As you may know from surfing around the Internet, Drew’s Radio Site contains several airchecks from KWKR-FM 99.9, a station I worked at during 1984, 1985, and 1986. For those not familiar with “radio geek speak”, an aircheck is a recording of the DJ talking before and after the songs. The music and commercials are edited out. Over the years, I have received several requests from people who grew up in western Kansas to post some of the local commercials, promos, and newscasts which aired on the station. It’s always fun to hear these radio spots from the 1980s. Especially for defunct businesses which closed their doors years ago.
Most of my tapes were recorded off the studio skimmer. Again, for those unfamiliar with radio geek speak, a “skimmer” is a machine which automatically starts the tape recorder when the DJ turns on the microphone and stops it when the mic is turned off. Which of course means it does not record the music or the commercials. However, I did record a few tapes of other jocks on my home stereo system, plus a few in the air studio where I purposely disabled the on/off switch so the tape would run continuously. Somehow, I knew I would want to share these with you nearly 40 years later 🙂
This is a work in progress. I will be adding new recordings to this page as time allows. Please check back often for additional commercials. For starters, here’s what I have for Garden City radio fans today:
#1 Saturday, August 3, 1985: K-Bob’s Family Steakhouse Saturday luncheon specials, voiced by Brian Purdy. Anthony’s department store, voiced by Jay Delling. Robinson Discount Furniture, voiced by Tony Jewell and Leslie Stullken. Gibson’s Discount Center, voiced by Clayton “Catfish” Hunter. Dennis Joyce was the DJ.
#2 Saturday, August 3, 1985: Mr. Burger, voiced by ad agency. Appliance and Furniture Mart of Garden City and Dodge City, voiced by Amy Lueth aka “Amy Turner” from KBUF-AM/KKJQ-FM across town. Player’s Choice private club, voiced by Dave Boller. Western Hardware of Leoti, voiced by Rick Nulton and Clayton “Catfish” Hunter. Dennis Joyce was the DJ.
#3 Saturday, August 3, 1985: Dart-In New Cherry Coke, voiced by Bob Wells and ____. If you can identify the female voice, please let me know. Jarmer’s Warehouse Showroom, voiced by Drew Durigan. K-Bob’s Family Steakhouse Saturday luncheon specials, voiced by Brian Purdy (K-Bob’s spent a lot of money with us!) KWKR Live Concert Update with live DJ Dennis Joyce. KWKR Legal ID sweeper into CBS Radio Radio News.
#4 Saturday, August 3, 1985: Plaza West Furniture, voiced by Clayton “Catfish” Hunter. KWKR Local News Update with Lorie Hyten.
#5 Friday, March 22, 1985: Stereo Factory live remote promo, voiced by Everett Green.
#6 Friday, November 15, 1985: Brass Buckle, voiced by ad agency. These spots were sent to us on reel-to-reel tape from KRNY AM/FM in Kearney, Nebraska. I did the local tag. Myers Dairy & Fountain, voiced by Dave Boller. Burtis Motor Company, voiced by Brian Purdy. Bar-B Meat Processors of Leoti and Goodland, voiced by Rick Nulton.
#7 Friday, November 15, 1985: Midwest Body Shop, voiced by Cindy Olson. Big Cheese Pizza $2.99 Lunch Buffet, voiced by ad agency. Furniture World, voiced by client Tonda Smith.
#8 Friday, November 15, 1985: Scott City His Shop, voiced by Rick Nulton and his son Seth. Finial Fabric Bernina, voiced by Chuck Heinz. US Tech, voiced by ad agency. Local weather with live DJ Drew Durigan.
#9 Friday, November 15, 1985: New Style Shoes, voiced by Jim Davis. The Waterbed Place, voiced by Cindy Olson. Walls IGA, voiced by Clayton “Catfish” Hunter. Garnand’s Liquidation Center, voiced by Jim Davis. The Grain Bin, voiced by ad agency.
#10 Friday, November 15, 1985: Robinson Furniture, voiced by Lee Garey. Golden Plains Credit Union, voiced by ad agency. Silver Screen Video, voiced by Jim Davis. Local weather with live DJ Drew Durigan.
#11 Sunday, November 18, 1984: Ski Free with KWKR contest promo, voiced by Lee Barr. This was a HUGE deal! The winner received a free ski vacation in Colorado. If I remember correctly, we had over a thousand entries!
Again, I’m just getting started on this project. There’s much more to come! If you enjoyed these 1980s radio commercials from Garden City and other western Kansas businesses, please let me know in the ‘comments’ section below!