KBOA: Old Camp Meetin’ Time
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Tag Archives: KBOA
Joe Bankhead retires. Finally.
Joe Bankhead helped put KBOA (Kennett, MO) on the air back in 1947. One of the original employees. Also a good friend of my father. Joe tells his story better than I can. The man has seen a lot of radio.
Narvel Felts, the pride of Bernie, MO
Just learned that Narvel Felts will be performing at the Missouri State Fair on August 19 (part of the Country Gold Tour). According to Wikipedia, Narvel is 70, so it’s good to know he’s still performing.
Here’s a couple of photos from his younger days, taken in the studios of KBOA in Kennett, MO (circa 1950). L-R: JW Grubbs (Bass Guitar), Leon Barnett (Lead Guitar), Narvel Felts (Guitar & Vocals), Bob Taylor? (Drums), and Jerry Tuttle (Saxophone & Steel Guitar).
Wikipedia: “Narvel attended Bernie High School, Felts was discovered during a talent show at the school. He had been encouraged to participate in the show by some of his classmates, and it just so happened that a talent agent was attending the performance at the time.
Felts recorded his first single “Kiss-a Me Baby” at the age of 16, and his career skyrocketed with the help of Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash. Narvel Felts enjoyed modest pop success in 1960 with a remake of the Drifters “Honey Love” which earned a low position on the Billboard Hot 100. He went on to release such songs as “Lonely Teardrops” and “Pink And Black Days”, but it wasn’t until the 1970s when he began enjoying success on a national level as a country singer.
His first major hit came in 1973, with a cover of Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away”. Felts’ version — No. 8 on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in September 1973 — was mid-tempo country compared to Gray’s blues version. The follow-up single, “All in the Name of Love,” just missed hitting the top 10 in December 1973.”
I’d been working at the radio station about a year when Drift Away got Narvel some notoriety and he came by the station to plug the record. It’s was a big deal for Kennett, Missouri. Narvel had beautiful hair.
Tape and resume requested
During my radio days (70’s and early 80’s) it was common practice to check the job listings in the back of Broadcasting (a trade publication) to see who was hiring. (The main reason station managers didn’t leave the magazine lying round.) Most of those ads ended with “Tape and resume requested.”
The tape was also called an “air check” and usually worked something like this:
Let’s say I did a four hour air shift each afternoon. I would record it and later edit out everything except the parts where I was saying something clever or –at the very least– saying something in a deep, resonant voice.
If I was doing a record show, my air check consisted primarily of my introductions to songs. This was in the day when the DJ “talked over” the instrumental intro to a song and it was considered something of a skill to be able to chatter mindlessly right up the instant the vocal started. DJ’s prided themselves in knowing the exact length of the intros to popular songs.
So the air check –once it had been “telescoped”– had this weird “this is/that was” quality. I did a lot of air checks and they always reminded me of how little I was actually adding to the listeners’ experience.
And the voice was important back in those days. Deep, full, rich voices were highly prized. “What” you said was considered less important than “how” you said it. “Good pipes” were much in demand.
And many (most?) DJ’s had this strange, over-modulated, swallow-your-words way of talking. I’d give you an audio example but it’s too painful and embarrassing to recall.
It’s a short hop from one of those telescoped air checks to the realization that –with the new computers and software– a DJ could record his or her part of that four hour air shift in far less time. Which would mean we could cover more air shfits with fewer DJ’s and take all that money to the bank.
As the cost of satellite distribution came down, group owners figured out they could have a few talented folks in one part of the country “voice track” shows for LOTS of radio stations. Even more savings.
I remember spinning records for 5 or 6 hours at a time, and thinking this is not a good use of my great talent. But I’m really glad I didn’t miss that part of the radio experience. Going into a studio to voice-track several hours of “my show” would seem to be very… unsatisfying. Like being a sperm donor.
I don’t know what it’s like working at a radio station these days. I hope it’s still fun. I remember Charlie Earls (the owner of our station) saying something along the lines of: “If we make enough money to pay the bills, and have fun in the process, that’s a good deal.”
I’m thinking you don’t hear that much anymore.
KBOA 830
In an earlier post I wondered about some recent move affecting the radio station I worked at many years ago. Our friend Jeff pointed us to a post on a radio message board:
"Eagle Bluff Enterprises has received FCC permission to move KOTC from Kennett, Missouri to Memphis, Tennessee. KOTC (830 AM) signed on in July 1947 as KBOA. KOTC went silent on 6-1-08. The justification for the STA was "The station has been temporarily turned off pending format changes and equipment repairs". After the move, KOTC will diplex its 10 KW signal from a tower shared with WHBQ, 560 AM, in Memphis."
