L-R: Timmy Manocheo, Shadoe Stevens, Jim Pewter, Lou Irwin
at the Southern California Radio Reunion at Fuddruckers in Burbank.
June 19, 2017
by Rollye James
and
Claude Hall
Timmy Manocheo: “First of all, my best to Scott St. James & his continued recuperation. I’ll
never forget Scott’s kind words to me, years ago, as well as his eulogy speech for Jack
Roberts. Scott has a way of getting to the heart of paying tribute to those he considers special
people. On my way to Burbank last Saturday, I stopped by Kevin Gershan's home & what a
wonderful guy this man is. Aside from the spectacular array of great memorabilia, he is just a
prince of a fellow to be around. The stories! Turns out, he & I are long lost members of the
same "Brotherhood of Telephone Henchmen"! He wished to donate several great record album
additions to the Archive Of Vinyl, now located in Redding, Calif. (What a kick the youtube
video is of him in his HIGH school days).
“Fuddrucker's in Burbank, this June was a very happy occasion. Lots of key people in the
L.A.'s radio history scene made it, as well as radio folks from other areas of the country.
Rollye, I'm waiting for photos to be emailed in, from other photographers, but meanwhile
here's some pic's taken with my camera. I only took a few shots of a small portion of those who
attended, because I had to put the camera down & hold a few bottles of beer, every now &
then, therfore I was very busy. I'll try to name names….”
L-R: Ron Shapiro, Al Archileta, Jim Carson, Jeffrey Leonard
L-R: Don Elliot, Carole Reed, David Reed
Dale Turner: “Thanks so much for the mention and coverage of my book. Several folks have
reached out so please know how active your online column is guys!! By the way, I followed
up with the question on the whereabouts of Bob Young. Gina Preston, who was his Music
Director at WXTU/Philly gave me the sad news that Bob has passed away. Wish I had brighter
news on that front. Thanks again for all you do on behalf of radio and records.”
Hal Smith: “Bob Young, real name David Forcheimer, passed away a few years ago. He was
living in the Sacramento area at the time. Bob was the PD at KNEW when I was the GM.
Later we were competitors in Philadelphia.”
Claude Hall to Bob Weisbuch: “Dr. Bob, I just told my wife Barbara that "Hitbound" is not
just a good book, but a damned good book ... one of the best I've ever read and certainly one of
the best about radio. I'm about a fourth of the way through. Check on spelling of Grahame
Richards. I tried to do it for you, but ….”
Rollye: “You got it, Claude. Jim “Grahame Crackers” Richards (as he was known on the
air) spelled 'Grahame' with an ‘e’ at the end. Hard to believe he’s been gone 25 years now.
“Thinking about Grahame got me to thinking about New Orleans. Bob Walker has done it
again. Come up with a great website full of New Orleans musical gems. Remember ‘Yat?
Then check out YatRadio.com —I did and the first thing I heard was a great instrumental on
Don Robey’s Peacock label, “Gonzo” by James Booker.”
Barry ONeil: “Was just listening to this station. "Cruisin' Oldies". They play 50's 60's and a
few 70's with station announcements, what station it is, but no ads. How do they make
money?”
Rollye: “I had to laugh at Barry’s question because I get it a lot about my KJAA, which I don’t
try to monetize (the obscure R&B oldies on it are for my pleasure— if anyone else wants to
hear those songs, great, but unlike our FM which rules the area, I can’t expect avertisers to buy
‘Jukebox 1240’). KSUR is a different story though. Saul Levine can attract billing on it, and
probably will at some point. And I wonder about a translator, since the format is also heard on
the HD-2 channel of his KKGO, which offers more flexibility to strategically place a translator
than the 1260 pattern allows (though the AM’s daytime coverage is respectable). It’s the old
KGIL, originally licensed to San Fernando. Saul Levine’s Mt. Wilson Broadcasters bought it
in 1992 (from Buckley, which picked it up in 1960), and it has sported a wide variety of call
letters and formats since then (and a change of COL to Beverly Hills).
“We got several emails from Warren Cosford this week. Among them was one with a link to
a Washington Post article on country music stars doing radio tours. Read it here. I can relate
to everything in it. Radio airplay was, and is, the key to hit records, so virtually every country
star would make the trek. (The irony of record labels now wanting radio to pay them for the
privilege of serving as their promotion arm isn’t lost on me.)
“It wasn’t always smooth sailing. When I was at Epic, I remember putting together a tour for
one up and comer who shall remain nameless. The problem with the guy was he had a
penchant for hitting on the wives of management. (I have no notion of his success rate, but I’m
certain that the husbands were irate when he tried.) Scheduling to avoid those encounters was
tricky (and occasionally impossible). I also had to dodge phone calls from any place Johnny
Paycheck stayed. It wasn’t long before we nicknamed him Johnny Badcheck.
