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Detroit Historical Museum Honors
Detroit's Classic Radio Voices
A new exhibit opening at the
Detroit Historical Museum on Saturday, March 8,
will honor five of the city's most notable radio personalities of the past and present.
Entitled 'Detroit's Classic Radio Voices', the exhibit features
artifacts, photos and audio from:
·
Sonny Eliot – A "wonder of wit and weather,"
he has broadcast his inimitable weather forecasts on the station since 1950,
in addition to his lengthy stints doing weather on Channel 4 (then WWJ-TV) and WJBK-TV2
and his hosting of the popular "At the Zoo" television show for 17 years.
· Bob Allison – (shown with brother Rob, left) the folksy host of the "Ask Your Neighbor"
radio program since 1962, originally on WWJ-AM and now on WNZK-AM,
he also gained fame as the host of "Bowling for Dollars" on WJBK-TV2 and as the
Twin Pines milkman on "Milky's Party Time" on Channel 4 (then WWJ-TV).
· Ernie Harwell – a member of both the Radio and Baseball Halls of Fame,
this broadcasting legend became the voice of the Detroit Tigers in 1960
and continued with only one brief interruption through his retirement at the end of the
2002 season, endearing himself to fans of all ages with his signature calls like
"LOOOOONG GONE."
· J.P. McCarthy – the immortal morning man at News/Talk 760
WJR, this Detroit institution and Radio Hall of Famer woke up Detroit
with his friendly conversational style and unequaled talent as an
interviewer from the early 1960s through his untimely death in 1995.
· Dick Purtan – the quintessential morning radio funnyman,
this Radio Hall of Famer has taken his highly rated show to a succession of stations
over more than 40 years in the Detroit market, starting with WKNR-AM in 1965 through his
current 12-year stint at Oldies 104.3 WOMC-FM.
· Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg – a trailblazer for both
Blacks and women in broadcasting, she came to Detroit from Memphis in
1963 and became a sensation as an R & B disc jockey and social commentator
at WCHB-AM and WJLB-FM before buying a station in 1982 that became
gospel and talk WQBH-AM, where she starred until her death in 2000.
The exhibit continues in the Museum's Kresge Gallery through
Sunday, August 24.
For more information, call the Museum at (313) 833-1805 or visit
http://www.detroithistorical.org/
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Martha Reeves Recalls Riot of '67
"We all knew it was going to happen. It had to happen.
And we're all the better for it. A lot of feelings were aired,
and a lot of tension was released."
Martha Reeves, Detroit City councilwoman and one of the biggest stars
in the early days of Motown music, talking about the
1967 Detroit riot in an interview with the BBC for a program airing this weekend called
"Motor City's Burning: Detroit from Motown to The Stooges*."
Reeves said the police harassment of citizens had become unbearable for the citizenry.
The show is not scheduled to be aired locally but can be viewed at
www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/detroit
* Iggy Pop's 'The Stooges' was an Ann Arbor/Detroit band from 1967-1974.
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Just For Grins
1973 J. L. Hudson Thanksgiving Day Parade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFjTUzAXWtc
