REEL TOP 40 RADIO REPOSITORY

Little Skip
Have you seen this child?

Skip as Teen
He became this adolescent!

Skip at WVJC
And was identified as this College Student.

Skip The WAY
And did it His Way.

Skip in 2003
And here's Skip in 2003.

A toast from Skip
Cheers to Life!

The Skipper T. Spence Collection
Skipper T. Spence writes:

"If you were a fan of "The Wonder Years", that was 90% me. I was a small kid with a big passion for every aspect of life, with MUSIC and Top-40 Radio right at the top!

If you like "That 70's Show", that was 95% me. Basement hangout with Lava Lamps, Washer-Dryer to the side, Stereo-Turntable-8 Track (first Cassette in my High School) and a tall red-headed Girlfriend!

The only difference: I have a "Cool Dad" that has a Jimmy Stewart meets John Boy Walton quality!

Skip in the DJ booth at a roller skating rink
Doesn't Skip look like Freddie Prinze, Sr. at the skating rink?
I have two broadcast degrees, one seminary degree and 37 years plus in media. From spinning tunes at a roller rink, to airing the 'taped shows' (including Wolfman Jack and spinning the AT-40 Disks) on The "River City Rocker - WGBF-AM (75-77), to crashing 'GBF's Cash (or is that Crash) Crusier on my graduation night (She hit me!) — doing high school shows on local stations — working in college radio (WUEV and WVJC) — I did it.

I've been an Engineer's sidekick and the "student" of every PD. I did sales and promotions while working at WCIL-FM in Carbondale, IL. (Billboard Station of the Year under Toni Waitekus.) I finally became a satisfied 'teen jock' at KINT-98 in El Paso (Jim Zippo, PD) and while in seminary at WRTB (in southern Indiana). There were those 'in-between' gigs I did at KGMO, KYMO, and KLID, and WRMX (now WMAK). I think I sent out tapes and wanted critique and direction from every major PD of the day! I finally listened to them and became myself.

My students have made me proud, too! Joe Crain at NBC-20 Springfield, IL (Weatherman) and Scott Innes at WYNK (Country) in Baton Rouge (Scooby Do's third generation voice). During seminary, I did a Sunday Morning Christian CHR show on WRTB and it led me to eight years being the first fulltime 'teen jock' in Christian Radio at WAY-FM in Florida and then WAY-FM in Nashville. From '95 to '98, I was helping to put on Christian Alternative/Modern 'Radio-U' in Columbus, Ohio (Where I served as GM and Engineer during that stay). Since 1998, I taught music, started both men's and women's division II College soccer teams, and I did part-time Oldies (WJPS-FM which is now 93.5 The Wolf in Evansville) and News on local stations (former Clear Channel cluster, now Townsquare in Evansville-Owensboro-Henderson.)

I spent Two-plus years as a Marketing Manager for Media relations at Cinergy Communications (dealing with internet audio and websites for radio-tv-paper), WIKY (South Central, where I learned from original owner John A. Engelbrecht when in High School) was home from 2007 to 2010, and I did Saturday and Sunday gigs and fill ins. During that time, I hosted "Joyful Noise", a CCM-Hot AC show on Sunday AM and continued to program and serve on the coffee house board at Youth, Inc. who has WYIR-LP (underground-theocratic outreach in Evansville). I built that little LPFM along with WWPO-LP in Oakland City (Where I served as Assistant Athletic Director of their NCAA-II programs and did play-by-play for basketball on WBTO and then on WYNG..) Also, I did play by play for high school broadcasts and officiated soccer and basketball in Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.

I left WIKY, WYIR, WWPO and an engineering gig at WGAB and Way-Translator in the Evansville area to lease with an option to buy WMRB in Columbia/Spring Hill, TN. I spent thirteen months to push it to break even with sports and local talk. I have an FM Translator coming (in time) for that market. Opted out for a gig in Market #62, Southwest Florida, and I'm now afternoons at 89.5 Praise-FM, WSRX-Naples/FortMyers/CapeCoral/MarcoIsland (www.praisefm.com.)

And that's the update as of April 2011!

The Repository thanks Skipper T. Spence for sharing!

[Descriptions by Skipper T. Spence]

G2/5.0 compatible TOP STREAM 32.0 Kbps (12 Khz)
Composite, WROK Rockford IL. 1973 (04:08)

. . . that's no lady, that's my wife . . .

[Description by Skip Spence]

WROK (Rockford, Illinois) was the sister station of WGBF/Evansville, in the Vern Nolte group. (He had the patent on the cart machine.) They later flipped the CHR over to WZOK in Rockford.

Amazing, under the big Chicago stations' coverage (within an hour of Chi-Town), they were a 25+ AQH station in their market.

[Composite features: Dave Hamilton, Mark Larson, Phil Duncan, Jon London, Mark Elliot and Lee Edwards.]

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G2/5.0 compatible TOP STREAM 32.0 Kbps (11 Khz)
Ron Lundy, WABC New York, January 7, 1981 (27:21)

. . . New York's Radio Station . . .

[Description by Skip Spence]

Here's Ron Lundy from 11:25 to about 11:55 AM on 77 WABC, January 7, 1981.

Lundy seems pretty up with strong GOLD in the rotation, a common play of the 70-80's Top 40/CHR's to get more A/C females in the midday. Music is good, and man, that airchain. But I miss the excitement of the 'verb and the chime time bit.

It's amazing that 'ABC and WNBC were in a hot contest to see who could be the most A/C-sounding CHR in America!

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G2/5.0 compatible TOP STREAM 32.0 Kbps (11 Khz)
Frank Reed, WNBC New York, January 9, 1981 (28:28)

. . . that had me up dancin' . . .

[Description by Skip Spence]

Captain Frank Reed was an Up A/C jock doing CHR as Adult as he could. Frank went on to be one of the major voices and PDs in Contemporary Christian radio, I last spotted him (January 2004) at Contemporary Christian KLTY in Dallas. Got to know him when I was at WAY-FM in Fort Meyers, Florida. Frank was from Orlando (WOCL), and also worked at WIVY in Jacksonville. He was a good friend and a decent raquetball player!

Charlie Warner was given credit as VP-Programming for NBC Radio for coming up with the long "Nnnnn". Charlie was one of our instructors at Southern Illinois University while working on his Journalism Doctorate.

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G2/5.0 compatible TOP STREAM 32.0 Kbps (11 Khz)
Scott Alexander, Jeff Cochran, KWK St. Louis March 1984 (04:03)

. . . it's good to think about it now, in a sober state . . .

[Description by Skip Spence]

Here are some brief breaks from a hybrid "Rock/CHR" experiment that worked well for a few years in St. Louis. WGNU-FM was purchased to simulcast with KWK 1380 as WWWK (106.5). The FM was licensed to Granite City, Illinois (across the river from St. Louis, Missouri) and had to take a four-letter call sign with a "W". Eventually, the FCC allowed the FM to share the KWK three-letter-call.

Jeff Cochran has been a fixture for years in St. Louis rock radio.

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The Skipper T. Spence Collection was established on September 21, 2003.

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