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KQV Memories Page 5 |
| "I
took a stroll through the KQV site again this morning and spent quite a
while remembering Pittsburgh. KQV was a special place. I am now at
650 WSM in Nashville. The Grand Ole Opry station. We are 50,000 watts and
on the internet at wsmonline.com. Many days I get calls from the Pittsburgh
area and some of the time people are kind enough to remember my short stay
at KQV. What a station ...."
Best wishes ... Allen Dennis (1/20/02) "I can't tell you how much I enjoyed your site! I think I read and listened to everything you had. It was great! Really brought back memories. I remember that fateful day - when was it? - back in 63 or 64 (fifth grade for me). I had been pretty much a KDKA kid up to that point. Then the kids next store told me about this station that was way cooler. From that day on my transistor was stuck on 1410. Sometimes we made fun of it ("Audio Oddball" rather than "Audio 14") but we always dug it. The jocks were tremendous. And I don't care what some of your commentators said about Hal Murray and his Morey Amsterdam shtick. He used to make me howl. That is, until Jim Quinn came along. I distinctly remember every sound effect he had ("How 'bout a beer, sweety?") Too bad he later degenerated into pompous politicizing. We used to have a pool table in our basement and every night my dad and I would play pool. The ritual was always the same: I'd turn on the radio and rack 'em up. We'd starting shooting. Within ten minutes, guaranteed, my dad would be yelling, "Would you please turn that #$%@& off!" Later I graduated to KQV-FM and Brother Love. When are you going to get some more of their stuff on your site? They had some great, flower- child- style jingles ("KQV-FM: It feels like love." I wish.) For years I labored under the delusion that Little Jimmy Roach was really Brother Love with a name change The piece by the Trib-Review editor was really mean spirited. Both Hal Murray and Dave Scott were great jocks. Seven years ago the prospect of a better job lured me from my ancestral home of Pittsburgh to the nation's capital. Browsing your website was a bittersweet experience, because KQV is one of those great things about Pittsburgh (like Isaly's, Three Rivers, rusty old steel mills, and Alexander's Graham Bell) that's no longer there, but when it was, it helped make Pittsburgh the greatest place on earth to grow up." Keep up the great work. ... Bill Rossiter North Potomac, MD (12/16/01) *** Bill, remember those remarks about the jocks in the interview were made by Chuck Brinkman *** ... The love jingles are on the 3rd page of the website now. ... Jeff "I was researching some old issues of the Pittsburgh Press and I came upon a radio note from November of 1967. It said Ted Lux was taking over the morning show at WJAS, replacing Steve Rizen, who left the station. I never realized Rizen worked at WJAS. I would assume he was only there a few months since I think he left KQV in the summer of '67 (replaced by Bob Wilson?) I believe WJAS was running a MOR format then since they were NBC O & O and carried a lot of the network's "Monitor" programming. They were all talk by 1969 but I'm not sure when they started that format. I don't know if Rizen was still doing "Give It a Whirl" on Channel 11 then. Ever hear anything about Big Steve's whereabouts?" ... John Menho (11/10/01) Steve now lives in Houston Texas, See the where are they now page for more info... Jeff "Did someone enter KQV and attempt to take it over? I recall a Saturday afternoon, perhaps in 1962, when it sounded like a non employee was trying to get on the air. It seemed like the announcer on duty was perhaps unable to reach the mic switch to cut it off so he started furiously pressing the time tone button to drown out the intruder. I've been curious about this for many years. Thanks for any information you can provide" ... Ron Lindow - Pittsburgh (10/03/01) Can anybody verify this ? "It's been a while since I clicked onto your great KQV site. What a remarkable improvement! As outstanding as it was before, the effort you have put in recently has made it even more professional and informative. The links on the Time Line are particularly outstanding. However, having the old "eagle eye" of the son of a professional news guy I did spot one piece of added information that requires a correction. Ken Hildebrand continued his position as News Director of KQV well beyond 1958! This fact is easily verified if you will click onto the Dial-A-Score link on the Time Line page where at the bottom Fred Remington writes about Ken Hildebrand being in his Smithfield Street News Director's cubicle. The date of Remington's article is May 4, 1960! Plus I worked for my Dad doing the Dial-A-Score gig while I was in Mt. Lebanon High until I graduated in 1961! (Don't ya love nepotism!) Dad almost DID exit KQV for WTAE and I believe the story is an interesting one. When WTAE was being readied for its debut, Dave Murray wanted a television news personality who in his opinion was the most professional and easily recognized talent in the city and, further, one who could guarantee the fledgling station instant credibility and viewership. In Murray's opinion