“Things weren’t easier on the other side of the hall at Columbia. One afternoon I ran into an
artist who was bleeding from the wrist all over the lobby carpet. (Fortunately it was bright red
and the stains barely surfaced.) Turns out he had just punched a hole through a picture hanging
on the wall of one of female stars on the label, with whom he was having an affair. Apparently
he took it seriously and she didn’t. But the most tricky part was escorting him out of the
building before one of the producers upstairs (who was married to the gal) figured it out
(though in retrospect, I suspect he knew it and much more). Sodom and Gomorrah had
nothing on Nashville-Davidson back then.
“Regardless of behind the scenes shenanigans, everybody who was anybody got there by
understanding the necessity of respecting the fans and the power of radio. Or at least faking it
very well. Some guys, like Eddie Arnold, were great businessmen and genuinely good
people. It easily explained why he was on the charts for five decades when others lasted more
like five minutes.”
Warren Cosford: “When I was a "Country Gentleman" on CJOB-FM in 1965, every time Bill
Anderson had a new Single, it would arrive during the week and then he'd call me at the
station on Sunday.”
Tom Anderson: “Bill (Anderson) was a DJ in Commerce, Georgia before he made it big in
Nashville...and he knows the importance of one-on-one contact with DJs.”
Rollye: “Almost universally, country stations and jocks were delighted to hear from hitmakers
and bent over backwards to be cordial (particularly with the ‘stars’). When I worked for
Charlie Rich at the height of his popularity, I knew how much it meant for a jock to get a call
from him. Rarely would he do it. (And given his tenuous hold on sobriety, rarely would I
force him.) But I made a lot of points by keeping stacks of albums in my car that I’d drop off
in the most unlikely places (radio stations in trailers by the side of roads to nowhere). The
programmers never forgot it, and once in a while, they rose to powerful positions.
“Apparently that dynamic has changed. It must have, or CBS never would have banned a hit
maker because she was dating a Clear Channel morning guy. Warren passed along this story.
What’s not mentioned is CBS has since done a big mea culpa. The whole thing will do nothing
but help singer Lindsay Ell. No matter how many stations she visited, without CBS'
unwittingh help, she never could have generated as much publicity as she's getting. Good for
her— and the guy she’s dating, Bobby Bones. I’ve read his, ‘I’m Not Lonely If You’re
Reading This Book’ and instantly liked the guy.
“Warren has also been keeping us updated on Dave Mazmanian, a well known denizen of the
Canandian records and radio scene. Actually, Dave originally hailed from Waukegan, Illinois.
J. Robert Wood found Dave when he was a board op at Chicago’s WCFL and brought him to
Toronto’s CHUM. Mazmanian was one of CHUM’s secret weapons (at a time when board
ops with Top 40 sensibilities were a rarity). Dave remained in Canada, working for Capitol
Records, among other music related entities. Recently he was hospitalized from a second
stroke. Warren gave us the sad news that Dave Mazmanian passed away Saturday Night.”
Dave Mazmanian back in the day
Rick the writer in Sarnia (commenting just before Dave’s passing): “I am afraid it is "End of
Days" for David. While sleeping David suffered a huge blood clot bursting inside his head on
the right side. His stroke 4 years ago was on the left. They took him immediately to hospital
and placed him on life support. Jennifer [Dave's daughter] says he has no "quality of life" and
the Doctors have advised family and friends to say their final goodbyes. I guess he was alone
at the time. Jennifer had been at a conference in Atlanta when this event took place. By the
grace of God she was able to get back to Canada and his bedside in a little over 4 hours. As
you can imagine Jennifer is quite upset. But she has been a rock through all of this and
many times David has mentioned to me how thankful he was to have her and of how proud he
was of her as well. I told her the iconic story of David and I crashing Whitney Houston's
Canadian Showcase Preview.
“It was at a new venue, Peaches on Pears in Yorkville. The place was packed. Three deep at
the bar and no seating anywhere. There was one solitary table in a spotlight right in front of the
stage with no others around. There was just a HUGE reserved sign on it and nothing else. The
show was late. There was an anxious murmur and rising tension around the fringes. The crowd
was "waiting" for something. We had all heard the rumors of this unbelievable singer related
to Dionne Warwick coming up from the States. Everyone anticipated something exciting and
something big was about to rock the world. This was Whitney Houston's Canadian
introduction. She was just starting to but still hadn't hit big in The States yet, but like all true up
and coming legends there was a huge buzz about her.
“David and I pushed through the crowd and made our way forward. We walked around and
past the packed tables that filled the dance floor and were standing out like a sore thumb. With
nowhere else to go, and looking foolish David said "Hey Boog, quick sit here". I told him he
was nuts and pointed to the sign. We sat down anyway. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
“It was ‘us’ they were waiting for.!!! It had to be. I was a Big older guy and David was the hip
R&R type with a man purse. We MUST be the big shots from the record company. Who else
would sit there? Just The BIG MONEY and the R&R guy.
