The New WCOL-AM 1230 History Site

1230 THE NEW WCOL HISTORY

"The Hits Just Kept on Coming"

This WCOL Web site has received over 500,000 page visits since June 2003. WCOL News? Send it to me

ColumbusMusicHistory | Mike's Photo Archive | Big C Past Pix | Mike's Current Photo Archive

Mike's New Book - Columbus Radio History

Mike's Book

Above, Mike's new book on Columbus Radio. Click to order from Amazon

Below, Mike Dunn of Columbus took this photo of the WCOL Building at 22 S. Young St, long-abandoned. This sad snap was made in June 2014, and you can see the deterioration of the call letters and tile on the floor of the entrance. It was a time it was

Above, the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles on the New WCOL. This giant Valley Dale event was produced by Landa Brunetto and featured some of the OLD New WCOL DJs. See the Video on YouTube Below, Dan and Carol Morris at home in retirement in Southern California. Watch the YouTube video. Dan was PD and GM of the New WCOL and later, WNCI

In the 1960s and 1970s, the New WCOL, AM 1230 & FM 92.3, was a special place on the Columbus radio dial.

On this site are many photos, E-mail lists, station history, hitline surveys, stories and news about DJs, past and present, alive and dead, and much more. Return often.

Right, "Close Cover Before Striking," well, duh, of course, and this warning was well before the proliferation of lawyers. These matches were from the late 1940s or early 1950s, and I trust that WCOL listeners followed the advice and that "no listeners were hurt using these matches." The accompaning cancer - another story.

Shameless Mike Adams Plug 2:

Mike wants you to live the early radio life like he did. It all began with the juvenile fiction wireless and radio stories popular between 1890 and 1945. Mike read all of these as a young boy and it inspired him to make radio his life.

In this 2015 book, Mike has analyzed over 50 stories of young people and their fascination with an early social media - radio. Learn what happened when boys and girls discovered that first radio program, and how they invited friends and family to come to their house and listen. Yes, listen to the radio. Get it at Amazon

Shameless Mike Adams Plug 3:

Order my 2012 book from Amazon: Lee de Forest, King of Radio, Television, and Film. De Forest invented the vacuum tube, and was broadcasting music as early as 1907. I also do the de Forest Web

The August 2003 Reunion was hosted by Clear Channel Columbus

The New WCOL Geritol and Clearasil Awards

We didn't give a prize for the oldest and youngest WCOL alums. But if we did, Donald Kirk, a WCOL announcer in the early 50s, and Dana Tyler, an intern while in high school in the late 70s would win our prizes.

On accompanying pages, more participant photos

What a difference a decade makes! Above, a few of the 1950s on-air personalities. At the right, a group from the late 1960s, DJs and News

Above, Chris Joos interviews Bob Harrington on the Sunday retrospective on WODB-FM

Chris with early "Stereo Rock 92" WCOL FM DJs: Neal Martin, Ginger, Don Gorman, Ken Stone (Ken deceased August 2005)

Newswatch Team Promo Picture, 1970

Sharon and Wes record, Jerry engineers, 1968

Wes Hopkins Died March 8th, 2008

This email message from Lou Henry: "Wes's daughter called me today. Wes died this afternoon. He wasn't feeling well and took a cab to the hospital. They checked him out and released him. While he was waiting for the cab he collapsed and fell, hitting his head and suffering a skull fracture. They took him off the respirator and he died shortly thereafter. I didn't ask about a memorial, but he'll be cremated. He was 81."

Read Rick Minerd's Story about Wes Hopkins | Rick's "Waking Up Alone"

Mike Adams, WCOL Historian and Webmaster

Let's talk about me:

I have spent the past 30 years as a university professor in California, the past 8 as the Chair of the Department of Television, Radio, Film, and Theatre at San Jose State University. I have also for the past 20 years been the faculty advisor to my department's KSJS-FM 90.5. I had planned to retire and teach half time.

My retirement will be delayed: for the next year I will serve as the Associate Dean of the College of Humanities and Arts at San Jose State. This is certainly a promotion, and it proves that there is life beyond the New WCOL, and shows how far a tenured AM DJ can go in this world. Watch Mike's retirement biography, "The Life of Mike" | Mike's Research in the News | Mike's YOUTUBE Channel

Meanwhile, I am always happy to share your WCOL stories and post your photos.