there was only one man who could fit the bill and that was Ken Hildebrand. So Murray offered Dad the job of being WTAE Channel 4's News Anchor for both the 6:00 and 11:00 PM slots and Dad accepted! When Dad told Ralph Beaudin, KQV's then General Manager, that he was leaving Beaudin was so shocked and upset that he immediately stunned Dad with a staggering inducement to stay on as KQV's News Director that Dad could not say no. You see.... Beaudin knew if Ken Hildebrand exited KQV the strong newscast ratings the station enjoyed might very well quickly disappear and the still struggling TOP 40 format experiment might very well suffer a grave blow! The offer that Beaudin gave Dad to stay at KQV was so hugh that he had to stay! And Dad called Dave Murray and rescinded his earlier acceptance. As a result of Dad's decision the record shows that WTAE struggled with its evening news shows until Murray himself took over the on-camera duties and KQV's news ratings continued to climb until the station became the number 1 radio news outfit in the city. Beaudin's desperate move and Dad's keen sense of negotiation resulted in success for both of them and KQV! By the way, you might also find it interesting to know why Dad ultimately left KQV and continued his career in Cleveland, Ohio. In late 1960 Dad experienced heart problems and his doctor told him that he had to curtail his fast paced work schedule or, simply put, he would die! As you know Jeff, in the radio game AFTRA (by the way Dad was a founding member of the Pittsburgh chapter!) sets the base pay scales in each market and the larger the market the higher the pay scale. Dad recognized that Cleveland was a larger market than Pittsburgh so he could equal or exceed the money he was making in Pittsburgh and work a heck of a lot less hours and live a heck of a lot longer! So... being no dumb guy ... he quietly set out to secure a position in that city while he continued his duties at KQV. In due course Dad accepted the post of News Director at WERE Radio in Cleveland where he continued his legacy of award winning journalism and top personal on-air ratings. After a few years Dad was persuaded to take over a failing news department at Cleveland's WHK Radio where once again he worked his professional magic! After many years at that station Dad retired and moved with my mother back to his home town of Akron, Ohio where they both are buried. Dad was enshrined into The Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1987. By the way, as I have told you before, Dad was the first Pittsburgh television news broadcaster to use the closing phrase, ....."wishing you Goodnight, Good Luck and Good news Tomorrow!" at the end of his television news broadcasts. And that he was the man who did THE FIRST filmed then later live television news and sports broadcasts on Pittsburgh's first television station WDTV. The show was called Time Out For News And Sports With Ken Hildebrand and it was sponsored by the Duquesne Brewing Company. Also, for the record, fifty years ago last April Dad as busy a man as he was found time to start and grow the Mt.Lebanon Baseball Association into one of the largest associations of its kind in the United States. This wonderful gift to the people of his adopted home town still flourishes today! Am I proud of my DAD? You bet I am!" Sincerely, ... Kenneth T. (Tim) Hildebrand (9/15/01) "I worked in Traffic, Sales, Programming at KQV (1968-1974) and then went to 13Q to work with Steve Berger in the General Manager's office. What a fun time in my life. I LOVE YOUR WEB PAGE. Your timeline brings back so many memories. Mr. Gibbs hired me. I think of him often. I'll be sharing your site with my friend in Florida who was in our Accounting Dept. Looking forward to checking out all of the areas in your site. It's enormous! I laughed and laughed when I saw the Dodge Super Bee Promotion! I drove that car home (all souped up...) and hid it in my Aunt's garage. I'm 5' tall. what a site that was. That was a fun promotion and Herb was one of my favorites at the time. What a thrill! Those were certainly fun years. I'll look around, don't think I have much of the studio. I do remember perfectly that day Howard Cosell was in our studio doing the interview. His eyes almost fell out of his head when he was sitting next to the "genie". She was a lovely girl." ... Former KQV Employee (1968-1974) (09/04/01) "I just found your website. I am working on my family history and am wondering if you can help me. According to Pgh Press and Post Gazette articles, my grandparents are mentioned often for singing on KQV radio during its very early days (circa 1920's & 1930's). They eventually became part of a musical group called : The Jefferson Quartette. My grandparents names were: Caroline Bracey (Anderson) and Edward Clair Anderson. I am just curious if in your archives, you have any pictures, posters, programs or recordings of them from this time period. You seem to be very active in the archive department and I am wondering if you have any knowledge of them or their group. If not, perhaps you could recommend me to someone or some organization who might." Sincerely, ... Paul Anderson, Jr. (9/04/01) If anyone can help Paul, please let me know. ... Jeff "WOW I stumbled onto this web site quite by accident and it will take me quite awhile to take a taste of all it has to offer. I moved to Dallas in 1980 from Tarentum Pa and I was certainly a fan of KQV as I graduated from Highlands High School in 1973. I am not sure exactly when this happened but one day here in Dallas sometime in the early 80's I was channel surfing and heard the DJ say his name was Chuck Brinkman. Well I grew up on Chuck back in the Burgh so I thought no way this is the same guy because he had been in Pittsburgh forever. I liked the 60's and 70's music they played so I listen often. Finally during an interview I think about the Steelers playing the Cowboys in Dallas Chuck references his days in Pittsburgh at KQV, you can't imagine my shock. Anyhow all the time I have lived in Dallas I have organized several locations where people from the Burgh could get together on Sundays to watch the Steelers. Chuck has frequented these venues from time to time and it has been big time fun talking with him about the old days. I have also attended many KLUV events where we have chatted. A great connection to home that I listen to every day. He still plays the best music!! Thanks so much for this site, I am sure I will love looking at everything. " ... Mike Warriner (09/02/01) "Love your site - I have a 'collection' due to be posted on Reelradio.com within the next few weeks, you'll enjoy it. I worked at the old XeROK 80 when they went LIVE and also worked with Jim Tabor & Jhani Kaye @ KINT, El Paso,, and later on to KERN and KKBT (the first year, when they were rockin). After I left El Paso and returned to the Calif. Coast (where I grew up - Santa Maria) I ran into Dick Drury. He had just put KRQK (K-ROCK) on the air in Lompoc/ Santa Maria market - 1980.. I programmed his station till 82, when I took the position of morning announcer @ Bakersfield's KERN. I am surprised that there is next to no info on Dick at your KQV site. I just talked with Mel Hall and he gave me a lot of insights about Drury that I didn't know. I know Dick was not the greatest PD KQV had, (Rook rapped circles around Dick - but Rook is a MASTER in his craft - hell, what he did for CFL was enough to put him into the history books). I am also a long-time friend of Claude Hall, who, now in his 70's, remembers Drury,, but after 40 + years........ Jeff, what I'm doing is writing a book on the early years of Radio - before DRAKE ... Am also writing a book of the history of that Mighty Border Blaster, XeROK/ XeLO. My question : Do you remember anything on Drury ? I have spoke with Chuck Brinkman in Dallas, he told me 'Dick is the reason he got into the Broadcast Industry in the first place' - 'he was a great friend, and will be dearly missed !' " Keith Morgan (8/08/01) Dick was at KQV just before I started to listen to the station. ... Jeff The reason you don't remember Drury on the air @ KQV is because in 1959 - through '61 he was Program Director - Mel Hall took his position in '61, then it was Rook's turn. Dick was a good man, I feel lucky to have worked for him as PD of his little rocker FM on the Calif. Coast twenty-one years ago - I only wish he were still with us today,, oh, the stories he could tell us... Thanks again Jeff, and I do very much enjoy what you have done to retain the memories of a once GREAT radio station. Keep up the good work. Keith (8/10/01) "I am 45, have worked in radio for 27 years, and grew up listening to Pittsburgh Cleveland, and Youngstown radio. I just wanted to compliment you on your page. I come back again and again and just browse links for hours. My only regret is that I wasn't working in radio in the early to mid 60's. I was too young. I just love what radio was all about back in that era. I have had conversations with old pros lamenting the fact that radio rarely allows stars to come of age today. Talent is so formula-ized that they have little room to shine. Your site is a fantastic tribute to the imagination of pioneers." Thanks for your efforts. I will be back soon. ... Gary Zocolo Engineering Cumulus-Youngstown (7/12/2001) "Nice job on the Timeline! Any chance of Ken Hildebrand being listed as News Director 1958? We talked at length about Dad's contribution to the success of KQV's initial move to top 40 Radio and how Beaudin hired him to make sure KQV attracted, developed and maintained it's listeners during the news breaks. The many awards that Dad won for the station during his tenure went a long way to establishing the station as something more than a "teeny bopper" top forty music machine!" Sincerely ... Kenneth T. (Tim) Hildebrand (7/11/2001) "I am delighted that my daughter found your web site. Thank you for memories both good and bad. I spent forty two years of my life with Dick Grimes and being "married" to the radio business was no picnic. When Dick met Joey Reynolds at WKBW in Buffalo, our lives became a whirlwind of activity. Paul Drew gave Dick the name of Peter Jackson. It was for a cigarette made in Canada at the time, and Paul thought it was fitting as Dick's voice was as he put it "very distinguished". Joey suggested Dick move to Philly to WIBG because it was an up and coming station and with Joey's direction it would rocket. We were happy