JD the DJ--Airchecks

Airchecks capture the essence of a radio station's sound. They are recordings of radio programs, highlighting the disc jockey and his presentation, the radio station's promotions and audience builders, and just enough of the music to give you an idea of what was on the station's playlist at the time.

We hope to build the aircheck library here over time, with help from you, the radio listener. If you have any tapes you'd like to contribute, do it!

All of the airchecks in the archive here have been "telescoped." That means the music and many of the commercials have been cut short, with just enough of it so you can hear what the DJ was doing over it, under it, or behind it. Copyright law is a complex subject, and we certainly don't want a hassle with it. Minimizing the music in the airchecks is one way we hope to encourage the lawyers to ignore us. And we hope they will. Our intent here is essentially just to preserve and display a bit of radio as it was, while possibly increasing everyone's interest in radio as it is, no matter what station they pick as their favorite. We think it's a fair use of the material. Nevertheless, we'll immediately honor requests from copyright holders to remove their material from this site.

Airchecks here are in RealAudio® format. If you don't have the player on your computer, you can download it free from http://www.real.com.

That said, here's our aircheck inventory so far. More are on the way. To listen, just click the ID numbers:

Dialup

Broadband

Station & DJ

Year

Dialup
1

Broadband
1b

Jeff Douglas on WPTR, Albany and KIRL, suburban St. Louis, then J. Douglas on WIXO and WNOE, New Orleans

1971-1975

A half-hour of early JD, filling in on afternoon show on WPTR in Albany, NY in late 1971, then mornings at KIRL in suburban St. Louis. Although he'd gotten into radio at his college radio station, WRPI in Troy, NY, as "J. Douglas," WPTR already had J. W. Wagner doing mornings, so J. became Jeff at WPTR and KIRL. At WIXO and WNOE-AM in New Orleans, it was back to J. Douglas," middays at WIXO in 1974, and all-nights at WNOE-AM in 1975. Can you remember when the Led Zeppelin IV album was brand new?

Dialup
2

Broadband
2b

Jeff Douglas on WPTR, Albany

1972

Jeff Douglas doing his usual all-night show at WPTR, the 50,000-watt AM station in Albany, NY on a "heavy winter weekend" in early 1972.

Dialup
3

Broadband
3b

J. Douglas on WIXO in New Orleans

1973

The late Michael Green, who did middays at WTIX-AM in the early 70's before becoming Program Director at WIXO in 1973, closes his show on a July Saturday morning to make way for J. Douglas. Check the hourly wages offered by the Louisiana State Employment Service, and the $3,900 Chrysler Newport in the Fred Drake Chrysler-Plymouth ad!

Dialup
4

Broadband
4b

Tom Owens on WIXO in New Orleans

1973

Tom Owens aircheck and production demo recorded during his afternoon drive shift on 12/6/73. Would you rather go out on a date or a prune?

Dialup
5

Broadband
5b

Tom Owens on WIXO, New Orleans

1974

Tom Owens on WIXO, New Orleans, in May of 1974. People taking their clothes off, blacks and whites getting it on--what's the world coming to?

Dialup
6

Broadband
6b

Tom Owens on WRNO, New Orleans

1974

After leaving WIXO, Tom Owens moved to WRNO, where consultant Lee Abrams developed his Superstars album rock format at 'RNO, one of the first stations in the country to do it. This is an aircheck and production demo. Check out the $3.99 sale price on the Bachman Turner Overdrive and New York Dolls albums!

Dialup
7

Broadband
7b

Tom Owens on WNOE-FM, New Orleans

1975

It's 1975. Aerosmith's Walk This Way is brand new. The Jazz are a New Orleans basketball team. And Linda Lovelace is running for President. Tom Owens is working at WNOE-FM with ex-Abrams compatriot Sonny Fox, whom you'll hear here promoting the Sunday night specials. Bobby Reno from WTIX was Program Director at WNOE-FM, which was anything but country back then. And the enemy was WRNO. Plenty of interesting commercials at the end of this aircheck & production demo.

