WGTB Schedule (Part 3)

From Arlington Public Library

More recently I found a WGTB program guide from April of 1978. This is  [LINK] It's very rare to have such a long series of college radio schedules so well documented. I'd go a step further to also state that it's even more rare that so many station alumni go on to have such notable careers. WGTB was shut down in February 1979 so there are few schedules later than this one in the stations' history.  As Guy Raz once wrote:

"If you tuned into 90.1 25 years ago, chances were you'd hear Frank Zappa calling out for "the last mortal man," to stop "the senseless destruction of America." Maybe the news was on: If it was an update on the war in Vietnam, you'd probably find out what America's "imperialist pigs" were up to in their battle against the Communist North Vietnamese "liberators." WGTB-FM was pumping in high dudgeon at 6,700 watts a 60-mile radius and Washington was listening..."

In 1978 Random Radio Hours continued with Pamela Evans, as does the The Disc Memory Show (it's 6th year). The Bruce Rosenstein Show, Mystic Eyes and The Abstraction Radio hour all continue as well. All show descriptions below are paraphrased from the 1978 WGTB program guide pictured above. [Typos corrected where possible.]

I've also discovered an archive of WGTB bootlegs here. It's an extraordinary collection of sounds from the 1970s on the  wildest of college radio stations ever to exist. It includes recordings of the Disc Memory Show, Stump Jumpers, Hard Implosion, Random Radio Hours, Radio Free Shire, Ozone Hours, In the Shadows, Mixages, Theatre of the Absurd, Friends, Sophie's Parlor, Tea Time, Germ Patrol, Abstraction, Professor Mota, Bavarian Music Works, Mystic Eyes, Dr. Progresso, the final 1979 shutdown and a slew of as yet unidentified recordings.


SUNDAY:
12:00 AM - Sunday Morning Show hosted by George Arthur, anything from John Cage to John Cale
03:00 AM - The Vinyl Underground with Jeff Bender, heavy metal with a chrome edge *This was probably the first heavy metal show ever.
06:00 AM - Hoozat with the Big 'M' with Mike Morley, Incongruous babbling combined with bottom line rock & roll Alternates biweekly with Olympic Games *Heres's Mike with George Thorogood [LINK]
06:00 AM - Olympic games with Bob Guskind, Special hangover remedy's Italian Rock, comedy classical music and progressive rock *George circulated a petition in 1978 trying to save the station.
09:00 AM - The Disc Memory Show with Alan Lee, On air since 1972, this program features oldies but goodies from the 1950s and 1960s with a heavy emphasis on Doo-Wop recordings. *Lee came from WMAX/WXDT the carrier current predecessor of WKDU at Drexel. He was later host of Doo-Wop Sounds on WPFW. More here.

12:00 PM - Summer Solstice with Myron Bretholz, Washington's only regularly scheduled program devoted to English, Irish and Sottish folk music. *Myron moved his show years later to WHFS focusing more on Celtic folk music
03:00 PM - The Bruce Rosenstein Show, A variety of rock and rock-related styles presented i n fairly short sets with a minimum of talking. *Also writer for FM Forecast.
06:00 PM - Mystic Eyes with Steve Lorber, Features regressive rock(often in true monaural with a strong emphasis on the 60's British Best sound. *Now  Co-hosting "Rock Continuum" on 94.3 WOWD-LP with John Paige. (see below)
09:00 PM - The Abstraction Radio Hours with John Paige, Music may range from Devo to Company, the psychic anchors like the Beatles or Eno will be on hand. *Now  Co-hosting "Rock Continuum" on 94.3 WOWD-LP with Steve Lorber (see above)


MONDAY
12:00 AM - The Oasis with Mary Cecile Levey, Hear music in motion energy, dancable rock n' roll... Tune in to life's soundtrack in color - Possibly the same Mary Levey who published The Infiltrator punk zine in the DC area.  But maybe that was Mary Leary [LINK]
03:00 AM - Rare Impressions with Tom Edwards, A mix of U.S. and British Punk with a thread of Blue Cheer. Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello.
06:00 AM - Eclectic Stew, This show is divided into 3 segments beginning with the Urban spaceman who takes you through a trip into electro-space music, then at 7:00 the Universal Redneck takes over with his humor and comment. at 8:00 you're joining Starving Allen who keeps you rocking 'till 9:00 *Probably named for the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band the "I'm the Urban Spaceman"
09:00 AM - The Germ Patrol hosted by Walter Hassett, Music to brush your teeth by, featuring progressive music to soften the Monday syndrome
12:00 PM - Awareness hosted by Jimmy Ogunlana, A program covering a broad spectrum of current affairs. *A Nigerian journalist, formerly worked for the World Population Society [LINK]
12:30 PM - Halls Bar and Grill, A place to dump your hangover, tables arranged around a slaughter pit. A cup of cigars and a mound of white sugar, red meat killed to order. *A program by this name popped up on WRNR in 1997, has to be connected.
03:00 PM - Random Radio Hours hosted by Pamela Evans *Bootlegs of this program
exist!
06:00 PM - The WGTB Evening News with features including pot news, the UFO report, and others, with Anchormen Mathew Moore and Reggie Terrell.  *Famously quoted in La Hoya "In a 1978 letter to general manager John Uttenweiler, staffers Matthew Moore and Reggie Terrell wrote that, “the equipment is in such a fucked up and sorry state that we have come to the point we never thought we would."
06:30 PM - Viewpoint hosted by Dr. Gilbert Jackson, Experts in the fields of environment, energy and health explore topics ranging from solar energy to nutrition. *Jackson was a Senior Infrastructure engineer in USAID, now retired.
07:00 PM - Sequential Incidence, with Bob Kort. A blend of new musical styles from high energy to mellow, sampling the old and the new, the obscure and the familiar. *First a disc jockey, at WAER then one of the last Music Directors at WGTB. Died in 2017. [LINK]
09:30 PM - The Chameleon Hours