there for a long time until Joey again suggested we move to Pittsburgh. KQV needed help and with Dick and the rest of the team Joey put together we would all be wonderful. Well we went and the rest is history. Our Family is still here, Dick is gone but his memory lives on thanks to people like you. I am sure that all those who knew of that voice, "Deep Throat" as Jim Quinn dubbed him will agree there never was and never will be a voice as beautiful. And even though life was not perfect as a radio wife I would not change a thing or miss a minute. It was after all, an exciting life. I am quite sure I have reel to reel's of Joey's mingles, they really were the work of a genius, as well as air checks and flubs and etc, etc etc. Yes, Dick's voice was his immortality, those radio waves are and always will be out there somewhere. And Joey, if you read this, HIYAHIYA. And oh the stories I could tell..." Amy Grimes (7/05/2001) "I happened across your web site today and was very pleased to relive some old memories. There is only one very sad part for me. My Dad was Dick Grimes. He worked on KQV, 13Q, WEEP and WIXZ. Unfortunately, it seems the only thing that anybody seems to remember about him is the names he used and that he is now dead. My Dad had a very lucrative career in radio. There will never be another voice like his. It's sad that no one remembers the word wars that he had with the Mayor on KQV in the morning and all the fun that he and Jim Quinn had at 13Q. All of the remotes he did because nobody else wanted to do them. The summer he rode the roller coaster at West View Park all day long for charity. The shows he introduced, such as Wild Cherry and Tom T. Hall. The sacrifices that he made so that those that came later would not be ripped off by greedy network executives. Thanks to those greedy network executives who made sure that my Dad's talent would never become as big as a Jim Quinn or an Imus. There are a lot of things that no one ever really paid attention to about my Dad though. He was the father of 6 children, a loving husband and a wonderful provider. He knew that each time he asked his family to sacrifice their current life to move on to bigger and better things we would follow without question. My Dad was also a dreamer. After he left radio for good he still continued to do voiceovers. He did the trails for Edgar Snyder and the Colonial Gallery sale commercials. He also did the voice for WABCO training films. He became a private pilot in his 50's because of his love of flight and new adventures. He risked everything to begin a business to continue providing for his family. Even though my Dad is gone the memories will never die. Hopefully my words will jog a few memories out there. There were a lot of people who loved and disliked my Dad but they could never say that he wasn't a fair man. I only hope that they will write down some of their memories instead of thinking "Oh yeah, he's dead." In case anyone is interested my Dad passed away on October 29, 1998 after surgery for a hernia. It would be nice if someone remembered the day that wonderful voice was silenced forever." Ruth Grimes Bovee (7/04/2001) "I saw Mel Phillips earlier this week, and he reminded me of your KQV site and so I stopped by to visit. Boy, how it has grown! It's a really neat thing for us Pittsburghers. Thank you. Re: Bill Howell question... In Summer 1973 (when I started as PD of WEEP) Bill was freshly out at WTAE (as I recall). He did a couple shifts for me at WEEP, but it just didn't work out. I know I have some stuff to copy for you (I collected the surveys in the early 60's) as well as some photos (if I can ever find my scrapbook) taken backstage at KQV Appreciation Day at West View (1961?). KQV has so many great memories for me: Meeting The Rolling Stones at West View; my band doing record hops for Chuck Brinkman and Dex Allen; my roommate (the late) Gary Waight - Music Director for Joey Reynolds; hanging with Jeff Christie and WPEZ's Bob Pittman (now Co-CEO of AOL!)." ... Ed Salamon (6/14/2001) Ed was kind enough to send 3 years of KQV surveys that are now on display ... Jeff "Thanks for the memories!" ... Rob Byer Pittsburgh, PA (an aging KQV fan) PS-- any idea whatever happened to Terry Lee? (I'm also a fan of the old WMCK). (6/02/2001) "Thanks for the KQV Expanded Connection. I rushed through it early this morning, but plan to slow browse this weekend. Plus ... I've sent it to a few friends. What a job you've done with this site ... the year- by- year is absolutely top- of- the- line in radio web sites." ... Mike McCormick (6/01/2001) "Hi Jeff, my stay at KQV was short, only 5 months. I arrived early in '74 and left in June after finding out that ABC had sold the station to Taft. It was my choice as my wife and 2 kids (at the time) where still living in NYC and I had been commuting every weekend. It sure did take a toll on me. Bob Henabery came up with 14K as an answer to the obvious: 13Q. There was a lot of input from both of us on jingles, presentation, jock lineup, etc. I can't recall if there was any press on the changes and unfortunately I don't have anything except some great memories. The station had been PD-less for a while but yes I did replace Bob Harper. I did indeed hire Rick Shaw. Rick and I had worked in New York together at WOR-fm/ WXLO. Rick wound up very successfully in San Francisco radio for years until his passing a few years ago. Wish I could provide more but "they" didn't give me enough time to accomplish anything. " ... Mel Phillips (5/21/2001) "Thank you, Jeff. I have been to your KQV site many times. I think it's fabulous. Please keep up the good work, and may the great memories of a great radio station never end." Sincere regards ... Fred K. Baur Dallas, TX (5/13/2001) "Looking for "where are they now" updates on these former KQV/WDVE people: Tom
