WAKY

For over 20 years, WAKY (790 AM) in Louisville, Kentucky was one of the most influential and highly-respected secondary market Top 40 stations in America.

WAKY Music Survey, May 15, 1965. Written on the cover: This survey is compiled each week by radio station WAKY. It is a true, accurate and unbiased account of record popularity, based on sales reports, distributor accounts and all information available to the Music Staff of WAKY.

The WAKY main production room in the early 1970's.

Here are some early 1960s Intros, DJ Promos and IDs (4:18)

"...and now a word from our sponsor." WAKY commercials. (22:37) Tune in to hear a Beach Boys concert promo. (1:07)

Weird Beard is behind the mic for these WAKY commercial spots.

From 1979 an interesting montage of "Great News, Great Music and Great People" promos featuring aircheck snippets from the WAKY DJs and newspeople.

Wet Sox softball team.

Bill Bailey c.1971.

Mike Griffin at the turntable on August 28, 1971, bookended by breaks from Weird Beard and Bill Bailey. [ LISTEN ] (19:39), This aircheck was recorded the "Aquarian Weekend" prior to the "WAKY Goes Country" promotion in 1972. [ LISTEN ] (19:03), and Mike again on October 22, 1973. [ LISTEN ] (10:40)

This WAVE-TV Louisville news story examines the state of disco music in late 1979. Featured are WAKY Radio Program Director Mike McVay, WAKY midday personality Darrell Douglas, and Billboard Magazine's Gerry Wood.

All good things must come to end...even legendary radio stations like WAKY. Here's a scoped version of the last few hours of WAKY, recorded on Sunday night, August 31, 1986. Part 1 (18:18) Part 2 (16:10) Part 3 (19:18) Part 4 (16:34) DJ John Ashton shown here working in the new studio in 1979.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I haven't been able to find much written material about WAKY; but will publish it when I do find more. If you have some info I could use on this page, plese leave it in the comments.

Some of the materials found on this page were originally published on the following: 79 WAKY.