Dialup
8

Broadband
8b

Weerd Wayne, Dolph, and J. Douglas on WRNO, New Orleans

1989

Labor Day Weekend, 1989, JD got stuck in an hour-long traffic jam on the I-10 Twin Span over Lake Pontchartrain on the way to his 7 PM - 12 M show. Weerd Wayne and Dolph cover for him 'til he gets there. 'TIX-FM morning man Michael in the Morning was Program Director at 'RNO back then; he's heard on the promo for the Isle of Dreams Treasure Hunt.

Dialup
9

Broadband
9b

J. Douglas on WRNO, New Orleans

1984

Following Terry Knight's screaming commercial for Thirsty's, JD does his own live screaming PSA, then has more fun at the next break when he accidentally start's TK's commercial again.

Dialup
10

Broadband
10b

Johnny Tyler on WRNO, New Orleans

1984

Johnny Tyler fills in for Bobby Reno in January of 1984. Not to take anything away from Johnny, but the best part of this aircheck is Dan Ingram on a commercial urging listeners to get AIDS! Remember, the disease hadn't been discovered yet.

Dialup
11

Broadband
11b

JD & Sambo Interview Stephen Stills on WRNO

1978

Stephen Stills grew up in Covington, Louisiana north of New Orleans. In September, 1978, he "came home" to see the Muhammed Ali-Leon Spinks fight in the Superdome. He brought a 2-track tape of his new Thoroughfare Gap album and dropped in on JD on a Saturday night. Sambo did middays at WRNO and lived in the Imperial House motel on North Causeway in Metairie, which also housed the WRNO studios. He dropped by as well, and actually does most of the interview. Hear what Steve Stills thinks about the recording process, the music business, the Ali-Spinks fight, the New Orleans police, Gary Busey in The Buddy Holley Story, and the ancient tape deck at WRNO that can be heard doing its best to nearly destroy his tape! Thanks to Art Parr of Mandeville for this contribution. These days, you'll find Sambo disguised as Bo Roberts doing mornings at KZPS in Dallas, along with Jim White, another ex-WRNO jock. Interview photo.

Dialup
12

Broadband
12b

JD Near the End at WRNO

1991

This is JD doing a Saturday morning at WRNO for a change, not too long before he hung up his headphones there when the station switched to the short-lived, syndicated Z-Rock format. This was a simulcast on the shortwave WRNO Worldwide at 15.420 MHz, as well as the FM. You'll spot snippets of Kenny Vest and Michael in the Morning on some of the commercials here.

Dialup
13

Broadband
13b

Chuck Kirr, WTIX-AM.

1979

Chuck Kirr on WTIX around 4 PM in December, 1979 when WTIX sounded pretty much like WNOE-AM at the time. You'll hear Terry Young on a commercial, and a promo for Bobby Reno doing Noon to 6 PM the next day. , You can hear “The Chucker” now as “Doc” Thayer, owner of WZPH, 96.7, The Zephyr in Florida. A well-traveled (and well-educated) disc jockey whose been to stations in Illinois, Milwaukee, Trenton, Fayetteville, Buffalo, Miami, Chattanooga, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Miami, “Doc” has settled with his doctorate and radio station in the Tampa area. Thanks to Christopher Roach for this contribution.

Dialup
14

Broadband
14b

“Fast” Eddie Coyle, WEZB "B-97" FM

1986

“Fast” Eddie Coyle, now doing mornings at KEGL in Dallas/Ft. Worth, filled in for "Cajun" Ken Cooper on this morning in January, 1986. Thanks to Christopher Roach for this contribution.

Dialup
15

Broadband
15b

Athena & Jeff, WKZN

2003

Athena & Jeff on the now-defunct WKZN, 105.3 The Zone. This telescopes the 6 - 9 AM portion of their 5 AM - 9 AM show on 11/17/03 into an aircheck a little over two hours long, so there wasn't much music to remove. Plenty of talk and fun, though. They ask listeners for wedding proposal stories, and interview Cosmo magazine's Louisiana bachelor lawyer and hunk Josh Holmes, who in turn interviews a couple of lady listeners Dating Game-style. The winner gets a French Quarter date with him. Gene & Julie from Lite 94.9 in Atlanta call in to pay off on a Saints-Falcons game bet.

