bunch great talent like, Mike Selden, Jack Schell, Larry Dixon, Major Tom Lewis, Cat Simon, Andy McCollum, Bob Morrison, Ben Laurie, Suzie Humphrey, Bill Mercer, Billy Bob Harris, along with so many others who also are now enshrined in the Texas Radio Hall Of Fame.
Then, of course, there was the time Ron did his show underwater with seven sharks when folks were afraid to go into their pools because of the movie Jaws. Next, he decided to do his first ever parachute jump live on the air which made the newscasts on all three networks. Speaking of billboards again, do I dare mention the naked one of Mike Selden which went up right across the street from a nunnery which put us in the newspapers and back on TV again.
As I think back now about how great KVIL and its Hall of Fame staff sounded, I’m not aware that the station ever won an award. Hey, but I guess to win you have to enter huh? Hell, we were too busy winning the rating game to do that. R.I.P Kay Ville, you were a fine girl.
LIFE-LINERS
My only fear about someday exiting the planet is that nobody will care about my kids as much as I do.
When a girl gets engaged, the first thing she needs to stop doing is saying, “Well my Dad says.”
The only thing stronger than any religion or country is your family
The Democrats are in such a state about Trump that they forgot to find us, somebody, to vote for.
Twenty years ago I had no idea who was a Republican or Democrat but, unfortunately, I sure do today.
Some people today are still saying that they wish Hillary were president, but I shudder at the thought. Hell, even Michelle Obama said, “Hillary, If you can’t manage your own house, how are you gonna manage the white house?”
What I can’t understand is when the French took the land from the Indians in Canada the French didn’t change their language, but when the Brits took it from the French, somehow Canada had to become bilingual?
When a lawyer knows that his client is guilty of a horrendous crime, but uses every legal trick to get him off. Should he fail, I think that he should suffer the same consequences as his client.
If anybody doubts that our government works for big business, just check out who got bonus checks when the Feds bailed them out with our tax dollars.
Do liberals really like Arabs more than Russians? Weren’t the Arabs the ones who brought down the twin towers and are continuing to kill people all over the world?
How are we sure that the FBI and CIA aren’t just thugs with credentials?
I love how the Media who bash Trump, get offended when he bashes them.
Women love money much more then men do, hell we only use it to attract them.
There’s no way an American woman is gonna go back to how it used to be a thousand tears ago. The Muslims might as well move on.
If you were a pedophile wouldn’t you become a Preist?
Content is King but if you’re not a great performer, give it to someone who is, it would be a shame to waste it.
The Godfather movie was long but not near long enough.
For sneak peeks at new blogs or to see some that you may have missed, go to GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio and doing a new Blog with Bob Christy called Writing Radio’s Wrongs. Sharing and commenting is appreciated.
Yes, some forms of electric-powered vehicles is the future in the coming decade, but in the colder climates, the sticking point is still “range” and charging stations. Battery performance declines with temperature, so winter vehicle range is lower by perhaps as much as 30 %. The promised breakthrougs in rechargeable batteries has not materialized despite eight-years of funding by the Obama administration and the number of available charging stations still haven’t achieved critical mass. For example, Elon Musk’s Tesla has only three (3) charging stations in and around Indianapolis, two (2) in Zionsville and one (1) in Greenwood, on the southside. For $ 2.500.00, a charging station for your home can be purchased, then one has to pay an electrician to install the charger in your garage. If you can afford a Tesla, then you can probably afford to buy and install the charger…but I have not heard what the cost per kilowatt-hour is to one’s electric bill to charge the vehicle. The demise of the internal combustion engine is still way off, in my opinion.
Yes, they have to figure out how to make charging them easier Jed like maybe having the charger built right in so that you can plug them in anywhere.
Makes too much sense..
🙂
In 47 years of competing in good markets on fine radio stations (and still at it), nothing was ever so daunting as trying to pierce the impenetrable legend bubble of KVIL while at 106.1 from 86-88. You knew you were in trouble when you you found yourself listening to the competition, not for reconnaissance, but because you liked it. I was actually sad when heard that somehow the legend had slipped into history. Success is fragile and fleeting…even for the best.
So true John, thanks for the read and the listens.
Geo, that’s where it all started for me: fall 1977 recruited by the vaunted TM Companies (Regal Row) to come to DFW from northern Michigan! TM’s VP Jerry Atchley flew up to beautiful Charlevoix overlooking the harbor, saying I’d been nominated to him by several people, and, TM couldn’t figure out why our station was using so much Masterplan and Producer Library material. He asked that I just fly to Dallas and spend a couple of days; “if I didn’t want the job, it would be okay.” I was 27.
Well, 2 days inside the TM studios and TM Programming hallways convinced me it was an incredible opportunity. But the REAL education came after moving there. I kept hearing hall buzz…”KVIL this,” “KIVIL that,” “Ron Chapman…” and so it went. Thus is asked my top sales guy Mike Baer, “What is so great about KVIL?” He looked at me like I was retarded and in his Texas drawl asked, “Have you LISTENED man?” I pledge to do it.
Over the first 2-3 days I said to myself, “okay, its upbeat, positive, but…” Then, after a full week I told Mike Baer it was the greatest, most complete, totally aligned station I’d ever heard. When after three years I returned to Michigan to launch my own 100,000 watt “106 KHQ” (Coastal NW Michigan) I unabashedly took everything I learned from you, Fairbanks, and Ron and applied it. I even had Ron on my Morning Show! Oh…when the first-ever Arbitron in that 7 county, 21 station regional market along the beautiful Lake Michigan coast, KHQ scored a 14 12-plus, and won every female demo that mattered.
That all led to our large consultancy today, whereby we still refer to principles of “cinematic radio” and KVIL. As well, I was very proud to nominate Ron to the NAB when they asked my about a Hall of Fame suggestion. Thank God they agreed!
Tim, you probably understand KVIL better than those of us who created it. You were outside the forest listening to it while the rest of us were inside trying to make it happen.
Kurt Johnson
Thanks for the story/obit. It was a sad day here in D when she passed. I am grateful I got to spend a few years in the PD chair with Kay. She was grand, classy, and a real presence in any room.
That she was Kurt.
What a staff! Chapman in mornings, Gardner in afternoons. Great information teams. Incredible, almost unbelievable promotions. KVIL was the BIG-D. If you’d done nothing else in your career, that station alone would have made it worthwhile. It would win today if they’d let you do it again.
Lucky for us Doug we had a great leader by the name of Jim Hilliard who demanded great radio.
Never worked for the station, George, but admired it from “afar” during the two years I spent in sales at KOAX and two in sales at KLVU. My introduction to the Fairbanks way started during my years at Butler University in Indianapolis where everyone in the Radio/TV department was enamored with WNAP/WIBC. KVIL was cut from the same cloth. Today when I start missing the great sounds I punch up over two hours of WNAP air checks I have or the fall 1981 version of Ron Chapman’s “promo majora”…the 25-minute “here’s what’s coming up this season on KVIL”. Competing against them wasn’t fun. Thanks for the memories.
Thanks for the kind words, Scott.