Over 600 imitation firecrackers were distributed to the audience, each one containing either movie passes, Elvis Presley dog tag jewelry, gift certificates for free records, ball point pens, cigarette lighters, pocket notebooks and checks valued at $1.52 or $15.20. Gotta be careful what you say on a 50,000 WATT radio station., In the latter part of the50sJohn Barrett and Perry Allen evolved a call letter-napping. Someone, as established in the promo spots, had stolen one of our Ws, recalls Allen. A strong WBEN, and impending loss of WKBWs NBC affiliation combined with WBNYs success was enough to convince Anscombe to hire Dick Lawrence away from the small station. The mastermind of the new format was program director Dick Lawrence who with a collection of fast talking jocks, quick colorful jingles and the latest wax, put the management at WKBW on notice. They have not publicly revealed their reasons, . Azar was a graduate of St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute and Canisius College; he chose the surname Azar as a nod to his Hispanic ancestry, as many Spaniard names ended with "-azar." While Program Director Jeff Kaye might be best remembered for that deep resonant voice which he used like Horowitz on a Steinway, he was also perhaps the greatest producer and writer that is to say, the greatest radio mind of the generation. After that, he continued at several venerable stations, including WKBW in Buffalo, New York, WNBC and WOR in New York City, KQV in Pittsburgh, KMPC and KRTH in Los Angeles, WPOP and WDRC in Hartford, WIXY in Cleveland, and WIBG and WFIL in Philadelphia. Another strong personality from WDRC . After that, he continued at several venerable stations, including WKBW in Buffalo, New York, WNBC and WOR in New York City, KQV in Pittsburgh, KMPC and KRTH in Los Angeles, WPOP and WDRC in Hartford, WIXY in Cleveland, and WIBG and WFIL in Philadelphia.. Reynolds was basically playing a mix of oldies and adult contemporary cuts along with comedy and personality, and was most notably on the air when the station's traffic helicopter crashed on October 22, killing reporter Jane Dornacker. Narrated by then-KB Radio newsman Irv Weinstein, this piece reflects the KB staff from its first year as a Top 40 station. (Buffalo Stories archives.). With an eventual 50% of the marketshare, KB quickly blew all of the much smaller competitors out of the water. With an eventual 50% of the marketshare, KB quickly blew all of the much smaller competitors out of the water. I had promised a free Kings Ball rock and roll concert if I won, and also promised the person with the longest list of votes that I would carry their books to school every day for a week. The studio was on rural Niagara Falls Boulevard, in a location which soon would be the home of Swiss Chalet for the next 50 years. As program director of WBNY, he shot the 250 watter from near obscurity into first place on both the Pulse and Hooper surveys. As host of the "Don Weeks And The WGY Morning News" for almost three decades, Weeks is one of the Capital Region's most well-known and respected radio personalities. "She was very proud of it, too. Buffalo Evening News, 1964. "Rocketship 7" kicked off the day with host Dave Thomas and "Promo The Robot!" You have permission to edit this article. Carlson was by far the network's most prominent personality, stepping in smoothly to replace former star host Bill O'Reilly after a series of sexual harassment allegations forced his departure. Best known for his time at WKBW Radio, Fred Klestine spent parts of four decades as a disc jockey on Buffalo radio stations WWOL, WBNY, WADV and WBUF. He exited WNBC at the end of February 1987 and was replaced by Alan Colmes. The call letters of WADV-FM were changed to WYRK-FM in 1981. George Hound Dog Lorenz, the Godfather of rock n roll radio (not just in Buffalo, but PERIOD) first plied his trade in Western New York at Niagara Falls WJJL, as early as 1951. Before Top 40 came to KB, Stan Barron hosted the Morning Clockwatcher show, live each morning outside the Main Street studios. With its clear-channel 50,000 watt signal, KB was heard all over the eastern half of North America. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York. It was a McClendon station. Russ Syracuse, who came to WKBW from WNDR in Syracuse, was next in the line-up with the 9 to 11 AM and 12 to 2 PM time segments under his care. In 1960, Capital Cities Communications purchased the station. 