Reel Top 40 Radio Repository

Last updated

The Reel Top 40 Radio Repository, sometimes called REELRADIO, is a virtual museum of radio broadcasts, primarily airchecks from the "Top 40" era of radio in North America. The archives are available by streaming. Established in 1996 as the first online airchecks archive, it was transferred to a dedicated not-for-profit organization, REELRADIO, Inc., in 2000. The site was organized as a series of "collections"; most collections represent the archives of a single contributor. As of April 2018, the repository featured more than 3,568 exhibits.

Contents

Two collections are tribute sites to famed Los Angeles disc jockeys Robert W. Morgan and The Real Don Steele, and the organization also hosts other sites about the Top 40 eras at WPGC in Washington and WIXY 1260 in Cleveland.

As of 2008, the board of directors includes founder Richard "Uncle Ricky" Irwin, news reporter Michael Burgess (known as Mike Scott) of KGPE (TV), and Bob Shannon (former vice president of TM Century). [1]

History

The repository site was started as Uncle Ricky's Reel Top 40 Radio Repository on February 12, 1996 by Richard "Uncle Ricky" Irwin, who had been in the radio business for 30 years before becoming a webmaster for Sacramento Network Access. The repository was started using SNA's servers, including a RealAudio streaming media server. [2]

Articles about the site were published in Radio World magazine on March 20, 1996 and Radio & Records on September 13, 1996. Uncle Ricky's Reel Top 40 Radio Repository was one of five Radio category nominees for the 1998 Webby Awards, and an article titled "Radio Patter From The Past: Vintage D.J's Rock On" was published in The New York Times on May 9, 2002. [3]

After SNA was sold to PSINet, the not-for-profit corporation REELRADIO, Inc. was formed on March 23, 2000, with assistance from the Media Preservation Foundation, to collect donations for funding the site; [2] [3] once under the new organization, the site was moved to new hosting facilities in July. [2]

For the first 10 years, the site was supported by voluntary donations. Despite the website having only a few dozen financial supporters, analysis of user behavior revealed thousands of listeners. The organization's board of directors voted for a minimum contribution of $12/year (later $20/year) for access to most of the site's archives. [2]

In its latter years, Reelradio.com also began including "unscoped" entries in the archives, including full versions of the music played on the air checks. With increased enforcement of royalty fees for streaming music, this also increased costs for the web site, and was a factor in requiring an annual membership fee.[ citation needed ]

Each week, the web site would list the "Reelradio Fab 40", a list of the top exhibits that were played by listeners to the web site for the prior week. Like the surveys printed by top 40 radio stations in their heyday, the Reelradio Fab 40 list showed an entry's current position on the list, what its position was for each of the previous three weeks, and how many weeks it had been in the Fab 40 list.[ citation needed ]

By 2016, the web site stated that the membership fee would cover just six months at a time, but by 2017 this requirement was not being enforced.[ citation needed ] On September 24, 2017, new registrations to the website were closed, and donations were no longer being requested. A statement on the front page of the web site indicated that the Reelradio board of directors had voted to end the site, but would keep it operating while there was still money in its fund to pay licensing fees. Reelradio, Inc. planned to archive and preserve the site until such time that a qualified operator could be found. [4]

The site operators said that the reason for the change was that exhibits were found on the other web site, which violated the terms of membership that prohibited copying exhibits. Furthermore, it was stated that Uncle Ricky was in failing health. [4]

On May 1, 2018 a statement on the front page of the web site was added: "Our board of directors voted to end this site. Our last day of streaming media will be May 1. We will pay all licensing fees for this year. If funding is available, REELRADIO, INC. will archive and preserve the site until a qualified operator can be found, if ever." [4]

This site was offline for almost 3 months until the site returned to normal operations in August 2018. However, there will be no new exhibits for the foreseeable future, according to the site's front page.[ citation needed ]