Daniels
Dan Formento
Jim Roach
Carl
Eckles (4/14/2001) ***
Can Anybody Help ? ***
"I have viewed your KQV site from time to time, and I really like it. You've done a great job on it. I was very pleased to see my name in the credits. I'll send a few goodies I have found while cleaning my files. I have a few business cards for several people at the station in 1963, a license plate (white KQV on a black background), also from '63, and I think I also have an unused ET label. KQV still had a transcription cutting lathe that they kept in the engineering section of the showcase studio. It was near the window on the right hand side of the center window, as viewed from the street. Best regards" ... Paul Carlson. (3/26/2001) Paul was a KQV engineer during the early days. The items mentioned are now on display. "Just a note to congratulate you on a spectacular website. For the hell of it, here's an article about my dear friend Porky Chedwick, one of the jocks recognized in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Although he was most associated with WAMO in Pittsburgh (with a short period in '72 with KQV), I thought you might like to have a look. Take care!" ... Ed Weigle, Production Director, Rock 107, Indianapolis (03/06/2001) "I really like the effort you put into this site. Obviously, lots of effort went into it. My dad is an original member of The Jaggerz (s). I was hoping to find a way of either getting a high resolution color copy of the top 114 of 1968, 69 and 70. I am seriously collecting any items relating to The Jaggerz. I don't know how plentiful these surveys are since many of them are just reproduced as text on a website. I would like to somehow get these surveys as well as the surveys that indicate The Jaggerz songs' debut. Baby, I Love You was 8/22/68, Gotta Find My Way Back Home was sometime in 1969 and The Rapper was early 1970 but locally it charted early in 1969, I think. Or, if possible, since you have these surveys as graphic files for the site, is it possible to email me these surveys as high resolution graphic files? They should be saved as a tif, gif, jpeg, or bitmap with a minimum dpi of 300. ... Bill Maybray, Jr. (3/05/2001) Can anybody help with originals of these surveys for Bill ? "Discovered your page and was pleased to note you are a fellow Penn Hills resident. Nice job collecting the data. I seem to have crossed into your field of interest many times over the years as I sought info on certain deejays and radio station. If I can help you add to your site, let me know. " ... Dave Sallinger, entertainment editor, McKeesport Daily News. (3/01/2001) "Ken Hildebrand coming at you, again. Just got my computer's audio fixed and I listened to the audio on your site for the first time. To say I was thrilled is an under statement. Checks of "Henry D" and "Big Daddy" really knocked me out "Jolly Jim" was the killer. Jim did his all niter from studio "b" and the last show he did (the air check you have) was very moving because I stayed after my dial a score shift to catch a little bit of that show. So I WAS THERE, STANDING AGAINST THE CONSOLE IN THE ENGINEER'S ROOM LOOKING INTO STUDIO "B" AS THAT AIR CHECK WAS ACTUALLY BEING RECORDED! HOW'S THAT FOR A THRILL! I know I had not left the studio yet because of the time on the time check Jim gave early into the air check. Jim had the best opening record that he played after his opening jingle. It was an instrumental with an outer space sound to which tied in with his "all night satellite" saying. It was a minor play vinyl by an obscure group but it sure was good.. I had a copy of that record but it was stolen at a party years ago. You don't by any chance have an address, phone, e mail address for Jim. I'd like to see if he could provide a copy or tape of that record if he still has something on it. I was also staggered at hearing the dial a score jingle since it was my baby at the station. You have all the jock jingles from my era except Rod Roddy. Did you notice that Dougherty and Drury's jingles were the same music, just different lyrics. Nice way to save a buck! ... Ken Hildebrand (2/09/2001) In addition to being the son of Ken Sr, He also would record the KQV Dial-A-Score phoneline. "Just found your site last week. Great!!!!!!! Love the info. I was born and reared in "Cake Town" and have a lot of my own info on the "Big Q", starting from when Bill lit the candle, Chuckie hooted and hollered, the Show Case Studios let fans see what Color Radio was really like and KQV went ballistic to numero uno almost over night. We could talk about things like: 1.
What was the name of the FIRST KQV basketball team.
