NO MATTER YOUR MUSICAL TASTE….I’VE GOT IT FOR YOU!
MADLAD | WKKD

REMEMBER MY ILLEGAL, BOOTLEG RADIO STATION WKKD? HERE IS THE TRUE STORY THAT TELLS HOW I STARTED MY CAREER IN MUSIC AND RADIO! Below are shots of my station as I improved the equipment! I had to put a stack of records on, and let them drop as I talked while they were dropping! I got me some new single play turntables, but you had to be careful they wouldn’t eject the record when they started up? 

CLICK HERE TO HEAR HOW WKKD SOUNDED BACK IN THE DAY! 

 


 

 

 

LISTEN TO MORE WKKD MUSIC ON “YOU TUBE” HERE!! click on the songs below for a lot of great memories!!

–TELL MAMA-ETTA JAMES

 

-SHOWTIME-THE DETROIT EMERALDS   

I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR A COPY OF THE BOOK WHERE I GOT THE ORIGINAL CIRCUIT FOR MY RADIO STATION. I FINALLY FOUND A COPY OF IT RECENTLY ON E-BAY! I GOT THE FIRST BOOK FROM BEN JONES WHOSE FATHER HAD IT IN HIS COLLECTION. THE BOOK WAS FROM THE YEAR 1953! BELOW ARE THE CIRCUITS THAT I HAD TO MODIFY TO PUT VOICE AND MUSIC ON THE AIR AS WKKD!

EVERY SPARE MOMENT I HAD I DREW UP PLANS FOR MY RADIO STATION PROJECT! BELOW IS A PICTURE OF THE FIRST RECORD PLAYER THAT DAD BOUGHT ME IN 1957! I FOUND THIS ONE EXACTLY LIKE IT ON EBAY… I WOULD TALK AS I CHANGED THE RECORD TO THE NEXT SONG!

At the very bottom of this section is a shot of the studios of WKKD now!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

READ THE WKKD STORY!!

I know that everyone remembers WKKD radio station! I happened to think that Lynchburg needed a little “SOUL” on the airwaves in 1967 and 1968! After spending the summer of 1966 in Chicago, Ill, my cousin told me to listen to their “Soul” radio station WVON. I was amazed from what I heard! I wished that Lynchburg had one of these….then I said why not? The only time you heard “Soul” music was staying up late and listening to WLAC out of Nashville, Tenn. and falling asleep in class the next day, or listening to far away WPXI on 910kc. from Roanoke! Trying to pick up static filled WPXI ended when WLLL came on the air on 930kc, and you couldn’t pick them up anymore! On the left is a picture of all that is left of the original WKKD!
 
That is when I started experiments in transmitters and finally got one to work on the AM dial! I noted everything about WVON, what they said, what they played, and even got the name “Mad Lad” from one of their DJ’s the late Mr. E. Rodney Jones!  For an interview with the late E. Rodney Jones you can (CLICK HERE)  Here the original MadLad, (CLICK HERE) for more air checks….click the tiny player at the end of E. Rodney Jones name!(CLICK HERE) And go to a site where you can hear WVON air-checks as well as other “Soul” stations of the era! After a few blown circuits, and smoke filled bedrooms, I found a way to play records and talk over the air….quite a distance. On the left is a WVON record survey sheet! The pictures on the left are WKKD when I first built it in 1967. I got donations and inproved my equipment in 1968. The next picture is not a table full of junk but all that is left of the station in my garage! you see the radio, the lamp my console, one turntable, my tape recorder and other things! I can’t find my transmitter?? 
 
