He would join WGR in 1972 where he . (Buffalo Stories archives). His old friends and former co-workers gathered in the studio at WBEN930amto congratulate Sandy Beach on a half century of Buffalo broadcasting. 50 kW NBC sounded better to my sadly warped values. Reynolds' last show, which was segregated into the "Final Gay Hour," the "Final Jewish Hour" and "The Final Hour," aired the morning of April 3, 2010. According to sources, her husband is a lawyer in Chicago. She joined the station in 2012 as a weekend morning co-anchor. Bono. Reynolds excelled at comedic voice characterizations, his means of social commentary without it being directly attributable to "Joey Reynolds". It was not until after Beatlemania swept the nation that they acknowledged that it was a mistake to not bring them in. He was a member of the staff that included Perry Allen, Russ "the Moose" Syracuse, Art Roberts and Dick Biondi along with Jack Kelly (all Night). The rock nroll era had arrived on a respectable, long established Buffalo radio station. @stevebuffalo. First appeared on album form from the industry periodical Programmers Digest., Steve Cichon writes about Buffalos pop culture history. Two crack time salesmen and a commercial manger where hired to insure that FutureSonic was profitable, Don Bannister and Warren Potash filled the sales office and Tony Rocco, well know in Buffalo advertising circles at the time became the sales manger. As many of the smaller stations in Buffalo were churning out rhythm and blues music all day, at night, for Buffalo and the entire eastern seaboard, the Hound Sound was around.. Of course, his face and voice were everywhere for Bells Supermarkets and dozens of other Western New York businesses through the years. No one could ever find it until the station gave an easy clue on the air. 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 the simplest of terms, after decades of economic depression and war, young people of the late 1940s had less responsibility, more economic freedom and a growing segment of pop culture being cultivated to employ and take advantage of that free time and free cash. Azar died March 25, 2021, at age 91 at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital in Williamsville, New York, following years of old age-related decline.[7][2]. By Steve Cichon The Beatles also played a concert at Torontos Maple Leaf Gardens in August 1965. 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. Buffalo Web Design by. His old friends and former co-workers gathered in the studio at WBEN930amto congratulate Sandy Beach on a half century of Buffalo broadcasting. The new format included a large amount of public interest information and services. She has told her social network followers that she is considering her next step while being paid through June 1. This page is not available in other languages. Through the years, WKBW-TV has served a mix of local programming, and news that serves the Western New York community, with many viewers in Southern Ontario as well. [1] With his wife, he had four children. From 1958 to 1988, Al Lafler had his hand on the rudder of the production sound that allowed KB to stand head and shoulders above the rest. Neaverth recalled that his first radio work was as a young teenager, when he, his longtime friend and collaborator Joey Reynolds, WEBR jockey Danny McBride, and others set up a closed-circuit radio station at a Boys Club in Buffalo, under a sponsorship deal with a local pizzeria that "paid" the jockeys in free pizza. Across town at WBNY-AM, the first true Top 40 format in Buffalo was inaugurated in the summer of 1957. 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. At the end of one month of this promotion, six winners were chosen for originality and clarity of the design created. His next programs were morning shows and at that point Joey had evolved into more of a talk intensive program. http://www.staffannouncer.com/kbhalloween/thedarkness.mp3. First, Clint ran the Hidden Bankbook contest were a book with a deposit slip of $5000 was hidden in a remote area pasted inside a sewer pipe. The guy was a bug. New Registered Nurse jobs added daily. This page is not available in other languages. As the popularity of the station grew during 1958 and 1959, the promotion became more intense. In addition to his duties with WKBW, he owned an artist-management firm, a music publishing company and was associated with the Mike Conner Publicity-Promotion office which was headquartered in Beverly Hills. Born in Boston, educated in suburban Philadelphia, Lawrence considered Washington, D.C. his home. Reynolds made a cameo appearance on the ill-fated Buffalo Night in America broadcast on WBBZ-TV in July 2012. People from all over the country, and not just Buffalo transplants, have built websites dedicated to keeping the memory of WKBW alive. Friday, July 4th in Independence Day, and WKBW goes K-Boom! Over a thousand imitation firecrackers, each containing the Its Hot flier, were mailed to ad agencies, clients and members of the trade press. Youll also hear from Russ Syracuse, Johnny Barrett, Art Roberts, and Dick Biondi. BUFFALO, NY For me, hearing the name Stan Jasinski conjures up images of my grandfather, sitting on his South Buffalo porch listening to cassette tapes of polka radio shows he had taped the previous weekend. The young lady who won lived 100 miles from Buffalo. His wife was having a pajama party. By 1995, Joey was no longer playing music on his shows and in 1996 he arrived at WOR in New York. His big break came in 1966, when he joined WIXY Radio in Cleveland. (O . The club included a weekly newsletter and discounts from KB advertisers. 