This Site Primarily Contains a Collection of Airchecks of Numerous Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) Radio Stations, Some Recorded Off The Air by Rick Burnett and Many Others Recorded or Provided by Other Contributors to This Site (see footnote at bottom). The Contribution of Recordings and Materials are Greatly Appreciated and Have Made this Site a Bookmark for Those Interested in Radio From this Era. Explore the many recordings on this site by using the menu at the left side of the screen. Should you have material to contribute, Please Email: Rick1031(at)HotMail.com Note: Substitute @ for the "(at)" when typing email address
WDGY's old Bloomington studio/transmitter site sign. Click on Photo to go to a site with old bloomington antenna site and transmitter photos put together by Aaron White. Once there, scroll down.
The Old WDGY 1130 AM
Scroll down for Airchecks and photos.
If you look up WDGY on the web site Wikipedia, you will find the following history:
The station is the oldest continuously operating station in the state, dating to December 23, 1923 when Dr. George W. Young signed on with the call lettersKFMT. Dr. Young cycled through the names WHAT, WGWY ("W-George W. Young"), and finally WDGY ("W-Dr. George Young") in the next two years until being chastised by the government for changing too frequently. The station kept the name WDGY until 1991. WDGY operated on a number of different frequencies before settling onto 1130 AM in 1941. More recently, KFAN experienced severe storm damage in April 2004 at their transmission site, with four out of nine antennas at their directional array in Credit River Township (near Prior Lake, Minnesota) getting blown down.
In 1933, Dr. Young was granted a license for W9XAT, an experimental mechanical television station. It is believed that the first transmission of the 120- or 125-line system—probably the first telecast in Minnesota—occurred on August 4 of that year, featuring a handshake between WDGY station personality Clellan Card and Minneapolis mayor William Kunze. The station pushed the technological limits of the day and provided a lot of interesting exercises for WDGY engineers, but Dr. Young never got into regular broadcasts. The license for that station expired in 1938, partly because mechanical television development was heavily discouraged by that point. After 64 years of dormancy, an amateur radio group in the area acquired the W9XAT call sign in 2002 with the intention of using it for mechanical and narrow-bandwidth TV experiments.
The station was one of the first stations in the country to program rock and roll music in a top 40 format in the mid 1950s. It was then owned by Todd Storz, one of the pioneers in programming to the baby boom generation with music that theretofor had been rarely heard on "white" radio stations. Storz's stations were heavy on promotion, headline-grabbing contests, and high profile dee-jays (usually using echo-chamber microphones). Other Twin Cities station owners resented the attention WDGY received, but soon they too jumped on the top-40 bandwagon. Later they would admit that the Todd Storz they often disparaged very well may have saved radio at a time when television was stealing its audience.
WDGY gained the (perhaps unfortunate) nickname Weegee after a time. By the 1960s, the station didn't use the name itself, but the name stuck among people in the radio industry for many years to come. From about 1955 to 1977, the station played popular music and was one of the most popular stations in the area, primarily competing for music listeners with KSTP 1500 and KDWB 630, though WCCO 830 was the major force of the day with a mixture of music, talk, and farm reports. WDGY station changed to a country music format in September1977, around the time when most music stations began shifting onto the FM band. The country format continued until 1989, when it became "News Talk 1130, WDGY". This format gradually morphed into the sports talk format, and the calls were changed to KFAN in 1991. Following this change, the WDGY call letters were ironically adopted by KDWB for the 630 kHz frequency.
Curtis J. Johnson, Former WDGY 20/20 Newscaster
Interview at The Pavek Museum
Conducted June 28th 2018
Curtis J. Johnson sits down with Twin Cities Radio Airchecks website creator, Rick Burnett to discuss his career in radio, starting from high-school with concentration on his work at WDGY in the late 1960's as a 20/20 newsman. Curt discusses his early career and talks about his time at WDGY and shares some stories about the people he worked with during his career. You will hear Curt share stories on WDGY personalities, including Jim Dandy, Rich Holter, George Young and others.
Unfortunately, there is a short period of time with lower quality sound, which is corrected quickly. However, you can still hear what is being discussed and the sound for the WDGY portion of the interview is unaffected.
(Posted 8-27-18)
The History of Radio in 10 Minutes Unknown Date
It was recorded before 1965 because you can hear comments by Todd Storz about 10 minutes into this 11:30 long recording. You will also hear Chuck Blore comment about Color Radio. This takes you back to the beginning and bring you up to Top 40 radio. This tape was found at WDGY's basement at the old studio at the Blooming transmitter site (long gone and replaced by housing).
Contributed by Judy Dibble, formerly of WDGY
Judy Dibble, formerly of WDGY, Sent me this newsprint photo of the Beatles WDGY news conference with the WDGY mic in good position. Her email is below:
Hi, Rick:
Attached is a photocopy of a photo taken at the WDGY Beatles News Conference in Bloomington, MN in 1965. This copy was given to me by a friend, Ed Christian. His brother (left) and two other of Bloomington's finest were picked as security guards that day. I didn't attend the concert, but videos attest that the screaming was so loud, you could hardly hear the music when the Beatles played at Metropolitan Stadium. WDGY gave away tickets to see this new group who was taking the U.S. by storm. The mic flags were made of metal with clips that attached them to the mics.