TUESDAY
12:00 AM - Where no Man Has Gone Before hosted by Tim Pace *Tim did some live recordings in DC (bootlegs) including this tangerine Dream show form 1977 [LINK].
03:00 AM - Magic Carpet Ride with Fred Cresce, From the highest heights obtainable while riding the carpet comes various forms of rock n' roll.
06:00 AM - #9 Dream hosted by Steve Miller. A variety of new releases, hard to find oldies, classical and clasirock [sic] with a minimum of talking. *Named for the John Lennon with The Plastic Ono Nuclear Band tune of the same name.
09:00 AM - Viewpoint hosted by Dr. Gilbert Jackson, Experts in the fields of environment, energy and health explore topics ranging from solar energy to nutrition *Jackson became a Senior Infrastructure engineer in USAID, now retired.
12:30 PM - Rock N' Roll Jukebox with Lee Michael Demsey. The show is centered around hard rock, 60s music and it's influences. *Lee had previously been on air at WAMU. He's currently on air at Bluegrass Country radio, the HD-2 channel of 88.5 WAMU. [LINK]
03:00 PM - The Second Nature Show hosted by Christopher Thompson. A program designed to connect up the fields of ideas that pervade in a subliminal fashion, the progressive music scene covering the spectrum from Lancaster-Lumley projects through Gong and Henry Cow., with the occasional rude interference from Vivian Stanshall. *A WGTB Radio Programmer and Engineer  from 1971 to 1979 [LINK]
06:00 PM - The WGTB News
06:30 PM - Open Forum, A public access program listener comments are aired live and selected letter read over the air.
07:00 PM - Bavarian Music Works with Bambi Evans *Formerly host of Sparking Pace
09:00 PM - Giant steps hosted by Ken Steiner. Undiluted and non-commercial , pure acoustic sound/rhythm is presented from 60 years of recorded history. refresh yourself with the music that speaks to now-spontaneous music labeled as jazz. *Named for the legendary jazz LP Giant steps by John Coltrane from 1960.  Ken Steiner fled to WPFW, and became a very notable and multiply published expert on the career of Duke Ellington.


WEDESDAY
12:00 AM - Fever Dreams with Dave Scalzi. How I crawled from M street to Georgetown University with the flesh peeling from my hands and knees and by blood freezing to the very ground where I lay in an ecstasy of agony... *Also co-host of Collective State of Quack [LINK]
03:00 AM - In The Shadows with Geoffrey Blumenauer. A mixture of the finest blends of local music including unreleased tapes and rare local recordings of artists.
06:00 AM - Sun Ship with John Kordalewski. A presentation of the entire tradition of contemporary African-American Music *Presently pianist for the Makanda Project [LINK]
09:00 AM - This Music Business hosted by Jerry O'Rourke. Selections from the long and varied tradition of the blues: old timey, recent and revival recordings.
12:00 PM - The Lost Half Hour with Erika Stokes, Radio for Children, ages 5-10 blending traditional and contemporary stories, poetry and songs. *I think this is Erika Stokes née Hartmann, wife of W. Royal Stokes [LINK]
12:30 PM  - Sunburst with Jeff Cantor. The ever -optimistic cantor will assuage your unhappiness with soothing jazz in styles ranging from pop/rock to very progressive.
03:00 PM - The Germ Patrol with Walter Hassett. Germ warfare presented in stereo. Up tempo biological experimentations in the rock mode.
06:00 PM - The WGTB Evening News
06:30 PM - Since Minton's with Royal Stokes. A program of modern Jazz from the 1940s to the present. Frequent interviews with musicians book reviews and a run-down of local jazz events.  *Hosted by author W. Royal Stokes! The show name is probably a reference to Minton's Playhouse, a Harlem jazz club founded by saxophonist Henry Minton in 1938. Closed in 1974. (reopened 2006)
09:00 PM - The Abstraction Radio Hours with John Paige, Music may range from Devo to Company, the psychic anchors like the Beatles or Eno will be on hand. *Now  Co-hosting "Rock Continuum" on 94.3 WOWD-LP with Steve Lorber (see above)