My radio station, KSJS-FM, has been student-run and licensed to my university since 1963. If you have never been to a college radio station, check out the KSJS YouTube video page:

Neal Shapiro and Don Gorman will be talking about their lives as WCOL DJ's in the late 60's and 70's for a Columbus Jewish Historical Society (CJHS) program on May 17 at 7.00 pm at the Jewish Community Center, 1125 College Ave, Cols. The talk is free and should be absolutely great.
So if you know of anyone who would like to listen to Don and Neal...talk to Don and Neal....reminisce with Don and Neal, please pass the word.

CJHS is hoping that this talk along with the accompanying exhibit "Rock Revisited: Jewish Columbus in the 1970's" and another program by Baron Wolman (Rolling Stone photog) will get the idea across that history is not just old and dusty!

If you have any ideas or want to pass on the word, we appreciate it!
The details are on their website

What would you pay for Jesus? Not much in 1970. A little known fact of WCOL FM was that before it went to full time progressive rock, it filled the broadcast day with a religious format, combination of religious music and preachers. Soon, the stereo rock 92 format took over the 6pm to 6am half of the day and it became so popular that the religious format was scrapped altogether. Gary Anderson sent in this rate card for the religious WCOL FM. Call Dan and sign up!

This just in - Former WCOL DJ Jerry Dean, AKA Dean Schleenbaker died after a several year battle with lung cancer. He was 70. Jerry was a good friend, a great colleague, truly beloved by all, and he was one of the original "All-Americans." Said his wife Joyce: "Jerry fought a magnificent battle of lung cancer to the end, however so many complications occurred that he was unable to recover.

From Mike Perkins: Dear Mrs. Schleenbaker: You don't know me but you have no doubt heard what I'm about to say from many others.Dean was a solid and important friend to me in my earliest years in radio. As an ignorant kid still starstruck to be seeing and shaking hands with a WCOL superstar on a daily basis, I was always struck by his ease and approachability with all of us, regardless of experience or rank. And it goes without saying that he was simply a production genius. Back in the days of razor blades and tape splices he was a wizard that took disparate sound effects, music from wildly improbable sources, and his own raw instinct to create works which made many people rich and made all of us envious. jerry

As a program director, Dean was a gentle but reliably strong teacher, who imparted many rules of the road to me that I was guided by in my own programming career. Our era was a wild one, perhaps the last golden age of creative explosion and street-wise guts that the medium will ever see, and Dean was one of its shining stars. We made better radio for having known him. My prayers and those of all my friends present and past go with you. God bless you in this time and please take comfort in celebrating a life well lived. Mike Perkins Formerly of WCOL/WXGT (1969-1979)

From former WCOL DJ Doug “Ritter” Ritterling: It is with great sadness that I have lost my mentor and friend Jerry Dean (Schleenbaker). I was an 18-year-old news broadcaster on 1410 WING-Dayton in 1977, when I met with Jerry at WCOL. I had never been a disk jockey before, but only had a recording of a one-night fill-in from WING. Jerry offered me a job on the spot, then gave me his slot from 12 noon to 2 pm on 1230 WCOL. As I look back on my career which led to TV and radio in San Francisco, working with Jerry was my most exciting job. Jerry was a warm father-figure to me after I moved to Columbus, and a terrific confidant. After my month-long bout with mononucleosis, he welcomed me back to 1230 WCOL by having everyone at the station wear surgical masks upon my arrival. Broadcasting attracts the best and worst of people, but Jerry was the best of the best. I will always cherish his easy manner and kindness in taking a chance on a geeky 18-year-old so long ago. I owe much of what I became to him. Thanks for everything Jerry.

Former WCOL DJ David Carter Reinhart, 67, died in March 2010 at The Villages, Fla., where he and his wife, Joan, had lived since 2006. He had multiple system atrophy, a degenerative neurological disorder that leads to symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

"Good guy" was a fine description of the
Mount Healthy OH native after he moved into radio
management roles, including a stint as WLW-AM
(700) program director in the late 1980s.

"Everybody liked Dave. He had a great style, and
was a good businessman. You combine the two
of those and you've got a super package," said
Hamilton County auditor Dusty Rhodes, who was
WSAI program director in 1965 when he hired him.

Dave was my (Mike Adams) roommate at Ohio University in 1960. We worked together at WOUB, WATH and WCOL. Dave was a fine person.

Get Rick Minerd's new version of the definitive book on Columbus Radio History during the "WCOL" era

Says former WCOL DJ Rick: "a 'Deputy in Disguise' contains many radio stories, lots of WCOL memories, WTVN, WNCI, WRFD, WMNI and WBBY. It also contains many cop stories from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and a finale that wraps up my law enforcement career in Obetz, Ohio.

I have completely scrapped "Life is a Jukebx" and this is the rewrite. Many of the stories have been completely rewritten, and many pages have been added to include those that my former publisher either left out, or failed to copy-edit.

As for a link, this one has its own website; www.rickminerd.com, there you can get a complete review of it as well as the page to order it."

Remember the Rebounds?

If you remember, most of the WCOL DJs of my era, the 1960s, traveled to "record hops" and other events with a local band. Mine was the Rebounds, pictured here (as my memory serves me) clockwise: Brady Wagner, singer; Will Finch, organ; David Day, drums; Thom Williams, lead guitar; Bob Bishop, bass. Thom reached out to me, he still performs, he has a Website: www.widowsson.net and a friend of his writes "he came across your WCOL history site. Thomie now lives in Columbus and picks up gigs in the area traveling around with his guitar and magic. We were wondering if there is any plan for another WCOL Reunion or get together."

And Remember the Northland Shopping Center "Battle of the Bands"? 1967?

My name is Marc Moriva. I'm a musician and grew up in Columbus during the 60's, listened to "The New WCOL", played guitar and sax in two local bands that worked many R&R shows during that era, and have recently become involved in a really fun Facebook group called Central Ohio's Rock & Roll Scrapbook. I thought you might enjoy this photo that showed up on the site the other day. It's a shot of your former self presenting a check for $250 to the winners of The Northland Battle of the Bands, Wayne James Sheppard and Hazel Ann Wiget (Sheppard) of "The Four O'clock Balloon" circa 1967.

Ah, Remember our lost youth? Left, on the back of a July, 1974 Hitline, DJ Terry Ward Poses with an improbably large package of gum. Extreme product placement?

Writes Terry: "I was at WCOL with Chuck Martin, Tom Kennedy, Jim Davis, Wes Hopkins, (everyone was there when Wes was), Bryan McIntyre, Harry Valentine, Dave Bishop, Clarence Flower, Bob Cunningham, Tom Simpkins, Don Roberts, Dan (GM), Sharon Debord, you, Bob Goodman, Jerry Dean, Neil Shapiro, Allen Greg, Goldie, red-haired Rick the copy and traffic guy, etc. The guy who really helped me and gave me a break was Bob Allen. He was on after Terry Tyler. I have tried to find Bob and have not been able to yet. His last name was something like Wroniak, and was from Cleveland. He became the weather guy for one of the Columbus stations, not sure where he went from there as I came to Houston, with the Astros in 1978."

WCOL Jingles on YouTube: Someone has done an illustrated video of the WCOL PAMS Series #29. Watch it here

PAMS was a Dallas-based company that did jingle packages for all the top stations of the top-40 era.

There are more jingles on John Whitmore's WCOL site

Below is the Tale of the Two Toms: Tom Edwards, WCOL 1963 ,and a fellow Ohio University alum writes "Hey Mike, 1963, I think. Saw the "Music Meter" with Dave Reinhart. He's the reason that several of us ended up at OU. Sorry he passed on. I'm still active in OU Alumni stuff. I was the first announcer for The Marching 110, which has become a huge deal at Ohio. That and WOUB (radio and TV), plus WATH are good for lots of memories. Also saw the pic of The Rebounds. I went to Linden McKinley and then Brookhaven with those guys. Fun years. Very good to hear from you. Out little network is about to go dark, and as a slightly early retirement rears it's head, I think fondly of the many things I've done -- even answering the phone."