Judy Dibble
For a video of a portion of the WDGY News Conference go the the following YouTube link: CLICK HERE
Click on Image to Enlarge
Contributed by Judy Dibble, formerly of WDGY. Posted April 2008
WDGY Mid 1960's Promotional Photos
Judy Dibble sent these photos from a promotional piece. Judy states:
"These were promotional pieces used by the sales department. These and other pieces were created to introduce the various components of WDGY to prospective clients."
Press the play button to start the slide show.
Image:
WDGY J J Bowman January 1968 - with Curtis J Johnson 20/20 News
This aircheck has a good sampling of the 'DGY Much More Music jingles along with some WDGY promo announcements on the Winter Carnival and 20/20 news covering al the school closings during the winter. A portion of Curtis J. Johnson's 20/20 newscast was saved on this recording. 1968 was a different time. I remember J J Bowman and his upbeat style, but do not recall how long he stayed at WDGY.
Contributor requested to have name withheld.
Judy Dibble just sent some more photos. Great shots of the prodution room, studio and newsroom.
Johnny Canton photo comments by Judy Dibble:
Johnny Canton in the WDGY control room. Notice the Catman poster on the upper wall. The Catman was Tom Bernard who at one time was a record rep (Capitol Records, I think). He was a captivating jock on WDGY. He has been at KQRS in the Twin Cities for years, doing the morning show. Tom did the best impression of Muhammad Ali I have ever heard.
Donald K. Martin Comments from Judy Dibble:
Donald K. Martin reading the news in the WDGY newsroom.
WDGY Production Room Comments by Judy Dibble: Donald K. Martin, edting tape in the WDGY production room, lower level. In those days, you used a razor blade to edit the tapes. Don did news, but also did the morning show on WDGY with Charlie Van Dyke. One of the funniest men I have ever met and a great country singer as well. Don has been in real estate for many years in the Twin Cities.
Contributed by Judy Dibble, formerly of WDGY (10-3-07)
Johnny Canton in the main WDGY Control Room (1970's)
WDGY's Donald K. Martin at the newsroom mic. (1970's)
The WDGY Production Room. This was in the basement of the old bloominton studio/transmitter site. Don K. Martin is in this photo. (1960's)
The WDGY All Americans
Judy Dibble has sent me more material from the old WDGY basement at the Studio/Transmitter site in Bloomington.
WDGY Air Staff Photo #1 Judy Dibble writes: This was the air staff posing for a promotional photo. Left to right: B. Mason Dean (Robert Gross). After WDGY, he went to KRUX in Phoenix, where he got me a job in Traffic (scheduling commercials). He and his wife were dear friends of mine. After KRUX, he went to San Bernardino, CA and after that, I lost track.
Perry St. John. Great guy who loved to laugh. He died from complications from bypass surgery about nine years ago, I think.
Jim Dandy (James Evertz). Wonderful personality who had no fears about insulting anyone. The high school kids loved him. He called the girls at Richfield High School "skags". White socks were in. I think Scott told me he had gone into law practice.
Scott Burton ("The Boss Sound of Scott"). Program Director and commanding personality. Great guy who knew how to program a radio station.
George Young (John Dotas). Given the on-air name in remembrance of the founder of WDGY, Dr. George Young. A gentle sort of a man - classy. After he left the air. he went into sales at WDGY. I think he's in the Midwest five-state area somewhere.
WDGY Air Staff Photo #2 - Judy Dibble Writes: Left to right:
Jim Dandy, Perry St. John, Scott Burton, George Young, B. Mason Dean
WDGY's Johnny Dollar Photo - Judy writes: This is a photo of Johnny Dollar with, I'm guessing, a WDGY winner. This was in the early 1960's - I'm guessing 1964 or 1965.
Thanks Judy
Photos contributed by Judy Dibble, formerly of WDGY. (10-1-07)
Mid 60's WDGY air staff photo No. 1
Mid 60's WDGY air staff photo No 2
Mid 60's photo of WDGY's Johnny Dollar on the back of a Honda being driven by a constest winner.
Judy Dibble Comes Through Again
Thanks Judy for sending this material
Beatles Concert Photos of the Fab Four in 1966 with local radio talend from Cleveland's WIXY radio - Note a young Johnny Canton and Jerry Brooke who both went on to work at WDGY
Article on Scott Burton's injury during a WDGY promotional event. Note the article actually prints his home address.
WDGY Hit Car - Late 60's. Who is this guy? CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
WDGY Promotion Car Late 1960's
Do you remember when WDGY passed out freebies form the DGY car? When this car rolled up to your driveway, you got some DGY goodies. Who is that WDGY gift giver???
The contributer, 'wild wilson' a/k/a as 'wildman' has his onw internet polka radio show. If he plays Polk music, He must be a true Minnesotan.