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.. Azar wrote a memoir, "Tales From Azar's Attic". 24 market in the country. KB goes KABOOM with FUTURESONIC RADIO! Dan Bongino, one of the most right-leaning hosts in the Fox News stable, is leaving the network after the Fox Corp.-backed outlet and he could not come to terms on a new contract. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. I was thinking NBCold, ultra classy posturing. Listeners were asked to search for the WKBW $200 Mystery Telephone Number, a number chosen from the Buffalo directory. Now, more than 50 years later, WKBW-TV has broadcast tens of thousands of movies, local programs, and newscasts. Rick Azar was the first voice heard on WKBW-TV on November 30, 1958. 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. The result was a frenzy in which people called each other asking, Is this the WKBW $200 mystery telephone number?. (Coast to Coast had been heard on crosstown rival WABC for several years, before that station dropped the show in favor of an in-house offering from Doug McIntyre, which led Premiere to seek WOR as the new New York affiliate.) Carroll Hardy, who would go on to become one of WEBRs legendary jazz deejays, was one of the many men who served as WKBWs Clock Watcher, broadcasting live from the front lawn of the radio station on Main Street near Utica every morning. Back at the studio, KB was broadcasting the details of the first of several promotional stunts designed to create immediate interest in the new format. Marissa Bailey: The former Channel 2 anchor-reporter is on the beach, the phrase that people in the media use after losing their job and not having another lined up yet. 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. Clint Jr, an admirer of Top 40 pioneer Gordon McClendon, utilized many of McClendons tricks in the first years of Futuresonic Radio. . Listeners were told to ask everyone they saw if they had the missing key for a Thunderbird that was sitting in a downtown dealerships window, and all you needed to do was find the key and start the motor. Buffalo Bills guard Reggie McKenzie and WADV-FM disc jockey Fred Klestine. Well, a week into the contest, a kid playing in the area, finds the bankbook, and his parents claim the prize. On July 4, 1958, Futursonic Radio was alive on WKBW. Dan Lesniak, right, with Cassie Lanzalaco, was a KB salesman who founded one of the stations that helped usher in the FM era of Buffalo radio as the owner of WADV-FM. Never before, and never since, has a radio station been so dominant in Buffalo. BUFFALO, NY In the 1960s and 70s, Buffalos WKBW Radio billed itself as one of Americas two great radio stations.Never was that more on display than on Halloween night. Each of the new personalities was rated #1 in their respective markets and their reputations for ingenious broadcasting techniques was unmatched in the industry according to Lawrence. Schanz landed a job at WXYZ-TV in Detroit, the nation's No. I also ripped a phone off the wall and threw it at Mike Joseph in Buffalo missing him by a hair. What helped him decide his career path was he says he wanted to entertain people and didn't want to wear a tie. Liz Lewin: The former WKBW-TV anchor-reporter, who left the station last summer to become the weekend morning anchor and reporter at WILX-TV in Lansing, Mich., is back in Buffalo. It wasnt just with the expected idea of record sales at places like Twin Fair, more staid institutions such asAM&As were offering The Beatle Bob in their downtown and branch store beauty salons. 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. In another incident while at WDRC in Hartford he once referred to the then Hartford Mayor Ann Uccello as "a stupid broad" while live on the air. Ricardo Efrain Thomas Aquino Carballada de Babilon[1] (April24, 1929[2] March 25, 2021), known professionally as Rick Azar, was an American broadcaster who spent 31 years at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York. Jeff Kaye narrates with the KB Players in The Darkness. No one should begrudge him for leaving for that deal. As program director of WBNY, he shot the 250 watter from near obscurity into first place on both the Pulse and Hooper surveys. At WBNY, Neaverth would pull a rooftop like event similar to Guy Kings, throwing candy out to passersby. They got a good gimmick and made it work.. In addition, a WKBW Community Bulletin Board was featured on all disc jockeys shifts which highlighted activities of local churches, schools and civic organizations. 