REEL TOP 40 RADIO REPOSITORY
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Brian Kay, currently an Account Executive at 1450 WMOH, Hamilton, Ohio, was interested in television early in life. He even learned to write backwards to be like the weather guys on TV! But his love of music, and the record collection he had started at a young age led to a greater interest in radio — in particular, the Top 40 stations. And, the fact that his father, (whose aircheck is heard in this collection), worked in Top 40 radio also added to Brian's interest. To top it all off, it became a family affair; Brian's brother, Rodger Jr., worked part-time at WMOH, running various syndicated and public service programs, as well as the occasional opportunity to "crack the mic". Having grown up around radio, whether it be the programming or the business side, it was only natural that Brian got into the business. While in high school, he would occasionally do some 'board-opping', when needed, at KNCN-FM in Corpus Christi, Texas; while in college, he got the opportunity to do weekends/swing at KBFM in McAllen/Brownsville, Texas, leading to a full-time shift doing 10pm-2am there. In October 1992, Brian returned to his native Cincinnati, working various odd jobs, while doing weekends at WKRQ-FM, until March of 1995, when he "came home" to be a part of the staff of Hamilton, Ohio's WMOH, where he is today. The airchecks featured are from Brian Kay's personal collection. ENJOY! The Repository thanks Brian for sharing! |
 
Dusty Rhodes, WSAI Cincinnati, June 27, 1966 (11:27)
. . . Cinci's Supersonic Sound . . .
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Cincinnati's WSAI with a good 5kw signal at 1360 went "Top 40" in the summer of 1961. Program Director Gene Nelson was hired from WKBW in Buffalo and installed "the Fabulous Forty" format playing just 40 records with news at :15 and :45 and "Sport Shorts" at :30, around the clock. Nelson did mornings, 6-9, followed by Dick Wagner 9-Noon, Paul Purtan Noon-3, Mark Edwards 3-7, Ron Brittain 7-Midnight and Mike Sherman overnights.
WSAI was very involved in the community with the station deejays doing record hops every weekend and playing on the station's basketball and baseball teams. "The station that loves Cincinnati" continued playing the hits through 1978 when out-of-town management took it country. "The Dusty Rhodes Show" aircheck came from WSAI in the summer of '66. | ||
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Rodger Kay, WMOH Hamilton Ohio, January 10 1969 (4:20)
. . . well, you know how it is - us disc jockeys . . .
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Hamilton, Ohio's 1450 WMOH radio was one of those small market Class IV stations that dotted the map in the '60's and '70's. "The Rodger Kay Show" aircheck, as featured here, is a classic example of Top 40 radio at these small stations. The aircheck, dated January 10, 1969, gives the listener an insight to WMOH at the time. The station signed on at 6am and ran various programs throughout its broadcast day, thus dayparting to its different audiences. Most programming, however, contained music, whether for "housewives" during the day, or the 'Now Sound" at night. Rodger Kay worked the 9pm-1am (sign-off) shift, playing the latest hits, and in some cases (as with this aircheck) playing "Solid Golds Every Other One". In May 1970, Kay did his last regular airshift on WMOH, switching over to the Sales/Management side of the building, where he remained for the next ten years during its "Musicradio WMOH" days. WMOH has always been and is still a unique station. Although it gave up its music format in May 1990 for News/Talk, it still programs to a local and loyal audience, twenty-four hours a day. Rodger Kay is now the Station Manager at KFRQ-FM and KVLY-FM in the McAllen/Brownsville, Texas market. And the beat goes on... |
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Brian Kay at KBFM-FM in McAllen/Brownsville, Texas, 1990