Photos contributed by Wil Man Wilson of Richfield, MN. You can hear his internat polka show at http://247polkaheaven.com
This photo was taken as the car pulls into the driveway on a Richfield winter day. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
WDGY Hit Car Photo Contributor, Wild Wilson. Nicked named Wildman, he has an internet polka show. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
WDGY-AM photos taken during my in studio visits in 1968-69. The Studios and transmitter were located on Interstate 35 South in Bloomington, a little south of the 98th street exit. Today it is the site of homes and condos. Scroll down past the photos for the WDGY airchecks.
WDGY - Gene Leader 1969
I do not remember much about Gene Leader. This shot was taken around 1969 one weekend when Gene allowed some of my fellow pirate radio friends and me to visit him on the air. This shot of him in the WDGY DJ control room is one of the better quality shots showing the Gates control board.
Recently a couple of people provided some additional info on Gene Leader. One was Deane Johnson, Former GM of KDWB. Deane emailed that Leader's real name is Gene "Mean Gene" Okerlund and he is well known as an announcer for the WWF. Deane also provided the following link on Gene's background. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Okerlund
Mike Cunningham, former Operations Manager at KTCR-FM also sent me an entertaining YouTube link showing a wrestling promo of Mean Gene interviewing "Mad Dog" for the WWF. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwXJ89-qD6g
This shot of the news room was taken through the DJ control room glass window. You can barely make out the news desk control board and mic.
WDGY News Room Shot from DJ Control Room - 1969
Unfortunately, this shot suffers from poor exposure. It was taken with one of those Mid-1960's Polaroid cameras. You can see the full shot of the turntables with their massive tone arms.
WDGY Studio Control Room 1969
WDGY Production Room 1969
In 1969, WDGY's production room was located in the basement. Again, I apologize for the quality. This is the best I could do with the poor exposure using photo editing tools. The turntables are in the left foreground. The control board (using slider pots) was in the left middle of the shot and two reel to reels in the middle right. I was able to get this shot during a visit to see Jimmy Reed.
WDGY 1130 Minneapolis (Scroll Down For Airchecks)
WDGY was owned by Storz Broadcasting and when they started it jukebox format of plying the hits again and again, they gave WCCO a run for the money. You can view more history by clicking the following web address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFAN_%28AM%29 And also at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WDGY
This page contains some rare tapes recorded off the air during the 50's 60's and 70's. I hope you enjoy them. As always, they are free. They are posted here for historical examples of top 40 radio from one of the originators, Storz. I was a young kid when I first listened to WDGY and KDWB. I sent time at my grandparents lake home on Rush Lake (60 miles north of St. Paul). Since KDWB did not cover the area as well as WDGY, that was the station my uncle listened to continuously. Also my parents listened to WDGY in the mid to late 50's and on the long drive to the lake as well. I remember singing Mack the Knife with my aunt as it was playing on WDGY during our ride back to St. Paul from Rush Lake one Sunday evening. In the 60 I later converted to KDWB, but still listened to WDGY.
Some of the soon to be converted files include more airchecks of DJ's from WDGY, KDWB and others. I encourage you to check back from time to time. As always, these recordings will be available at no charge to you. Unfortunately, I have started to notice some of these posted airchecks from my personal collection are now being sold on eBay, when they are available at this site free.
I was delighted to find this old tape of Scott Burton on WDGY sometime in 1968. I recorded this on a cheap Mayfair 3-inch reel to reel after school one day. I have to apologize for the interruptions in some of the Burton patter. I was not trying to make an aircheck; I was trying to just record the music.
On this too brief aircheck, you will hear the Boss Sound of Scott on More Music, WDGY. I wish I had some more of this. I have tried to find Scott Burton airchecks without luck. Let me know if you have one: Rick1031@hotmail.com
I remember taking a tour of the WDGY studios in 67 or 68 when Johnny Canton was on the air. While there, Scott Burton showed up. It was near the time he had a motorcycle accident and he was still using a cane to get around. I last heard that Scott ended up as a GM at a Phoenix station and has retired some years ago in Scottsdale. Not sure where he is now.
Recorded off the air by Rick Burnett
Scott Burton
The Passing of Scott Burton - Formerly of WDGY
Burton, Scott Gary 71, lost his courageous battle with cancer on 3/26/08. A resident of Maricopa, AZ. He is survived by wife, Arlene; son, Scott and wife, Doreen; son, Marc and wife, Nan; 8 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson. Gone before are his parents, Scott and Mary Burton, Uncle Jim and Aunt Irene Wadhams, and his dog, Marlow. Scott had a long career in broadcasting in Minneapolis, Cleveland, Washington, DC, St. Louis, San Francisco, San Diego and Phoenix and retired in 1994. A private memorial will be held on April 5th at The Province Town Hall in Maricopa, AZ.
Published in the Star Tribune on 3/30/2008.
Nan Burton sent me an email to advise of Scott's passing. Nan writes that Scott passed away on March 26, 2008 after a year-long courageous battle with cancer.