My Science teacher, Mr. Clark gave me a few set crystals, but that put my signal on the shortwave band! I started out at 1000kc. on the dial, thanks to a set crystal device that put where you were on the dial, found in a box of army surplus. Mr. Jones my electric shop teacher gave them to me. WKDE radio station in Altavista had this spot on the dial (and still does) so I couldn’t broadcast there till the station went off at sunset! It was funny, soon as the Country Music station went off, here I come on the same spot with James Brown!  I used to tell people to tune into WKDE and wait for me to come on! This got old quick when there was a long wait, and really got old when 50,000 watt WCFL (WMVP now) came blasting in from Chicago at night! My time to broadcast wasn’t but an hour and a half at the most when 1000kc. was clear! Ironicly, WKDE is now “the groove” where I work now! Soon I moved to 540kc, all the way to the left of the dial and called myself “Corner radio!” I told everybody to turn their dial till it stopped in the left hand corner….No one found me there, not everyones radio stopped in the same place at the end of the dial. There was also a station (WSVA) at 550kc. which was in my way!  I finally settled on 630kc, and mail ordered a set crystal for that spot on the dial. There was no station within hundreds of miles on that spot on the dial. I then put up flyers all over the school with the latest records I was playing, and a pictures of a radio dial with a pointer where WKKD was located!
 
This station was operated from my home then at 15th & Pierce St. I had 15 watts of power near WLVA(590kc.). I covered College Hill and White Rock with no problem! On a good day I could reach all the way to Rivermont and Fairview Hgts. areas of Lynchburg. I got a few calls from the Concord area, for some reason the signal went to the east.  Other stations had a tall tower to broadcast from, I only had a long wire that went from the roof at my window, to a tall tree in my yard! I did have a red light blinking like the big stations that I made from a Christmas light blinker! I cut on the station when I got out of school, usually around 3:30PM till 7:00PM during the week. All afternoon on Saturdays, and my Moms Mahalia Jackson lp’s were featured on Sundays! My staff included, Milbert  “Piggy” Megginson, Kenneth “The Androver” Banks, Ronnie “Soul Kid” Rathers, Chris Sharp, Mike “Rico” Harris, George “Speedy”  Walker, Troy “Jimmy Troy” Jones, Clay “Buckshot” James, Sam “Sugar Bear” Stevens, and Leroy “Dr. Soul” Copeland. WKKD was on for almost two years. During that time no DJ ever said a bad word over the air! The closest happened when I found Dad’s stash of party Lp’s by Moms Mabley and Pigmeat Markham! I previewed the good clean jokes, and played them between songs, but Redd Foxx didn’t make it!! I had to get music the best way I could! One record cost 76cents, which was a lot back then! Leroy then worked in the record dept. at G.C. Murphys. We would push the fact that you could get these songs from Leroy at Murphys. He would let us keep the records to play on the station, as long as we said that you can pick up this song at G.C. Murphys every now and then. On the left is a newspaper ad for G.C. Murphys! Leroy was selling records like hotcakes, featuring songs that were played on the station! I guess that people thought that if you were told to do your shopping someplace on the station that would help the station!? Well that was advertising, and it works like that today! Everyday at 5:00PM, I would have a countdown of the most popular songs…the “Top 5 at 5!” What would be number one today? Listen and find out!  
 
We all took turns with no pay to play “Soul” music on the station! Dawson “Sweetcake” Smith, my first record promoter, would bring over the latest from “the Jivers”, Robert Tanner,  Joe Bradshaw, and others for me to play! If you would like to hear these songs, I have posted a few on my “the bands” page! I had people come by my house and donate money because they liked what I was doing! My sister took requests on the phone downstairs, even though we didn’t  dare give out our telephone number on the air! Mom would get mad because while I was on the air my station produced static in the tv set and she couldn’t watch “Edge of Night!”  
 
I had been on the air for months before my parents knew what I was doing!  A friend of my Dad’s told him “You know that boy of yours is going to jail if he keeps broadcasting like that!” My Dad said “Broadcasting?…What do you mean, broadcasting??” Dad didn’t come in my room at all….he might step on a live wire or something! 
 

Mr. Charles Mangum, running for Lynchburg City Council at the time, did a speech on my station! We did a voter registration project at the suggestion of Mr. Mangum for everybody not registered to vote to call in! We then would turn in the name, and that person was personally walked through the voteing process! Mr. Mangum lost the election, but he made a great showing which he credited to me and WKKD!

