A Look Back At When Big 600 WTAC Went Country

Back in the 50s and 60s – There was no bigger radio station in the Flint and Mid-Michigan area than “The Home of The Good Guys – Big 600 WTAC”. The station’s line-up of disc-jockeys (Bob Dell, Peter C. Cavenaugh, Wild Willie, Gary Raymond, Johnny Cole, Bill Pearson, Ed Berryman and more) were the jocks you listened to on the radio and who you wanted spinning records at your high school sock hop or dance at the Knights of Columbus Hall. WTAC was so popular and was such a driving force in the life of mid-Michigan teenagers that makers of everything from soft drinks to pimple cream wanted to advertise on the station. WTAC was so popular that the calendars of the WTAC disc jocks were booked as much as a year in advance. In the 50s and 60s, if you wanted your event to be a success – you wanted a WTAC jock there spinning the records and entertaining the crowds.

What made the station different from other radio stations in the area at that time? All you had to do was look at the music play lists and you would get your answer. WTAC was more interested in blazing new trails and not following the safe and acceptable music trends of the era. While other stations played the safe pop acts like Bobby Vinton singing “Red Roses For A Blue Lady”, WTAC cranked up the decibels and was the first station in the United States to play The Who and that’s not all.

The same time that Motown was leaving its imprint on the music world – Michigan’s rock n’ roll scene began to make a lot of noise and WTAC was the station that people tuned in to hear groups like Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes, the Bob Seger System, Brownsville Station, Frigid Pink, Question Mark and the Mysterians, the MC5, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Dick Wagner and The Frost, Terry Knight and The Pack, and Alice Cooper. It was because of WTAC influence that other radio stations across the country picked up on the music from these Michigan artists and made them hits in their area.

With a signal that beamed from Flint to as far north as the Mackinac Bridge and into parts of Canada, WTAC was untouchable in the 50s and through part of 70s and they took on all challengers – but like other AM radio stations in the country there was no way it was going to survive the arrival of FM radio. The beginning of the end for WTAC came when the Methodist Radio Parish sold their AM and FM station on Lapeer Road and one of the first things that the new owners did was to convince two of WTAC’s long-time disc jockeys (Bill Pearson and Bill Gibson) to join them. The station’s call letters were changed to from WMRP to WWCK and that began the change in radio listenership in the Flint area from the AM signal to FM.

There were other factors in WTAC’s demise other than FM radio. The people that owned WTAC – a out-of-town multi-national corporation who’s main business was making a well-known brand of lawn tractor – was getting out of the broadcasting business and they cut their operating budget for the station to a bare minimum. WTAC’s corporate parent had sold all of the television stations that they owned and had about sold all of their radio stations, but one – WTAC – and they were having a hard time getting buyers interested in what was a stand alone AM station in a market where more and more people were listening to their favorite music on the FM band.

The once unstoppable WTAC was seeing its ratings diminish with each and every new ratings book and they found it harder to get people to listen to rock n’ roll on the AM band in this new brand new FM world. Something had to be done to make the station more attractive to advertisers and to any potential new owners. It was determined under a new general manager – former radio and tv ad salesman Ray Nelson – that a format change would happen. With the approval of the station’s out-of-town corporate owner – WTAC would switch from a Top 40 radio format to country – directly challenging Flint’s long establish country music station – 1470 WKMF.

There were some at WTAC who didn’t think that the station should switch formats, but during a staff meeting with everyone in attendance, Ray Nelson assured everyone that it would work. And to those the people who didn’t like country music, Ray Nelson asked everyone to give it a chance, because he believed in his heart that before long everyone would love the music so much that they wouldn’t work for a station with any other format.

It was after that staff meeting that the real work on the format change began. Before any radio station can make a format change – you have to acquire a new music library – which can be expensive. When your corporate owner doesn’t want to dig deep to purchase a new music library – you have to make do with what you can get your hands on and that’s exactly what they did at WTAC – getting a few records here, there and everywhere, including from some of their listeners’ record collections..

For about a week before the date of the format switch – an emphasis was placed on getting the new country songs recorded on carts (which is how music at that time was played on the air by the jocks) and into the studio. You might find this hard to believe – but there was probably only two hundred songs at the most recorded on to cart for the jocks to play by the time of the format change. When you consider that most country songs at that time were about two and a half minutes in length – those two hundred songs would be repeated about eight hours – which meant that they had to get more music into the studios before the quick turnaround in the station’s music turned people off.

Everyone who worked at the station wanted to be there for that moment when the last rock record was played and the first country song aired signaling a change in format. It was with the start of Johnny Cole’s midnight to five am shift that WTAC switched formats to country with absolutely no warning whatsoever. You would have thought that there would have been angry listeners phoning the station to protest the change from AC/DC and Led Zepplin to The Judds and Dave and Sugar, but to be honest with you, the phones didn’t light up like a Christmas tree and there were very few angry listeners. Rock n’ roll radio didn’t die – it just switched over to the FM band.

