Scott:

Have just spent a half hour traveling your site. It's probably the best web site--certainly the best nostalgia/old time/popular history site I've seen this year. The content is 1st rate, and the connective narrative is literate, effective, and entertaining. The site is surprisingly extensive and the amount of historical material is astonishing for a hobby web site.  

I actually remember listening to Smile-A-While and Lulu Belle and Scotty, and the National Barn Dance, in the 40s and early 50s, from a farm outside Battle Creek, Michigan. I was surprised to learn that Gene Autry started at WLS.

 

-Jack Handley


   

Scott,

WLS AM is the "comfort food" of radio. a home base no matter where one is located in the United States.

I first picked up WLS in Memphis when a girlfriend told me about it. After I was drafted, I was stationed at NAS Glenview, where many days, night and years, WLS kept me in touch with the "rest of the world" and I kept up with the radio wars between the different stations in Chicagoland.

Bob Sirott and John Landecker took me through many of the cold long Chicago nights. JJ Jeffrey, Fred Winston, Tommy Edwards and Larry Lujack filled in what otherwise would be dead air during my mornings and afternoons on my days off in the navy. Like many, I had dreams and consideration of one day working as part of the staff of WLS in broadcasting.

Listening to WLS on New Years Eve became a tradition in my life. No matter where I would be, I would tune in to WLS at 12 midnight to listen to the timesweep montage of songs of the past years to reflect the memories of the year just completed and of the earlier transistor radio days in rock and roll. Sometimes making it a music trivia game of naming as many title of songs, the artist and year of the songs from the timesweep montage.

When i visited and later moved to Houston, I continued to pick up and listened to WLS. During my 2 weeks active duty in the Navy Reserves, I even picked up WLS at NAS Corpus Christi.

WLS is truely an "Americana Panarama" in the back pages of our minds but always in the front cover of our hearts that the millions that listened and experienced a small part if WLS history.

WLS is "America's Radio Station."

I'm just another "ear wax" of the millions of ears that listened to WLS.

 

-Larry Chow
Houston, Texas

 

 

 

What a treat to come across this website after so many years. My late husband, Peter Garrett was a salesperson for WLS in the late 1970's. He and Freddie [Winston] were great buddies and John "Records" Landecker was an often seen "Third Musketeer." Peter and Freddie formed a Rock n Roll band back then and had the time of their lives.

Working for WLS was a catalyst for their many shenanigans, being young, living fast and somewhat out of control was, well, what ya did! Many great memories.

Peter died of Lymphoma in 1996 and left a daughter, who was eight years old at the time. She is now 16, a spitting image of him, same temper and wit as well. Imagine a female Peter. Anyone who knew Peter knows I have my hands full!

My fondest regards to WLS and Happy Anniversary!

 

-Kim Garrett

 

 

   

Hi there,

I write articles for my Huntsville, Alabama hometown paper. I wrote one recently about being able to pick up WLS late at night - it was magical for me. I have attached it for your interest.

Yours,

-Blossom Wood

And you can read it here! ~Scott

 

 

 

  

After visiting your Where Are They Now section, I wanted to let you know about another former WLS jock. He is the other Bill Bailey and was the morning man at the Big 89 in the late 60s. After returning to WAKY in Louisville, KY, Bill worked at WTMT in Louisville then on to WVLK in Lexington where he retired from radio. After some health problems, Bailey now lives at a nursing community in Oldham County, KY near Louisville. Bailey continues to improve. Bailey enjoys hearing from his old radio pals.

-Robin

Great to hear! You can write to Bill Bailey via Robin at robinka77@bellsouth.net  ~Scott

 

 

   

Hi Scott,

I know it's redundant, but thanks for putting together a great website. My early WLS radio listening days go back to 1964 when I was 9 years old, listening to my mother's Sears Silvertone table radio on the kitchen counter. At 6:15 or so, I would stop whatever I was doing to hear the day's countdown to the number one song before "News-Scope" would come on at 6:30. My parents got tired of hearing "rock & roll" music competing with their TV watching and finally got me my first transistor radio, a Ross RE-777 Jubilee, which I still have. I now collect transistor radios and have well over 400 so I guess you could say my collection was inspired by WLS!

-Stewart Michard

 

 

   

Scott,

Just found your WLS Barn Dance site last night and it's really great !! 
In your Max Terhune description, you say he was in a few movies. You probably never saw any of them, but they were mostly "B" westerns. I was not aware of his sound effects background, but do recall that he did a ventriloquist act in several of the pictures -- had a dummy dressed in a cowboy outfit -- and probably actually did the ventriloquism himself since he had the sound effects background.

I did a quick check on Max Terhune and found the Anderson Indiana 
Library site has a nice one page bio on Max with a photo of Max with his
dummy Elmer . On the same web page is a link to a site listing all of 
the movies in which Max appeared. There are over 70 listed, including 
several starring Gene Autry, whom Max met while they were both on the NBD.

The web address is http://www.surfnetinc.com/chuck/terhune.htm

Thanks again for the great website and keep up the good work !!

-Bill Block
Pennsylvania

Bill, thanks for the great update on Max. Glad to see that his family has shared many photos and stories.  Above is a nice photo of the Barn Dance crew from 1934. According to the info, it was taken the day Gene Autry got his telegram to come to Hollywood. Many thanks to Minard Coons and Tracy Terhune! ~Scott

 

 

   

Scott-

I love your site, but I have to say that I especially was impressed with the years of jingles. Some were before my time, but there was a point in the montage when everything started sounding familiar and was like going through a 30+ year time warp. (I am 39 now in 2006) All of us kids used to always listen to WLS (Music radio) on the school bus. To and from school. No FM stereo available. (thank heavens) It had to be the only decent station on back then, or now.

- Ryan P. Waldron

 

   

Hello! 

Thank you for your wonderful site on the History of WLS Radio, and top 89 countdown. Maybe I just like the fact that someone else knows what a "Fantasic Plastic" card is. I cherished mine as a child.

-Kimmy Salvinski - Garcia

 

 

 

 

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