The following is a true story as told by a trusted student who was there, and led to sports on WKKD! There was an incident where a loaded gun was brought to Dunbar in 1966. A group of students were playing with the gun when it was kicked out of a students hand. The gun went off, hitting a student in the leg. The Lynchburg newspaper found out about the story and sent a reporter and photographer to the scene behind the gym. Physical Education teachers Mr. Pinn and Mr. Cofield, not wanting any bad publicity for Dunbar, didn’t want any pictures taken. When the photographer tried to push past Cofield to take the picture, Cofield pushed back with his hand over the lens of the camera. The cameraman ended up sprawled on the steps. The other cameraman took blow by blow pictures of the confrontation that ended up as a full page spread in the newspaper! Funny, no pictures of the injured student were taken! After refusal by Mr. Seay, of any dismissal of the teachers, the newspaper banned publishing of anything from Dunbar! This ban was going on when I started WKKD. I started a 5:30PM Sports program on the station featuring Dunbar, who won the game, stats, ect! This was the only place you could get Dunbar information besides the bulletin boards around school! On the other hand, E.C.Glass got full page spreads and pictures of all their games….even if they lost! Below is the newspaper article! I found the newspaper article of the altercation!

I advertised the fact that you can go to the Hunton Y dance, the Whitehall School dance…ect. You couldn’t find this coverage anywhere in the local community!  I would ride my bike to certain places in the city to see how the station was coming in. My radio had a strength meter on it to tell me how strong the signal was at a certain location!  

 

While out one day, I rode over to Va. College. I heard WKKD blasting out of one of the dorm rooms. There was a group of guys gathered around the radio. I found out they were from Philly, and missing the sounds of their home stations WDAS & WHAT! They were looking for a little music when they discovered WKKD. I asked the college kids “Well how do you like my station?” “Your station…kid on a bike…you’re kidding right?” “I said keep listening…I’ll be right back!” I went home and said…”This is for the Philly crew at Va. Seminary, thanks for listening!” 
I rode back to the college, and was treated to handshakes and compliments about WKKD! They helped me out by telling me what their Philly stations were doing, and giving me the latest music sheets from the station! I learned about dj’s like Georgie Woods, Butterball and others! Butterball passed away, still at WDAS, in July 2012! I had people to come into range of the station, park, listen, and have dance gatherings right on the side of the street! I didn’t need my radio sometimes, because you could walk down the street and hear one house after another…rockin! 
 
All around the area of the Hunton Y, the city was listening to WKKD! Word got around town that if you sat your radio near a hot water pipe, WKKD would really come in! I had a lot of listeners checking out the station in the bathroom! The only flaw in the station from not sounding like the other stations was that it had a bad holding device. In other words if you remember you had to keep tuning it in every twenty minutes or so because it would move suddenly on the dial a little! One listener would use two radios so that when it WKKD moved off a little, the other radio would catch it! The fact that WKKD moved on the dial a little was because I had high voltage on a certain electric tube called a 6L6! This poor tube put out the power on the station! In tec. terms, It wasn’t supposed to have no more than 300 volts on it….I had 450+ volts!! That was my greatest expense. They cost $9.00! I was going through 6L6 tubes every few weeks! Electronic Service, on Park Ave. was stocking up the tubes just for me! A few “questionable associates” of mine were finding a stockpile of 6L6’s. They didn’t tell me where they came from, and I didn’t ask! If the  bedroom light was out you could see the 6L6 glowing in beat with the music! I got this brilliant idea to put a container of ice near the tube and have a fan blow down on it! This worked a little and extended the life of the tube maybe another week! Once while I was on one of my bike trips…all of a sudden the station just stopped! I was way crosstown…so after some fast biking, I arrived to find the ice had fallen into the transmitter!! OH NO!! There wasn’t too much damage, and I was back on the air the next day! I recently asked my “questionable associates”  where the tubes came from? I now know…but I am not going to put it here in the story!! Next time you see me, ask me…I’ll tell you!  THERE IF A PICTURE OF THAT ELUSIVE 6L6 TUBE BELOW ON THE LEFT!
 
