Exclusive History of WOWO.com Interviews!

 
GUEST LENGTH COMMENTS
Chris Roberts 1:00:08 Chris Roberts spent 23 amazing years as an integral part of WOWO, and he shares an entire hour of fantastic stories about how he came to the station, aquired his name, the onesey twosey contest, Jukebox Saturday morning and much, much more!
Bob Chase 55:58 Bob Chase was a WOWO legend in every sense of the word, as the voice of the Fort Wayne Komets for 63 seasons. But he was a very deep part WOWO's history in so many other ways. He talks about how he came to the station, how he became involved in the Komets broadcasts, WOWO record hops of the 1960s and much, much more!
Paul Schafer 41:23 Paul Schafer was a legend in the field of radio engineering, but early in his career, he worked at WOWO and WGL. He talks about some of the technical aspects of the operation during the 1940s. He also recalls many details of Fort Wayne's first FM station, W49FW, which became WOWO-FM. He also talks about his development of one of radio's first transmitter remote control systems, and the well-known Schafer automation system, which in many ways revolutionized the radio business for decades.
Bob Oakes 8:10 Bob Oakes was hired by Group W to be their first Program Director of KFWB, Los Angeles. One of the audio goodies he created in 1966 came to be known within Group W as the "news boom," the sound heard every hour just as the news began. That sound aired every hour of every day on WOWO for nearly 25 years. Bob tells us the story behind the boom!
Bob K 29:05 Bob K was WOWO's Production Director from 1971-73, then returned as Program Director from 1977-79. He talks about his favorite promotions like the "HoHo, WOWO" contest, the move from the Gaskins Building to the Central Building, the memorable "WOWO-land Cities" jingle and much more!
Bob Sievers 5:51 Ron Gregory interviews Mr. WOWO, Bob Sievers to congratulate him on his 2007 nomination to the National Radio Hall of Fame .  This is in all likelihood the last interview of Bob Sievers ever conducted. Special thanks to Ron Gregory!
Ron Gregory 19:25 Legendary WOWO evening air personality Ron Gregory talks with Randy Meyer about Bodie the Janitor, the Hollyweird Report with the Real Rick Marr, and many other great memories of his 23 years at WOWO.
Dugan Fry 36:36 Dugan Fry joined WOWO as a newsman in 1967, and was a key to its success for more than 20 years. He talks with Randy Meyer about the dominance of the WOWO News Dept. in its heyday, the challenge of replacing a WOWO legend twice: first, Jay Gould, and later, Bob Sievers, plus his version of Larry Kenney's state trooper story.
Sam DeVincent 9:05 In addition to his role as the leader of Nancy Lee & the Hilltoppers and WOWO's Music Librarian, Sam was the most prolific individual collector of sheet music in the U.S. In 1988, Sam donated his collection of approximately 130,000 pieces of sheet music and songbooks to the Smithsonian Institution. Sam was interviewed by the Smithsonian and talked about his amazing collection.
Nancy Lee DeVincent 21:58 Nancy and her husband, Sam, founded WOWO's long-running house band, "Nancy Lee & the Hilltoppers." They appeared on the station for more than 50 years! Nancy talks about the early days of WOWO, the Hoosier Hop and the Little Red Barn.
Cal Stewart 15:15 On the air, he was Cal Stewart; off the air, he was WOWO Program Director Cal Bollwinkel. Cal was at WOWO from 1952 to 1964, and he talks about some of the excitement of those days, including the sudden transition from oldtime network soap operas and comedies to local disc jockeys playing rock-and-roll.
Don Chevillet 20:43 Don Chevillet was a multifaceted asset to WOWO from 1959 to 1968. He started as the evening jock, then spent five years hosting afternoon drive, along with sportscasting. He talks about the frenzied promotional schedule at WOWO in the 1960s and the amazing reach WOWO had in that era.
Alan Mitchell 34:44 A fascinating interview: Alan Mitchell was WOWO's Program Director from 1969 to 1972. He was brought in to update the format after WLYV knocked off WOWO in the ratings. He shares some great stories, including the hiring of Earl Finckle, memories of some of the greatest contests, including "Ho-Ho WOWO" and the "WOWO Music contest," and the controversy surrounding "Jesus Christ, Superstar."
Tom Carnegie 12:41 Tom Carnegie is best known as the legendary voice of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But his first job in radio was in Fort Wayne, as an announcer at WOWO in the 1940s. He talks about the early days of WOWO and what an amazing place it was to grow as a broadcaster.
John Cigna 10:29 John Cigna held down the evening shift at WOWO from 1963 to 1971. He talks with Randy Meyer about the beginnings of the Aces basketball team, Bodie's earliest appearances on WOWO and John's methods of tormenting the newscasters.
Stu Collins 9:57 Stu Collins was WOWO's afternoon drive air personality from 1969 to 1973. He talks with Randy Meyer about WOWO's ratings battle with WLYV, the airstaff and some of the best promotions during this period.
Larry Kenney  23:22  Larry Kenney was WOWO's evening personality from 1968 to 1970, and went on to a truly amazing career in radio and beyond. He shares some very funny WOWO memories with Randy Meyer, including the story behind the most famous blooper in WOWO history.
Warren Maurer 17:19 Warren Maurer was Vice President and General Manager of WOWO Radio from 1975 to 1976. He joined Westinghouse Broadcasting Company in 1957 and his career included most of the group's legendary call letters: KDKA, WBZ, WINS, KYW and of course, WOWO. He eventually became head of all Group W AM stations. Chris Witting interviews Mr. Maurer about a number of topics, including his tenure at WOWO, why he believes Group W eventually sold the station, and why WOWO was such "A Great Place To Be."

Coming soon...interviews with Program Director Chris Witting, and more!

 

 

 

 

 

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