Nan says that Scott fought very bravely, maintained a positive and upbeat attitude throughout his treatment, and still was able to enjoy his life and his family. He did have some difficult times at the very end, but his struggle is now over, and the family is grateful for that. One message he shared with the family is that he wanted to be remembered with smiles and not tears. Nan says he was adamant about it.
Nan said she will share some of Scott's airchecks for posting on this site in the future.
You can hear a very short aircheck of Scott Burton on the WDGY 1130 Page on this site (Scroll down about half way). You can go to the recording direct link by clicking here. This recording was recorded off the air by Rick Burnett (Web site host). Scott is also one of the featured aircecks when I was a guest on WCCO's Al Malmberg Show September 21st. It is near the beginning of the 1st hour and you can hear that be clicking here. This version sounds a little better with some noise edited out.
The Scott Burton December 1965 aircheck (under photo to the left) was contributed and recorded off the air by Dick Sigurdson in December 1965 and sent for posting on 3-31-08.
Radio Stories - WDGY's Donald K. Martin Fools Scott Burton With Capote Imitation
Donald K. Martin worked with Scott Burton when Scott was the PD at WDGY doing AM drive. We exchanged emails in April 2008 after Scott pass away and gave me permission to share a story about working with Scott with you. ___________________________________________________ From: Miniapple@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 10:52 AM
To: rick1031@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: Guest Book for Scott Gary Burton
Rick,
Thanks so much for the response to my e-mail, and for the kind words.
I do believe we did have the first of the top forty station two man morning shows, at least in the Twin Cities, other than CCO. In fact, I was just doing news in the mornings, when Scott was doing his morning show, and then one day, I secretly called his special phone line to record my imitation of Truman Capote, with a comment for Scott. He taped the call, didn't know it was me, and used it on the air. I did it several times before Scott discovered it was actually me, and that's what started me doing character bits for his show. After he left WDGY, he actually called me a few times from his new position in Washington DC to have me do some bits for him over the phone. It was fun, and by then, Charlie was on the mornings, and I did the news and the bits. I sure miss those days. As you commented in Scott's Guest book...they don't seem to do radio like that anymore.
Thanks again for the response...and thanks for the great website! I do enjoy it!
Don Martin _________________________________________ Thanks Don for letting me share on the site. Rick B.
Donald K. Martin at The Pavek Hall of Fame Dinner, October 2006. CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Johnny Dollar
Bob Moomey (Johnny Dollar on WDGY in the Mid 60's) 11-17-1936 to 1-19-2008 Robert Dean (Bob) Moomey passed away unexpectedly from natural causes January 10, 2008, after being rushed by his daughter to a Thousand Oaks, CA. hospital. The former broadcasting and renowned media and communications training expert was 71 years of age. Bob is survived by daughter Kirsten and grandson Jonathan of Valencia, CA. as well as a brother Richard in Haymarket, VA and a sister Marian in Palo Alto, CA. Bob’s beloved wife and the light of his life for nearly 47 years, Sally, preceded him, passing away in 2006. A resident of Westlake Village, CA. since 2000, he was born November 17, 1936 in Chesterfield, Nebraska where he grew up. Bob’s contributions in life involved work with nearly half of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies and extended around the world. Over the years he and his strategic partners helped prepare thousands of company CEO’s and executives for national news broadcasts, executive media training, presentations, and in crisis management skills. Bob’s interest in broadcast communications and the news media started in his early teens becoming a radio personality and subsequent manager at a variety of radio stations. Bob met his late wife Sally in Nebraska. They married, started a family and lived in the Chicago area for 35 years. In 2000, Bob and his wife Sally moved to Westlake Village, CA to be closer to their daughter and grandson. During his broadcasting years, Bob worked both on and off the microphone in Nebraska, California, Washington, Minnesota, Indiana and Illinois. His Mutual Radio Network program “On the Homefront” was heard over 300 stations nationwide in the early 1980’s. A long-time member of the Screen Actors Guild and American Society of Television and Radio Artists, Bob’s deep, rich voice attracted advertisers and producers who hired him to perform in a variety of television and radio commercials, and industrial films. In the 1970’s, Bob, along with a team of journalism professionals and Northwestern University professors, defined the basic concepts necessary for companies, organizations and individuals to deal with, and be treated objectively, by the news media when covering news stories. To this day, these communications guidelines are considered the most effective by many companies around the globe. After several years as Program Manager for Westinghouse Broadcasting’s WIND Radio in Chicago, Bob turned his enormous talent and set up a consulting business to train and coach people in different industries. Bob Moomey Communications was formed. Bob was very proud that many of his clients had been with him for decades. Bob enjoyed flying as a private pilot early in life and loved to attend major air shows. He was fascinated with auto racing and helped media train members of the Goodyear racing teams and airships squadron. Moomey was written about in publications like the Wall Street Journal, Investors Daily, the New York and trade publications. He loved the theater and supported the passion of his wife, daughter and grandson for community theatre productions in Illinois and California. Bob Moomey’s compassion and caring manner remains in the memories of friends, clients and industry colleagues as does his deep, rich voice. Bob’s ashes have joined those of his wife at Valley Oaks-Griffin Memorial Park in Westlake Village, CA. Bob helped his wife deal with diabetes for over 50 years.The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Memorial and Honor Program of the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 1132, Fairfax, Virginia 22038-1132. On March 8, 2008 starting at 12:30pm, a luncheon and memorial celebration of Bob Moomey’s life will be held for family, friends and colleagues in Huntley, IL, northwest of Chicago. For details contact Kate Williams by email at memorial@moomey.com.
