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Dedicated in memory of Jim Collins



 

 

Dave came to WPGC during The Great Strike That Struck Out in May of 1977 from sister First Media station, KYAK in Provo and was hired by Program Director, Dan Mason. Initially he did middays but moved to mornings when Elliott & Woodside departed for Q107 in early 1982. He then inherited mornings, teamed up first with Dude Walker and later Joe Theismann & J. Robert Howe.

 

 

Dave writes:

I keep finding myself thinking about the best days of my career, or at least the most fun days of it.. There were hard days to be sure, and certainly there have been other highlights since 'PGC, but being in Bladensburg and Greenbelt are some of my absolute best memories.

From Jim Elliott pulling up next to me in his orange 240Z in the parking lot at Howard Johnson’s and introducing himself – to standing in the control room watching Liz Kiley pull off another perfect break and getting that wicked grin...it was a wild ride. Through all the good times...and bad...I look back now with great fondness on my ‘salad days’ at WPGC.

On 'The Great Strike That Struck Out':

I guess I was pretty naive when I got to WPGC. I had no concept of how nasty the Strike was until a few years later when I first met the local AFTRA representative and she wanted me put in jail...literally. After I did my first shift, the late Jim Collins met me across the street to offer me a full time job after the strike was over. After I picked my jaw up off the ground, I said yes of course. Neither of us knew what the outcome of the strike would be, but he said that there were a couple of people he'd be happy to replace anyway, once the dust settled. Of course now we know that I would be replacing Jim Elliott who moved to morning drive.

On Doing Middays Over & Over & Over...:

I did do a lot of different time-slots on PGC, but it always came back to mid-days. Bill Prettyman even told me once that I would be doing that shift for the rest of my career because I was perfect for the job. Steve Kingston ended up saying exactly the same thing a few years later and even hired me to work at Z-100 for that very purpose, even though things didn't work out that way.

On Replacing Elliott & Woodside:

I always felt like the utility infielder for the franchise who could step in at any moment and play any position without being a liability to the team. When Elliott & Woodside crossed the street to Q107, Kingston immediately brought Joe Theismann in to do mornings and asked me to ride herd on the all-star Redskins QB and provide some radio sense for the guy. It turned out I didn't need to do much except act as traffic cop, which was fine with me. Joe and I hit it off pretty famously and I ended up getting to know him and his family as well as anyone.

The really good news for 'PGC was, Elliott & Woodside never beat us in mornings during those two years until management reluctantly dissolved the show. (They came close but never surpassed us 12+ or 18-35.) Joe's other interests got to be too time consuming. That's when we started experimenting with comedians. Dude Walker and I were two straight guys in search of a real comedian, but looking back, I have to say it just never seemed to click. Bill Prettyman was (as usual) right. I didn't belong in morning drive and they felt, rightly so, that J. Robert Howe and I couldn't carry it all by ourselves. (J. Robert Howe had left a few months before.)

On Elliott & Woodside Not Having A Contract:

I know that Jim was a great negotiator, and no doubt knew precisely why ABC was trying so desperately to get E&W out and probably also knew that eventually they would throw enough money at them to make it happen. Having gone through the Great Strike That Struck Out, he was leery of any contract First Media would put up.

Also, he didn’t trust any contract that First Media would offer. He once told me that contracts really don’t protect the employee anyway. All they do for the employee is outline the terms of employment. The real protection is for the company. He also knew that he and Scott were the franchise players.

On The Reaction At WPGC When E&W Left:

I don't know precisely what went on between Steve Kingston and Charlie Giddens, but there was a steely resolve that I'm not sure I saw in Steve before or since. Charlie, being the eternal optimist, decided immediately to recruit Joe Theismann. The two of them went to work immediately.

On The Search For A New Morning Show:

Kingston knows everybody who is anybody in the business and he started a talent search immediately, quietly at first and more public as time went on. I know he made a few offers to established morning shows in several major markets, but they either wanted too much, had iron-clad contracts or weren’t interested in DC as a career move. I was ALWAYS the temporary solution. Kingston has always maintained that I was the perfect midday jock. Doing mornings permanently was never in the cards for me as long as Steve was handling programming.