THURSDAY
12:00 AM - The Gnome Hours hosted by Ace Pace. Heavy Emphasis on synthesizer such as tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk Time Blake Electrophon and Vangelis. *Totally obscure. I want to hear this.
03:00 AM - Mad Dog Promenade, hosted by Tom Danaher. A frenzied configuration of early morning musical madness. Making regular appearances of early morning musical madness. *Named for the Bruce Springsteen tune. Springsteen played two shows at Georgetown University on 3/3/74 both simulcast on WGTB. Unrelated, was also the name of writer Jon Chaisson's radio show [LINK].
06:00 AM - This Music Business with Jerry O'Rourke, A morning radio program devoted to the need for be-bop, boogie and jive. *There was another Jerry O'Rourke at WDCV in 1977... I do wonder if it's the same fellow.
09:00 AM - Pugsley Dog Radio Hours with David Howcroft In keeping with the fine tradition of art-rock established by Prof. Mota in this time slot, this show keeps a similar style while introducing more new wave material. *Howcroft and Skip Groff compiled the LP ":30 seconds over D.C. Here comes the New Wave" [LINK] You can read an interview here [LINK]
12:00 AM - Cars and Consumers hosted by Archie Richardson. This program features controversial topics of interest of vehicle consumers such as sales, and service ripoffs, insurance and finance problems, and the warranty dilemma. *Archie was head of the nonprofit  Automobile Owners Action Council (AOAC). they mediated disputes between consumers and car dealers.
01:00 PM - All Weather Music with David Findley. This music is picked for the strength, honesty or ingeniousness or emotional expression for the joy of a riff or a peculiar sound. Rock and roll meat and potatoes are seasoned with mood music.
03:00 PM - The Second Nature Show hosted by Christopher Thompson. *See Tuesday above
06:00 PM - The WGTB Evening News
06:30 PM -  Tea Time with Mark Garbin. ECM, Electronic Jazz, British music and Monty Python. Where Heiz Baked Beans, Radio London and Rock Historiography join in bliss for you very own personal freedom infringement.
09:00 PM - Take One, local musicians perform live from Sounds Reasonable studios *Later was the source of live sets for WHFS. Operated through at least 1979. Owned by Fred Wygal
10:00 PM - Slow Dazzle with Myron Bretholz. Dedicated to the proposition that good taste is timeless, the intruder gently placed his hand on her radio dials, that all men are created equal . and to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. *Hosted by Myron of the Summer Solstice  show on Sundays. But this does not sound like a folk show.

FRIDAY

12:00 AM - Theatre of the Absurd with Joe Zapotski. A synthesis of efforts both hard  power chord rockers and existential creators.
03:00 AM - Spontaneous Emissions with Tom Boyce. A smorgasbord of musical styles ranging from country to space music with some comedy for good measure. *Spontaneous emission is the process in which a quantum mechanical system transits from an excited energy state to a lower energy state. I like to think that Boyce was a physical major.
06:00 AM - The National Pike Show A blend of progressive rock music and comedy in a format designed to help wake you up to face Friday's day.
09:00 AM - Baroque and Roll with Marc Fare. Blending classical with progressive rock and comedy for a unique mix of mostly mellow morning madness. *Runner up for Program Director in 1974. Losing to Royal stokes ain't bad.
12:00 PM - Speakeasy Hosted by Ken Rothschild. A listener call-in show discussing broad social and political topics
01:00 PM - Mixages with Jamil Guellal and Scott Copley. A program which features the rock, jazz and fusion music of France. *More here and here!
03:30 PM - The Dr. Progresso Show. The Good doctor plays progressive music of all types and styles and eras from the progressive jazz of 20 and 30 years ago to the progressive pop of the 60s and the progressive rock of this decade.  *You can hear bootlegs here!!!  He relocated to WAMU in 1978.
06:00 PM - The WGTB Evening News
06:30 PM - Quadraphenia with Euclid Coukouma. *With a name like that, this has to be the same Euclid Coukouma who was a DJ at WCWM, then an engineer at WOOK, WLPL and presently NBC.
09:00 PM - The Hard Implosion with Fred Cresce. Some good Party Music to end the week with the accent on the Heavy Metal and just plain good old rock & roll. Please have plenty of fuses handy. *Also host of Magic Carpet Ride

SATURDAY
12:00 AM - Indoor Games with Edward Bielaus. An Anarchistic conceptualization of uncompromising experimental sounds and humor which draws from a unique selection of musics with avant-garde and progressive compositions or elements. 
03:00 AM - Moonshine Madness with Alan Baxley, an eclectic fusion of rock, space rock, humor, jazz and some things that can't be classified.
06:00 AM - Toads in Limestone hosted by Tom Moore. Features progressive music, often accompanied by the New York City Zoo and various other oddities. *Today Tom is the Director of Arts and Culture at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UBMC)
08:30 - Lost Half Hour with Erika Stokes, Radio for Children, ages 5-10 blending traditional and contemporary stories, poetry and songs. *I think this is Erika Stokes née Hartmann, wife of W. Royal Stokes [LINK]
09:00 - I Thought I heard Buddy Boulden Say... - classic jazz & blues from the 20's, 30's and 40's. with history & commentary provided by Royal. *Named for a tune by Jelly Roll Morton, but hosted by author W. Royal Stokes!
12:00 PM - La Cultura en Washington, produced by Vincente Guerra, Head of Hispanic-American Culture of the Department the show focused on Hispanic-American music, literature and culture.
12:30 PM - Metamorphosis with Jennifer Boozer, music that recycles the mind, jazz, blues and reggae.
03:00 PM - Fascination with Michael Hogan. Where the clouds breathe easy, rock max hybrid spatial blessing. The length of an east interior resounding, hammer to anvil with the love of sound upon sound. *Aforementioned writer for FM Forecast
06:00 PM - Buzzball hosted by Kevin Lanigan. A trip which touches four sides of the double-edged razor. *On air since 1974, you have to wonder when he's going to graduate.
09:00 PM - Random Radio Continued with Pamela Evans. Take 1 person, several wild turkeys, 2 turntables, 1 microphone, several bottles of coca-cola; mix liberally with esoteric and not-so-esoteric brew. Add listener enthusiasm and allow to cook for 3 hours. *Possibly the same Pam Evans that was chief engineer at WGMS in 1973.