At 7PM when I said goodnight and cut the station off, you could hear cars starting up and leaving throughout the area!! Dj’s Jimmy Troy and Sam Stevens started radio stations in their areas of Lynchburg! WBON, and WSAM rebroadcast WKKD where it was weak in certain areas of Lynchburg. They would also program their own music, just like WKKD! In a small area of Lynchburg, you might pick up as many as three “Soul” stations at one time! We were determined to put “Soul music” in Lynchburg…some kind of way!!  
 
Then  Rock  & Roll station WLLL got mad and turned me in to the FCC (the radio station “police”)! I was on one of my bike riding missions when I saw the FCC vehicle parked a block from my house. It was a Dodge stationwagon, sliver and gold in color  with goverment tags on it! I asked him what was he doing, and a lot of questions, and he acted like I wasn’t ever there. He just kept taking reading with his device. On the back of his device was marked FCC! A guy that worked in radio told me that the FCC was going to get you….this must be it! That guy really paid attention to me when I asked him if he was looking for an “illegal” radio station! I then showed it to him, somehow hoping that he was going to grant me a license on my effort alone….no such luck! Ronnie “Soul Kid” Rathers was on the air, doing his thing, playing “Respect” by Aretha, when this guy and I came in! I just told him that he wanted to see the station. After a short tour, he told me outside that if I didn’t stop broadcasting there would be trouble! THIS WAS A WARNING! When I didn’t come on the next day, and I told people what had happened, I even got offers from the DHS football team to guard the station while I broadcast! I just told them “The party’s over!”  I was on my front steps crying a few days later when Ron Joseph and Fletcher Hubbard came to my house! I thought this was more trouble….it wasn’t!  
 
The station made such an impact in the area that then easy-listening formated WDMS, became WJJS, and hires me and two of my DJ’s!  They told me later that they had better go get this kid with the Soul station before he ends up in jail! By the way…I only told Ronnie recently that the guy that came to visit that day was from the FCC! I know that if I had told Ronnie who this guy was back then, he would have left the record spinning and ran home! Anyway..I ended up working at WJJS in the afternoon, and Troy and Sam worked on the weekends. What a turn of events, the rest is history, including the ironic fact that the station that turned me in to the FCC is now owned by Gospel DJ, Fletcher Hubbard! In a note about WJJS, the station was on this new band FM. The only thing there at the time was elevator music, and classical stuff! The mgr. at Pecks department store couldn’t give away an FM radio. After WJJS came on, FM sets were flying off the shelf, backordered, lines at the store to get one! It was a while before the store mgr. could explain what happened, and why the run on FM radios! I personally didn’t think that FM was going to make it…boy was I wrong!! Now, you couldn’t give me an AM station!
 

WKKD followed me to Hampton Institute, as a campus radio station and got me in trouble at the school in 1970! Dad had made me quit WJJS and attend college! After not letting me on the campus station WHOV, I got my radio fix by broadcasting from my dorm room on WKKD! After threats from the school, I pointed out in the handbook that there wasn’t anything about bringing a radio station on campus! My grades showed that I wasn’t interested in College, my Dad made a deal with me. I had a student deferment at the time, and I didn’t want to be drafted! Dad said that if my draft number was high enough I could quit school and do what I wanted with my life! My number was 232!! I then took a full time position on WJJS to the dismay of my parents who wanted another teacher in the family! If you want to know what is your draft number?(CLICK HERE)  

WKKD came back briefly as WJOK, “the big joke” in 1971 at 1110kc. on the dial. I was 16 back then, 20 in 1971, and me not wanting to go to jail cut off WKKD for good! I gave my equipment to a friend of mine John Brown who started, and got caught running an illegal Black Gospel station. WHGC at 1606kc. in Charlottesville, Va. was at the top right end of the AM dial broadcasting in 1976! When John got caught by the FCC, he got newspaper coverage! Read the articles right under my picture of WKKD above! 