When I worked at KBOA the frequency (a daytime clear channel) was 830. When consolidation hit there was a series of call letter/frequency shuffles I was never interested enough to try to sort out.
I think they moved the KBOA calls to a frequency (105.5) licensed to Piggott, Arkansas, but operating in Kennett, MO. The 830 freq was assigned some newer, local (Kennett) calls (KOTC).
The KBOA I knew and loved died long ago. And it was nice to read some kind words about KBOA830.com. Thanks to all.
KBOA 830 no more?
I keep getting sketchy reports that the radio station where I worked 25 years ago, is no longer on the air. Not sure what that means since call letters and frequencies were scrambled and shuffled years ago.
The station that I worked at for a dozen years (and my father for many more than that) ceased to exist for me long ago. It was gutted during The Great Consolidation frenzy following deregulation.
Whatever this latest "news" is, it apparently wasn’t big enough to make the local paper. So, if anyone has details, drop me a line.
Already missing Tim Russert (and my dad)
And I’m not sure why. I didn’t “know” the man but, like many of his faithful viewers, felt as though I did. NBC devoted the full half-hour of the evening newscast to memories of Tim (“Mr. Russert” doesn’t feel right).
Maybe it’s my new-found interest in politics… or Father’s Day rolling around again… but I’m reminded of my pop, who died six years ago.
Dad was not the “family man” Tim Russert was reported to be. At least not demonstrably so. But he had his passions and radio was one of them. One I shared.
So, in memory of Tim Russert –and my dad– I share this interview I did with my dad shortly before he retired from radio.
The Senath Lions Quartet
One of the best parts of having a blog is connecting with people. You could argue it’s the only part. One of the first sites I created was a tribute to KBOA, the radio station where my father worked for many years and where I spent a dozen years. The site is packed with great photos, most of which were taken by the late Johnny “Mack” Reeder.
I captioned one of those photos “Unknown Hillbilly Band” because I had no idea who they were. Now I do, thanks to an email from one of the men in the photo, Charley Crawford:
“The name of the group is “The Senath Lions Quartet” and this was in 1951. We started the quarter in Senath High School. The members are left to right front, Charley Crawford, Jimmy Milligan, behind Jim, right to left are Charles “Tod” Horner, James Allan and David Adams at the piano. We were on the radio every Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m., sponsored by the Senath Merchants.”
Charlie was also a member of The Foggy Mountain Boys Hillbilly Band in 1948.
CORRECTION: I assumed –incorrectly– Charlie was referring to The Foggy Mountain Boys featuring Flatt and Scruggs. Charlie and friends were in a local band of the same name.
The Foggy Mountain Boys was an influential bluegrass band that performed and recorded during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.
Worst jobs for 21st century
From a Forbes story on job prospects over the next few decades:
“Another endangered species: journalists. Despite the proliferation of media outlets, newspapers, where the bulk of U.S. reporters work, will cut costs and jobs as the Internet replaces print. While current events will always need to be covered (we hope), the number of reporting positions is expected to grow by just 5% in the coming decade, the Labor Department says. Most jobs will be in small (read: low-paying) markets.
Radio announcers will have a tough time, too. Station consolidation, advances in technology and a barren landscape for new radio stations will contribute to a 5% reduction in employment for announcers by the middle of the next decade. Even satellite radio doesn’t seem immune from the changes. The two major companies, XM and Sirius–which now have plans to merge–have regularly operated in the red.”
The U. S. Department of Labor stats identified a few growth areas: Health care, education and financial services.
Gobler Mercantile Company
My make-over of “KBOA: The Early Years” is far from complete. But I had to share a snippet from one of the pages. A Tribute to a Country Store was written (and self-published) by Virginia B. Branch. It’s probably the only history of this small country store that got big. Not Wal-Mart big but something of a phenomenon where I grew up. Here’s the paragraph that caught my eye:
“About 1952 television had come to Gobler and each night, out back on the porch of the furniture department, one of these new inventions was displayed for benefit of the general public. It was here that most of Gobler’s citizens saw their first TV. A good-sized crowd was on hand every night. There was only one channel at the time so no disagreements could arise as to program choices.”
And now it’s Tivo, iPods, AppleTV and all the rest. From one channel… to thousands.