It's a new morning...

 ...at WIMZ 103.5!

If you go way back at this dial position, in early 1977 they decided to go head-to-head with WIVK for the country music listeners. 

The DJ line up included Ktown newcomer Karl Shannon (from Louisville) along with WIVK jock Tony Eubanks, Ken Johnson, Kathy Hill, Dave Foulk, Don Lindsey, and more. The station call letters were WBIR-FM.

And then in August 1979...WBIR (We Believe In Rock) debuted with an album rock format. Keith Lambert and Carson Cooper were on the air. It wasn't too much later that the call letters were switched to WIMZ.

Fast forward to today, the station maintains the format that debuted in 1979, and John Boy and Billy have hosted their syndicated morning show there for years. But, all good things come to an end, even in radio, John Boy and Billy are hanging up their mics and headphones.

...enter stage left, as of January 2026 the new morning team will be Jay Mac, she's been the nighttime host for nearly 20 years, and she'll team with Drake Meredith, who has been with the station since 2019.

Happy Trails to JB & B, and good morning to Jay Mac & Drake!

 

 Hooray for Heupel Hillbillies!

It's early 1980 at WKGN 1340...on the air were Suitcase Simpson, Chuck Edwards, Jim Byrd, Keith Brunson, and Bernard Addison.

At that time the October/November ratings were released-

WIVK- FM 20.9

WEZK-FM 16.4

WNOX-AM 11.9

WRJZ-AM 9.9

WIVK-AM 8.5

WOKI-FM 7.7

WBIR-FM 6.3

WKGN-AM 1.3

The 101 Audio Vault, Chuck Edwards...

The Possum and The Rat

 Dear George -

Most people reading your blog will remember WKGN when it was housed in really nice studios atop a Hamilton Bank branch in Alcoa Highway. I was the program director when we made the move there.

When I first arrived at ‘KGN as a midday jock, however, the station was in an old building (probably a grocery store) at 22nd and Cumberland on “The Strip.”  It was actually two long, narrow buildings with a hole punched through a wall to connect them. There was still an overhead rail inside a back door where animal carcasses could be hooked and moved into the building. One day copywriter Patsy Hess asked me to record a few commercials after my 9-12 noon shift. When I walked into the production studio and turned on the lights, there was a large rat sitting on the console, looking at me and making no move to leave. It took throwing heavy open reel tape mailer containers, a broom, shouts, and two or three minutes before I had sufficiently wounded the beast and he limped out of the studio.

 I felt it necessary to explain to a couple of fellow staffers that - no - Possums and rats are not related. My genus is marsupial and the interloper’s was rodent.

Thanks for hangin’ with the Possum (Riley)

The 101 Audio Vault features the debut of Eddie Rogers on WNOX 990 (as recorded via my cassette recorder on January 7, 1980) ...

 

It's January 1980 and Eddie Rogers is the new morning DJ at WNOX 990.

530 Eddie Rogers

10 Phil Williams

2 Randy Miller

6 Scott Majors

10 Tom Michaels

2 James Maurice

The 101 Audio Vault features James Maurice (Turk)...

Page 3

...and spending the entire month at or near the top of the weekly WIVK survey- Worley Max with his hit "How Long Will You Love Me This Time".

Randy Miller interviewing Crystal Bernard back in '82 at 96KX in Pittsburgh. 

It's truly a moot point but the truth is the truth. 

In no way did yours truly have anything to do with inventing a frog mascot. 

However, growing up and dial twisting in the early '70s I enjoyed tuning in to Wacky in Louisville (WAKY) and Wisby in Atlanta (WSB). 

Fast forward to the fall of '76 and I'm hired to be a very raw 18-year-old UT freshman weekend DJ at WIVK. 

This weekend I was going thru some cassette airchecks and found one of me from December 18, 1976. I was on the air that Saturday night. 

If you listen closely (and even chuckle at my neophyte ability at that time) ...by golly, I was croaking WIVICK! 

And I did so throughout my five years jocking at East Tennessee's Jolly Green Giants! 

The official story is the WIVICK croaking was hatched in '78 in a production room. 

...as Paul Harvey would day, "and now you know the rest of the story".

 (George Michael Vavalides)

WRJZ The New 62 went on the air in late 1976 and lit up the left side (620 kc) of the Knoxville radio dial. The original nighttime DJ was Lee Taylor, but soon thereafter John Boy Isley hit the airwaves...and the rest is history as they say. 

Fast forward a couple of years and John Boy is in Charlotte at WBCY and is teaming with Billy James. They are still on the air today and syndicated, think WIMZ, but all great things must come to an end, and the duo is exiting stage left at the end of 2025.

The 101 Audio Vault features a clip from my cassette recorder of John back in 1977...

 Page 3...

The Stick! Great to hear Rick (Davis). He has always been a favorite of mine. We painted Ktown red more than a few times. Thanks for the memories! And hey Rick...I think you owe me $20. LOL. Mike Beach

PS...you can hear Mike daily starting at 3p eastern on Global Radio Daytona.

Rick Davis joined WKGN 1340 in the summer of 1974. 

He was a news anchor and weekend DJ at his start. 

In late September Rick replaced Mike Beach in the 7-midnight slot as Mike returned to WETE 620. 

The 'KGN line was Your Dave 6-9a, Frank Erwin 9-12. Jeff Stevens 12-4, PD Wayne Bernard 4-7, Rick at 7p, then Todd Martin overnight. Oh, Jean Ash joined WKGN and their new department at that time. 

In late November, Wayne Bernard exited stage left for Mooney's WMAK Nashville (didn't they all), and Rick took over afternoon drive. PS- Bob Thomas became the overnight DJ at that time too.

The 101 Audio Vault features Rick Davis...

 

The 101 InBox

It's trick or treat 1971 with Johnny Walker (and his trumpet). We heard from some super jocks about the Halloween antics-

"That's great. Sounds like something I would have done. Best." (Mike Beach)

and...

"Funny Story! At that time, I was living in the basement apartment at the 11th Street Grocery during my 5th football season at UT. Beer business days before radio. Long ago!" (Alan Douglas Sneed)

Happy Halloween from Wayne Wood...

This clip ran in the News-Sentinel on Oct. 29, 1971. Apparently on spur of the moment in response to a caller who said he was intending to roll the radio station with toilet paper, but would be out of town on Halloween, WKGN DJ Johnny Walker invited the caller and anyone else listening to come on down and roll away. Throughout the evening Walker gleefully reported on the ongoing paper roll vandalism of the building and parking lot. I recall that the employees of the Hamilton National Bank, on the first floor of the two-story building, were not amused when they came in to work the next morning.

 

Trick or Treat

Steve West arrived in Knoxville in the spring of 1976 to be the morning DJ at the brand new, and major market sounding 15Q (WKVQ). Later that year Steve jumped over to WKGN for a short stay. Fast forward to early 1982 and Steve returned to Ktown as Program Director at WRJZ 620 "My Kind of Country". Steve would go by Dr Don West this go around...and, when putting his on-air staff together he hired mE and Bill Beason the same day to be weekend jocks. 

The 101 Audio Vault travels to '76 and WKGN...