 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2021) |
Lee Gray (born Royce Lee Darling on March 15, 1936, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - died March 8, 1996) was a rock and roll American disc-jockey in the New York area then moving to Cleveland.
Shortly after he was born, his parents, Jack and Alma Darling, divorced and his mother moved to Chicago. Lee spent the majority of his childhood traveling back and forth from Oklahoma City to Chicago, on his own, to spend time with each parent. He also spent a lot of time with his grandmother on the Cherokee Indian Reservation when visits were inconvenient for his parents. This schedule caused him to attend many schools before graduating High School in 1953.
After graduating high school, Lee joined the U.S. Army in 1953, one month before the official end of the Korean War. While in the U.S. Army, he was stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany, as a Military Policeman. He had a passion for singing, but was told that he didn't have a good singing voice, so he considered getting into radio. Lee requested, and was granted, to work at the A.F.N (Armed Forces Radio Network). Thirty seconds before his first air shift, his supervisor whispered in his ear "When the clock gets to the top of the hour, try to relax and not think about the 50 million Europeans that will be listening to your voice and every word you say." He really became flustered and botched the entire broadcast while his supervisor was laughing at the radio rookie.[ citation needed ]
When his tour of duty was finished, Lee decided to give radio a try as a career in the U.S., and was hired at WKRG in Mobile, Alabama. Two years later, he moved up to WOKY in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1962. While in Milwaukee, he met one of his longtime friends Terrell Metheny (a.k.a. Mitch Michael), and began to use the radio name Lee Gray. Lee and Terrell formed a strong friendship and continued to keep in contact for the next 35 years.
He accepted a position down the road at legendary WIND (AM) in Chicago, and then on to WTRY (AM) in Albany/Troy, New York, [1] where Lee also became known on the air as "Beatle Buddy Lee Gray". [2] [3]
1964 was the start of the Beatle Invasion, and New York was the perfect place to be. Lee made connections with The Beatles during the short time he was at another Albany station, WABY, and continuing as Beatle Buddy Lee Gray while traveling to England several times on station promotions. [4] [5] This "Beatle Buddy" status elevated his career to a national level as he was featured in magazines and made an appearances on an all Beatles episode of American Bandstand . [6]
While in Albany–Troy, New York, Lee obtained the private pilot's license that he longed for since his days with the Armed Forces Radio Network. He later received his Instrument Flight Rating, Helicopter License and more. Lee used his license at many of the radio stations he worked at by flying listeners across the country for promotions and Beatles concerts.
Lee arranged to have the area's top psychedelic band, The Shandels, open for The Lovin' Spoonful and The Byrds. After the Byrds concert, he arranged for the band to record "Charity" on the Laurie label in 1966 under the name The Gray Things. [7] "Charity" was a successful advance release which received a very favorable review in Billboard Magazine. "Charity" can be played via the official Lee Gray web site by clicking WTRY on the home page, then scrolling to under a picture of Lee and John Lennon, where the Laurie label appears. "Charity" and other American Garage Rock is very popular in Europe, and the song is still being played by many online stations around the world. "Charity" appears on multiple compilation albums including Mindrocker, a 13-CD "Anthology of 60s US-Punk Garage Psych", which was originally released in Germany in 1982. It was subsequently re-issued in England during 2002 in a 1 to 1,000 numbered collector's series. "Charity" is also included in Psychedelic Unknowns, Volume 5 among others. Lee was the top radio personality in the Albany/Troy area, and The Gray Things success is a testament to the impact Lee had in this market.
The psychedelic movement was in full swing, and Lee Gray moved back to the midwest to work for WHK in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1967, and then to Louisville, Kentucky, at WKLO, where he met another one of his longtime friends, Carl Wiglesworth. While in Louisville, Lee received a letter from Terrell Metheny, who was now the Program Director of WMCA in New York City. Terrell offered Lee a job replacing Gary Stevens, so Lee headed to the largest radio market in the country.
He moved back to WKLO in Louisville, where he met his wife, Mary, of 24 years. Lee and Mary had a son, David, in 1972 and Michael in 1974. Throughout the 70s and 80s there was more moving around, which is typical for broadcasters. Lee worked for stations in Arkansas, New York, Texas and Illinois, just to name a few.
On December 17, 1995, in Houston, Lee suffered a heart attack and had to have a triple bypass surgery. The years of a radio disc jockey, especially in the 1960s and 70s, did a lot of harm to his heart.[ citation needed ] After a successful operation and a slow recovery, Lee went back on the air two months later, on February 19, 1996. He was on the air for three more weeks before suffering another heart attack on the way to his doctor's appointment; this time it was fatal. Lee Gray died on March 8, 1996, at the age of 59.
