GROWING UP WITH RADIO IN NASHVILLE

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When I was growing up in Nashville we only had AM radio stations. The most popular stations were WSM, WLAC, WENO, WSIX, WKDA and WMAK. WSM was the home of the Grand Ole Opry. It was a 50,000 watt powerhouse and at night and it could be heard all over North America and nearby countries. WSM was also nicknamed the "The Air Castle of the South" This was a huge factor in spreading the popularity of country music. Especially with the military during WW2. I didn't become a fan of country music until about the age of 17. After getting off work I would listen to a late night talk show hosted by Ralph Emory. He would interview country music stars and play the latest country hits. I would lay on the front seat of my car and listen to the show late into the night. WENO was in Madison, a suburb of Nashville. It was our only other Country music station besides WSM and WSIX.. WLAC was also a 50,000 watt powerhouse which could be heard over vast areas at night. There were three white disc jockey's that promoted R&B music. They were John Richbourg, better known as John R, Gene Nobles and Bill (Hoss) Allen. I remember these names but I didn't listen to WLAC and wasn't that familiar with them. After WLAC changed it's format to talk radio Hoss Allen was still working there. When I first heard him talk I thought that he was black. Nobles came to WLAC in 1943 and had a show called the Midnight Special These DJ's were responsible for helping to jumpstart James Brown's music career. They began promoting his song Please, Please, Please on the air. John R would start his program every night by saying “Yeah! It’s the big John R., the blues man. Whoa! Have mercy, honey, have mercy, have mercy. John R., ’way down south in the middle of Dixie. I’m gonna spread a little joy. You stand still now and take it like a man, you hear me?” R&B became popular with many returning WW2 veterans. WENO was also a popular country music station. WKDA was the most popular local radio station with teenagers and kids my age in the 1950's and early 1960's. WKDA went on the air in 1947 and was behind the big three in popularity, WSM, WLAC and WSIX. Between 1957 and 1967 it became the top rated station in Nashville and was the most popular with ages 18 to 49. There were on the air personalities like Captain Midnight who was Roger Schutt, Bill Berlin, Scott Shannon, Bill Craig, Ray Lynn, Dick Buckley, and Doc Holliday. Captain Midnight probably worked for every radio station in Tennessee at one time or another because he was always getting fired. During the 1960's WMAK became it's biggest competitor. On February 23, 1970 WKDA went to a 24 hour Country format.



Coyote McCloud was probably the most popular DJ at WMAK. The thing that I remember most about WMAK were their request lines. There were four or five lines and they were always busy. Over the busy signal you could hear girls and boys talking to each other and if you were lucky you could get a girls telephone number. It was an early chat room before computers. I was very shy and I didn't ask for that many numbers. This was about 1965 just before I met my wife Debbie. I managed to get the number of a girl that had one of the sexiest voices I ever heard. We arranged to meet one afternoon and I found out that she lived on West Greenwood Avenue near my Aunt Catherine and Uncle Doug. They lived right across the street from Hattie Cotton Elementary School. Her parents were also my customers on my paper route. As I rode my bike toward her house I saw her standing in her front yard and it dawned on me who she was. I just kept peddling past her house as fast as I could go. Being a typical teenage boy let's just say that she was too much woman for me. Then I met Brenda who I can say was my first real girlfriend. She was in the old Memorial Hospital on Due West Avenue when I managed to get her number on the request lines. She had had surgery to remove a cyst from her leg. I rode the bus from near Eastland Baptist Church on Gallatin Road to Due West Avenue and from Gallatin Road I walked all the way over to the hospital to meet her. Then I walked all the way back to Gallatin Road later that night after meeting her. We began dating after she got out of the hospital. Every weekend I would walk all the way from our house on McKennie to her house near the Inglewood theater and we would walk to the theater from there. Then I would take her home and walk back to my house. As I said I was shy and I could not bring myself to kiss her. We dated like this for weeks and with every ounce of courage I could muster I leaned over and kissed her one night. The next day she broke up with me. That was an ego crusher. I met my wife Debbie shortly after my first foray into romance and as they say, the rest is history.
John R

Gene Nobles

Bill "Hoss" Allen


The DJ's at WKDA






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