WGTB Schedule (Part 2)

Georgetown University fired station man­ager Ken Sleeman in December of 1975 trying to purge the liberals, hippies and other radicals from the station. God forbid that gay people exist or that races intermarry. Nixon's impeachment hearing began in the Spring of 1974 and conservatives were feeling vengeful. I do believe that mood led to the administration's attack on WGTB over the course of the following year.

When we fast forward to the WBGT schedule of January 1976 we see a surprising number of consistent programs. Multiple semesters have passed and the programming has not changed wildly.

Some programs did change time slots, but they may also be pre-recorded. Other programs continued with the same hosts in the same slots and yet others continued with new hosts and of course some new programs debut. helpfully some show notations help fill in the names of hosts and co-hosts from years earlier.

Gone is the Brass Monkey Show, Skip Pizzi presumably graduated.  Keyboard Filter, Radio Free shire, Disk Memory and Spiritus Cheese all continue as do the LBGT programs: Friends, Sophie's Parlor, and the Feminist Radio Network. The schedule below is from January of 1976, again sourced from FM Forecast. At the time Georgetown University is publicly debating the future of the station.


MONDAY
06:00 PM - Quadrophenia - w/Euclid, Quad segment using the SQ & QS systems
09:00 PM - Wet Pages - Maria Enrico & others read contemporary literary works *Maria is presently the Chair of the Modern Languages Department at Manhattan Community College
09:30 AM - Radio Free Shire - w/ Prof Mota *aka Leo del Aguila, former music director
11:45 AM - Midday Alternative News
12:00 PM - Feminist Radio Network/Sophie's Parlor Present - More here.
12:30 PM - Sophie's Parlor - More here.
03:30 PM - Spiritus Cheese Natural Rhythm Show - More here
06:00 PM - Them & Us - A weekly labor show featuring information about issues affecting working people *possibly connected to the book of the same title
07:00 PM - Two Hours From Taurus -  w/ Geri Mellow synthesized specialties etc.
09:30 PM - Bead Intervals with Marty, interesting music & occasional spoken word
12:00 AM - The Abnormal Radio Hours - w/ Mike Hogan *Aforementioned writer for FM Forecast

TUESDAY
06:00 AM - Sparking Pace - Progressive music with Bambi Evans *Bootlegs of this program
exist!
09:00 AM - Open Forum
09:30 AM - Radio Free Shire -w/ Jude
11:30 AM - Midday Alternative News
12:00 PM - Living For the City - w/ John Barber: issues of interest to the black community *John Barber made the move to WPFW and stayed there through at least 1985
12:30 PM - Court of  Miracles - Music with pep
03:30 PM - Spiritus Cheese - More here
06:00 PM - Friends - More here.
06:30 PM - Evening Alternative News
07:00 PM - Random Radio Hours - Pamela Evans, progressive music *Possibly the same Pam Evans that was chief engineer at WGMS in 1973.
09:30 PM - Black Fire w/ Jimmy Gray *Later had shows on WHUR and WPFW. He was a promoter, distributor and, record label owner. He needs a biography. LINK
12:00 AM - Clark Kent & Collective State of Quack LINK

WEDNESDAY
06:00 AM - At Home, At Work, At Play
09:00 AM - Catalyst - Produced by G.U. Campus Ministry, Host is Fr. Bob Rokusek, S.J. *Bob went on to perform interfaith marriages in the early 80s. More here
09:30 AM - Radio Free Shire -w/Geri
11:45 AM - Midday Alternative News
12:00 PM - Watchdog - for consumers with Lenore Pomerante
12:30 PM - Early Afternoon - w/ Skip  *Skip Pizzi?
03:30 PM - Spiritus Cheese  *More here
06:00 PM - Interface - Public affairs  *More here.
06:30 PM - Evening Alternative News
07:00 PM - Sophies Parlor - More here.
09:30 PM - Abstraction Show - with John Paige *Now  Co-hosting "Rock Continuum" on 94.3 WOWD-LP with Steve Lorber
12:00 PM - Keyboard Filter Show/ Jonathan Eberhardt *Eberhardt was an  award-winning aerospace writer who also was a folk singer. He died in 2003. More here.

