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City & State or ZIP Tonight, this weekend, May 5th...
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City & State or ZIP Tonight, this weekend, May 5th...
City & State or ZIP
Radio & TV Talk

96rock history buffs: check out this video

6:16 pm January 5, 2012, by Rodney Ho

Wkls-fm_96rock.gif

At the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in October, former 96rocker and Eagle 106.7 jock Steve Mitchell put together video highlighting the history of the ground-breaking rock station.

Though it aired at the dinner, the hall of fame chose not to release the video publicly – until now.

You get some funny anecdotes from the early years. It features the start of beautiful music, then rock in 1974. First song: “Baba O’Riley” by the Who, courtesy of the first program director Drew Murray. “It’s only teenage wasteland seemed appropriate,” he said. The album-oriented rock format, which was new at the time, became a hit among young listeners.

“Nobody realized at the time we were making history,” said Lee Abrams, a radio consultant at the time.

“I always thought this radio station from day one had something mystical about it,” said Kent Burkhart, fellow consultant. “It sounded good in the first minute.”

atlwkls

“96rock was part of everybody’s life at that time,” said Kaedy Kiely, who worked there from 1983 to 1998.

Jim Huber, who recently passed, did sports commentary on the station for six years. “I had finished my night shift at CNN and dropped in to record my commentary after midnight. I was met by a blonde in see-through lingerie,” he said in the video. “It was a lot more fun to work at the Rock than CNN.”

96rock_end“It actually meant something,” noted Willard, in a world before the Web.

The video skimps a bit on the final ten years before the station died in 2006 Part of the problem: key latter era jocks Christopher Rude and the original Regular Guys Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler, who were let go from the station twice, declined to be interviewed.

96 Rock Reunion Tribute Video from GRHOF on Vimeo.

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68 comments Add your comment

bulldogbubba

January 5th, 2012
7:11 pm

As they say “Those were the Days”. ROCK ON!!!!

Chief Media Urologist

January 5th, 2012
7:35 pm

Katy Kaely, the Top 5 at 5…man I miss it. Or maybe I miss being 25 years younger. Or both. Rock on.

96rock history buffs: check out this video | ATLANTAboy.com | Gay Atlanta Celebrity, Film, Movie & TV News

January 5th, 2012
7:57 pm

[...] more 96rock history buffs: check out this video at Radio & TV Talk… /* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR [...]

96RockFan

January 5th, 2012
8:02 pm

96 Rock was the best radio station ever. I was 14 when the station started, and everyone started listening from day one. I remember listening to 96 Rock play all 17 minutes of “In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida”, all the Led Zeppelin songs, The Who, Bowie, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, and all the other great rock music through the years…. Later, in my long commutes in Atlanta traffic driving to work, I loved listening to the morning shows, especially Christopher Rude. (The Rude and Radical years) I really miss 96 Rock.

Cohutta Dawgman

January 5th, 2012
8:56 pm

Living in North Georgia in the early 70’s 96 Rock was the Bomb. It was my favorite station for years and I was sad to hear it go downhill. Come get me mother I’m through.

Todd

January 5th, 2012
9:10 pm

I still have one of the original Psychedelic Saturday t-shirts and some of the Hot-lanta Home Cookin’ cassettes. This is the only Atlanta radio station that has any kind of a legacy…

Dan Patrick

January 5th, 2012
9:15 pm

Don’t forget about Dan Patrick doing sports highlights. He called in one time from jail after getting picked up on a traffic violation.
The Rude and Radical Bradford routine with Dirty Andy of Mayberry and his Deputy Barney Filth was classic.

Larry Wayne Jones Jr.

January 5th, 2012
9:18 pm

96 Rock was one of the things that made Atlanta, Atlanta. Radio in the metro is so vanilla and boring these days. Thank you Cumulus and Clear Channel for giving us the watered down, change formats every six months, radio that we now have.

LongTimeFan

January 5th, 2012
9:38 pm

Without question, the funniest bit was an accident. Probably in 1975 when the station must have had some sort of automation system with a live announcer. Somehow, they ended up playing “Sweet Home Alabama” at least 15 times in a row. When the announcer was on, you would guys pounding on the studio door in the background, screaming to be let into the control room. When he finally figured out what was going on, the announcer had a great line…”Well, that was obviously our most requested song of the day.”