“I swear no sooner than we sat down and the lights went dim the music started and out walked
the most stunningly beautiful, freshed faced young woman in a long sequined dress I had ever
seen. She acknowledged the crown and then she looked deep into my eyes and then sang every
song to David and I. It was like there were just the three of us alone in the room. Every song
was performed and directed ust to us. With a huge Whitney smile and holding eye contact with
us throughout. Well. I immediately fell in love with her and her talent. I was ready to leave
with her and go anywhere she wanted. The show was finally over. The standing room only
crowd was going wild when David and I, slouched low, left the table and made or way to the
bar. I had a lot of good times with that man. He is one of a kind.
“I think Jennifer would like to hear any stories about David that others may have. I am sad in
real time writing this but I am feeling like a smiling 26 year old Rock and Roller, Midnight
Toker, Clown of the Night and Prince of the City Again.”
Dave Charles: “We lost the Maz early last night. So grateful that we were there to say
goodbye! Thanks Roger for all you did for Maz. And to Barry Haugen and Graham
Thorpe, thank you for everything and for being at the hospital today to say goodbye. I talked
to Maz's daughter Jennifer this morning and assured her that she's now has many new radio
and music uncles. She laughed and said Oh NO!
“Today let's celebrate his sense of fun and spirits. Yes Spirits ....and if you're so inclined raise
a shot of ole # 7 Jack Daniels, his favourite drink! How the hell did he like that stuff!!! Yes,
Maz has left the planet but know that he's probably at some red velvet dark dive bar right now
just outside the Milky Way romancing a gorgeous girl. The ladies loved the Maz! To the one
and only Mazmanian devil! RIP. You will be missed.”
Production Bob: “Sad news. Dave was one of the first guys I met when I joined CHUM in
1972 and it was Dave who trained me as an Op. He made it very clear that I was not going solo
until I had my mechanics down to a science....took me close to a week.”
Brian Thomas: “It's so sad to hear of Dave passing. I was chatting with him less than a month
ago at the CHUM reunion at Jingles in Toronto. He was smiling and seemed happy to be there
seeing some of the people he worked with at CHUM 40 or more years ago.
“I will never forget Dave as perhaps the most fantastic control board operator I have ever seen.
As I recall, Dave Mazmanian was the on air operator for one of my very first newscasts on
almighty 1050 CHUM. I was nervous enough and became a little more so and even more
aware that THIS was CHUM as I waited to go on air, looking through the glass in front of me.
There he was, David, not sitting down but standing, hands wildly playing that control board
like a piano and his whole pumped body moving up and down the length of it. Then he looked
directly at me and through the intercom said "coming up" and that famous CHUM news intro
filled my head and there was a white flash cue....I was on. It's a lasting memory. But,
strangely, I can't remember what jock was on air at the time but I have always remembered
Dave from that occasion and all the others where we worked together. Dave Mazmanian (at
one time I used to think his name was MazMANIA) will always be one of my most cherished
CHUM memories.
“Years later when David became coordinator of the radio broadcasting program at Humber
College, he and I would get together to discuss broadcast education. I hope this can be passed
on to his daughter Jennifer.”
Shadoe Stevens: “Another great column…do you know if there will be any recordings of the
broadcast everyone did on the air in Boston? I would love to hear them.”
Mel Phillips: “I will continue to send photos from the WRKO 50th. And yes, there will be
both audio and video available of the reunion. When I have them, you'll have them. I hope you
can use this interview by Erica Farber.” [Here’s Erica’s “Radio On Main Street” podcast. It’s a
quick 15 minutes, and worth the listen.]
Art Vuolo: “Just to bring you up to date, Ray Glasser made the trip to Boston from his home
in suburban Cleveland not Columbus. Also it should be known, as you might imagine, that I
recorded everything that weekend on video! That includes the big dinner on Friday night at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel in Newton MA and of course the phenomenal broadcast at the WRKO
studios in Brighton, just 5 miles down the road. Editing it all will be a bitch because there was
so much good material and I want to get it down to a reasonable length so that it's shorter than
a combination of "Gone With the Wind" and "The Ten Commandments." All and all it was a
very historic broadcast, and I'm glad I took the time and effort to fly to Boston on my new
favorite airline…JetBlue. Similar to Southwest, but complementary video movies, TV, Sirius
XM, and best of all free Wi-Fi… ya had me at FREE! My goal is to have the 50th anniversary
WRKO reunion video finished and ready for distribution and two DVDs by the end of this
month. I absolutely love what you're doing with this publication, it's much needed.”