 
 Recently I have been asked what did WKKD stand for? Usually “Call-letters” either stand for something, or just stand out?? WVON-“voice of the Negro”, WWVA-Wheeling, West Virginia, WRVA-Richmond, Virginia, WLAC-“Life and Casualty Insurance Co.” WLVA “Lynchburg, Va.” Well, I found out later that there was a legit, at the time, WKKD on 1580kc. in Aurora, Ill. At last check, it was out of business! Here is the secret…..ready……are you sure….really really sure…WKKD stood for my number one snack….Krispy-Kreme Donuts!! OK….You can laugh now!!  
 
Be sure and read my WKKD story in the book “2011 Pirate Radio Annual” by Andrew Yoder! Ask for it on line or at your local book store!  
 

Thanks for reading and remembering my WKKD story….believe it or not…it was the best time I had in radio!!  

SPEAKING OF PIRATE RADIO, TUNE IN TO 87.9-FM IF YOU ARE NEAR MY HOUSE IN TIMBERLAKE/LYNCHBURG!
Here is the new WKKD run by two i-pods and 6000 oldies!

I HAVE BEEN ASKED AS TO WHY I KEEP THE SAME MUSICAL OLDIES FORMAT, AND DON’T PLAY GOSPEL ON SUNDAYS? WELL, I DON’T WANT TO COMPETE WITH FLETCHER AND WLLL! I WANT HIM TO HAVE THE EXCLUSIVE GOSPEL FORMAT IN THE AREA….HE COULDN’T COMPETE WITH AN FM GOSPEL STATION HERE! I DON’T WANT TO HURT FLETCHER AND HIS STATION IN ANY WAY…..HE IS TOO BUSY HURTING HIMSELF!!!??? 

DOES HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF? WKKD-AGAIN?
TUNE IN HERE IN LYNCHBURG TO 87.9! By the way if you are wondering…WHAT HAPPENED TO ‘JJS AND WHY IS IT NOW PLAYING A LOT OF TOP 40 MUSIC?? (CLICK HERE)

https://djmadlad.com/madlad-jjs/

Da’ Lad!

 

THE WKKD MASCOT!

The new WKKD has a mascot! Meet Pete the turtle in his glass cage next to the radio station! I walked out my front door and saw this turtle looking up at me….almost stepped on him! First thing Jarred said was can we keep him? Jarred had been bugging me for a while now about getting him a pet….he really wanting a dog! I wanted a dog when I was small and Dad wouldn’t let me have one…. Reason being that he would end up taking care of the dog while I was at school, playing, visiting friends, and deep down I knew that would probably happen. We did have a neighborhood dog that I loved just as much as his owner Robert Shaw. Sarge, the dogs name would follow us where ever we would went! We went to the Pet store to get some supplies and found out some distressing news! You can keep Tortoises as a pet, but it was illegal to keep Turtles as a pet. Pete was a Box Turtle, and it had to go… Jarred was upset, and told me to let it go while he was at school. I took a picture of it as it crawled happily into Burton Creek!

 

Here is a picture of Sarge, and my sister Cornelia!

Sarge!

Not wanting to break any law, we had to let Pete go in Burton Creek which runs below my house! Do you know anyone who wants to buy a Aquarium, I have one for sale….cheap!

 

..note:
I have lost track with my staff member, Clay James. If you know where he is, ask him to please contact me!!  THANKS!

By the way…..I was looking for dj Jim Rinehart who worked with me in the 70’s! I know you remember Jim from gig’s at Smittys Place back then. Sad news is Jim has passed away a few years back! A reliable friend told me the news….

 

FOR EVERYONE IN THE TIMBERLAKE AREA OF LYNCHBURG, WKKD IS BACK! HERE IS WHAT IS HAPPENING….