On the night of the format change – Ray Nelson and the entire staff at WTAC had a party to celebrate and like all good parties – one or two people consumed a little more alcohol than some others. The late Gary Raymond was one of those people who had a little “too much party” and added to the confusion of the format switch. Having fallen asleep in his car in the station’s parking lot after the party – Gary didn’t want to wake up and go on the air for his shift at five am. After all of his years in broadcasting, Gary was afraid that he couldn’t be as entertaining playing country music as he was as a rock jock and he thought that his audience might not accept him as a country disc-jockey. It took a bit of work and a lot of convincing to get him out of his car and on the air – but once he did get on the air – he was the consummate professional – and was quickly accepted by the country music audience in the Flint area who grew up listening to him play rock n’ roll..

WTAC’s switch to country was not an immediate success, but it did make a bit of an impact. With WTAC playing country music (and on a much more powerful signal) WKMF had to work a little harder at keeping their share of the radio listening audience and they had to work hard to keep their advertisers, because there were some advertisers who made the switch to WTAC.

The switch to country didn’t last long though. The station was eventually sold and the format changed once again. Although it’s era as a country station was brief – WTAC’s switch to Country was a success. With no budget whatsoever for promotion – Country WTAC nipped mightily at the boot heels of WKMF and ate away at their total audience share. Who knows what could have happened had the new owners allowed the country format to continue? One thing is for sure – it would have made for some interesting Flint radio listening.

I was one of the people who is proud to say that he has worked for WTAC in not one, but three different formats, as the station’s continuity director and later the producer of Dave Barber’s Flint Feedback and Morning Magazine programs. And of all of the formats at WTAC – the country format was probably the most enjoyable to be a part of, thanks in large part because of the leadership of Ray Nelson. Everyone at the station worked hard and played hard and we cherished our victories because a lot of people didn’t think we had a snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding.

It’s been some twenty-eight years or more since WTAC switched from Top 40 – what has become of some of WTAC’s country jocks?

Jim Kramer (who was the program director for WTAC’s switch to country) is and has been the host of the morning show at WKCQ in Saginaw, Michigan.

Dan Richards has pretty much worked for every country station in Flint having worked for WKMF and WFBE and he still hosts what many consider one of the best country classics show on the radio today every Sunday night debut on WKCQ.

Downtown Ed Brown works for an online music promotion company called “All Access” and still keeps his on-air chops fresh doing as an oldies but goodies jock for a station in the south.

Dave Barber, who hosted “Flint Feedback” for two hours weekdays during WTAC’s Country period, is now the program director and host of “Capital Television” in Rhode Island.

And two of WTAC’s most popular country jocks are no longer with us – Gary Raymond, died along with his daughter, in a holiday fire in his home while still a disc-jockey at WTAC and a few years ago, morning man Big Bill Anderson (who joined the station from WKMF) died.

And WTAC – well – that’s gone, too. The building that it broadcast from was razed and the land it was on is now the site of one of Grand Blanc’s newest sub-divisions. The people who now own what was WTAC has changed its call letters to WSNL and the station is now the shining star in a group of faith-based radio stations of its corporate parent.

My Facebook 25 Things You Didn't Know About Me List

It seems like a week doesn't go by when I don't recieve one of those "25 Things You Didn't Know About Me" list from someone on my Facebook page. Well, I was recently tagged -- which means that you have to do a 25 Things list or you'll go to hell or something...so, I cranked out my list over a two hour period last night and I thought I would also post it on my blog for even more people to read (and wonder out loud why I did it).


"25 Things You Didn't Know About Me"

1. I was born at 4:30 in the morning on January 15, 1954 at St. Joe's Hospital in Flint. (The hospital – once a teaching hospital – is now closed).

2. I wet the bed until I was about four years old. I was "cured" when my Mom told our neighbor to get the scissors out because she wanted to "cut my thing" off so I wouldn’t do it anymore. As soon as I heard that – I ran and hid underneath the bunk bed that my sister and I shared and cried myself to sleep. As ugly as this story may sound – I never peed the bed again.

3. My parents got a divorce when I was eight years old. The day that my father left us – my sister and I helped him pack his clothes.

4. This surprises a lot of people: I was once an altar boy at St. Leo The Great in Flint (another place that played a part in my life that is also closed).

5. The unique thing about my first communion photo is that, unbeknownst to me at the time, the zipper on my pants was wide open and you can see the white of my shirt popping out of my trousers.

6. Although there was at least seven of them – I can’t remember celebrating Christmas with my father as a part of the family unit.

7. The first car that I ever owned was given to me by legendary Flint broadcaster, Peter C. Cavenaugh and the car even had a name "The Rock N’ Roll Mobile". If that car could talk – it would have some stories to tell – and some of my exploits added to its legend.

8. Some schools in Flint that I have attended: Lewis Elementary (torn down), Lowell Jr. High (closed and may be torn down in the not too distant future), and Flint Northern (I was the first graduating class from the new Flint Northern building on Mackin Road ). (A theme running through these 25 questions – the old Flint Northern building was torn down.)

9. I took one college course at Mott Community College in Flint. It was an English course (my worse subject) and the only reason that I took it was because of a girl who I would ride to and from school with. I had an extreme crush on this girl (but could never act on it) – not only did she have huge breasts – but she also had these beautiful and mysterious eyes that you felt could zero in on what you were thinking. (Note: A picture of this girl can be found on Peter C’s wildwednesday.com web page – she’s one of the people in the production crew at Wild Wednesday).

