While out one day, I rode over to Va. College. I heard WKKD blasting out of one of the dorm rooms. There was a group of guys gathered around the radio. I found out they were from Philly, and missing the sounds of their home stations WDAS & WHAT! They were looking for a little music when they discovered WKKD. I asked the college kids "Well how do you like my station?" "Your station...kid on a bike...you're kidding right?" "I said keep listening...I'll be right back!" I went home and said..."This is for the Philly crew at Va. Seminary, thanks for listening!"
I rode back to the college, and was treated to handshakes and compliments about WKKD! They helped me out by telling me what their Philly stations were doing, and giving me the latest music sheets from the station! I learned about dj's like Georgie Woods, Butterball and others! Butterball passed away, still at WDAS, in July 2012! I had people to come into range of the station, park, listen, and have dance gatherings right on the side of the street! I didn't need my radio sometimes, because you could walk down the street and hear one house after another...rockin!
All around the area of the Hunton Y, the city was listening to WKKD! Word got around town that if you sat your radio near a hot water pipe, WKKD would really come in! I had a lot of listeners checking out the station in the bathroom! The only flaw in the station from not sounding like the other stations was that it had a bad holding device. In other words if you remember you had to keep tuning it in every twenty minutes or so because it would move suddenly on the dial a little! One listener would use two radios so that when it WKKD moved off a little, the other radio would catch it! The fact that WKKD moved on the dial a little was because I had high voltage on a certain electric tube called a 6L6! This poor tube put out the power on the station! In tec. terms, It wasn't supposed to have no more than 300 volts on it....I had 450+ volts!! That was my greatest expense. They cost $9.00! I was going through 6L6 tubes every few weeks! Electronic Service, on Park Ave. was stocking up the tubes just for me! A few "questionable associates" of mine were finding a stockpile of 6L6's. They didn't tell me where they came from, and I didn't ask! If the bedroom light was out you could see the 6L6 glowing in beat with the music! I got this brilliant idea to put a container of ice near the tube and have a fan blow down on it! This worked a little and extended the life of the tube maybe another week! Once while I was on one of my bike trips...all of a sudden the station just stopped! I was way crosstown...so after some fast biking, I arrived to find the ice had fallen into the transmitter!! OH NO!! There wasn't too much damage, and I was back on the air the next day! I recently asked my "questionable associates" where the tubes came from? I now know...but I am not going to put it here in the story!! Next time you see me, ask me...I'll tell you!
At 7PM when I said goodnight and cut the station off, you could hear cars starting up and leaving throughout the area!! Dj's Jimmy Troy and Sam Stevens started radio stations in their areas of Lynchburg! WBON, and WSAM rebroadcast WKKD where it was weak in certain areas of Lynchburg. They would also program their own music, just like WKKD! In a small area of Lynchburg, you might pick up as many as three "Soul" stations at one time! We were determined to put "Soul music" in Lynchburg...some kind of way!!
Then Rock & Roll station WLLL got mad and turned me in to the FCC (the radio station "police")! I was on one of my bike riding missions when I saw the FCC vehicle parked a block from my house. It was a Dodge stationwagon, sliver and gold in color with goverment tags on it! I asked him what was he doing, and a lot of questions, and he acted like I wasn't ever there. He just kept taking reading with his device. On the back of his device was marked FCC! A guy that worked in radio told me that the FCC was going to get you....this must be it! That guy really paid attention to me when I asked him if he was looking for an "illegal" radio station! I then showed it to him, somehow hoping that he was going to grant me a license on my effort alone....no such luck! Ronnie "Soul Kid" Rathers was on the air, doing his thing, playing "Respect" by Aretha, when this guy and I came in! I just told him that he wanted to see the station. After a short tour, he told me outside that if I didn't stop broadcasting there would be trouble! THIS WAS A WARNING! When I didn't come on the next day, and I told people what had happened, I even got offers from the DHS football team to guard the station while I broadcast! I just told them "The party's over!" I was on my front steps crying a few days later when Ron Joseph and Fletcher Hubbard came to my house! I thought this was more trouble....it wasn't!
The station made such an impact in the area that then easy-listening formated WDMS, became WJJS, and hires me and two of my DJ's! They told me later that they had better go get this kid with the Soul station before he ends up in jail! By the way...I only told Ronnie recently that the guy that came to visit that day was from the FCC! I know that if I had told Ronnie who this guy was back then, he would have left the record spinning and ran home! Anyway..I ended up working at WJJS in the afternoon, and Troy and Sam worked on the weekends. What a turn of events, the rest is history, including the ironic fact that the station that turned me in to the FCC is now owned by Gospel DJ, Fletcher Hubbard! In a note about WJJS, the station was on this new band FM. The only thing there at the time was elevator music, and classical stuff! The mgr. at Pecks department store couldn't give away an FM radio. After WJJS came on, FM sets were flying off the shelf, backordered, lines at the store to get one! It was a while before the store mgr. could explain what happened, and why the run on FM radios! I personally didn't think that FM was going to make it...boy was I wrong!! Now, you couldn't give me an AM station!
WKKD followed me to Hampton Institute, as a campus radio station and got me in trouble at the school in 1970! Dad had made me quit WJJS and attend college! After not letting me on the campus station WHOV, I got my radio fix by broadcasting from my dorm room on WKKD! After threats from the school, I pointed out in the handbook that there wasn't anything about bringing a radio station on campus! My grades showed that I wasn't interested in College, my Dad made a deal with me. I had a student deferment at the time, and I didn't want to be drafted! Dad said that if my draft number was high enough I could quit school and do what I wanted with my life! My number was 212!! I then took a full time position on WJJS to the dismay of my parents who wanted another teacher in the family!
WKKD came back briefly as WJOK, "the big joke" in 1971 at 1110kc. on the dial. I was 16 back then, 20 in 1971, and me not wanting to go to jail cut off WKKD for good! I gave my equipment to a friend of mine John Brown who started, and got caught running an illegal Black Gospel station. WHGC at 1606kc. in Charlottesville, Va. was at the top right end of the AM dial broadcasting in 1976! When John got caught by the FCC, he got newspaper coverage! Read the articles right under my picture of WKKD above!
Recently I have been asked what did WKKD stand for? Usually "Call-letters" either stand for something, or just stand out?? WVON-"voice of the Negro", WWVA-Wheeling, West Virginia, WRVA-Richmond, Virginia, WLAC-"Life and Casualty Insurance Co." WLVA "Lynchburg, Va." Well, I found out later that there was a legit, at the time, WKKD on 1580kc. in Aurora, Ill. At last check, it was out of business! Here is the secret.....ready......are you sure....really really sure...WKKD stood for my number one snack....Krispy-Kreme Donuts!! OK....You can laugh now!!
Be sure and read my WKKD story in the book "2011 Pirate Radio Annual" by Andrew Yoder! Ask for it on line or at your local book store!
Thanks for reading and remembering my WKKD story....believe it or not...it was the best time I had in radio!! Yes....I watch the movie "Pirate Radio" a lot!
SPEAKING OF PIRATE RADIO, TUNE IN TO 87.9-FM IF YOU ARE NEAR MY HOUSE IN TIMBERLAKE/LYNCHBURG FOR A SURPRISE!
DOES HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF? WKKD-AGAIN?
(CLICKHERE)
Da' Lad!
..note:
I have lost track with my staff member, Clay James. If you know where he is, ask him to please contact me!! THANKS!