KAAY Remembered in a Comment

Hello A.J.:

I just saw your post regarding replies to your blogs.

First of all, let me say that your page is one of the pages I check on a daily basis. KAAY was one of the most influential radio in my life. It was one of the few reliable stations from Arkansas I could receive in St. Louis (KLCN in Blytheville and KLRA were two others). I have relatives in NW Arkansas and have a soft spot in my heart for the state. Besides that, KAAY was one of those stations that had a magic all to itself--a 50 thousand watt station that made a personal connection to its listener (WLAC and WWL's "Road Gang" show had that kind of quality too).

I know I'm not the only one who felt this way.

If you have a direction for this site, here are some suggestions. All over the web are tributes to the past history of great radio stations--WLS, CKLW, WABC, KHJ, reelradio.com, and NBC Monitor come to mind. KAAY definitely deserves a page to itself, with a history, airchecks, and photos. I'm sure this is a labor of love, and I'm grateful you have put this site together. If you want to take a site like this further, you may want to contact the individuals who have put these other tribute sites together. They may offer some insights for you. Also, Clyde Clifford and Barry McCorkindale (sp?) (who hosted KAAY's "Radio Yesterday" show)might be able to help you as well.

For several years, WABC has hosted a Memorial Day "Rewound" show featuring hours of old airchecks, and since December 2005, the station hosts a Saturday Night Oldies show. This year, WLS hosted their rewound show, featuring live talent (most notably Larry Lujack and John "Records" Landecker). These shows came about, without a doubt, because of those who cared about these radio stations, during their Top-40 heyday.

Best Wishes/73

Paul Harner