10. Growing up – I had fantasies of being a writer, but here’s where my fantasies get weird I visualized writing great stories in a booth at some coney island in Flint while I drank coffee and smoked cigarettes – and some waitress (unlike your normal coney island waitress - she’d have brains along to go along with her beauty) would fall in love with me and we would live happily ever after.

11. In high school – I was a member of the school newspaper – and it was there that I acquired a love for journalism.

12. Probably the most fun that I ever had in radio had to be at WTAC. I worked at the station when it was rock n’ roll, country and talk – and each one of the eras there had some great moments. In a period of maybe six years – I got to work with people like Peter C., Fred "Boogie" Brian, Jim Kramer, Ed Brown, Gary Raymond, Dave Barber, Ray Nelson, Van VanDeWalker, Chris Pavelich and Pete Sark (just to name a few). I was incredibly lucky to be able to work with some incredible Michigan broadcasting legends.

13. Getting married live on the radio was probably the dumbest thing that I ever done on radio (as well as in my life). The judge who Dave Barber arranged to perform the marriage ceremony had to get special permission from the Michigan Supreme Court to perform the ceremony. The marriage tanked after two-hundred and ninety-seven days and I ended getting a do-it-yourself divorce. Afterwards -- I was always afraid of bumping into the judge who performed the ceremony because I thought that he might ask about how "me and the missus were doing".....but I found out that this judge’s marriage did a turn in the toilet, too – so, I didn’t feel so bad.

14. Although my marriage lasted less than three hundred days – it’s been going on fifteen years that Marty and I have been together.

15. When it comes to sex - I was a late bloomer - and I can remember the first time that I ever had sex – and the only reason why I can remember it is because it happened on the afternoon of the day that Elvis Presley died. While driving the girl home from my house – I turned the car radio on to WTAC and heard the news about the King’s death. Hearing the news surprised me, because I always thought that he was dead! I could have sworn that I saw a picture of him dead on the cover of the National Enquirer long before he died while trying to "pinch a loaf" on the toilet at Graceland.

16. My longest stint in radio (some 13 years) was working at WHLS-AM and WSAQ-FM in Port Huron (which later merged with WBTI-FM and WPHM-AM and a stand-alone station in Marine City).

17. My shortest stint in broadcasting was working in the traffic department at Fox66 Television in Flint. I hated the job and it was the only job in that I was ever fired from. I was the wrong person for the wrong job – but I need the job at the time.

18. I would have to say that my very best friend is Van VanDeWalker. Van now lives in Macon, GA with his lovely wife, Tracie, and a whole bunch of dogs – but I met Van when he came to work at WTAC when David Leyton (now Genesee County Prosecutor) purchased the station. I arrived at the station early to produce "Morning Magazine with Dave Barber" and the first thing that Van asked me was whether or not I wanted a cup of coffee. I told Van that I only drank decaffeinated coffee (which the station didn’t have) and his response to me was "drinking decaf coffee is like eating hairless pussy". I think I mentioned some of the merits of "the hairless" and we became fast friends from that very moment.

19. To show you how much of a pathetic fuck both Van and I are – we play Scrabble with each other online. We don’t just play – we have Scrabble seasons of a hundred and sixty games – and we’re currently in our eighth season. We connect (audio-wise) with Google Talk and we talk trash to each other as we play. Van is the better Scrabble player having won six of seven complete seasons.

20. I use to joke around that "the only good kid is one that you could pop into a microwave oven" – but that was before I became a "Grandpa" to Marty’s son Bill and daughter-in-law Beth’s two children. You haven’t experienced life until you receive the unconditional love that comes from a grandchild. About once every six weeks or so – I’ll e-mail grand baby pictures to some twenty-five plus people in my address book. I know that some people must think I’m nuts about these babies – but I can’t help not sharing my love of these beautiful babies with everyone that I know.

21. When it comes to food – I could eat barbequed ribs seven days a week. But, please don’t try to feed me sauerkraut and sausage, bean soup, or oatmeal without raisins – that’s unless you enjoy the sight of a man doing some projectile vomiting.

22. The first movie that I ever remember seeing was "Ben Hur" at the Northland Drive-In in Flint (which no longer exists). The first movie that I can remember seeing (by myself) in a theater was "Viva Las Vegas" with Elvis Presley that was showing at the Capital Theater (now closed – but the marquee was used in the Will Farrell movie "Semi-Pro").

23. The dumbest habit I ever had was smoking....which I did for nearly thirty years.

24. The hardest thing that I ever had to deal with was the death of my Mother and having to tell her on Thanksgiving Day 2001 that my sister and I would understand if she didn’t want to take any more chemo cancer treatments. For those interested – I write about that day on my blog – that you can link on to at: http://lostinavoca.blogspot.com/2005/11/mom.html

25. And last but not least – here’s the 25th thing that you may have not known about me: I have cried a few times while watching a movie on Lifetime with Marty. Are you happy now?