On The Hiring Of Joe Theismann:

Theismann was not part of anyone’s plan until the day E&W walked. I don’t know who broached the idea, but after Steve and Charlie sat for a couple of hours, Steve reached out. He knew Joe’s agent, Bill Morris (no relation to William Morris) through a mutual friend and Bill immediately called Joe. Bill and Joe loved the idea of daily (almost) exposure on WPGC and they came to terms pretty quickly.

On Hiring Dude Walker:

Steve always liked Dude, as did I, even without Doug Limerick, but his contract at Q107 prohibited him from coming to WPGC until he did. By then, it was obvious that the Foxx / Theismann ploy was working, so Charlie invited Joe back on a more limited scale to do his deejay thing and offer insight into what the Redskins were doing each week. Kingston simply waited out Dude’s contract. It was clear to me that Dude was coming to do mornings from the outset.

On J. Robert Howe:

As far as J. Robert Howe goes, don’t forget that I knew him long before he came to DC. We’d been competitors in Utah and I had the utmost respect for his style and presentation. He certainly had an interesting delivery and he was as professional as they come. J’s problem was that he loved Utah Valley, as did his family. They didn’t much care for life in Washington and he let management know that he really wanted to go home. It struck a chord with First Media President, Glenn Potter so they obliged him. He certainly was not the prototypical morning news guy, but I remain convinced that given time and had his heart been in it, he could have ended up being one of DC’s more enduring broadcast figures.

On Jerry Steele:

Jerry was a cipher to me. I never understood why he was there. Frankly, I don’t think he knew either. He’s a really nice guy, probably too nice to be a PD, but programming was never in his DNA. He understood that the ONLY reason he was there was to toe the line on the music. Once GM, Charlie Giddens was gone and PD, Steve Kingston was up in Pittsburgh meeting his future bride at B-94, Jerry Steele was sitting in the PD chair wondering how the hell he got there.

Glenn Potter was convinced that Soft Rock was the smart move. He pointed to WASH doing the softer image thing that got pretty crappy ratings but made them gobs and gobs of money. What he refused to understand was that WASH was really good at Soft Rock. (FIRST rule of marketing: First in wins…every time.)

That is precisely what got Kingston out and Jerry in. Kingston fought the change tooth and nail, giving us ‘spike’ records to play to help keep the old heritage. The problem was, by then Dan Mason was VP at First Media and he snuck into town one day and tracked what we were actually playing. Jerry was simply a yes man, dragged in from Houston because they knew he would do what they told him. Jerry was a nice enough guy who should never have been a Program Director. He had no vision, although he was an excellent Music Director.

On Jeanne Oates:

Jeanne Oates never understood that radio is part science and part art. She was pure science and never had the passion a truly great GM needs to be successful. The last I heard, she had taken another station in Florida down the tubes, this one a “Beautiful Music” format station. How is that even possible?

I did tell Jeanne many, many times that she was doing it wrong, but I was just a fly buzzing around her head. She wanted to take a souped-up 1957 Chevy with Doug Thorley headers and a Hurst 5-speed tranny and turn it into a family station wagon. All I can assume at this late date is that she had no concept of branding and imaging. She and Glenn Potter had a winning straight flush in their collective hands and threw it in, hoping for a Royal.

When Al Casey left and Alan Hotlen took over as PD, I finally saw the handwriting on the wall. By then, Kingston was in Baltimore so I picked up the phone. He said yes and after six months at B-104, I was on my way to New York City.

On Glenn Potter:

Glenn Potter too had little passion for the art side of radio. He was a numbers guy, all the way, but he was actually a smart and decent human being. I saw him do a number of things privately that made him an exceptional man in my view. I might hesitate if he asked me to work for him again, but I might, based on his humanity.

On John Dowling:

I didn’t personally mind the change in the music so much, especially when John Dowling was doing the Oldies thing in the evening. Professionally though, I knew it was suicidal. I also knew the person signing the checks wanted it that way. I’m not proud of it, but staying DID eventually lead to the gig of a lifetime. Had I quit in disgust at that point, I likely would have spent the rest of my career bemoaning the demise of WPGC as I drifted from market to market.

