I've really got to start writing some of this down
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Joe Bankhead was there when radio station KBOA went on the air in 1947. One of the original employees. He recently retired (at the age of 92) and set down at his manual upright and banged out 17 pages of memories about the early days. My thanks to Joe (and his son, Jimmy) for allow us to share them here. You can hear some of Joe’s recollections in his own words (recorded in 1982)
AUDIO: Excerpt of interview with Joe Bankhead
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Joe Bankhead helped put KBOA (Kennett, MO) on the air back in 1947. One of the original employees. Also a good friend of my father. Joe tells his story better than I can. The man has seen a lot of radio.
AUDIO Excerpt of interview 11 min MP3
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Nostalgia Alert: We’re going back to 1947 in this post.
When KBOA went on the air (July 19, 1947), one of their first –and most popular– programs was “Ole Camp Meetin’ Time.” It was the creation of Ray Van (Hooser), the station’s first program director. The program featured hymns and gospel music but was far more than a “record show.” And it was immediately and immensly popular.
Sometime in the early ’50′s, Rudy Pylant (“Mr. Rudy”) took over Ole Camp Meetin’ Time and gave it his own special flavor (think Will Rogers-meets-Jerry Clower). The program continued to be hugely popular.
I was reminded of Ole Camp Meetin’ Time this week when my (life-long Kennett) friend Joann sent me one of the original Ole Camp Meetin’ Time Song Books. Published in late 1947, the radio staiton gave away thousands of these. Seems hopelessly quaint now but in 1947, these were like iPods.
If you grew up anywhere within a hundred miles or so of Kennett, Missouri, in the late 40′s or ’50s… you probably have memories of sitting at the breakfast table listening to Ole Camp Meetin’ Time. As I write this, I realize I don’t have the skill (or perhaps it is not possible) to convey how important this radio program was to the people that listened to it every monring. But, fortunately, I have some oral history that might come close.
You can read the introduction to the song book by station manager Paul C. Jones, after the jump.
So here we are sixty years later (gulp!) and it ain’t your father’s radio anymore. I have no illusions about returning to those days. But as I listen to the men that built KBOA talk about their love of radio (I’m not sure they would have said “the business” of radio)… I wonder if that same passion still exists today. I’m not in many stations these days so the flame might be burning brightly and I would not know. I’ve turned the comments on for this post for those than might.
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A Google search for “Mr. Rudy Day” takes you to the website of a guy named Andy Hopkins (“guyitar pler and rhyme singer from Atlanta, Georgia”). This is not our guy. Our Mr. Rudy is a radio announcer and all-purpose celebrity from Kennett, Missouri (My Home Town) who celebrated his 83 birthday on Saturday with a big party (“Mr. Rudy Day”). Several hundred of Mr. Rudy’s fans and friends were on hand to show their respect and gobble the free barbeque, ice cream and peaches.
The entertainment was…diverse. I’ll post some examples here in coming days but let me start you off with a song by The Sons of the Western Bootheel entitled “How Long’s Mr. Rudy Gonna Last?” [Technical note: If you don't have Windows Media Player 9 you might want to download it. If you don't have DSL or cable, you might just wait until I have time to put the audio up.] If you never heard of “Old Camp Meetin’ Time,” Joe Bankhead tells the story best.
Watch this space for more on Mr. Rudy Day.
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I kinda pissed away the evening. Thought a blog would be a better way to manage email to the KBOA site. It’s not. Really don’t get that much. But I did some clean up. July 19 will be the 56th anniversary of the station going on the air. And with a little luck I’ll be with two of the people that were there that first day. Joe Bankhead and Johnny “Mack” Reeder are likely to be in Kennett for Mr. Rudy Day.
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