I go back a bit more.
In NJ, it was
Alan Freed on WINS, NYC's top R&R station. In 1957, a buddy, two young ladies & I ventured to Harlem's Apollo theater for an Alan Freed R&R revue. A few notables I recall from that show were Bill Haley & The Comets (Rock Around The Clock), Jerry Lee Lewis (Whole Lot Of Shakin' Goin' On), Laverne Baker (Tweedle Dee/Jim Dandy), Fats Domino (Blueberry Hill), Chuck Berry (Maybeline), Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers (Why Do Fools Fall In Love), Platters (Only You), Moonglows (Sincerely), Penguins (Earth Angel), etc.
We 'cruised' about 3 miles of Main St. in Hackensack, NJ with big fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror & the radio blasting with all the windows open, even when it was 10 deg.
Later, in Phoenix, it was Central Ave. from Bob's Big Boy south to McDowell. I was married then but had to show off my '56 T-Bird after a night at the bowling alley.
I recall the megawatt KOMA, too. Often it was the only station I could get on the radio when driving around the country late at night. One year on a Kaibab deer hunt, I used a little creation I made for a transister radio. It was a small wooden box with copper wire wrapped around it many times except for one end that was about 10' long when uncoiled. The idea was to use it as an aerial by inserting the radio into the box & tossing the long end up over a tree branch if possible. It sorta worked, but the only station we got that came in clear was KOMA.
Noted sportscaster, Curt Gowdy, got his start at KOMA. He went on to 'call' many great moments in sports but I remember him most for The American Sportsman series on TV.