WSNY is a commercial radio station in Columbus, Ohio. It airs an adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Saga Communications, operating as part of its Columbus Radio Group. From mid-November until the Christmas holidays, WSNY switches to Christmas music. CBS Network affiliate WBNS-TV meteorologists supply WSNY with weather reports. The studios and offices are on Carriage Hill Lane in Columbus.
Gone Records was a record label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, along with music publishing arm Real Gone Music, that was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among the artists that recorded for the label were Bill Haley & His Comets, Ral Donner, Jo-Ann Campbell, Eddie Platt, Johnny Rivers, and The Four Seasons. It was acquired by Morris Levy and incorporated into Roulette Records in 1962.
KYCR is an AM radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by Salem Media Group, and is carrying a business radio format.
WFLY is a Top 40/CHR radio station licensed to Troy, New York, and serving the Capital District. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and is considered the company's flagship station. The radio studios and offices are at 6 Johnson Road in Latham.
"Shrimp Boats" was a popular song in the 1950s.
WRVE is a commercial radio station licensed in Schenectady and serving the Capital District and Upper Hudson Valley in New York. It broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format and calls itself "99.5 The River", referring to the Hudson River. The station is owned by iHeartMedia as one of seven radio stations owned by the company in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy radio market.
WOFX is a radio station licensed to Troy, New York. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and runs a sports format and is the Fox Sports Radio affiliate for the Capital District, Adirondacks, and Berkshires.
WGY-FM is a news/talk station licensed to Albany, New York. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day at 5,600 watts ERP from a non-directional antenna in North Greenbush, New York located near U.S. Route 4. The station, owned by iHeartMedia, serves the New York's Capital District and surrounding areas, including the portions of the Mid-Hudson and upper Hudson Valley.
WGNA-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Albany, New York, and serving the Capital District. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts a country music radio format.
WTRY-FM, is a commercial radio station licensed to Rotterdam, New York. It airs a classic hits format. WTRY-FM serves the New York State Capital District in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy radio market. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts at 6,000 watts ERP from a tower in between Altamont and Duanesburg off U.S. Route 20. Studios and offices are on Troy-Schenectady Road in Latham.
WPBZ-FM is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Rensselaer, New York, and serving the Capital District, including the Albany-Schenectady-Troy radio market. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and airs a soft adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for part of November and December. The studios and offices are on Kings Road in Schenectady.
WJKE is a contemporary Christian music radio station licensed to Stillwater, New York, United States, and serving Saratoga County as an affiliate of the K-Love network. It is owned by the Educational Media Foundation and broadcasts at 2,900 watts ERP from a tower in Stillwater. In addition to its key coverage area, WJKE is a rimshot into both the Glens Falls/Lake George area and the tri-cities of Albany, Schenectady and Troy.
Los Homerun-es is a compilation album and fifth overall of Reggaeton recording artist Daddy Yankee. It came before Yankee's mainstream debut, Barrio Fino. This album releases Daddy Yankee's hits from the 1990s to 2003. This album was released on an independent record label on February 28, 2003. Following the success of Barrio Fino, the album was re-released on 2005. Even though it was an independent album, it featured other huge reggaeton artists, like Nicky Jam, Don Omar, Julio Voltio. Some songs were released with DJ Playero.
WDJX is a Top 40/CHR-formatted radio station located in Louisville, Kentucky. The station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 24 kW. The station's studios are located in East Louisville and the transmitter site is in New Albany, Indiana. WDJX is owned by Alpha Media.
WPTR is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Schenectady, New York. The station serves the Capital District of New York. The station is currently owned by the Area Independent Radio, Inc. It airs a classic rock-classic hits radio format.
"Laugh, Laugh" is a song by American rock group the Beau Brummels, written by guitarist Ron Elliott and produced by Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone. Released in December 1964 as the band's debut single, the song reached number 15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart the following February. "Laugh, Laugh" was the first hit single to come out of the emerging San Francisco music scene in response to the British Invasion. The song was later included on the band's first full-length album, Introducing the Beau Brummels, released in April 1965.
"I Cried" is a song written by James Brown and Bobby Byrd. It was originally recorded in 1963 by Tammy Montgomery, better known as Tammi Terrell, for Brown's Try Me Records. It was her first charting single, reaching #99 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Randall Lamar Howard was an American country singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer. His music involved outlaw country, traditional country, old southern gospel, blues and Christian country.
Kid Galahad is an EP by American singer Elvis Presley, containing six songs from the motion picture of the same name. Six songs were recorded for the film and the soundtrack was issued as an extended play record in August 1962 to coincide with the film's premiere. The extended play record was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on March 27, 1992, for the sales of 250,000 copies. The featured song from the album, "King of the Whole Wide World", received Top 40 radio airplay and reached No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The extended play record was the number-one EP in the UK for 17 weeks.
Billy Kirsch is an American songwriter and consultant.
{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help){{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help){{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help){{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)lee gray disc jockey albany ny.
{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
