Being a Radio DJ in the 1970s and in 2016

A Snapshot Of My Radio Days ... Then and Now 

The first radio gig for me came about in Ottawa, Illinois. 

I grew up listening mainly to WLS and WCFL in Chicago. Once I decided I wanted to get paid to play records I began hanging around the local station. 

One day a guy got sick and the owner asked me if I might try to fill in. So I jumped right in and began spinning 45's on big Gates turntables. If a record was slightly warped I would place a coin on the tone arm to prevent it from skipping. 

Later the station moved from that small white building on Ottawa's south side to a space above a laundry mat in a little downtown strip. I liked it because a Dairy Queen and another burger joint were located just across the street. 

I worked 7 to Midnight. Sometimes during a long record I would phone in and hop across the street and grab some chow. If ever a record was going to skip, that would be the time. 

 In 1975 I landed a part time shift at WIRL in Peoria. 

The first songs I played were Jackie Blue by The Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Born To Be Wild By Steppenwolf. 

By then we mostly played songs from cartridges, or "carts" as we called them. 

When I arrived the on-air lineup included Robyn Weaver, Bill McClugage, Charlie O'Dey, Wayne R Miller, Larry O'Brien, Evan Luck and Keith Donnell. After a few months they promoted me to the afternoon shift. In those days, jocks would hang around the station for hours. 

The studios were located in a very nice building on Grosenbach Road in East Peoria. 

Sometimes in winter it could be a challenge to get there as it was up on a hill. Occasionally helicopters were used to bring in air people for their shifts. During good weather we had parties and played volleyball in the big backyard. 

I also worked mornings in Detroit before that city went completely in the hole. We had a great staff and the best equipment available. Our studios were on the 16th floor of The Fisher Building with corporate offices on the 21st floor. 

Sometimes we could see drug deals and other crimes happening on the street below. One of my co-workers was held up and robbed at gunpoint while coming into the building for work. 

 I returned to Peoria after my parents became very ill. They lived in Ottawa, just a 90 minute drive away from Peoria. 

 I like our current facilities in downtown Peoria. Except for the elevators where I got stuck one day for 40 minutes. The view is good and the equipment is top notch. Everything comes off a hard drive these days. 

Technology is great when it works. But on those rare occasions when something takes a dump, it can ruin your day. 

(CLICK images for LARGER view)

We have high end talent all around. 

This is my third time at WIRL, Peoria IL. The station is now Goodtime Oldies 1290 & 102.7 WIRL, also available online at 1290wirl.com plus we have a free application for Droids and iPhones. 

Things have changed big time but the music plays on.

(CLICK images for LARGER view)

leemalcolm.com 

1290wirl.com 

www.bonanza.com/booths/Neon_Clocks_USA

Who Rocked to the Jukebox?

My first exposure to a Jukebox happened at the Starved Rock Yacht Club in Ottawa, Illinois when I was a little kid. 

My parents were members and we would go there frequently. 

The club sat where the Illinois and Fox Rivers intersected and it had a very cool Jukebox. You could stick in a dime and select a song. 

Or you could fire in a quarter and choose three songs. 

Later when I got into radio I said "I don't pay to play music because I get paid to play it." But those were fun days. I especially liked to watch the Jukebox mechanism move back and forth and select the chosen 45's. That might have been more fun than actually listening to the songs. 

Big brands of the Jukebox were Rock-Ola and Wurlitzer. 

I still love those amazing machines. 

These days we create custom neon clocks, hand made in the USA. 

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Pictured below are examples of Jukebox related clocks that will enhance your business or home decor.

www.bonanza.com/booths/Neon_Clocks_USA

leemalcolm.com 

1290wirl.com 

Go Fly a Kite

This is kite-flying season! 

I always thought it was fun to make a kite but I have not done it in a long, long time. There are regular kites, box kites, bat kites and many more styles that you can easily find online along with instructions. 

As a kid I did not have this luxury. We simply made it up as we went along.

Mostly we used newspaper. But you can also make a traditional kite with a garbage bag. Other materials are dowel rods and string and that’s about it. Or you can simply visit a store and buy one.

Kids love kites so why not make one for a child? They’re fun to fly. Plus, you get some exercise while running along to get the kite airborne. Just be sure to avoid wires, trees and other obstacles or it’s bye-bye kite.

Kites were actually invented in China by a couple of philosophers. In the old days they were used for practical purposes including messaging for rescue missions, testing the wind and other stuff. 

No one actually knows if Ben Franklin ever conducted his kite experiment related to electricity. Kites were instrumental in the research of the Wright brothers when developing the first airplane in the late 1800s.

We used to have Kite festivals in Peoria’s Detweiller Park.

So…go fly a kite, OK?

"Fly a Kite" from Mary Poppins on YouTube:

http://bit.ly/19r87xS

leemalcolm.com 

1290wirl.com 

www.bonanza.com/booths/Neon_Clocks_USA

Coolness of Marbles

I grew up about a mile away from a marble factory – just one of four in the U.S. at the time. 

I do not know how many marble factories are around today. Not many. 

The factory near me had bins out back where they tossed defective marbles. They were misshaped and mostly flat. 

We were allowed to play in the bins and take whatever we wanted. So we would load up bags with these defective marbles, take them home and make stuff. I always thought it would be cool to do a bar or counter top with flat ones placed under a glass counter top. But I never did it.

Marbles are not very popular today. But they were when I was a kid. You could play games with them, make stuff with them or go into a field, throw them and try to search and recover. 

My favorite was the Cat’s Eye Opal.

Remember these? 

You could hold one up to the sun, peer into it and get cool prism effects. Unfortunately, I’ve lost my marbles.

How to make oven baked marbles "fried marbles" - with yoyomax12 :

http://bit.ly/1QhSo44

leemalcolm.com 

1290wirl.com 

www.bonanza.com/booths/Neon_Clocks_USA