REV. QUENTON LAWSON IN 2010, THEN THE PASTOR AT JACKSON STREET UNITED METHODIST CHURCH APPROACHED ME TO HELP HIM WITH GETTING A COMMUNITY RADIO STATION! AT THE TIME I WASN’T INTERESTED, BUT AGREED TO GIVE HIM SOME POINTERS. HE STARTED OUT IN THE HOME NEXT DOOR TO THE CHURCH. AT FIRST IT ONLY GOT A FEW BLOCKS ON 98.7FM, THE CLEAREST SPOT ON THE FM DIAL THAT WASN’T NEAR ANOTHER RADIO STATION. HE HAD GOTTEN A LOT OF EQUIPMENT AND HAD SET UP A PROFESSIONAL LOOKING STATION! THE POWERS THAT BE, AND AS TRADITIONAL AS JACKSON STREET CHURCH IS, THERE WAS SOON A CONFLICT! THE MENTALITY OF THE CHURCH HASN’T CHANGES SINCE I WAS THERE AS A LITTLE BOY, AND THEY WEREN’T GOING TO PROGRESS! BEING SCARED ABOUT AN UNLICENSED STATION IN THE CHURCH, REV. LAWSON WAS TOLD TO MOVE HIS STATION…..AFTER A FEW OTHER CONFLICTS, HE HAD TO GO TOO! THE STATION ENDED UP IN THE JOSEPH NICHOLAS TAVERN BUILDING AT THE CORNER OF 5TH AND MADISON STS. REV. LAWSON CALLED ME AND WANTED TO SEE IF I COULD PICK UP 98.7 AT MY HOUSE IN TIMBERLAKE? TO MY SUPRISE, IT CAME IN LOUD AND CLEAR! HE DID A GOSPEL/JAZZ FORMAT, AND WAS TRYING FOR A FCC LICENSE!

AT THE TIME, THE F.C.C.(THE RADIO STATION POLICE), WERE ONLY TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR A CERTAIN AREA THAT OPENED UP FOR USUALLY A MONTH! FOR EXAMPLE, THEY WOULD OPEN UP ROANOKE AND SEE WHO WOULD APPLY FOR 100 WATTS FOR A HOBBY ONLY RADIO STATION. THIS WENT ON ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND IS CALLED A LOW POWER FM STATION(LPFM) THE “WINDOW” AS IT WAS CALLED, OPEN UP FOR MADISON HGTS. AND WAS GRANTED TO A RELIGIOUS GROUP OPERATING OUT OF THE SOLID ROCK BAPTIST CHURCH AT 94.5FM. THE STATION CAN’T SELL COMMERCIALS, AND MUST BE ON AT LEAST EIGHT HOURS A DAY, NON-PROFITT!

THESE “WINDOWS” WERE NOT PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED, AND NO-ONE WAS NOTIFIED. ME KEEPING UP WITH RADIO NEWS, DIDN’T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE MADISON HGTS WINDOW!

REV. LAWSON OPERATED HIS STATION FOR A SHORT WHILE BEFORE LEAVING TOWN FOR A CHURCH AT SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE, AND FINALLY IN NEW MEXICO! DUE TO THE CLOSED MINDS OF CERTAIN CHURCH MEMBERS, WE COULD HAVE HAD AN FM GOSPEL RADIO STATION BY NOW! LYNCHBURG LOST A COMMUNITY WISE PIONEER IN REV. LAWSON WHEN HE LEFT TOWN, AND TOOK HIS STATION WITH HIM!!

REV. LAWSON NOW OPERATES A LEGAL LPFM IN NEW MEXICO! KVNM IS A GOSPEL/JAZZ STATION THERE. WE COULD HAVE HAD ONE HERE IN LYNCHBURG! I FOUND OUT THAT THE WINDOW FOR LYNCHBURG OPENED AND CLOSED IN 2013 WITH NO-ONE GETTING A LICENSE!! AT THE TIME, THERE WAS A WINDOW FOR BEDFORD AND HUDDLESTON IN THE AREA. BEDFORD WAS NOT GRANTED, AND HUDDLESTON IS GOING TO BE AT 100.5 FM! HERE IS A LINK TO KVNM IN NEW MEXICO. YOU CAN LISTEN TO HIS STATION BY THE “LISTEN LIVE” FEATURE! HE DID A VIDEO ABOUT HIS TIMES IN LYNCHBURG, JUST CLICK ON “COLLEGE HILL VIDEO” WHEN YOU GO TO HIS WEB-SITE: (CLICKHERE) 