Recently I have corresponded with former Pittsburgh Press Radio TV Write, Edward Blank. Ed and John Mehno have been kind enough to provide this site with Personality Profiles from the early 70's . . . "I did those Personality Profiles quickly rather than well, at the rate of one a week for something like 90 weeks, trying to alternate radio with TV people and skipping from station to station. I remember talking with Chuck Brinkman, partly because I had listened to him and Henry DaBecco and others for years. I remember asking Chuck about something I considered bizarre. I'm pretty sure that the record involved was "Topsy, Part Two" by Cozy Cole, my favorite record that month. In any event, it had risen to No. 1 on the national and local charts, but KQV never played it and never included it in its weekly Top 40. I knew something was amiss. Chuck remembered the episode, but I'm afraid I forgot his explanation. Probably something to do with squabbling with the minor label about someone else getting copies of the record first. Anyway, I've pulled my faded Xeroxes of the DaBecco and Jim Quinn interviews, but I do not remember any Fred Winston and find that I do not have any interview of him in my files. One question for you: Do you know whatever happened to Bill Howell, who was the mid-afternoon deejay on WTAE-AM at that time? He ended every show with the line, "Time to go home ... Get the fight started." I thought he was exceptionally down to earth, but once he went off, I never could get a line on where he went or what happened." ... Ed Blank (12/23/2000) Does any one have info on Bill Howell ? "Ya know, I never did thank you for the kind words and the spectacular Bob DeCarlo page at the KQV site. And PLEASE don't blame me for getting you into radio. You shoulda stayed in bowling (TeeHee!). ... Bob DeCarlo (12/16/2000) "Don't know if this falls into your area of interest or not, but thought I'd pass along the news that Mad Mike Metrovich died on Oct. 31. He was one of those guys (like Charlie Apple and, for that matter, Porky Chedwick) who was never on one of the major stations but made a reputation for himself at record hops and low-power suburban stations. His biggest claim to fame was that he was responsible for making Tommy James' "Hanky Panky" a hit. He found the record in a pile of rejects, started playing it at dances and it took off. Clark Race became aware of it and played it on KDKA, which made it huge. When I interviewed John Rook he told me one of his regrets at KQV was that the station was so late on "Hanky Panky." He said he was away when the record started to break and he didn't want to add it because he'd been burned before on records that Chuck Brinkman wanted to play for his friends who were promo guys. Because he was out of town, Rook had no idea how big the record was becoming almost overnight. Mad Mike was still on the air here, brokering time on a station -- WWCS, I think. For some reason the Pittsburgh papers haven't had an obit or I'd forward one." ... John Menho (11/07/2000) "I always enjoy stopping by the web site to see what's new. I can't believe how many airchecks that have been added over the past two years. If there was only a way to list the year end surveys so for us old music collectors to see what unusual hits KQV played. In the 60's before consultants and focus groups stations like KQV played great songs that some stations never played or were only local hits. Someone out there must have a collection of these charts. Sadly, I only have four regular surveys, two from 1969, one from 1970 and 1971. These charts were available in Indiana, PA at a store called Penn Traffic or PT for short. I know you've put a lot of time and energy into all these web sites and I for one really appreciate the hard work. What makes today's radio different from those days is that those guys were true stars and had "shows." Today we play music and say very little in between and read liner cards. Plus those people had real talent. Looking forward to more new material over the next few months. ... Brian Wolfe - WKYE - Johnstown, PA (11/02/2000) Brian works at one of the best sounding stations in Central Pa. If you drive through Johnstown, Check out 96 Key ! ... Jeff "If you are familiar with Allen Sniffen's website, you will notice that he features all of the weekly WABC music surveys. Is there any possibility of seeing a similar KQV feature on your site? As a KQV and KDKA listener who grew up in Pittsburgh during the 1960s, I used to pick up a copy of each of these stations' lists at the record shop counters each week. Unfortunately, I no longer have very many of them, and am interested in finding out if you are in contact with anyone who still does. I am especially interested in obtaining a listing of the top records of the year 1967 for both KQV and KDKA - even just a photocopy or typed listing. The KQV Top 40 for 1967 was printed on the reverse of the first weekly survey for 1968 and it was pale blue in color. The KDKA Top 67 songs of 1967 was a special sheet which was printed in bright blue on white paper. I do have listings still of KQV's top 40 for the year 1966, top 114 for 1968 and 1969 and KDKA's top 66 of 1966 which I would be willing to