NOTE: Dick Sigurdson was able to recently locate an old 1965 recording of Johnny Dollar on WDGY from December 1965.
Rick B. Recent Photo and Obit provided by Jim Williams, a close friend of Bob Moomey (Johnny Dollar). Mid 60's photo provided by Judy Dible. December 1965 aircheck of Johnny Dollar contributed by Dick Sigurdson, Minneapolis, on 3-31-08.
WDGY's Johnny Dollar in a promotional photo from the mid-60's. Johnny is on the rear of the bike. CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Last Time Jim Dandy Was On The Air At WDGY - 1976
This is a rare recording of Jim Dandy's brief return on air visit to WDGY sometime in 1976 (Based on the music - August/September). He mentions this is a Tuesday and the time is 9:21 AM.
Jim is still irreverent with his insults. He calls the Richfield High School girls, "Skaggs." He later throws insults at Petula Clark, calling her a "Skagg" and stating that there are more fingerprints on her than on the front door of Duff's.
At the beginning of the tape you can hear there is a small audience in the background, later referred to as the WDGY staff. Dandy mentions this is his last 36 minutes on the air. He announces Gary Bridges is up at 10 AM. Both Jim and Johnny are looking for a hangover remedy and Jerry Brooke's bartender. Jerry will be on tomorrow morning.
I am not sure how far ahead of the format change to Country this recording is, but I think it was close.
This rare tape was sent to me by Al Arneson, of Edina (Big Al Davis on U100 - aircheck at www.radiotapes.com/U100Radio.html).
1969 photo of Jim Dandy at the control board in the Bloomington studios
WDGY J J Bowman January 1968 - with Curtis J Johnson 20/20 News
This aircheck has a good sampling of the 'DGY Much More Music jingles along with some WDGY promo announcements on the Winter Carnival and 20/20 news covering al the school closings during the winter. A portion of Curtis J. Johnson's 20/20 newscast was saved on this recording. 1968 was a different time. I remember J J Bowman and his upbeat style, but do not recall how long he stayed at WDGY.
Contributor requested to have name withheld.
Jay J. Bowman image sent to me by John Pratt, formerly of WDGY
Curtis J Johnson, formerly of WDGY. This a recnet PR photo.
WDGY Curtis J. Johnson News - January 1974
Curtis started his radio career at WLBK DeKalb, Illinois and moved to KLWW in Cedar Rapids as morning drive newscaster. Curt was, by accident, filling in for the Saturday morning newscaster who was out ill. Rich Holter of WDGY and his wife just happened to be driving through town on their way south for a vacation and Rich heard Curtis doing the news. Holter called Curtis when he got back from vacation and hired him for the WDGY news team. The Curtis J. Johnson tape to the left is from a cold January in 1968 and is representative of WDGY's 20/20 News.
Since 1999 Curtis has worked for Explore Minnesota Tourism as the Outdoor Media Relations Specialist. A radio spot he recorded as part of this job is posted to the left. After leaving WDGY, Curtis worked at WTCN-TV as the News Unit Manager, and the Minnesota News Network as News Director/Anchor.
In July 2007, Curtis was very gracious to meet with me for a couple of hours and shared some old radio stories.
Although this station does not fit the Twin Cities profile of this site, I thought you my want to see the video on the creator of this format used locally by WDGY in the mid to late 60's. The WDGY version was not as hard hitting.
Click on the YouTube link to see an interesting story on This CKLW news format that was copied.
WDGY Survey with Photos of Curtis J. Johnson from June 13, 1969. This survey provided by Steve Raymer of the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting. This and other WDGY surveys can be see at the museum along with many other radio artifacts.
On October 28, 2006 Johnny Canton was inducted into Pavek's Museum of Radio Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Click on the following web address for the museum: http://www.pavekmuseum.org/2006HOF1.htm and click on the following address to see the museum's entire Hall of Fame: http://www.pavekmuseum.org/hall.htm
This first tape was recorded of the radio on June 4, 1973 from 10 AM to 11:30 AM with the music and commercials out. This is a good quality recording. You will hear the WeeGee $10,000 Record Stash promo and Johnny ply "1130 Caret Gold." This is the place where "it pays to listen." You will hear Johnny's brief Art Fern imitation and at 5:30 he will say hi to the Twin Cities in a slightly similar fashion as a competing DJ did.
