| The
Joey Reynolds Era at KQV . . .
"In 1975, Joey Reynolds
came up with a brand old idea, he gave Pittsburgh, the
 Pittsburgh
Post Gazette January 24, 1975
Pittsburgh Post Gazette columnist Mike Kalina had this to say about the "new KQV"... For the last six months or so, most of Pittsburgh radio stations have been plodding along, directionless, like blind men in the desert. No one station was leading the pack. But a new force in town could change that. And that new force is a new KQV, and what's going on over there will not only have local impact, but also could have national impact. The worst thing that ever happened to radio was the introduction of tight formats in which only proven hits are played over and over again . The public gets bombarded day after day with the same tired old tunes. But at KQV, the format system has been thrown out - something unprecedented for a major market station - and you never know what's going to happen next. As a result, listening to the station doesn't get monotonous after an hour or so. Also between records, the deejays at KQV are getting to emerge as personalities rather than just record- changing robots. There a number of surprises packaged into the new KQV, too, like comedy records produced by program director Joey Reynolds, which no other station can play because they're not on the market. (Already the other stations in town are getting requests for Reynold's "Ma Bell," a breezy satire on the telephone company). The other am station execs in town are keeping a close ear on the crazy happenings at KQV. ... It's good to see a new KQV on the dial. Things may never slip into "normalcy" again. Pittsburgh
Post Gazette January 29, 1975
During the Joey Reynolds era, many new personalities joined holdover members of the previous team. Although some of them changed names. Jay Davis became Jay The Jock. Bobby Mitchell became Ron Edwards then Ron Hughes before becoming just plain Ron. Casey Forbes became Marsha Kniceley. And George Hart joined Joe Fenn first as Frick & Frack then as Coal & Steel. New to KQV were Don Kobiela, newsmen Walt Golden and Steve Lohl, all from Joey's former station 11-7 in New Jersey. One of the most unusual personalities to ever hit Pittsburgh Radio was World Famous. Gerald Jeffrey Kristafer Jr. was different. Along with Peggy the Talking Time Telling Pig, World Famous' show was an assault on Pittsburgh's ears. During the months he was at KQV, World Famous set a then world record for staying awake on the air while raising food for the Pittsburgh needy. He also managed to antagonize both the NAACP and the NOW. The Humble Modest Honest Super Duper Star of Pittsburgh Radio was Lewd, Rude & Crude. Especially during Gripe Line Time on the Phony Telephone. Four months later, the Joey Reynolds experiment was over. From Mike Kalina's column in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette ... When Joey Reynolds took over as program director early this year, he had fond hopes of turning the station into a dynamic force in town. Reynolds got a lot of publicity and for a while media watchers were wondering if the station would, indeed, become a trend setter here. It never happened. Rather than becoming a force to contend with, KQV became just another spot on the dial with a format so slip-shod that the program directors at other stations couldn't believe what was happening at KQV. Needless to say the Taft organization, which owns KQV, has not been happy with the progress of the "new KQV," and has been cleaning house. Taft executives have not only gotten rid of Joey Reynolds but also these men whom he brought with him: Jerry Kristofer (World Famous); music director Gary Waight; and deejay Steve Martin. Also axed recently was Ed Tracy, controller, who was not part of the Reynolds organization (he had been with KQV about a decade or so). Informed sources say that more firings are on the way. We wonder if a new "new KQV' is on the way, too. Pittsburgh
Post Gazette May 28, 1975
Thanks to WT Koltek for providing
the airchecks for this section.
KQV, The Mouth of
Man, We Are Where You Are!
|