Ray Glasser: “Hi, guys, and thanks for including me on your June 12th column! However, one
small correction: I am from Cleveland, Ohio, not Columbus! I met Claude 3 years ago when I
was in Las Vegas and Art Vuolo, Joey Reynolds, and I visited him at his incredible home in
Las Vegas! As for myself, I am currently involved with two stations: I am the co-founder/air
talent/videographer/production coordinator of WIXY1260Online.com, an online recreation of
the Cleveland powerhouse WIXY1260, plus I do a part-time gig twice a month on WJCU, John
Carroll University's FM station, on a show called Retro Radio, recreating radio of the 60s.
Having a ball!!”
Rollye: “The Columbus mix up is entirely mine. Ray’s brother, Jeff (who sadly, died last
August), worked with my husband, Jon, at QUBE in Columbus (Warner Cable’s amazing
interactive television attempt that spawned, among other things, what would become
Nickelodeon and MTV). Oh well, Flippo was originally from Cleveland. (Anyone growing up
in Columbus will remember Flippo The Clown, a character created by Cleveland native Marv
Fishman, aka Bob Marvin. He was quite the character on and off the air.) QUBE turns 40
this year. There will be no reunion. Some folks may get together in LA, but no one will be
heading to Columbus’ Olentangy River Road— the QUBE building has been torn down. (In
2012. Now it’s Miller’s Ale House.) The big QUBE sign in front of it will be arriving here
next month— don’t even ask where that’s going, but I’ll figure something out.)
Jerry Del Colliano: “Thank you once again for the very generous shout out for
InsideMusicMedia. The situation with WOGL PD Anne Gress has me very upset. When
taking your station to number one earns your firing then there is something wrong with the
radio industry not the fine person being let go. It used to be that if you programmed ONE
station successfully, you were pretty damn good. Now, they are putting two people where
Anne once presided (along with their other programming responsibilities) and — nothing
personal — but she possessed so much more. If incompetent owners are going to pull stunts
like this, I’m at least going to make sure they get a chance to look like the fools that they are.
Hope both of you are well!!”
Rollye: “Success is the best revenge. I have a feeling it will turn out to be a blessing for Anne
to be out of there before the official changing of the guard, and I bet she’ll be ensconced
somewhere much better by the time it occurs. It will be radio’s good fortune if she chooses to
go to another station. Either way, I know InsideMusicMedia will have every detail.”
Joey Reynolds to Jerry Del Colliano: “Old people doing syndicated shows? How about
experienced people bringing the gap? And what about towers— why do we have them if we
don't serve the area of coverage with vital entertainment and local news? Do millennials know
that phones are AM from towers— how about that for an image buster? And how can we steal
the car business away from TV and sell the things that contain the dashboard on the
dashboard? A hang with the seal that shot Bin Laden with no phone calls or politics. This is
broadcasting. Multi platforms, multi generational, multi cultural.”
Rollye: “The aforementioned Navy Seal was on Joey’s show last week. So was Dick Cavett.
I thought he was already dead, which had me really believing it was the Late Joey Reynolds
Show.. or at least Joey Reynolds and his Late Guests. Turns out Cavett is very much alive, and
his wit is sharp as ever. Hear it for yourself.
Joey Reynolds: “Nick's Diner in Palm Beach Florida with a big jukebox and James Dean
photos in the men's room. I thought you would like a candid look rather than the profanatory
poses and posturing.
L-R: Big Jim Davis, Tim Byrd, Al Bandiero
Al Bandiero & Bill Hennes
Joey Reynolds: “Jim is living out his one year consultancy and doing a daily show on one of
his former stations, we met in Buffalo when he had a radio station in his basement, Jim hired
me at KMPC which got me the first satellite show-satellite live from Dick and Burt studios in
LA. Bill hired Al at CKLW. Al is producing a movie about drugs and cops.”
The cop soon to be immortalized in Al's movie.
Bill Hennes: “Picture of the Motley radio crew having lunch at Nicks 50s Diner in West Palm
Beach, Florida... Friday Jun 16th.”
\
L-R: Bill Hennes, Big Jim Davis, Joey Reynolds, Al Bandiero and Tim Byrd
Mel Phillips: “These photos (courtesy of
Clark Smidt, Cheryl Knapp & Ray Glasser)
were taken the weekend of June 2 - 4, 2017:”
Bottom Row L-R: Hartley Pleshaw, Gordy Brown, Fred Ury, Linda Ury Greenburg.
Top Row L-R: Paul Power, George Capalbo Jr., J.J. Jeffrey, Al Gates, Mel Phillips, Joel Cash,
Chuck Knapp, Jeff Lawrence, Rich Stadlen & Radio's Best Friend (Video Master) Art Vuolo.
RKO Chuck Knapp directs the radio show.
L-R: Mike Addams, Gordon Brown, J.J. Jordan
L-R: Lenny Petze, J.J. Jeffrey, Bobby & Lennie Collins
L-R: A panoramic view of the dais and dinner crowd