Dialup
16

Broadband
16b

WRNO Worldwide Station ID by Joe Costello

Unknown

The late Joe Costello, founder and ex-owner of WRNO-FM and WRNO Worldwide, the USA's first commercial shortwave station, on a produced station identification for WRNO Worldwide. The station was on the air throughout the Eighties and early Nineties. Thanks to Fred Lehmann for this contribution, taped off the air in South Dakota.

Dialup (20 kbps mono)
17

Broadband (64 kbps stereo)
17b

Bill Stedman, WRNO

1974

Bill Stedman was the Program Director installed at WRNO by Lee Abrams and Sonny Fox when they brought their Superstars format to New Orleans. He also handled the midday jock chores. This aircheck was from a reel-to-reel tape that had apparently rolled on a tape deck in the Radio Shack store in Arabi, Louisiana (it ain't dere no more, thanks to Hurricane Katrina) The tape was discovered behind a stereo display fixture in the store a few years later. This sample makes it clear that the format was "all about the music." Trigger Black (Gary Guthrie) shows up for his afternoon gig at the end of this clip. Trigger had done a brief stint at WNOE in 1973, then at the megawatt AM XEROK in Juarez, Mexico (as B. J. McAllister), before landing back in New Orleans at 'RNO. Also heard in this clip: longtime WNOE newsman Dave Kushler pedaling Marshall Brothers Lincoln-Mercurys; Pre-Superstars WRNO PD Doug Christian on an ad for The Courier, a favorite long-haired New Orleans weekly newspaper; Greg Allman's 7-minute Dreams twice in one jock shift (must have been in the hot rotation); an ad for the X-rated feature-length cartoon, The 9 Lives of Fritz the Cat as a midnight movie at The Saenger Theater; "Hosie" Pollet, an 'RNO engineer, pedaling Maxell tape for Alterman Audio, and plenty of mention of 'RNO's music "in quad," the short-lived 4-channel quadrophonic sound which appeared on vinyl discs in several different formats, mostly the matrix SQ format from Columbia and other labels. WRNO also used two separate mikes for the jock at the time, so you can hear the jock turning his head.

Dialup 18 (20 kbps)

Broadband
18b (64kbps)

Jeff Douglas, KIRL

1972

Here's JD in his earlier Jeff Douglas persona at KIRL, an AM Top 40 in suburban St. Louis. It starts with ABC news interviewing Elvis Presley after his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. So this tape was probably of a Saturday morning show on June 10, 1972. It's the tail end of the weekly countdown.

Dialup 19 (32 kbps)

Broadband
19b (64kbps)

Bob Walker, WTIX

1968

WTIX could pump out a pretty good AM signal. At the age of 14, John Weeks recorded this aircheck of Bob Walker on WTIX up in Natchez, Mississippi, over 100 miles away. This one is under a minute long. Thanks, John!

Dialup 20 (32 kbps)

Broadband
20b (64kbps)

Grady Brock, WNOE

1974

The self-proclaimed "Ugliest Human Being in Rock 'n' Roll," here's "Doctor" Grady Brock on WNOE in 1974. Not long after the gasoline shortages of 1973, Grady proved there was no energy shortage on WNOE! Thanks again to John Weeks for this one. Visit http://johnweeksaudio.com and check out the Links/Airchecks link for more airchecks, especially in the Mississippi area.

Dialup

Broadband

Station & DJ

Year

Dialup
V1

Broadband
V1b

J. Douglas on WRNO, New Orleans

1990

JD in the revamped studio in what was then the WRNO Building at Clearview Parkway & I-10 (now it's the WTIX Building). The studio was built to be bigger, since the old room was running out of room for the vinyl LPs, which were still the bulk of what 'RNO played at the time. In addition to the Panasonic SP-10 direct-drive turntables, the studio did have CD decks, and there was a small stack of CDs in the studio. On this late November night, the Tulane Green Wave led the LSU Tigers early. Watch JD get the Led out, and check the final score on the game. Hear WRNO founder Joe Costello offer the shortwave services of WRNO Worldwide (first non-religious, commercial shortwave outlet in the US) for listeners to send messages to loved ones in the armed forces overseas right before the 1991 Gulf war. Some of the sound is as received off the air; some was the live sound in the studio.