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. Today, he is the imaging guru at Z-100 in NY.

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:

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 '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

 

Small Print Dept.: This non-profit historical site is not affiliated in any way with WPGC Radio today or Infinity Broadcasting. Use of copyrighted material is consistent with the "fair use" provisions contained in §107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 due to the following characteristics: Use of copyrighted material is of a nonprofit, educational nature, intended for the sole purposes of research and comment and does not significantly negatively affect "the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work(s)." Use of registered trademark material is not subject to civil action or injunction as outlined in §1114 and §1125 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (the Lanham Act) due to the following characteristics of this work, and the registered marks published herein: Use of reproductions of registered marks is not for the purpose of commerce, nor is the use connected with the sale, offering for sale, or advertising of any goods or services. Use of reproductions is not likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception as to the affiliation, connection, or association of this work with owners of published registered marks, nor as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of this work by owners of published registered marks. Wherever possible, the copyright or registered mark owner's name has been noted near the copyrighted work or registered mark; however, all material used in this site, including, but not limited to, newspaper articles, syndicated themes, promos, commercials, photographs, playlists, press releases, ratings, airchecks, newscasts, traffic reports, sports reports, 'sound-offs', sweepers, bumperstickers and station logos, should be considered protected copyrighted material or registered mark with all rights reserved to the owner, named or unnamed. So there!