53 television market. Don Weeks. Today’s top 694 Summer Internships jobs in Paris, le-de-France, France. It is hard to believe anyone would criticize him for taking a job that pays three times as much as UB could afford and that sets his family up for life. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News). Chief Engineer Leroy Fiedler, left, was at WKBW from the very beginning in 1926, and was still with the station through the 60s. 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. 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. I once threw an ashtray at Gene Taylor. Remembered as one of Buffalos most beloved sports broadcasters, Stan Barron was also a disc jockey through most of his time in Buffalo radio, including his turn as WKBWs Clock Watcher. 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. (Buffalo Stories archives). He was the chief rock and pop writer for 20 years and helped establish the weekend entertainment magazine. (Buffalo Stories archives). [1] Reynolds' broadcasting career started on TV in Buffalo at WGR TV 2 and he worked at various stations, including at WNBC. With its clear-channel 50,000 watt signal, KB was heard all over the eastern half of North America. Former KROQ-FM radio personality Rodney "Rodney on the ROQ" Bingenheimer and the estate of the late record producer Kim Fowley were identified in new . It is unlikely she would return to Buffalo TV. Having the good fortune of working with top talent I knew that the station was headed for the top. The building to the left is Heidis Tuxedo, since burned down. "Rocketship 7" kicked off the day with host Dave Thomas and "Promo The Robot!" Some personalities are so renowned and celebrated just one name will do. He also started an on air club for his listeners called The Royal Order Of The Night People. http://blog.buffalostories.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/KB58sm.mp3. 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. His first radio job was WWOL in Buffalo with Dick Purtan, then WKWK, in Wheeling, WV. Reynolds' career memoir is titled, Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella, But Dont Get a Mouthful of Rain. [6], Azar was noted for his tough, blunt personality and willingness to editorialize on-air in an era when sports talk was not yet a developed medium. Please contactus at. While Reynolds' present persona can be considered mellower by comparison, he still retains a loyal audience. If you watched Elvis shake his hips on Ed Sullivan for the first time, and you then listened to Elvis on the radio It wasnt likely KB, even though your memory might tell you otherwise. In 1974, Jeff Kaye became the afternoon drive host on KBs competitor WBEN, effectively ending any future reworking of the covering of the invasion half of the show which remained mostly unchanged through the different broadcasts. The names change, but from Frank Sinatra to Justin Bieber, rigid-minded adults cant understand all the swooning over (some singer) with (some bizarre haircut, bizarre dance, etc.). Dan Neaverth narrates People places things. 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. Rachele Mongiovi: The Channel 4 reporter left the station last week, a move that was reported here weeks ago. If you are experiencing difficulties logging in or are a subscriber getting a paywall, please try one or more of the following steps. Azar, Jolls and Weinstein held their respective positions until Azar's retirement in June 1989. Youll hear snippets of disc jockeys Stan Roberts, Fred Klestine, Jay Nelson, Dan Neaverth, and Joey Reynolds at work, followed by a Henry Brach newscast, and a quick excerpt from Irv Weinsteins documentary Buffalo and La Cosa Nostra. Many KB commercialsand contests follow. Mongiovi is now a reporter at KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, the No. 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. Clues were given each hour and the first person to dial the mystery number was to receive the cash price. In fact, the original building used to be a tabernacle, which is key to what WKBW stands for: "Well Known Bible Witness." Weather Bureau forecast. Anyone who worked at KB in its heyday has stories. Strictly from a Buffalo point of view, in the late 50s and early 60s, KB was one of many stations cranking out the music and antics that made for great rock n roll radio. Left: Fred Klestine, Dan Neaverth, Jay Nelson, Jack Kelly, Doug James, Bob Diamond, Tom Shannon. Much of the time he simply hid in the Old Cathedral. It was under the direction of Al Anscombe that the mostly staid, conservative, WKBW would up-end radio not just in Buffalo but around the country when, as their ad campaign said, KB Goes KA-BOOM! introducing a Top-40 style rock n roll format which debuted 19 months after the 30thanniversary of Doc Churchills WKBW was celebrated in 1956. It was fifty years ago to the day that Sandy was first heard on the airwaves of WKBWradio. Newsman Irv Weinstein, sportscaster Rick Azar, and weatherman Tom Jolls stand as the longest running anchor team in Buffalo television history. Their 30-year tenure became the cornerstone for "Eyewitness News" and that tradition continues today. 