Blast From The Past: Joe Willie Souse, 1981

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Happy Friday! This week’s Radio Ink Blast from the Past comes from Joe Willie Souse.

Joe was the evening host at Country 1440 WGIG in Brunswick, Georgia. It was June 19, 1981 and it was Joe’s very first remote, live from Kings Colonial Ford.

“At that time we were usually set up in a Coca-Cola wagon using a Marti back to the studio. We actually played the music from location using the ‘coffin’ which incorporated a microphone and two turntables. Unfortunately, this one only had one working turntable. The board operator at the station would hit a jingle out of stopset and we’d roll a song from the remote.”

“Here’s where it got tricky: after the first song you’d do a break while removing the first record and replacing it with the next song. You had to be careful not to put on a song with a cold intro since you couldn’t cue it up while doing your break.”

Thanks, Joe! Fortunately, it’s gotten a bit easier in the days since. We want your flashbacks for our Friday. First gigs, internships, vile station vehicles, remotes, concerts, college radio days… We all have them, let’s see yours.

Send your Blast From The Past to Cameron at [email protected] for your chance to be featured.

2 COMMENTS

  1. It can’t just be a guy/gal under a tent anymore. Make it an event.
    Bring some hula hoops or a cornhole board so when a song is playing on the air, have a quickie contest with the folks in the crowd. And take video that you can put on your website (get signed releases).
    Bring an old “Instant Replay” on its last legs from the engineer’s closet. Load it with wacky and gross cartoon sound effects and let the kids in the crowd go nuts.
    Everybody gets a T-shirt, everybody wins.

  2. Remotes STILL work! You’re just go to promote them enough, and offer some prizes for the listener attendees, like movie tickets, t shirts, those sort of fun prizes. And point out to your advertisers, that neither Spotify nor Pandora nor any of the “shiny digital” options can offer remotes! Only radio CAN! Your listeners meet your personalities by way of remotes. Live and local. It doesn’t get any better.

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