THURSDAY
06:00 AM - At the Risk Of Seeming Tired w/ David Selvin: Polka Music, traffic & sports *He was "indefinitely suspended" for airing a bootleg recording of William Burroughs in 1975. [LINK] Locally known author and painter, he went on to produce his program at WPFW after the shutdown. He died in 2010.
09:00 AM - Phenomena - Howard Goltz explores the paraphysical world
09:30 AM - Radio Free Shire w/Jim features astrological forecast, live local artists & progressive morning music
11:45 AM -  Midday Alternative News
12:00 PM - Critique - Geri Calkins & Ruth Stenstrom critical reviews of plays movies books, art & interviews with authors, actors & playwrights *Geri was also a "staff administrative assistant [LINK] Ruth is an Art Therapy Director today [LINK]
12:30 PM -Thoughts on a Grey Day - progressive music w/ Mike Cullen *Cullen was one of the signers of the "Too Valuable to Lose" letter to La Hoya  in 1978. More here.
03:30 PM - Spiritus Cheese Natural Rhythm Show- with Mark Gorbulew featuring live interviews nat'l and local recordings artists plus progressive jazz - More here
06:00 PM - Open Forum - Public Access program, listener comments are aired live & selected letters from listeners are read over air.
06:30 PM - Evening Alternative News
07:00 PM - Tea Time w/ Mark Garbin, progressive music
09:00 PM - Take One - Local & national musicians perform live from Sounds Reasonable Studios *Later was the source of live sets for WHFS. Operated through at least 1979. Owned by Fred Wygal
09:30 PM - What is Reality? - Ken Sleeman *Former station manager, may or may not have been doing the show at this point in time.
12:00 AM - Me & the Animals w/ Bill Sacks, progressive music

FRIDAY
06:00 AM - At the Risk Of Seeming Tired 
09:00 AM - Bread & Roses - arts & social & Political values
09:30 AM - Radio Free Shire w/ Mike Queen
11:30 AM - Midday Alternative News
12:00 PM - Speakeasy - w/ Ken Rothschild: public affairs phone-in show on current social topics
01:00 PM - Mzz Frizzz Presentzzzz - Folk Country, blues, jazz & rock
03:30 PM - Spiritus Cheese Natural Rhythm Show - More here
06:00 PM - Interface - More here.
06:30 PM - Evening Alternative News
07:00 PM - Quadrophenia with Euclid - Quad segment using the SQ & QS systems
09:00 PM - Horror Show - Prof Mota presents progressive modd music Mota *aka Leo del Aguila, former music director
12:00 AM - Positivity  - w/ Eric Small: music from the black scene *Small started at WGTB in 1973, and appeared in La Hoya with co-host Dan Hayes with a program called "Flight Time."

SATURDAY
06:00 AM - The Too Early on Saturday Show - Prog. Music
08:30 AM - Taking Time for Children w/ Eleanor Hickey & space cadets: music stories & poetry *Hickey stayed on and became Promotion Director in 1977
09:00 PM - I Thought I heard Buddy Boulden Say... - classic jazz & blues from the 20's, 30's and 40's. with history & commentary provided by Royal. *Named for a tune by Jelly Roll Morton, but hosted by author W. Royal Stokes!
12:00 PM - Feminist Radio Network - More here.
12:30 PM - Sophie's Parlor - music & information *More here.
03:30 PM - Magascene w/ Skip
06:00 PM - Friends -  A program about gay people in Wash. area.*More here.
07:00 PM - Ozone Hours - w/ Earendil , Prog. music plus 
09:00 PM - The Hard Implosion - w/ Fred Cresce Prog. rock *Hosted by Jeff Bender and Fred Cresce, program started in 1975. Arguably a precursor to the first metal programs.
09:30 PM - Firesign Theatre radio series, Dear Friends *Dear Friends was a live radio program performed on KPFK. There were 21episodes aired between Sept.16th, 1970 and Feb. 17th, 1971
12:00 PM - Corpus Callosum - Ken Moss & Rich Stevens features classical / progressive rock combinations

SUNDAY
06:00 AM - Morning Modulations - Progressive Music w/ Frank Tolin *Frank was later the engineer for the After Hours" program on WGMS.
09:00 AM - The Disk Memory Show - Host Alan Lee plays features collector items from the formative years of rock & roll plus interviews with personalities of the era 1955 - 1962. *Lee came from WMAX/WXDT the carrier current predecessor of WKDU at Drexel. He was later host of Doo-Wop Sounds on WPFW. More here.