Uncle Ricky

Richard Warren "Uncle Ricky" Irwin (January 8, 1951 [5] – June 7, 2018 [6] ) grew up in Concord, North Carolina and worked at radio stations from age 14. By the time he started the Reelradio Repository, he had worked for about 10 radio stations and written Commodore 128 software to schedule music for radio stations. After his work at SNA, Irwin remained a web designer, then became a software engineer. [7] Irwin died on June 7, 2018. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Lujack</span> Chicago radio DJ (1940-2013)

Larry Lujack, also called Superjock, Lawrence of Chicago, Uncle Lar, and King of the Corn Belt, was a Top 40 music radio disc jockey who was well known for his world-weary sarcastic style. Some of his more popular routines included Klunk Letter of the Day, the darkly humorous Animal Stories with sidekick Tommy Edwards as Little Tommy, and the Cheap Trashy Show Biz Report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Jay</span> American magician and actor (1946–2018)

Richard Jay Potash, was an American stage magician, actor and writer. In a profile for The New Yorker, Mark Singer called Jay "perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive". In addition to sleight of hand, he was known for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter. He also wrote extensively on magic and its history. His acting credits included the films The Prestige, The Spanish Prisoner, Mystery Men, Heist, Boogie Nights, Tomorrow Never Dies, State and Main, House of Games and Magnolia, and the HBO series Deadwood. In 2015 he was the subject of an episode of PBS's American Masters, the only magician ever profiled in the series.

Aircheck is the radio industry term for a recording that has dual meanings: a demonstration to show off the talent of an announcer or programmer to a prospective employer, and an archival record of content broadcast over-the-air made for legal archiving purposes. With evolving technology, the term came to be applied in the television industry as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State University, Sacramento</span> Public university in Sacramento, California

California State University, Sacramento is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest institution in the California State University system.

Bill Drake, born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.

Family Radio, also known by its licensee name Family Stations, Inc., is a non-profit, non-denominational, educational Christian radio network based in Franklin, Tennessee with network operations located in Alameda, California, United States. Established in 1958, Family Radio airs religious music and programming, both past and present, and is listener-supported.

Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts. There are several subcategories, dominantly focusing on rock, pop, or urban music. Used alone, CHR most often refers to the CHR-pop format. The term contemporary hit radio was coined in the early 1980s by Radio & Records magazine to designate Top 40 stations which continued to play hits from all musical genres as pop music splintered into Adult contemporary, Urban contemporary, Contemporary Christian and other formats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KDND</span> Radio station in Sacramento, California (1947–2017)

KDND (107.9 MHz) was an FM radio station licensed to Sacramento, California, United States. The station first signed on in 1947 as KXOA-FM, an FM simulcast of AM station KXOA, before separating itself with distinct programming, including most prominently soft rock, adult contemporary, and classic hits formats. In July 1998, two years after the sale of the station to Entercom, the station switched to its final KDND call letters and Top 40/CHR format branded as 107.9 The End. At the time of the station's closing, KDND's studios were located in North Highlands, while its transmitter was located just north of the Sacramento city limits near Elverta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)</span> 1974 single by Reunion

"Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" is a 1974 song written by Norman Dolph (lyrics) and Paul DiFranco (music). It was recorded by an ad hoc group of studio musicians called Reunion, with Joey Levine as lead singer. The lyrics are a fast patter of 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s disc jockeys, musicians, songwriters, record labels, song titles and lyrics, broken only by the chorus. Levine had previously been lead singer and co-writer of bubblegum music hits "Yummy Yummy Yummy" and "Chewy Chewy" by the Ohio Express. "Life Is a Rock" peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and reached No. 33 on the UK Singles Chart.