photocopy and or share with anyone who would want this information." ... Ronald Miller (10/25/2000) "Hi, checked out your KQV site. I used to listen to KQV, WIXZ and WTAE in the 70's when I was 10 y/o till they pulled the rug out from me. then I started listening to WYDD free form rock. what happened to those good old am stations that played lost 45's like Wadsworth Mansion, Glass Bottle, Marmalade and Jay and the Techniques ????? Even the fm "oldie" stations don't play lost 45's. I still have my 45's. recently read "Precious and Few" it is a book that covers music from early 70's. Doesn't really cover my fav year 1970-1971. I remember those little Hit Parade sheets every week especially the yr-end top 100. I don't have 'em anymore. I do have Joel Whitburns book the top 100 of the 70's for each week. seems like it doesn't conform to the same week of when the Pgh Stations played them. Seems like Pgh played "I Think I Love You" later than the rest of the nation. Must be my imagination running away with me. I wish u well. Regards" ... Eric Lebovitz (09/30/2000) "I've been meaning to write you for sometime. I use to work at KQV at the end of the Jim Carnegie era answering the request line and screening calls for talk shows. I then moved into the news-room as an editorial assistant for then Richard Stone and eventually Steve Lohle. I was there from August 1994 -- July 1977. were you there at that time? I have several tapes that I wish to share with you from the music era and the beginning of the news era when Taft instituted the NBC News & Information Service. I wrote the Pothole Polka that you have on the website and have written the Pittsburgh Steelers "flying saucer bits" for Superbowl IX ... in fact Bob DeCarlo and Joe Fenn were the voices on there. I have tape of Pete Flaherty on the air with DeCarlo when he was a co-host during the Joey Reynolds era and I even have Flaherty talking about keeping the Pittsburgh Penguins in town and out of bankruptcy at the time outside of "walk and don't walk" ... ... Robert Bartolomeo Director/Affiliate Sales Imus in the Morning Westwood One ((09/27/2000) "Nice work on the website. I can't believe how much stuff you were able to assemble all on one site. Which brings me to my question, or a plea for assistance. The Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania is preparing an exhibit on the Beatles 1964 North American Tour to open November 24. A large portion of the exhibit will include a traveling exhibit of Harry Benson photographs called "The Beatles: Now and Then." We are trying to punch it up a bit with memorabilia and stories that reflect the local angle - specifically the September 14, 1964 show at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. We have some items - ticket stubs, programs, scrapbooks and some video tape of interviews. But we're looking for more. Frank Gottleib at KQV told me about your website and I think I hit the mother lode. Is there any way the Historical Society could get copies of some of the photographs and audio interviews and air checks you post on you site? Also, we are trying to track down anyone that was at the show in '64 for a video memories tape loop that will be part of the exhibit. . . . Steve Doell Director of Archives Historical Society of Western PA Thanks for including us ! "I like to check in to your KQV every now and then. I'm glad to see that it is still growing. Chuck Dougherty (correct spelling) was PD from 1958 to 1960. Ralph Beaudin was GM ... probably the youngest major station GM in the country ... he was only about 29. It was "Chucky from Kentucky" who was (along with Ralph) the creator of the legendary KQV. Chuck was an original cast member, as were Henry DaBecco , Sam Holman, Dave Scott and myself. I think also Roy Elwell (do you know what every happened to him?) was there pretty early also. Elwell was particularly talented but I lost track of him long ago. Mel Hall, who came later was also an outstanding talent and pulled a split air-shift along with being the PD. I tried to reconstruct the order of appearance of the original cast members but alas, I had a lousy memory even when my brain still worked. When KQV started with the top 40 format, the station was #7 in a 5 - station market. Within 6 months, it was #1. ... Jim McLaughlin (09/05/2000) "I
started to write down the lineup of the original cast but realized that
40 years is a long time to remember the time slots. As I recall, Chuck
Dougherty did 6 to 9. Breakfast Club was on for an hour. Henry DaBecco
did 10 to 1, Roy Elwell did l to 3, Sam Holman did the "Top 40 Show" from
3 to 6, News from 6 to 7 (?) Roy Elwell came back from 7 to 9 , Dave Scott
did 9 to Midnight, I think, and I did the all night show. Sam later went
to WABC in New York and I did the "Top 40 Show". (That was the summer of
1958. I later returned to the all night show and I think Dave Scott took
over the "Top 40 Show" and I think Lee Vogel took over the 9 to midnight
spot.) After that, names and dates get mixed up. But when I was drafted
into the Army in June of 1959, Chuck Brinkman took my place on the all
night show. The person who might actually remember all that stuff would
be Alan Boal, who was also there the whole time.