12:00 PM - The Stump Jumpers Revisited - w/ Greg Barrett, Country rock , C&W, Bluegrass, R&R, Jazz plus prose & poetry readings *Pianist, organist, singer and songwriter  More here.
03:00 PM - Big Empty Space - with John Strider, rock & country rock *Also hosted he Cosmic Burnout show and the Galactic Mindfuck Show
06:00 PM - Eclectic Brew - w/ Peter Barry Chowk.
09:00 PM - The Abstraction Show - with John Page, progressive music
12:00 AM - Mystic Eyes - w/ Steve Lorber, English music of the 60's, Punk Rock & rock music origins *Now  Co-hosting "Rock Continuum" on 94.3 WOWD-LP with John Paige

WGTB Schedule (Part 1)

Scan by Andrew Ratliff

I was reading a few back issues of the magazine FM Forecast on the marvelous website American Radio History and happened upon some entries for WGBT. Now WGBT began as an AM station, the FM license was only granted in about 1960. Nonetheless the issues of FM Forecast I have read from 1969 do not include the WGBT schedule. Though it does include WAMU, WBJC and WHFS. in addition to the popular commercial FMs. By 1970 that list also included WETA and WGTS but still no WGBT. More here.

Then in March of 1974... there it is. The bridge between Fm Forecast and WGBT was almost certainly the "popular music" aka Progressive Music review section of FM Forecast. Contributing authors included: Ray Bobo, Michael Hogan, and Bruce Rosenstein. Hogan was host of Abnormal radio hours and Bruce was host of the eponymous Bruce Rosenstein Show' both on WGBT.  Ray Bobo might be "E. Ray Bobo" who is named in the great Monty Hall debacle with Marilyn vos Savant.[LINK]

I have pieced together some program descriptions from the March & April issues and a lot of research. Then like now college radio schedules tend to change by the semester.

MONDAY
06:00 AM - Quadrophenia with Euclid - Quad segment using the SQ & QS systems
09:00 AM -  Alternative News
09:30 AM - Radio Free Shire - with Earendil & Barlow T. Shagnasty: features a calendar of events, progressive music
12:00 PM - Sophies Parlor -  Feminist music & info for women & men - More here.
02:30 PM - Radio Free Women - Discussion of Women's issues - More here.
03:15 PM - Spiritus Cheese - with Josh Brooks and Mark Gorbulew,  Live interviews with local & nat'l recordings artists *refugees from WHFS
06:00 PM - Alternative News
06:30 PM - Interface - Local issues explored in depth
07:00 PM - Brass Monkey show - music with Skip Pizzi. *Yes, this is the same Skip Pizzi that's at NAB. More here.
09:00 PM - Pacifica evening News / Craig Siegenthaler Show, progressive music

TUESDAY
06:00 AM - The Tom O'Brien Show, progressive music
09:00 AM - Alternative News
09:30 AM - Radio Free Shire
12:00 PM - The Bruce Rosenstein Show, progressive music *Also writer for FM Forecast.
02:30 PM - The Place, Community Programming with Marie Nahikian. *Nahikian was one of the founders of WPFW. Currently host of The Usable Past podcast. More here.
06:00 PM -  Alternative News
06:30 PM - Friends, gay people in action More here.
07:00 PM - The Random Radio Hours - Pamela Evans *Possibly the same Pam Evans that was chief engineer at WGMS in 1973.
09:00 PM - Pacifica Evening News / J. Garvin Walsh Memorial Program - prog. music
12:00 AM - The Abnormal Radio Hours, Progressive music with Michael Hogan & Count Twelve.  *Michael Hogan also wrote for FM Forecast.

WEDNESDAY
06:00 AM - The Tom O'Brien Show *Tom ran for class president in 1973
09:00 AM - Alternative News
09:30 AM - Radio Free Shire
12:00 PM - The Mark Garbin Show, progressive music
02:30 PM - Fireside Flak - with Edward Glynn, S.J: discussion with prominent Georgetown University personalities. *More here
03:15 PM - Spiritus Cheese
06:00 PM - Alternative News
06:30 PM - The Post Meridian Show  *alternates with The People Show with John Wilson
07:00 PM - The Reasonable Rich Show
09:00 PM - Pacifica Evening News / The Abstraction Show - with John Page *Sometimes spelled Paige.
12:00 PM - Keyboard Filter Show - Experimental, ethnic & electronic music with analysis & historical perspective by Scott Sommers & Jonathan Eberhardt. Guest hostess Mary Cliff. *Eberhardt was an  award-winning aerospace writer who also was a folk singer. He died in 2003. More here. Mary Cliff went on to DJ the folk program 'Traditions' which was on WETA,  WAMU and WERA-LP at different times. She's also been on WAVA and WHFS. More here.

THURSDAY 
06:00 AM - David  Selvin Show, progressive music, poetry & commentary listeners are invited to telephone 625-4237
09:00 AM -  Alternative News
09:30 AM - Radio Free Shire 
12:00 PM - Mike Cullen Show, progressive music
02:30 PM - Critique - Interviews with playwrights, authors & actors performing in Wash. area.
03:15 PM - Spiritus Cheese
06:00 PM -  Alternative News
06:30 PM - Interface *Hosted by Bob Roher
07:00 PM - Progressive Music
09:00 PM - Pacifica Evening News /Bead Intervals with Marty Kurcias *I think Kurcias is the gentleman who became an engineer at
12:00 AM - The Abnormal Radio Hours