Baker & Byrd:

When GM, Charlie Gidden's replacement, Jeanne Oates saw that Jerry Steele had the station in a straight nose dive she started immediately trying to rectify the situation. Enter Al Casey. Al was up front about everything a “totally in the daylight” kind of guy. He was very clear from the outset that his mandate from First Media was to start over with the morning show. He confided in me several times that he thought where we were musically way off center, but he really busted his butt to put Baker and Byrd together. My confidence started to grow again and the job became more than a paycheck for the first time since Steve Kingston left.

On Talking With Q107 PD, Alan Burns:

Alan Burns and I spoke exactly once. He made an inquiry and I called back. But, he was fairly happy with his lineup and I hadn’t quite figured out how bad things were at WPGC. We hung up, both glad we had spoken, but I didn’t feel we needed to pursue things further. I thought he felt the same way, but a couple of weeks later, Scott Woodside invited me to Elliott & Woodside’s night club in Crystal City for a drink. We caught up a little and then he asked me, “Are you sure?” After a very long pause while I was trying to figure out what he meant, I said yes.

On 'Trashy 95':

By the time Jeanne Oates came to town and started tinkering with the format, changing the name of the station to Classy 95 (puke!) I knew it was a dead horse too, but every time I started to look around for a better gig, management kept coming up with more money, making it harder and harder to exit. Even once she was unceremoniously dumped from the station, the big-wigs kept coming back with more and more money. Finally, Steve Kingston said the magic words, "No amount of money can substitute for your pride". I knew he was right.

On Al Casey:

I remember Al Casey watching a conversation I had with someone else at WPGC one time, about LSD and how people suffer flashbacks later in life. Al interrupted and said that was a myth. Both of us looked at him with surprise. He said, “I did my time in Haight-Ashbury back in the 60s, which included dropping a lot of acid.” (He was totally clean by the time he got to WPGC.) He continued, “I’ve prayed for flashbacks!” He thought the experience was pretty cool, but would never do it again. I guess those days took their toll.

Al was the kindest and most gentle man I think I’ve ever known. And frankly, he probably forgot more about programming than most Program Directors ever know in their lifetimes. He was brilliant.

On Leaving WPGC:

As it turned out, Steve Kingston offered me even money to come do mid-days for him in Baltimore for the now defunct B-104. I was never so glad to get out of a place as I was that day. Of course, it wasn't long after that that the Cook Inlet Company, a group financed by the Eskimos who raked in so much money from the Alaska Pipeline that they were looking for any kind of investment property, bought WPGC. Dan Mason swooped in and changed the format to Urban and that was the definitive end of the legendary station, even though it had been dying for several years by then.

On The Glory Years:

I look back on the glory days of WPGC, post 'The Strike That Struck Out' with a fondness I cannot describe. A lot of the people who passed through those halls went on to much bigger careers, but I doubt sincerely that any of those careers included jobs that were better. The founding father of Z-100 (Scott Shannon) and his successor (Steve Kingston) were there. Half of one of Los Angeles' biggest morning shows (Gene Baxter) was there. One of the nation's best Program Directors (Liz Kiley) was there. One of America's leading talk-show hosts (Glenn Beck) was there too. And I knew them all when we were a band of radio renegades in our nation's capitol. What a trip!

On Washington Radio Today:

I visit Washington pretty frequently and scan the dial, looking for a station that no longer exists. I am constantly disappointed. Oh, there are some decent sounding stations there, but none of them have the same energy and spark that WPGC had. CHR as a format, barely exists in Washington. Washington radio is a very twisted thing, with so many of the music station's trying desperately to cater to the inner city folks with little or no thought to all the people living in the sprawling suburbs. Most of the Washington radio people I know are very parochial in their views on the business and don't realize how bad things are. I keep waiting for someone to come into DC and program a real CHR station with a super strong lineup and kick that town's butt. So far...not even close.

Thank you for putting this site up. It's nice to know that someone knows what a powerhouse CHR can do in a town like Washington.