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. When station manager Al Anscombe first convinced the Reverend Clinton Churchill to make the switch to Top 40, initially, the station was stocked with out-of-towners at the direction of the man whod established WBNY as the citys Top 40 leader, program director Dick Lawrence. Tom Shannon, a nationally known disc jockey who made his mark in local broadcasting in the late 1950s with the old WKBW-AM 1520, will retire March 31 as afternoon DJ at WHTT-FM 104.1, a rock. From the earliest days of the internet, Steve has been writing, digitizing, and sharing the stories and images of all the things that make Buffalo special and unique. Anyone who worked at KB in its heyday has stories. Faron Young, Capitol Records star, flew in to Buffalo from Nashville; The Pony Tails drove up from Cleveland; The Four Dates and Fabian of Chancellor Records flew in from Philadelphia; and the local recording group, The Tune Rockers, performed on the roof of one of the stores in the plaza. [2] Some personalities are so renowned and celebrated just one name will do. Dick was a genius, said Dick Biondi, He walked around with two shoulder holsters. The half hour program was recorded on these transcription records, sometime before Christmas Day 1954, for playback on that date. He began his radio career as a 14-year-old in 1960 at WCHL Radio in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Azar did not become sports director at WKBW until 1965, when the station's original sports director, Stan Barron, was effectively traded to crosstown rival WBEN-TV in exchange for weatherman Tom Jolls, while Irv Weinstein moved over from AM 1520 to become news director. 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. Steve's Buffalo roots run deep: all eight of his great-grandparents called Buffalo home, with his first ancestors arriving here in 1827. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. KB broadcast to the white area on the map. Lorenz wanted nothing to do with a Top 40 style format. His family owned Lucki-Urban Furniture, sponsors of Jasinskis broadcasts from the 50s-90s. She was loyal to her stations until her last day. It was . We offered a reward to the listener who could first find Dick and return him to KB. BUFFALO, NY Its funny the way memories begin to haze. Eighteen uniformed Buffalo Police officers were hired to help keep the peace among the more than 2,500 teens who showed up to watch the show at the Paramount, which was hosted by WKBW disc jockey Joey Reynolds. I tried to interview her a few weeks ago about her career and her plan to say goodbye to TV news. The place: 1420 Main Street in Buffalo, New York - the original home of WKBW-TV. As often happens, over the last 50 years, for better or for worse, people who remember Guy King or the earliest Tom Shannon or Daffy Dan Neaverth shows, will think they heard those things on KB, forgetting those early pioneering rock nroll days. It was sort of weird a woman coming home from her honeymoon and on the first night shes has a pajama party? 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. Jack Kelly, KBs all night jock prior to July 4th, was only of the few voices to be carried over to the new format. The first broadcast on that snowy night was the Jimmy Cagney classic film, "Yankee Doodle Dandy!" . Jeff Kaye narrates with the KB Players in The Monkeys Paw. Apr 5, 2019. 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. Joseph Pinto, better known as Joey Reynolds, is a long-time radio show host and disc jockey. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Among the others on KBs deejay staff in the mid-50s were Herb Knight, George Hound Dog Lorenz, and Larry Brownell. Id been offered a gig, at the same time, from KLIF in Dallas. Baffos bar on Main Street. A Lackawanna boy who worked in the Bethlehem plant before turning to radio, his broadcast persona was a deep, melodic voiced blue-collar everyman. (Buffalo Stories archives). In the 70s and 80s, it was difficult to spend a day in Buffalo and not somehow be graced by the voice, smile and personality of Clean Dan Neaverth, a true Buffalonian who never forgot his Seneca Street South Buffalo roots and proudly plied his trade among fellow Buffalonians proud to call him one of us.

Retirement Type And Allotment Code: 12, Robert Stanley Signature Collection Fall Tableware 2020, Articles F