FRIDAY
06:00 AM - The Kevin Lanigan Show, progressive music
09:00 AM - Alternative News
09:30 AM - Radio Free Shire - with Earendil & Barlow T .Shagnasty: features a calendar of events, progressive music  *Earendil is the name of a fictional elf in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien
12:00 PM - The Bruce Rosenstein Show
02:30 PM - Watchdog - Consumer affairs program
05:30 PM -  Alternative News
06:00 PM - Open Forum - Community Access program, telephone calls accepted concerning the operation of WGTB-FM
07:00 PM - The Cosmic Burnout show - with Strider 7-8 PM in Quadrophonic, using the SQ & QS matrix systems *Also called the Galactic Mindfuck Show
09:00 PM - Pacifica evening News / Boogie for a Friday
12:00 AM - Margaret Mead Presents - Chris Zinn & Chris Thompson

SATURDAY
06:00 AM - The Tom O'Brien Show
08:30 AM - Take Time for Children
09:30 AM - Medicated Goo Show *Probably named for the song of the same title by the band Traffic
12:00 PM - Sophies Parlor - More here.
02:30 PM - Radio Free Women - More here.
03:15 PM - Geri Calkins Show *Calkins later did segments at WPFW, now married to Skip Pizzi
06:00 PM - Evening Alternative News 
06:30 PM - Friends - More here.
07:00 PM - Andi Fishman's Show
12:00 PM - Corpus Callosum - Ken Moss & Rich Stevens *Ken Moss also a writer for The Hoya. More here.

SUNDAY
06:00 AM - The Jill Shapiro Show - progressive music
09:00 AM - The Disk Memory Show - Host Alan Lee plays music from the 50's and early 60's *Lee came from WMAX/WXDT the carrier current predecessor of WKDU at Drexel. He was later host of Doo-Wop Sounds on WPFW. More here.
12:00 PM - The Stump Jumpers Sit-In - Country Rock with Tex & Greg .*Also the name of an unrelated program on WUNH.
03:00 PM - I Thought I heard Buddy Boulden Say... - Host Royal Plays blues & jazz from the 30's and 40's. *Named for a tune by Jelly Roll Morton, but hosted by author W. Royal Stokes!
06:00 PM - The Jerky John Show - progressive music
09:00 PM - The Abstraction Show - progressive music with John Page
12:00 AM - The Abnormal Showcase - great orchestral music from Germany

The History of LGBT Radio (Part 9)

Washington D.C. was home to 99.5 WGAY from 1960 to 1999. It was not an LGBT station but what a lost opportunity. The earliest LGBT radio program in Washington D.C. was probably Friends. There seem to have been several incarnations of a gay-friendly piano bar of the same name; it may have been connected. But it was not alone, though it's difficult to determine which collective came first. It appears that Friends brought Sophie's Parlor to it's first radio home 90.1 WGTB. Sophie's Parlor was a coffee house located at the Women's Center at 1736 R Street NW. It hosted many lesbian performers in the early 1970s.

Friends was run by the Stonewall Nation Media Collective. According to the David Aiken papers, (a member of Stonewall nation) [LINK] the group broadcast the Friends radio show on WGTB and 89.3 WPFW radio for nine years. So if that began in 1973 that would put the end of the program in 1982. This is corroborated by an obituary of Bruce Pennington, a host of Friends from 1973 to 1982. [LINK] According to the Rainbow History Project [LINK] "Sophies moved to radio on WGBT when Friends was on the air and moved with Friends to WPFW when the archdiocese closed down the radio station. [You can read about Jen Waits visit to the modern webcasting WGTB here]

Looking at issues of the Gay Blade from August, 1973 and May, 1974: the shows Friends, Sophie's Parlor, and Radio Free Women are all mentioned. the sceduel clearly indicates all three programs existing concurrently in early 1973. But in reviewing 1972 issues, there are only be references to the physical venue, Sophie's Parlor. But in the December 1972 issue there is also a short article about WGBT. The timing and tone intimates that this may be describing the first LGBT programming on the station, on a 30 minute program called Interface. It reads:

"The broadcasting station of Georgetown University has begun a series of four programs dealing with various aspects of gay life.  The first on gay activism featured Gay Activist Alliance president Bill Bricker, Mattachine Society president Franklin Kameny, the Rev. Paul Breton of Metropolitan Community Church, and ACLU lawyer Glen Graves, who frequently works on gay rights cases. A second program, on gays and employment, had as speakers activists Rachel Parker and Chuck Hall,  embattled gay teacher Joe Acanfora, and Nancy Tucker, editor of the Gay Blade. Interface host Bob Roehr, says a special series for gays may begin after the first of the year."

Sophie's Parlor was run by Sophie's Parlor Media Collective. The group also operated Radio Free Women at radio station WGTB. The show was on Tuesday nights 6:30 - 9:00. The station was founded as an AM station in 1946 and reborn as an FM station on 90.1 in 1960. The University went to war against the liberal-minded student-run station in the 1970s finally selling it to the University of the District of Columbia in 1979 for one dollar. In 1997 UDC sold it to CSPAN for 25 million. But that's another story.

Anyway, back to Radio Free Women (RFW). That group was founded in 1972. They trained other women the engineering skills needed to work in radio, and in the process built a collective. It's membership was fluid like most collectives. But it included Moira Rankin who continued on with Sophie's Parlor at WPFW, even producing a retrospective on radical feminism [LINK] with Deborah George for Pacifica in 1980. The collective also included Lynn Chadwick, who later became Pacifica's executive director in the 1990s.  