The November 10, 1970 recording was sitting in an unmarked reel to reel box had in storage. Happy to find and post it prior to Johnny induction into the Pavek's Museum of Radio Broadcasting Hall of Fame. The tap starts at 1:30 PM and goes about one hour with music in. First you will hear the turkey gobble sound indicating listeners should call Johnny to be a part of the WDGY Turkey Shoot. Midge was the luck caller who got to shoot the turkey. She was awarded a free turkey along with the very important can of cranberry sauce. On this tape you will catch Johnny in the middle of a WeeGee Triple Power Play at the home of the "Twin Cities Most Music." Johnny does a live Tastee Bread "Baked While You Sleep" spot, but the tape run out before he gets to finish.
This aircheck has the music scoped out, but the commercials and promos are left in, providing a glimpse into the times. There is a promo of Jim Dandy announcing he was returning to WDGY (to fill the shift left by Rob Sherwood when he went to KDWB). Dandy informs us that if we do not listen, he will tear our heads off.
There is an interesting commercial for Carnation Instant Breakfast that is true to the flower power of the times. The young announcer in the spots is getting very turned on, but it is not sexual. For those of us who were around in the late 60's, this tape will bring back a lot of memories.
I am very grateful to Jim du Bois, President and CEO of the Minnesota Broadcasters Association, for getting me a copy of this aircheck. Jim and I worked together at KTCR-FM (way back before it was sold and turned into KTCZ "The Cities 97"). The photo of us to the right was taken May 4th 2007.
Jim du Bois (Right), President and CEO of the Minnesota Broadcastors Association at a May 4th 2007 breakfast meeting with me (Rick Burnett). Jim provided this aircheck of Johnny Canton. I worked with Jim when he was at KTCR-FM. Jim went on to work for WDGY and KEEY.
Shot of Johnny Canton's desk area at WDGY-AM when he was the music director.
Recording are from museum archives and provided courtesy of Steve Raymer and Daniel Henry at the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting.
Johnny plays "For The Good Times" and it is "...One of The Biggies" according to Johnny. Canton has dome feedback difficulties talking to a contestant for the WDGY Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot. He then goes back to playing more of the "Biggies."
Jimmy Reed cues up a record in the control room at WDGY in 1969. Jimmy also worked at KDWB-AM and KRSI prior to this gig. Jimmy was good friends with Tac Hammer, who was working at request radio KRSI at the time and also a former KDWB-AM jock. I was prensent at the studio when Jimmy and Tac coordinated play of the same record at the same time on both stations.
Jimmy Reed (JR) (Reckless Reed)
Jimmy Reed was originally at KDWB-AM 630 before coming to WDGY 1130 on September 23, 1969. WDGY Jimmy open his 1st show at WDGY he stated he was "..out on pass from the suburban rest-home." An obvious reference to his old employing station. You will hear Jimmy promote the "All Americans," you will hear one of the first Gatorade commercials and you will hear the WDGY promo for the WDGY Power Poll where one could win a Craig color TV (I thought this was radio?). Joe Edwards does the news outro, ending this segment of WDGY's 20/20 News.
On the March 20, 1974 tape, we hear the jingle declaring "the music and money is on us" Mark Anderson does the news and informs us the CPI index was much higher, the US will spell out it position on the Panama Canal treaty and England is moving more troops into Belfast. Jimmy also tries to give away WDGY Fortune Phone Cash to the Williams family. Jimmy is very polite and waits for the mother to get her daughter on the phone to see if she could guess the amount. She missed winning $678.
A 1969 shot of me (Rick Burnett a/k/a Rick Mason) when I was visiting the studio. Jimmy Reed let me sit in his chair, but did not let me go on the air. I did not get to talk to the Twin Cities until 1972 when I was hired as a part-time DJ at KTCR-FM, a country station in Minneapolis. I was still in high school when this photo was taken. If you look carefully, you can see the old WDGY transmitter through the studio glass.
Charlie Van Dyke & Donald K. Martin
The first tape was recorded off the air on February 21, 1973 and is a good quality recording. Charlie playfully talked to Don about a glee club and does the Weatherball Weather, sponsored by North Western National Bank.."May We Help You Today." Charlie does a ply on the Chicken Man radio series by introducing Donald as "the most fantastic newsman the world has ever known." After the news, you will hear the Charlie and Don jingle into the music. Donald plays godfather with his "Don" imitation and asks Charlie "What is black and blue and floats?" Find out by playing this clip. Although they play the jingle "The Music's on Us" you will hear a little more talk compared to the typical WDGY music format.
The January 1973 tape is poor quality. I hope you have some audio clean up program. You can still hear the Van Dyke and Martin banter.
This first tape was recorded off the air in March 1973. Bob tries to give away $1,428 in WeeGee Fortune Phone Cash, but is unsucessful. "WDGY Means the Most Music and the Most Money." The news is left in and you will hear about the big CPI index increase. There is a promo for WDGY's Easter Bunny contest, where you can win a McDonald's Easter Bunny. You will also hear a commercial for a drive-in promoting a double feature rat movies (Ben) and that you can get free entrance if you bring your family cat.
On the second tape from 1971, I noticed Bob Dayton has some spots with a county twang. was WeeGee getting ready for the country format switch? probably not. See Pavek Museum Radio Hall of Fame inductee Dale Weber, one time WDGY General Manager, at the Pavek site: http://www.pavekmuseum.org/weber.htm
(The 9/30/71 Dayton aircheck is from the A. Mintz Collection - The March 1973 tape was recorded off the air by Rick Burnett)
This is Jim Dandy's (Jim Evarts) second time at WDGY-AM. This photo was taken in 1969 after he came back to replace Rob Sherwood when he left for KDWB-AM. The turntables (pre-historic CD players) are out of the shot to his left side.
Recorded May 12, 1963. WDGY was different pre-Beatles. It was Tiger Radio.
Geroge Young
Recorded of the air in March 1968. There are some quality problems, different recorder. You can still hear all George Young has to say on this clip. Some jingles too.
Not all of the airchecks on this site were in my original personal collection. I purchased some of the WDGY airchecks from collector Arron Mintz in Maine. He sold me (for the cost of materials and production time) the following: Dick Driscoll, The January '73 Charlie Van Dyke, George Young, Perry St. John, Tom Wynn, Hal Raymond, Dan Daniels, and the Various WDGY DJ (composite) clip.
On other pages of this site I also have some airchecks (in addition to tape from my personal collection) I obtained directly from others.
Lunch with Donald K. Martin, Former WDGY Newsman and Morning Show Co-Host
July 7th, 2008
It was great to have lunch with Donald K. Martin and talk about his career in broadcasting, which includes several stations in the Twin Cities. This get together included Jim du Bois, currently CEO and President of the Minnesota Broadcasters Association & formerly of KTCR-FM, WDGY, & K102, Mike Cunningham, former KTCR-FM Operations Manager, and myself, Rick Burnett (also formerly of KTCR-FM).
Don talks about his early days in Iowa and tells how very disappointed his mother was when Don failed to get a job at country station KTCR-AM in 1963; instead he got a job at KDWB. Don's mother preferred that he work at a country station.
Don was probably one of the first newscasters to experience terrorism while at KDWB, and shares this story with us. He also mentions his concern about working around a transmitter that could light up light bulbs without putting them in an electrical socket. Is it possible Don glowed in the dark?
You will also hear about his time as a morning co-host and hear him do some of the impressions from back then, including "Truman Compote," Sargent Schultz, and Preacher Paul.
Special thanks to Jim du Bois for the use of the recording studio & to Donald K. Martin and Mike Cunningham for spending time in the interest to preserve some of the Twin Cities radio history.
Donald K. Martin at the mic again for a July 7th, 2008 interview.
Donald K. Martin and Rick Burnett, July 7th, 2008
Mike Cunningham (Left) andJim du Bois (Richt) in the studio with Donald K. Martin
The Studio Was Full
During the Don Martin interview,Jim du Bois, CEO and President of the Minnesota Broadcasters Association, and Mike Cunningham, former Operations Manager of KTCR-FM, Minneapolis were also in the studio and asked Don some questions.
WDGY December 1972 Survey Contributed by Donald K. Martin
WDGY December 1972 Survey 2nd Page
WDGY December 1972 Survey Page 3
WDGY December 1972 Survey Back Cover (page 4)
WDGY - Don Martin in undated photo he contributed. This is a shottaken at the St. Paul Winter Carnival. Johnny Canton is at the top left. CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE
WDGY Donald K. Martin contributed this undated from the late 60's - early 70's
WDGY's Charlie Van Dyke & Donald K. Martin in the studio during their morning show.
WDGY- Don Martin contributed this undated photo from late 60's - early 70's
Don Martin contibuted this October 16, 1974 article on Twin Cities morning radio shows. CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE
WDGY Promo Stuff - John Prat Scan (12-6-07)
John Pratt worked for two Storz stations as well as others during his radio career. John sent some promo items from his collection and provided the following comments:
KOMA Guide, Lindahl '81 - Pratt '83." Gregg Lindahl and I worked together at WMMR. He landed at WDGY in early 1977, when they were still rock, and became MD after the change to country under Dan Halyburton. Storz tapped him to take KOMA/Oklahoma City country on September 12, 1980, and he did so as the station's new PD. He hired me in April, 1981 from WJON, and shortly afterwards, I settled into the PM drive shift. Gregg left to program Gaylord's WSM AM-FM/Nashville in early 1983. Shortly after Storz sold KOMA in 1984, I crossed town to Gaylord's WKY/930 Oklahoma City, where I was research director and did PM drive until leaving for WDGY seven months later. As you can see from the layout, Gregg borrowed the Music Guide idea from WDGY for KOMA. Gregg is currently the head of Cox's Interactive division in Atlanta.
"WDGY, KOMA stickers, mid-'70s." Storz must have done a similar printing for each of its six stations; here are the Twin Cities and Oklahoma City versions.
