WSBA MYTHS AND LEGENDS

[bossjock 56]

Just thought of something else I once heard on WSBA in 1971......"That was Santana with Oye Como Va.....which is Puerto Rican for chicken fat." First of all they speak SPANISH in Puerto Rico.  Second....why were WSBA jocks still taking jokes from Rowen and Martin's Laugh In.  Were chicken jokes really THAT funny back then?  I don't recall who the jock was......Harry West perhaps?

[John-Summers]

I don't know about Harry West appropriating a gag from "Laugh-In," but I have an aircheck of WSBA PD Bob Harper from 1968 or 69, and he must have make a joke about Tiny Tim a half-dozen times in that one day.  I recall WSBA playing TT's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" and I always wondered why.  It was never a big hit - was it? - and I don't think WFEC played it.  It must have been played just so the on-air PD could make Tiny Tim jokes (which weren't funny.)

By the way, Carlos Santana isn't Puerto Rican, and even if he was, that joke was tasteless.   

[Seltzer]

I don't know about Harry West appropriating a gag from "Laugh-In," but I have an aircheck of WSBA PD Bob Harper from 1968 or 69, and he must have make a joke about Tiny Tim a half-dozen times in that one day.  I recall WSBA playing TT's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" and I always wondered why.  It was never a big hit - was it? - and I don't think WFEC played it.  It must have been played just so the on-air PD could make Tiny Tim jokes (which weren't funny.)

By the way, Carlos Santana isn't Puerto Rican, and even if he was, that joke was tasteless.   

Imagine what would happen if someone told a joke like that today? They'd torch the radio station.

[bossjock 56]

I have that same Bob Harper aircheck.  I also have one of Dan Donovan from 1967, where he was giving clues to the identity of the WSBA "Secret Citizen".  In this particular clue, he said thet the Secret Citizen was of the "stronger" sex.  Try saying that today! 

[rls2115]

Sorry for joining this conversation so late.

One other thing to mention about the music at WSBA, was that we had edited versions of singles to cut out objectionable content. IE: Baker Street had the sax/guitar riff removed when it was a current.
Trying to edit some on that stuff was a real art.

Then there were the extended album versions of some songs that were kept on old carts for "special" instances.

Other old features were 20/20 sports at 20 after and 20 before the hour and Pet Patrol which had been at select times during the broadcast day until a Sunday evening when the GM of WSBA-FM wanted his lost dog announced.
(As John mentioned before) There were policies for everything. I stuck with the policy that it would be announced during our next PP. He said he wanted it on right away and I repeated the policy. He said "Do you know who I am?" I said I didn't and he told me his name. I didn't know who he was and told him he could call again in the morning. He was very upset and said he would talk to Mr. Eberly in the morning.

I hung up the phone and told Bob Markham that the guy was really upset because we wouldn't announce his lost pet and explained what happened. He asked me the guys name and I told him CH.
After that weekend, Pet Petrol aired whenever we had a lost or found pet.

[bossjock 56]

Found some chart info on The Chambers Bros. song "Time Has Come Today".  The song entered the WSBA Top 40 on 9/14/68 at number 36....stayed at 36 the following week (9/21/68)....then was gone!  I guess the comment John's wife heard on the air reflected THEIR opinion and the song was dropped after two weeks.  This same song went top 10 on WFIL.....go figure.  I guess TINY TIM was more appealing to the WSBA brass back then.

[loeper]

A "Bob (or Robert) Markham" reference...OMG.   he was a fantastic sounding newsperson for the mighty 910 for years until he was killed in a plane crash.  I remember when he was learning to fly.  I was so stoked about it. he died with his brother in law when his small plane crashed trying to land.  I can't remeber his real name but his father owned a funeral home up state.  Bob was also a pretty good card player.

[rls2115]

John ,  Len, (I'm sure I won't get the spelling on the last name correct) Willenski, was very excited about learning to fly. He would tell me every weekend about his flight training for his license.
Later, he would say to me at some point during the night "When are we going flying?" I was working 3 jobs at the time and didn't have spare time to go up with him. But, he would ask me just about every weekend.
I was coming back from Park City on route 30 just getting off the Wrightsville exit when I heard the news on the air. Tony Romeo and I went to the viewing and stood in the long line of people waiting to pay their respects.
I never saw him get rattled or excited over anything on the air. He made reporting look easy and was an ace at cutting down sound bites on those Tapecaster carts with the cue tone defeat switches. I learned alot from him.

[Alan Criswell]

I found an aircheck of Hal Raymond from July, 1963... (The .mp3 file will load in 60 seconds)...

http://radiotapes.com/user/WDGY%207-3-1963.mp3

[Bubba Bob]

Bob Markham was a class act!  I was doing sports and working the newsroom when word came that it was Markham's plane that went down. He was a master at editing.