What KAAY meant to me

Thanks for the email from Jim relating what KAAY meant to him:

Let me first say that I listened to you as a child growing up in Rison, AR (IÂ’m not making that up) even we later worked together. As a teenager in the 60Â’s, KAAY was my link to the outside world while I grew up in rural Southeast Arkansas. It truly was as if all the popular artists of the day were performing just for me at the behest of KAAY, which seemed larger than life itself. I can remember going to the State Fair when KAAY had he booth/trailer above the Main Gate and trying to get a look at jocks as they came outside.



I can remember vividly when KAAY got the Funmobile because Sonny Martin would broadcast live from the front lawn on sunny days. He even mentioned on one of the first broadcasts that someone from the Secretary of StateÂ’s Office called to find out why the guy was out on the lawn.



From various Doc Hollidays, Buddy Karr, and George J. Jennings during the mornings, Sonny Martin in the middle of the day, Mitch McCormick in the afternoon, Tom Robbins, Johnny King, and Phil North at night, and of course Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford, my friends and I escaped our small town and traveled the world thanks to KAAY. I love the blog. Thanks for it and for great memories.



Jim

Thanks Jim for expressing what KAAY meant to you. "Larger than life" is often used in relation to KAAY. For those of us who were there, we also had that feeling. We knew what was going on was significant. It served as a creative pressure to create more than a juke box. As I have often said in this blog, it was not about the music. Sure we played rock and roll, but so did our competitors. The guys who started KAAY with something different, set a standard which all those who followed tried to live up to and surpass. Most of original guys were not there long enough to see the rating success. The comments I read from folks whose lives were changed or inspired by KAAY mean more than money or ratings. My challenge to radio stations today, are you making a difference in people's lives, or are you a juke box?