Dr. C

January 5th, 2012
9:41 pm

But.. the real groundbreaking was done by Nasty Lord John on AM 1570 WBAD on Sunday afternoons 12-6pm. First consistent psychedelic music show in ATL that I remember, probably around 1967. In 1970 (I think) WPLO-FM began the first real rock FM station format in town. Probably a few geezers who remember this.

linny ,,,=^..^=,,,

January 5th, 2012
9:55 pm

Willard, Mark McCain, Kaedy Keily, Steve Mitchell … those guys simply made life more bearable, more enjoyable, more fun, and kept us totally saturated with some of the best music ever. I sure do miss you guys!!! No one, ever, came up to the standards you set!

squirrelly mc cheesy grill pon pon pon

January 5th, 2012
9:57 pm

I loved 96 rock. they should take back over 96.1 and try to recreate the song list from scratch. Go back to 1974 and play the rock songs. Have news from 1974. Every day would be like a time capsule. then proceed until 2006. They have 30 + years to recreate. And it would be better radio and music than any thing on now by far.

linny ,,,=^..^=,,,

January 5th, 2012
9:57 pm

Oh, and Rodney….THANK YOU for writing about this one :-) you simply MADE my day!!!

Broxton, GA

January 5th, 2012
10:15 pm

I recorded many albums at midnight. I got a lot of great free complete albums. 96 ROCK, we miss you!

up north

January 5th, 2012
10:15 pm

Great story. Man, I miss those days. 96 Rock was the best! Radio has just gone to hell since.

TheWaterGuy

January 5th, 2012
10:23 pm

I am curious who has the master recordings of the Home Cookin’ Albums. Let start a movement to have them released as CD’s and digitally remastered. Whose with me???????????

Steve

January 5th, 2012
10:23 pm

Oh so many great memories listening to 96 Rock. Anyone remember the “swingin” weekend 96 Rock had not to long after John Anderson came out with the country hit “just a swingin”. Yes those were the good ol days!!

Lance

January 5th, 2012
10:33 pm

What happened to the 96.1 station in Cedartown in the 1950’s?????

Radio Listener

January 5th, 2012
10:47 pm

Who are the total idiots that blew up 96 Rock in 2006??

Just Sayin'

January 5th, 2012
11:30 pm

Awesome video! Thanks Steve Mitchell and to Rodney for sharing!

Rick James

January 5th, 2012
11:31 pm

There will never be radio like this again.The fist and only time I won concert tickets from a radio station came from 96 Rock,Bruce Spingsteen at the Fox.And 96 Rock nights at the Electric Ballroom were amazing.

3d

January 5th, 2012
11:41 pm

I think it was actually the regular guys that killed the station.

They lost a lot of my generation with those 2 clowns.

96rock

January 6th, 2012
12:08 am

Perfect Album Side! Won it six times – $50 worth of Turtles gift coins each time!

SAWB

January 6th, 2012
12:28 am

What made 96 Rock great was their early focus on the music. The last few years they seemed to be more focused on the personalities and stupid crude Junior High humor.

Another SAWB

January 6th, 2012
12:48 am

Won a heavy duty sweatshirt with my playlist of driving songs for the old Atlanta 500. 96Rock on left breast, 1996 Rock on the back. 16 years of enjoyment and will wear it til its like an old pair of underwear, just the band left.

rufus

January 6th, 2012
1:25 am

This question goes back to ‘73 or ‘74. I think it was on 96 Rock, but the DJ played 19th Nervous Breakdown 19 straight times. Does anyone remember his name?

Hubba

January 6th, 2012
4:23 am

I won 1st row tix and a blind date on the Lust Connection. I was 26 at the time and she was a 56 year old Cobb County Deputy Sheriff……….good times

shaggy

January 6th, 2012
6:35 am

“The King Biscuit Flower Hour”, some “herbal” medicine, and a beautiful babe….absolutely THE greatest…followed by Robin Trower – “Bridge of Sighs”, “A Little Bit of Sympathy”, “Rolling Stoned”, etc… the whole freakin album…tape it if you can…while you and that beautiful babe “relax”.

I am SO VERY GLAD I grew up in that era, instead of the wretched crap they pass off for music these days.
Good Times, Indeed…Thanks for the memories…I miss those days.

shaggy

January 6th, 2012
6:45 am

rufus,

I don’t remember his name, or many things that happened in ‘73 or ‘74 for that matter, but I scored some amazing weed from him.
Maybe that explains the 19th Nervous Breakdown playathon.