"WDGY Airstaff, 1986." This set of photos graced the bottom of a poster-sized handout of the "Top 86 of '86" country hits. Charlie Bush did news on the morning show with Rick Stephenson. Rick was doing mornings in Peoria the last I'd heard. Russ Bohaty was, um, what was he, exactly? :) Sports, remotes, promotions... WeeGee's jack-of-all-trades. PM driver Barry had been at KDWB as Barry McKinna and at WTCN-TV before his stint at WDGY, and he has been doing weekends at KOOL 108 for years now. Bill Davis did evenings, and overnights were handled by Eric West, K102/WDGY's former production director. Bill Allard did afternoon news, and Jim du Bois kept the station out of legal trouble on a part-time basis. :) That Pratt character did middays.
KOMA Guide. Contributed by John Pratt 12-6-07. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
WDGY and KOMA Bumber Stickers. Contributed by John Pratt 12-6-07. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
WDGY Air Staff 1986. Contributed by John Pratt 12-6-07. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
WDGY Promo Stuff - John Pratt Scan (12-7-07)
John provides the following descriptions:
"WDGY Guide, Atkinson, 1982 with '67 45." Andrea Jo Atkinson did evenings at WDGY (the schedule was shown on the back flap.) In 1967, under the name "Andrea Forrest," she recorded this 45 A-side with producer Warren Kendrick, who had earlier produced such notable regional hits as "Dirty Ol' Man" by The Electras / 'Twas Brillig, and "Action Woman" by The Litter. The single's flipside was billed as by "The Plastic Ice Cube," an alias for area rockers Marcia & The Lynchmen.
"WDGY Guides, Bohaty-Douglas-Olson, 1982." These Music Guides were sent to KOMA, otherwise, I wouldn't have them at all. These were all during the Storz era.
"WDGY Top 15, 11-9-87." This is one of the last music surveys published by WDGY, as far as I know.
WDGY Guide, Atkinson, 1982. Contributed by John Pratt 12-6-07. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
WDGY Guides, Bohaty-Douglas-Olson, 1982. Contributed by John Pratt 12-6-07. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
One of the last music surveys published by WDGY. Contributed by John Pratt 12-6-07. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Tom Wynn (Below)
Tom Wynn was at WDGY in the early 1960's and the two WDGY airchecks below are from January 6, 1961. This aircheck in two parts is presented un-scoped. All promos, commercials and music have been left in. This provides a historical look at the times.
In a September 2006 email Tom sent to me, he states he has been on the air for 48 years and is currently at KFGO in Fargo doing a morning news/talk show. He recently celebrated 25 years at KFGO. You can see another photo of Tom Wynn and his on air partner by clicking the following web address: http://www.kfgo.com/pages/tomanddankfgo.html
Tom Wynn at his current job at KFGO in Fargo ND. Tom has been in radio for 48 years and was at WDGY in the early 60's. Tom was a grad of Richard Brown's American Istitute of the Air, a predecessor to Brown Institute. He now does a morning news/talk show in Fargo.
The quality is not great on this recording, but you can still hear everything. WDGY was certainly a much different station pre-Beatles than it was as the 60's progressed. I hope to get some late 60's clips up on the site soon.
Not sure exactly when these recording ran on WDGY. Courtesy of the museum archives provided by Steve Raymer and Daniel Henry at the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting.
The promo sounds like a take-off on an old Walter Brennan song; Dutchman's Gold (1960), or Old Rivers (1962). There is no need to go prospecting for a better radio sound than WDGY.
The WDGY time tone is something I do not recall. Not sure when it was in use.
Not sure exactly when these recording ran on WDGY. Courtesy of the museum archives provided by Steve Raymer and Daniel Henry at the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting.
The airchecks on this not for profit web site were recorded off the air. The recordings on this site provide historical examples of Twin Cities radio and are intended for purposes of archival preservation and for research. Additionally, the recordings can be used by vision impaired visitors to get an audio perspective of radio history. These recordings are not intended to by used by others for commercial purposes.
Some of the airchecks are off reel to reel tapes that were recorded off the air by the web site creator. In May 2006 the recordings started to be converted to MP3 and shared here. In addition to this web site creator's recorded aircheck collection, there are also many airchecks that were recorded and submitted by friends and acquaintances, or contributed by other collectors. Sources are cited, if known. The contributed recordings from friends and contributors of both airchecks and other material are greatly appreciated. Without their help, the site would have many less pages of radio history. The recordings of the contributors to this web site who recorded them off the air may show up on other sites. This site does not charge any fees to listen to the posted recordings. The purpose of this site is to provide radio history and intended for purposes of archival preservation and research.
Windows Media Player works well to play these MP3 files, and depending on your internet settings, will start streaming the file once the link is clicked, Some files are large and may take time to open. Should you have any aircheck of Twin Cities radio stations, let me know and I may be able to include them at this site. Contact me at Rick(at)HotMail.com --- NOTE Replace "(at)" with @ when typing email address