"Hi Jeff... I was a production engineer responsible for the creation of commercials, station promos, and some transmitter support .. I was the chief engineer for the Pittsburgh Penquins hockey network working with Mike Lange and was responsible for putting Paul Steigerwald together with Mike to do the games .... I mentioned to then Gm Paul Martha that Paul and Mike would be a great team and well the rest is history.. I also did production for KQV's FM side WDVE... working with Marsey Jons , Maxwell, Steve Hansen , Jimmy Roach , And WDVE's oldies nut who does 7pm to midnight now ... We used to record the Sunday morning oldies show on Friday night because the oldies nut who for the life of me his name escapes me now ... He lives in Latrobe Pa. I did little voice drop ins for the show.... I did appear on KQV's air a lot with Doug Hoerth ... One of his best shows was when we recreated the old KQV complete with jingles ... I recorded the jingles along with the music since Doug did not know how the jingles ended ... It was a lot of fun while it lasted .... The summer of 84 we aired a show on sunday Celebration America which was a CBS produced show which I dropped in some great old KQV jingles .... The Pittsburgh Sound ... Fun Lovin KQV Audio 14 .... I now live in indianapolis we have a great oldies station WGLD @ 104.5 fm ... Its on the web goldfm1045.com I think ... It plays all the great KQV music that WWSW wont touch" ... Bob Scharnhorst (9/04/2000) "Hey guys for some reason you forgot the KQVehicle ... It was the first mobile studio complete. It was a radio and news studio that we did remotes with until the early 70s ... And yes to all who ever wondered just what the call letters stood for ... The King of the Quaker Valley. One last fact about KQV. The original studios on Seventh and Smithfield streets were actually on springs to cushion the studios from the trolley cars vibration. KQV fm was located around the corner from KQV am. Both stations moved to the seventh floor of the chamber of commerce building in 1974 ... KQV Fm now (WDVE FM) no longer affiliated with KQV is located up in the Fleet Building in Greentree, Pa. KQV is now located across the street from its original site in the City Tower Building ... The original antenna site was located on Crane Ave. where the old WJAS antenna site was ... KQV's present antenna is located on us rte 19. and was referred to as the fun lovin 5 ... Because KQV has 5 antennas ... Bob Scharnhorst is a former KQVer who did production at KQV till 1985...." ... Bob Scharnhorst (8/27/2000) Check out the K Q Vehicle page for all the info ! "Just breezing through the site with many memories - even found myself doing the first hour or so of the morning show. I was the all night guy for two years. Interesting that I actually remembered saying what was on the aircheck! Of course, 30 years later I hate WHAT I said, but I was a rookie, afflicted with trying too hard. The thing was, I never thought I was really there - didn't belong - until the day/night they put the pictures of the full timers up in the studio. I spent all night looking at the six pictures in disbelief that mine was there! Working in the window was 'interesting!' I remember a guy picking up a transvestite while we all were trying to get the driver's attention (NO! DON'T!) He discovered his mistake shortly and the pickup was back on the corner in short order! SALES and executive offices were upstairs, on the sixth floor, I think. There was quite a chasm between programming and sales initially but it started to ease with a wild party after one bridal fair. And there was a brief series of really wild heavy drinking parties. I remember following Winston (my wife driving) (HIS wife driving) and watching him throw 8 tracks at trees! Our HISTORY OF BUBBLEGUM weekend - we were going to give away LPs and hammers, make up lies "his opera career trained him to be a studio singer" and have fun - was killed by corporate!!! We simulcast at night on what became WDVE - what a blowtorch!!! Sometimes they would take AM down for work and tell me to go play in the FM studio and I would screw around. I was surprised how many people heard it (and later commented!) They even realigned the cart machines once a week! Great major market stuff! Pranks: they hid a walkie talkie in the air conditioning duct and talked every time I did. I was "shot" with a blank pistol by the all night newsguy. The engineer (Jerry Land - a great guy!) and I hoaxed the newsguy one night when we went off for repairs - did a half hour up to news FAKE, only on the building PA - and then we staged a profane fight behind him while he tried to announce. Carl Eckels one morning broadcasting the latest from Viet Nam (IN VIETNAMESE!!! with no translation!) I hypnotized an intern and turned him into a chicken and put him behind Jim Quinn - the guy didn't stop clucking when the mic was on! Most of all, the station was larger than life, and it was a rare and wonderful part of a career to have that history to help mold me as a pro. Best regards, Bob PS: I have tape somewhere and will send it along" ... Bob Wood 7/24/2000 Bob Wood is now pd at KOOL 108 in Minneapolis. Check out the Bob Wood Page for some great early 70's KQV Airchecks ... Jeff "I enjoy looking through the various pages of your KQV 14 music website. It is amazing that you are able to update your site with new material, photographs and audio media. I have noticed that you have added other local vintage AM music stations to your site. I certainly can remember 13Q and its music during the 1970s. Are you planning to create a similar vintage station Web pages for WDVE, as it was when it started in the late 1960s, and/or WYDD? It would be nice to see some vintage station information about some of the Pittsburgh - area FM stations that started in the late 1960s and 1970s." ... Brian Limbach (7/11/2000) Not at this time Brian, perhaps in the future. ... Jeff |
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KQV Memories Page 5 |
This page updated on January 20, 2002 .