Anniversary of a Hopkinsville radio station
WHOP radio of Hopkinsville, KY, (Lite 98.7 and News Talk 1230 AM / 95.3 FM) is planning an on-air celebration of its 70th anniversary on Friday, January 8, 2010, from 5:30-11:00 AM. It should be quite interesting.
According to the Lite 98 website:
It was 1940...Frank Sinatra debuted with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Walt Disney released the animated feature Pinocchio. World War II raged in Europe...and WHOP signed on the air, January 8, 1940.
Now we celebrate 70 years on the air serving the area. Join us Friday, January 8, 2010 as we look back over the years and listen to many of the voices of WHOP. We will reminisce with those who were there and listen [to] the recorded voices of many who are no longer with us.
Join us 5:30-11:00 am, January 8th, on the WHOP family of stations... Lite 98.7, WHOP-FM, News/Talk 95.3 FM and the original WHOP-AM as we celebrate 70 years as Hopkinsville's voice.
I anticipate that one of the featured radio personalities from the past will be the late Drury "Col. Dink" Embry. Embry began his WHOP career in 1948. His "Early Bird Morning Show" was on the air six days a week for decades. Embry was also the WHOP farm director and a musician. I don't know much about his musical career, but he played with several country groups before and during his employment at WHOP. He's also remembered for his role in the local Rotary Radio Auctions that have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for college scholarships and loans.
Streaming audio from WHOP is available if you are out of range for over-the-air broadcasts. I couldn't get the Lite 98.7 link on the WHOP website to do anything. However, the link for News/Talk 1230 (below) worked for me with Win-Amp (a free media player.) UPDATE:
Tim Havrilek of The Underground Rooster provides an interesting history of the Lackey family who founded WHOP (and several other radio stations) and were active in local and state politics.
No comments:
Post a Comment