Sophie's Parlor collective moved to WPFW in 1977. So whether you start counting in 1972 or 1977, it remains the oldest continuously running women’s radio collective in the United States. It remains on air to this day. Radio Free Women also spawned the Feminist Radio Network but different sources but that in 1974 or 1976. Radio Free Women were booted off WGTB because of an episode about contraception. The Jesuit Institution didn't care for that. They moved to WPFW wherre it seems to have merges with Sophie's Parlor.

Also on WPFW these days is Inside Out, sporting a bevy of hosts: Maria Leonard Olsen, Michael Sharp, Kathryn Boxill, Matt Thorn, Denisha Davenport, Samuel Parks, Jade Salazar, Bianca Humady Rey, and Mike Knaapen. The program airs every Tuesday from 2:00-3:00 pm. While not as long-running as Sophie's Parlor, they remain a cornerstone of the LGBT community. 

But I want to dig into one more recent but relevant LGBT program in the DC market. In the book Radio Cultures: The Sound Medium in American Life by Michael C. Keith is a single curious reference to an important, but very short-lived gay radio program:

In Washington D.C., WWRC-AM cancelled a short-lived program called “Ten Percent Radio” that same year. The three-hour show aired Sunday nights, beginning at 7 p.m., and included a mix of straight and gay-oriented businesses (Bloomquist, 1994).

The source for the first LBGT program on 980 WWRC-AM starts with a single article in Radio and Records, titled "Format Feverishly Springs Forward" by a R. Bloomquist. Much like the similarly named "One In Ten" on WFNX, I think the program name comes from the infamous Kinsey Report in which Alfred Kinsey's claims that 10% of males in the U.S. are gay. (Note that some articles incorrectly use the call sign WRC which had been on 980 from 1924 - 1983)

Ten Percent Radio debuted on Sunday June 13th at 7:00 PM. The program actually replaced "Tom George's Power SportsTalk," which had just left to begin syndicating nationally and was changing DC affiliates. The first print mention for Ten Percent Radio was in the Washington Post. Even the Post felt the need to mention that the show was being renewed on a week-to-week basis. The host Scott Peck was a fresh graduate of University of Maryland. He was witty and quotable. After the first show, he quipped that his father is "really pleased that I found work."

Fred Peck's father is Col. Fred Peck. Only a month before the show debut, the elder Peck surprised a packed Senate hearing room when he testified against lifting the ban on homosexuals in the military. His opinion wasn't surprising as he had been asked to testify for that very reason, the surprise was when he outed his son as gay during a congressional hearing. Over the next 30 days both Pecks became minor celebrities.  Even in that first month, different articles at the Post describe the program as 2 hours long, others as 3 hours. The father and son found ways to reconcile the issue even while congress ensconced the Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy into law. More here.

Scott says he and his father have agreed to disagree on the gays in the military issue -- son is pro, dad is con -- but he thinks the whole subject is overblown. "I have quite a few gay and lesbian friends in the military," he explains. "They have no plans to organize a gay and lesbian social in the officers club the next day" after the ban is lifted.

Scott would later write a book about his relationship with his father All American Boy: A Gay Son's Search for His Father. It was published in March of 1995. Most likely the show ran from June of 1993 through possibly August of that year, more-or-less following the rise and fall of the news cycle.

DJ Nap Turner

This began with a teasing note in the book The Jazz Scene by W. Royal Stokes. 

"At the time of writing [this book] Nap could still be heard Wednesday mornings on WPFW-FM (Pacifica) with his radio program "Don't Forget The Blues."

The book was published in 1991, and Nap died in 2004. It became my mission for a few nights to fill in the blanks. Nap was short for Napoleon, and he's actually Napoleon Turner Jr. Back home in Tam, WV they just called him junior. He sang, he played bass, he was utterly authentic and from the last era where that was possible.

89.3 WPFW-FM first signed on in 1977, a small one room operation.  Turner was 46 years old that year. He fell in love with their jazz playlist and became a volunteer. In the 1980s he started his own program"Turners Arena". In 1994 he took over "The Bama Hour" from DJ Jerry Washington. Before that he'd worked in drug counseling... Which had been a step up from jail, and stealing cars.

Jerry Washington has been tremendously popular. But he had diabetes, was nearly blind, going deaf and had both legs amputated. The New York times called him a "certified Washington institution". The program ran 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturdays. On air he was sharp as can be, but in real life he was dying. He had a stroke in 1992 and started talking about retirement.  He died in 1994, and The Bama Show passed to Nap Turner. Turner added more jazz to the program. He told stories and later he began reading poems by black writers like Langston Hughes. More here.

This program slowly morphed into "Don't Forget the Blues. "  Turner segued away from Jerry's R&B playlist playing more jazz and more blues and then mostly blues. His personality was equally big, but not nearly as loud. He was suave, a latter-day jazz-man in a borsalino hat. he encourages the career of young jazzmen, and was active locally in the music scene.