Interracial Host and Co-Host

I came across a quote from Ahmet Ertgun that sent me thumbing through my radio history books for attribution:

"The hot show in New York in those days - the two hot shows - were Willie and Ray - Willie Bryant and Ray Carroll, and the Symphony Sid Show..."

The quote was in the context of Alan Freed but of the other two shows mentioned I only knew one. Symphony Sid was Sid Torin. But who were Willie and Ray? Ray Carroll was the first white DJ to co-host a program with a black DJ. He started out co-hosting with another white jazz man Symphony Sid on WMCA. I think ray was at WWRL prior to that.  Ray and Sid paired up for just a year in 1947.  Bryant was already the emcee at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem which is how he got his nickname. He appeared in a couple films. In 1946, CBS hired him as the first black host of a network radio program, "Night Life. By then Ray Carroll was already on WMCA with Sid. Sid Hired Bryant to flip records.  Ray and Willie started their program together that February and stayed at it for 6 years on 1480 WHOM-AM. In 1952 they added a second program together on WOV. Sometimes it aired live from Birdland.

Willie Bryant was born in New Orleans and raised in Chicago. He did vaudeville tours tap dancing with the Whitman Sisters, and later the Chocolate Revue with Bessie Smith. He played the Shim Sham Club in Harlem with Leonard Reed where they invented the dance, the Shim Sham. In 1934 he put together his first band, The Wilie Bryant Orchestra. Between 1935 and 1938 they cut 26 sides mostly for Victor and Bluebird. They were truly excellent. Give it a listen here. 

Their program was cancelled in April of 1954 by the VP of WHOM, Charles Bolton. Bryant said it was the first time he'd been booted from a job in 30 years. He described the firing as political. Bolton denied it but he was the same guy that later that month very publicly "banned" some slightly risque songs from the station playlist. At the time WHOM was actively pursuing a license from the FCC for UHF TV license. They had first applied for channel 31 in 1952. They abandoned in in April 1954. Maybe Bolton was feeling some pressure about his Interracial program? Maybe it was because Alan Freed had just hit town and White DJs playing R&B were just safer.

Ray just went back to WMCA and was hosting an R&B program, "Night Watch" by May of 1954. Like any career his had peaked, he'd already been in radio 20 years. In 1957 he moved to WICC-AM in Bridgeport, CT to host a morning program. By the early 1970s he was hosting an interview program called "Sounding Board" on 1450 WNAB-AM in Bridgeport, CT. Bryant tried to move into television he was already negotiating terms but it wasn't until 1949 his program debuted. He hosted "Uptown Jubilee" a Tuesday night black variety show on CBS-TV.  It was short-lived. In 195, he got another network radio show, ABC's "Rhythm on Radio. He bought a bar in the Bronx. None of that lasted either. He moved to California and did a little more radio on KSAN and KALI. He died in 1964. More here.

INTERVIEW: Dick Yash

Dick Yash still sounds and acts every bit the radio man. His voice is smooth and he can jump from topic to topic mentally keeping track of every idea on the table.  He still loves polka and still loves radio. He's still an aficionado and he has two sons who both are also champions in the polka arena. One is playing with a Grammy award winning Polka band out of Massachusetts: The Maestro's Men. His second son is with a polka band called the Boys From Baltimore. They appeared in the movie He Said She Said. He's one of those compelling, endearing figures that you start rooting for immediately. Dick's been thinking about getting a radio show again and so we all hope for his triumphant return to the airwaves.

He spared a little time last week to explain his radio career which is best described as careening around the radio dial. I don't think I have his story completely straight yet, but here's my best shot.

JF: Why is Polka your dish?

DY: It was being brought up in a home of Czechoslovakians parents. It was way back when we started listening on the radio to Victor and Sophie Zembruski. Back in the fifties the main fixture was that husband and wife team. They lived in Naugatuck, CT. They had three radio shows, 1320 WATR-AM in Waterbury, 690 WADS-AM Ansonia and I don't remember the third. I started listening to Victor and Sophie when I was a toddler, every Sunday was a ritual in my house. By doing that I got a love of that music. I'm still rocking away even at my age.  [The Zembruski's daughter was still hosting that show in 2008, I'll post on them another time]

JF: Was 1500 WFIF-AM your first gig in radio?

DY: My longest venture was at WFIF in Milford, we opened up the station. A gentlemen out of New York came in and got the license from the FCC. I was there from day one. We were a country radio station operating from the Connecticut Post shopping center. I floated during the week as a country DJ, 15-years worth. management asked me and I had the proud pleasure of MC-ing the Johnny Cash show. He was appearing at the coliseum. My last gig was at WADS-AM in Ansonia. I retired from WADS in 1991.

JF: When were you at WNHC-AM?

DY:  I was there for about 2 years in the late seventies. 

JF: Did you have any other gigs in radioland?

DY: 1450 WNAB-AM in Bridgeport was one of my first gigs. Remember that station?  WNAB-AM now is out of Tennessee, but back then in the dark ages, out of Bridgeport. We were on Broad Street, the third floor. It was a 250 watts at that time. That was my very first job in radio way back when. That was in 1961. The largest one I was on was 1300 WAVZ-AM in New Haven. I was a a newsman there for a very short period of time. I would say that was around 1968-1969. I got my big break from Dick Alexander. Just one of the nicest gentlemen you'd ever want to meet. he had an evening show there, 7:00 PM to Midnight and that's how I got my start there. ...He said "Dick, there's a newscast that I do at 8:00 would you like to do it?"  He later went from there to 1530 WDJZ-AM. I eventually wound up there too. I was like a race car driver. I had many pit stops.

JF: When were you at 1530 WDJZ-AM?

DY: I started at WDJZ-AM in 1980-something. I had a Polka show.

JF:  What was your connection to Joe Twarog?

DY: Joe and I became friends just through other friends and Joe had a nine piece band. I got to know them very well and they'd appear on my radio show often. In turn a little gratis came up. Would you like to be on one of our albums if you wouldn't mind writing up something... I said sure. Before I knew it, there I was with my horn rim glasses on the back of the album. I think he's now in Florida.

JF: Well, you can't polka forever.

DY: No, but I did for about 30 some odd years starting in 1961. I was at WNHU-FM The college in West Haven. [University of New Haven] I had a Saturday morning from sign-on I think 6:00 AM. Three hours worth of polka. That lasted for a brief period of time. I was also, to show you how diversified... my second job was at WWCO-AM after WNAB-AM. I was hired as a DJ doing rock music.  They at that point went 24 hours and they asked me if I wanted to do Midnight to 5:00 AM. I said sure. There I went,  from Polka to Rock; changing my name to Dick Nash.

JF:Do you think still about getting a show somewhere local? 

DY: I am at a point in life that I would love to do it but I need 109 and a half people to get out and push me. If I had about a million bucks I could always buy a station.