 

 

Photos

Click on images below to see enlargements.

With contest winner in 1977

With Elvin Hayes in 1978

Foxx on the
box in 1979

Short sleeves in February 1979

Morning Show, circa 1983.

with Glenn Beck, Joe Theismann &
  J. Robert Howe

In Greenbelt Studio, 1983.

A-OK with
Double XX.

Contemplative
in the AM.

 

 

Print Materials

Playlists
Click on images below to see enlargements.


7/09/77

10/21/78

3/17/79

 

Articles

WPGC Newsmagazine

February 1979

 

 

Sound Files

Airchecks

Spring 1978 - :46
5/15/78 - 3:55
5/16/78 - 3:12
February 1979 - 16:54
1981 - 1:09
Summer 1981 - 1:18
5/28/82 - (with Dude Walker) - First Dude & Dave Show - 38:52
12/26/83 - Top 95 of 1983 - 9:07

Jingles

1978

Jock Jingle - Positron - :04
©
JAM Creative Productions, Dallas

1978

Jock Shout - Positron - :01
© JAM Creative Productions, Dallas

1982

Foxx & Theismann Shout - :01
© JAM Creative Productions, Dallas

(Special thanks to Jonathon Wolfert at JAM for the above)

 

Contests

5/28/82
Bay Bridge Bonanza 1 (with Dude Walker) - 1:14
5/28/82
Bay Bridge Bonanza 2 (with Dude Walker) - 1:12
5/28/82 Bay Bridge Bonanza 3 (with Dude Walker) - 1:17

 

Promos

1977 Win A Country Home 1 - :49
1977 Win A Country Home 2 - :44
1977 Great Album Rush 1 - :29
1977 Great Album Rush 2 -:30
1977 Bay Bridge Giveaway 1 - :40
1977 Bay Bridge Giveaway 2 - :37
1977 Money Music 1 - :26
1977 Money Music 2 - :26
1977 Money Music 3 - :35
1977 Money Music 4 - :45
1977 10 Cents Gas 1 - 1:06
1977 10 Cents Gas 2 - :34
1977 Uncle Richard 1 - :46
1977 Uncle Richard 4 - :33
8/21/77 Unknown Star Contest Winner - 1:01
8/21/77 Why Do You Listen? - :25
1978 Image Artists Stopset Entry 1 - :06
1978 Image Artists Stopset Entry 2 - :08
1978 Image Artists Stopset Entry 3 - :08
1978 Image Artists Stopset Entry 4 - :07
2/15/79 Beatles 15th Anniversary - 1:09
1979 Ramblin' Raft Race - :12
3/19/80 Fly The Flag Decal - :37
4/15/80 World's Easiest Contest - :46
7/05/81 Feedback Phone - 1:04
7/05/81 Weekend Line Up - :52
7/25/81 Ramblin' Raft Race - :44
11/19/81 Thanksgiving Turkey - 1:00
1982 Police Gazette (w/Dude Walker) - :29
1982 The Usual BS (w/Dude Walker) - :29
1982 Just The Foxx (w/Dude Walker) - :40
1982 Make An Elephant Fly (w/Dude Walker) - :29
1982 Boldly Going Where... (w/Dude Walker) - :40
1982 Steaming Crabs (w/Dude Walker) - :30
1982 Coming Apart (w/Dude Walker) - :30
1982 It's Your Show (w/Dude Walker) - :30
1982 Marie Osmond's Honeymoon (w/Dude Walker) - :30
1982 Summertime Hints (w/Dude Walker) - :30
1982 E.T. Breaks In (w/Dude Walker) - :46
1982 E. T. Visits The Sites (w/Dude Walker) - :52
1982 Dave Needs A Vacation (w/Dude Walker) - :39
1982 I've Got Your Roadwatch! (w/Dude Walker) - :55
1982 That's My Coppertone! (w/Dude Walker) - :55
1982 Summer Vacation Tips (w/Dude Walker) - :48
1982 Morning Department Store (w/Dude Walker) - :37
1982 E.T. Phone Home - :49
1982 Joe Theismann 1 - :38
1982 Joe Theismann 2 - :30
1982 Joe Theismann 3 - :31
1982 Fun & Games Department - :30
1982 Movie Game - Blueprints - :36
1982 Movie Game - All For A Game - :56
1982 Movie Game - Coming Up - :29
1982 Movie Game - Jack Hammer - 1:00
1982 Movie Game - Golfing - 1:01
1982 Movie Game - Parking Lot - 1:04
1982 Movie Game - The Warehouse - :59
1982 Movie Game - How It Works - 1:00
1982 Movie Game -Tomorrow - 1:00
1982 Movie Game - Contest Clues - :58
1982 Movie Game - It's Hot - 1:00
1982 Movie Game - Movie Clips - 1:00
1982 Movie Game - Grand Prize - :57
1982 Weekend - Oldies Party, AT 40 - :45
1982 Weekend - Bringing Back The Hits - :59
1982 Weekend - Sat. Nite Oldies - :29
1982 Weekend - Free Movie Weekend - :36
1982 Weekend - July 4th, Beach Boys - 1:01
1982 Weekend - Sat. Oldies, AT 40 - :50
1982 Weekend - Elton John, AT 40 - 1:02
1982 Weekend - We Remember - :54
1982 Weekend - Kings Dominion Tix - :35
1982 Weekend - Kings Dominion, AT 40, Oldies - :47
1983 Quizman 1 - :16
1983 Quizman 2 - :58
1983 Quizman 3 - :59
1983 Quizman 4 - 1:08
1983 Quizman 5 - :30
1983 Quizman 6 - 1:44
1983 Quizman 7 - 1:20
1983 Quizman 8 - 1:00
1983

Quizman 9 - :48

1983 Tell A Friend 1 - :56
1983 Tell A Friend 8 - :55
5/21/84 Memorial Day 300 - (with Entire Airstaff) - 1:06

 

Sweepers

5/28/79 #1 Weekend - 1965 (w/Scott Shannon) - :08
5/28/79 #1 Weekend - 1970 (w/Scott Shannon) - :13
5/28/79 #1 Weekend - 1973 - :02
3/19/80 More Continuous Music - :03
4/15/80 30 Minutes of Music Stager - :05


Sound Off!

Feb. 1979 Marriage Tax Penalty - :55
5/24/79 Oil Prices - :55
1980 Redskins Plays - :52

 

Spots

8/21/77 Juicy Fruit Gum - :59
May '78 Koons Ford Appearance - :09
May '78 Waxie Maxie's - Carly Simon - :34
May '78 Sears - Barry Manilow Live! - :59
Feb. 1979 Lowes (Live) - :59
3/19/80 Cellar Door Productions / Linda Ronstadt - 1:00
7/05/81 Turkey Hill Farms - :58

 

Miscellaneous Audio

Late '70's EBS Open & Close - :33
Late '70's FM & AM Legal ID - :04
Late '70's AM Sign-Off Announcement - :32
Late '70's FM Legal ID - :04
1978 Sales Demo - 6:01
11/22/78

2nd Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade:
WPGC Float bit - 2:12

11/22/78

2nd Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade:
Arrested by Irish Cop bit - 1:35

11/22/78

2nd Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade:
Clean Up Committee bit - 1:22

11/22/78

2nd Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade:
Harv Moore & The Redhead bit - 1:56

11/22/78

2nd Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade:
Frank Purdull bit (with Liz Kiley) - 1:56

12/23/78 Christmas Wishes - :16
Fall 1979 The rappin' "Dee-Jay's Delight" song! - 3:53
Xmas '79 The rappin' "Santa's Delight" song!! - 1:42
1981 Sales Demo - 6:29
7/05/81 EBS Test - :56
1981 Money Van mention - :14
5/28/82 Miss Lilly Bit - Loo's Love Life (w/Dude Walker & Loo Katz)- 1:39
5/28/82 Miss Lilly Bit - Kids At The Movies (with Dude Walker) - 1:18
5/28/82 Miss Lilly Bit - Thought Of The Day (with Dude Walker) - :41

 




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