Mullet Head

January 6th, 2012
7:15 am

Fabulous write up! It is great to have those memories and what a great time it was to be young. I remember when they were still at the old Atlanta Townhouse. There was a DJ there named Chuck, an amazingly mellow black dude…I remember him playing Pink Floyd’s “Animals” album one night and he was describing the album cover…finally he just said…”Ah, it’s too much, let’s get into it”…What an incredible time…yeah, someone had a great idea, let’s go back and do it over again!

shaggy

January 6th, 2012
7:52 am

If you remember the “Biscuit”, brought to you by 96 Rock in those great days of summer, you might like this link. There is some really great stuff there…memories.

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/concerts/king-biscuit-catalog.html

Highlander

January 6th, 2012
8:01 am

Rodney, thanks for a great thread and the cool memories!

This was truly when radio was all about the music. Not trying to be a comedy playhouse. Not trying to create the next “personality.” Just rockin’ it’s azz off.

Lar

January 6th, 2012
8:13 am

I remember 96 rock giving away the Aero camaro at the Auto Show in the early to mid 80’s. My buddy filled out a bunch of entry forms and ended up winning the car. For some reason I remember all the presets on the radio, of course, being set to 96 Rock.

Backwoods Hick

January 6th, 2012
8:21 am

Along with King Biscuit, don’t forget the Comedy Hour on Sunday nights in the ’70’s! Where else could you hear Cheech and Chong, George Carlin and others on the air?

shaggy

January 6th, 2012
8:26 am

Backwoods Hick.

I could never forget belly laughing, parked on a lonely dirt road with my honey at the time, and passing some “humour conditioner” between us.
Kids today are engrossed in their video games and texting crap…we really lived.

Rickster

January 6th, 2012
9:17 am

I can remember it like it was yesterday. Our family was driving early in the morning: parents in the front, three kids in the back. We had gotten up VERY early heading down to south Georgia.

Dad turned on the radio and turned it to WKLS “(Class) 96 the “beautiful music station.”

Suddenly, the opening strains of Baba O’Reilly came over the radio. After about 20-30 seconds, Dad, without saying a word, reached over and turned off the radio.

Rickster

January 6th, 2012
9:19 am

For whatever reason, I decided to start sending in my own “Top 10″ lists to Willard (via fax – in the days before e-mail.) If he thought they were funny enough, he & Kaedy would read the list when they changed shifts at 3:00.

Gave me more than my 15 minutes of fame. :-)

Phillip Morris

January 6th, 2012
9:58 am

The PD (Chris) at Project 961 is responsible for blowing up 96 Rock

TheLazyComic

January 6th, 2012
10:21 am

Cheap Channel always knows what is best. (I fell on the floor from laughing so hard).

pcBobby

January 6th, 2012
10:35 am

I wrote this feature for Topside Loaf in ‘98 — http://bobnebel.tripod.com/rude.html

RaveDance Radio Station

January 6th, 2012
10:54 am

I Remember That Old Radio Station 96 Rock Where U Gone Come Back LOL They Where The Good Old Days Im Afraid We Are In The Future Now Though. http://www.ravedance.net

Sandi Myers

January 6th, 2012
11:40 am

I can’t express enough thanks for this!! I was listening to 96 Rock from day one and was friends with a couple of the early days DJs. Miss those days terribly….this was a wonderful tribute/magical mystery tour down memory lane!!! MORE POWER TO YA!! (Remember that????) PEACE and LOVE…..

KudzuCarl

January 6th, 2012
12:37 pm

Moved here in 1980. One of my earliest memories was seeing all the 96 Rock bumper stickers — upside down. Soon had one for myself.

SimonSays

January 6th, 2012
12:42 pm

I remember
96 rock license plates, some upside down. Even today when I see one I smile.
playing quarters we used hunch puch in those big Turtles 96 Rock tumpler cups

Mid-Night Album hours
perfect album side (was the best, I never entered but would always make my own)

Fav song – 30 Days in a Hole, Humble Pie

North Fulton '78

January 6th, 2012
12:54 pm

96 Rock truly provided the soundtrack of our lives growing up in Atlanta.

pinegirl

January 6th, 2012
1:07 pm

An incomplete video.

Phil

January 6th, 2012
1:30 pm

I was lucky to work there in 1986-87 for a short time as a part-time jock. What a great, great station. One of the highlights of my career!

rufus

January 6th, 2012
2:19 pm

Shaggy,I think his name is Ross Britain. Does that ring a bell with you?
Anyway, he was/is hilarious.

96 rock fan

January 6th, 2012
2:23 pm

I still have my 96 rock card

RaleighDawg

January 6th, 2012
6:00 pm

Who was the blonde that worked on the Chris Rude show that quit by faxing in her resignation ? As I recall she supposedly dated one of the guys from ZZ Top ?

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