24 market in the country. The gauntlet was tossed to the audience, Find the individual concerned and win a swimming pool. Clues lead to the ultimate uncovering of the culprit who had in his possession a letter W.. He was less a DJ and more like a talk show host. Steve's Buffalo roots run deep: all eight of his great-grandparents called Buffalo home, with his first ancestors arriving here in 1827. Sandy Beach was in the original broadcast in 1968, Jack Armstrong was in the 1971 version, and Shane in 1973. Rhythm and blues was still working its way into rock n roll, and it was still a little time before Elvis started to become recognized first as the hottest hillbilly attraction and the king of western bop.. I also ripped a phone off the wall and threw it at Mike Joseph in Buffalo missing him by a hair. A specially written and produced KB Preview Party was broadcast from 12 Noon to 2 PM on Friday, July 4th. The day: November 30, 1958. His more famous co-workers will tell you, his credo Good enough isnt good enough, helped give KB such a great sound over the years. Sandy says he was prepared for the first day fifty years ago, but Stan Roberts advised him to rent furniture, adding "he didn't exactly say I know you're going to make it big here. While inspiring many of the changes that came to KB and many other stations around the country, the Hound stayed true to his style, and founded WBLK Radio; where he continued to uncover and spotlight new artists, both in Buffalo, and to a syndicated audience around the country. Many of Buffalos Beatles dreams finally came true on Oct. 22, 2015, when Paul McCartney made his first appearance in Buffalo, singing songs that many in the audience had first heard 51 years earlier for the first time on a Sunday evening with Ed Sullivan. 20 market in the country. What to my wondering ear should appear but a polka, hold everything! With hope and dreams, I turned on the ever present transistor receiver. He would join WGR in 1972 where he . It was a great break for Gramps, from his numerous jobs- from tinsmith at Buffalo Color and National Aniline, to ticket taker for the Bills and Sabres, to bet taker at Buffalo Raceway. steve@buffalostories.com K-BIG Feature #1: Forgotten Buffalo Celebrated the 50th Anniversary of KB's Format Change to Top 40. When the world wide web opened up in 1994, Channel 7 was the first Buffalo station online with www.wkbw.com. Steve Cichon is a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. First appeared on album form from the industry periodical Programmers Digest., Steve Cichon writes about Buffalos pop culture history. According to Al Anscombe, GM at the time, advertisers who associated with the traditional format were given to option of continuing their schedules free of charge through the Future Sonic change with many renewing at greater levels a month into the new sound. Traffic was snarled for hours in what was considered Buffalos Times Square, and is now just considered the MetroRail tracks in front of the Main Place Mall. Azar wrote a memoir, "Tales From Azar's Attic". Stay tuned for an eventual interview, most likely to run next week. The new format included a large amount of public interest information and services. Beyonce. If you ever read this Mike Im sorry I missed I could have improved your looks. I say that affectionately Mike is a genius in radio programming., Dick lasted on the staff for two years before getting fired. Paul McCartney during his 2015 show at First Niagara Center. The place: 1420 Main Street in Buffalo, New York - the original home of WKBW-TV. Through the years, he called Canisius and Niagara basketball, Buffalo Bisons baseball and Buffalo Bisons hockey. Catching up with names in the news while I was out of the country: Nancy Sanders: A local legend in media circles who has worked behind the scenes at all three local news departments, Sanders left her job as news operations manager at WIVB-TV (Channel 4) this week and is getting social media love from those she has mentored in a 45-year broadcasting career. 25 overall in NFL draft, Former waitress sentenced to 2 to 5 years in prison in $50,000 lottery scheme, M&T to relocate 400 employees as it sheds 12% of local office space because of remote work, Tracking UB football's undrafted free-agent signings: LB James Patterson to join Bills for rookie camp, WR Justin Marshall heads to Atlanta, UB releases salaries for men's, women's basketball assistants and support staff, New UB men's basketball coach George Halcovage III gets 5-year contract with annual base salary of $325,000, UB women's basketball hires former Buffalo State standout Jacey Brooks as associate head coach, Five things to know about Buffalo Bills seventh-round pick Nick Broeker, Five things to know about Buffalo Bills seventh-round pick Alex Austin, Five things to know about Buffalo Bills fifth-round pick Justin Shorter, New Buffalo Bills guard O'Cyrus Torrence talks about his play. In Denver, Colorado, he hosted a radio-television simulcast on KOA-AM, and launched (and hosted) the first nationwide satellite radio programming featured on more than 35 radio stations coast-to-coast. The only slight hint of misbehavior on the part of Beatles fans came when the infamous rabble-rouser Reynolds declared on the stage, I hatethe Beatles! and he was pelted with jellybeans. After the July, 1964 release of The Beatles first film A Hard Days Night, the summer of 1965 saw the release of the Beatles secondmovie, Help!, which opened at Sheas before moving onto the smaller theaters and the drive-ins. By Alan Pergament. (Buffalo Stories archives). Over the years Sandy has changed stations, formats and hairstyles but feels that Buffalo was always a good fit, saying " I managed to pick places where my personality and the things I like to do fit." Scripps Company, which has been a guiding light in journalism since being founded by Edward Willis Scripps in 1878. She joined Jenn Schanz, Marissa Perlman, Angela Christoforos and Kaylee Wendt in exiting Channel 4 after finishing their contracts at a station in the nation's No. WKBW-AM History. Steve's Buffalo roots run deep: all eight of his great-grandparents called Buffalo home, with his first ancestors arriving here in 1827. [3], Rick Azar began his career at WHLD radio in Niagara Falls in the early 1950s. No one should begrudge him for leaving for that deal. Their 30-year tenure became the cornerstone for "Eyewitness News" and that tradition continues today. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. The late newsman Ed Little wouldremember being in the room as packages containing female lingerie were opened; sent from Maryland by an obviously big fan. War of the Worlds 1968: The original broadcast featuring an intro by Dan Neaverth, Joe Downey-KB Radio News, and Sandy Beach- KB Radio Music. When you browse the blog here at Buffalo Stories LLC, youre bound to not only relive a memory but also find some context for our pop culture past and see exciting ways how it might fit into our regions boundless future. http://blog.buffalostories.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/KB61sm.mp3. His first radio job was WWOL in Buffalo with Dick Purtan, then WKWK, in Wheeling, WV. One night, Reynolds started playing an endless loop of a The Four Seasons song, and locked the studio door from the inside. It was broadcast live from the NASDAQ site in Times Square at 43rd Street and Broadway. Click image to learn more. Somebody must have heard it and threw a stone right through the windshield. He rose to fame as a Top 40 radio personality during the 1960s and 1970s, amassing large audiences in places such as Hartford, Connecticut, Cleveland, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, and his hometown of Buffalo, New York. In 1978, the station moved from Main Street to the current facility near Buffalo's waterfront, at 7 Broadcast Plaza (Church and South Elmwood Sts.). Its a part of Buffalos past of which we should all be proud. Why? Buffalo Evening News headline, 1964. Listeners were asked to search for the WKBW $200 Mystery Telephone Number, a number chosen from the Buffalo directory. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. More importantly to local television, it is losing a quote machine. (Buffalo Stories archives). In 1986, he arrived at then-WNBC in New York City doing the afternoon drive, Howard Stern's previous shift. As the man who helped make the way for the Juice, McKenzie even became a spokesman for Niagara Mohawk. WKBW, Buffalos Most Powerful Radio Station, mid-50s letterhead. Gospel musician and evangelist Elder Charles Beck ran his network of 30 stations from WKBW. But eventually, a base of homegrown talent sprinkled with some of the most talented people from around the country, KB built an unprecedented following in Buffalo and around the country. Here hes on KBs lawn with Clint Churchill Jr., WKBW General Manager Al Anscombe, KB Polka Beehive host Stan Jasinski, salesman Jim McGrath and Roger Bakerwho, after returning to KB from WBES-TV, dabbled in sports but focused on sales. When you browse the blog here at Buffalo Stories LLC, youre bound to not only relive a memory but also find some context for our pop culture past and see exciting ways how it might fit into our regions boundless future. At 3 PM in the huge Central Park Plaza, several thousand persons of all ages turned out in pouring rain to greet WKBWs brand new disc jockeys who put on a free star-studded stage show. Biondi, known by many as the Wild Itralian had a legendary temper. . Tag on a dozen more years at WHTT, and a few more at KB again, and Danny moved our fannies on the radio for half a century. He had a nightly ritual wearing a purple robe lighting a purple candle on his purple radio while talking over his Night People" instrumental theme which was "Tarantula" by The Tarantulas. He was a concert promoter and recording artist (who could forget Rats in My Room, even if they tried?). Prior to coming to WKBW, Azar was an actor and musician in New York City, as well as a staff announcer for NBC in New York, leaving New York City after failing to secure long-term employment there. For that reason, KB owns a special place not only in Buffalos pop cultural lexicon, but also for thousands and thousands of fans, who just like the ones in Buffalo, fell asleep with their transistor under their pillow, wondering where the hell Lackawanna was. Some of his regular voices included "Jack Armstrong" - All American boy; "Maude Frickette" - the 104 year old teenager; and "General Shelby Singleton Silvers Junior Esquire Y'all" - an older southern gentleman. Tom could be seen every afternoon from 1965 until 1978, and weekends until 1995. The first broadcast on that snowy night was the James Cagney classic film, Yankee Doodle Dandy. The studio was on rural Niagara Falls Boulevard, in a location which soon would be the home of Swiss Chalet for the next 50 years. "Because I love numbers" he says. The station began under the direction and ownership of the late Dr. Clinton H. Churchill.
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