KCHZ, is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station licensed to Ottawa, Kansas and serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Cumulus Media, Inc. outlet operates at 95.7 MHz with an ERP of 98 kW. Its transmitter is located near Linwood, Kansas, and studios are in Overland Park, Kansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KSTN (AM)</span> Radio station in Stockton, California

KSTN (1420 kHz is a commercial AM radio station in Stockton, California, owned by Robert LaRue, and licensed by KSTN, LLC. It airs a country music radio format, known as "105.9 The Bull."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHYN (AM)</span> Radio station in Springfield, Massachusetts

WHYN is a commercial AM news/talk radio station licensed to Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves the Pioneer Valley area of Western Massachusetts and is owned by iHeartMedia. Studios and offices are on Main Street in Springfield. The transmitter is on County Road in Southampton. WHYN operates at 5,000 watts by day, using a directional antenna, but must reduce power to 1,000 watts at night to avoid interfering with other stations on 560 kHz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concert film</span> Audiovisual recording of a concert performance

A concert film, or concert movie, is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert by either a musician or a stand-up comedian.

Clarke Ingram is a United States radio personality and programming executive.

Mark Tucker (born October 11, 1957 in Laurel, Maryland, United States, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and co-founder of Tetrapod Spools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Biondi</span> American disc jockey

Richard O. Biondi is an American Top 40 and Oldies disc jockey. Calling himself The Wild I-tralian, he was one of the original "screamers," known for his screaming delivery as well as wild antics on and off the air. In a 1988 interview, Biondi said he had been fired 23 times, with both fits of temper and jokes gone wrong part of the tally. Over many years and many frequencies, Dick's closing line was, "God bless, bye, bye, Duke. Thanks a million for dialing our way."

John Records Landecker is an American Top40/oldies disc jockey best known for his trademark saying "Records truly is my middle name" and creating Boogie Check, Americana Panorama, and satirical songs and bits based on current events such as "Make a Date with the Watergate", and "Press My Conference". He originally retired from radio broadcasting on July 31, 2015. Boogie Check was a humorous feature; it was the last thing Landecker did each night on his show for about two minutes. A string of brief telephone calls was put on the air in rapid succession. From July 2007 through June 2012, he was host of "Into the Seventies", a syndicated weekend radio program from TKO Radio Networks.

The History of Rock & Roll is an American radio documentary on rock and roll music, first syndicated in 1969. Originally one of the lengthiest documentaries of any medium, The History of Rock & Roll is a definitive history of the Rock and Roll genre, stretching from the early 1950s to the present day. The "rockumentary," as producers Bill Drake and Gene Chenault called it, features hundreds of interviews and comments from numerous rock artists and people involved with rock and roll.

Media Preservation Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the archival of media history mainly aimed towards radio and television identification and associated items. It was established in 1994 by Tracy E. Carman and Donald Worsham as an archive for documents and important recordings related to the broadcasting industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academia.edu</span> Commercial social networking website for academics

Academia.edu is a for-profit open repository of academic articles free to read by visitors. Uploading and downloading is restricted to registered users. Additional features are accessible only as a paid subscription. Since 2016 various social networking utilities have been added.

References

  1. ↑ "Our Directors". Reel Top 40 Radio Repository. Sacramento, California: REELRADIO, Inc. 2008-04-18. Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Irwin, Richard W. (February 12, 2006). "Rules and Reasons". Reel Top 40 Radio Repository. Sacramento, California: REELRADIO, Inc. Archived from the original on February 7, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Weingarten, Marc (May 9, 2002). "Radio Patter From the Past: Vintage D.J.'s Rock On". The New York Times . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "REELRADIO Reel Top 40 Radio Repository". Sacramento, California: REELRADIO, Inc. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  5. ↑ Irwin, Richard W. (January 2002). "Richard Irwin for Doug Limerick, WIXE Monroe N.C. 12-30-1969". Reel Top 40 Radio Repository. Sacramento, California: REELRADIO, Inc. Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2018-06-29. For my 51st Birthday Treat (January 8, 2002) I have selected this short sample
  6. 1 2 "Richard Irwin, founder/operator of the "ReelRadio" online museum, died yesterday". Tom Taylor Now. June 8, 2018. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  7. ↑ Irwin, Richard W. (2009-12-06). "The Original Uncle Ricky Top 40 Radio Repository Collection". Reel Top 40 Radio Repository. Sacramento, California: REELRADIO, Inc. Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.