NOW TO WKKD, NOW! I GOT THE BRILLIANT IDEA TO PUT A LITTLE TRANSMITTER AT MY GIGS SO FOR EXAMPLE PEOPLE IN THE ROOMS AT CENTRA COULD LISTEN TO THE SOCIAL IF THEY COULDN’T MAKE IT DOWNSTAIRS! I GOT A 7 WATT UNIT OFF E-BAY, BUT IS PRODUCED A LARGE HUM IN MY MUSIC UNIT? I GOT CURIOUS TO SEE HOW FAR IT GOT SO I WALKED AROUND MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I STILL PICKED IT UP, SO I GOT IN THE CAR AND FOUND OUT IT GOT A FEW MILES OUT REALLY GOOD!

I THEN LOOKED INTO APPLYING FOR A FCC LICENSE, I WANTED TO CONTINUE THE DREAM OF REV. LAWSON, AND THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GREAT TIME TO START A COMMUNITY STATION! THIS IS WHEN I FOUND OUT FROM A RADIO ENGINEER FRIEND THAT THE WINDOW FOR LYNCHBURG HAS COME AND GONE!! THE ODDS OF LYNCHBURG OPENING AGAIN CERTAINLY WOULDN’T HAPPEN IN MY LIFETIME, OR ANYTIME SOON!! NOT ONLY THAT, THE FCC STOPPED AT THE END OF 2013 GRANTING LPFM RADIO STATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY!!!

I PUT THE STATION ON REV. LAWSON’S EMPTY 98.7 FM, FILLED MY I-POD AND STARTED BROADCASTING! I TALKED TO THE FCC PERSON IN CHARGE OF LPFMS AND EVERYTHING IS CLOSED ON NEW STATIONS!! NOTHING HAS BEEN ACCEPTED OR GRANTED ANYWHERE! I TOLD THE FCC THAT I WAS EXPERIMENTING WITH A REALLY LOW POWER FM HERE, AND WONT INTERFERE WITH ANYONE? I HAVEN’T HEARD BACK AFTER EXPERIMENTING FOR OVER A YEAR?? THE RADIO CORPORATION THAT OWNS VIBE-100 AND Q-99, PLAN START A SPORTS STATION ON 98.5 FM SOON. ME AT 98.7 MOVED TO 87.9! KEEPING TO NOT INTERFERING WITH ANYONE, 87.9 IS COMPLETELY OFF THE FM BAND WHICH STOPS ON THE LOWER END AT 88.1FM. MOST RADIOS GO ONE CLICK BELOW 88.1 TO 87.9, WHICH IS WHERE YOU FIND ME NOW!

DOING WHAT I AM DOING NOW IS LIKE DRIVING A CAR WITH NO DRIVERS LICENSE, EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE, AND NEVER HAD A TICKET? IT IS ALSO LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU CAN ONLY APPLY FOR A LICENSE AT THE DMV AT A CERTAIN TIME, AND YOU WILL NOT BE NOTIFIED WHEN THE DMV IS OPEN? NOW IN ADDITION, THE DMV HAS BEEN CLOSED FOR THREE YEARS, AND WONT OPEN ANYTIME SOON!! WHAT DO YOU DO, WALK, OR DRIVE ILLEGALLY???? RIGHT NOW I’M DRIVING, AND IN ADDITION TO EVERYTHING THERE IS ONLY ONE COP PATROLLING THE STATE OF VIRGINIA!! I’M STILL DRIVING, BUT NOT SPEEDING!!

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THERE IS NO BLACK OWNED FM WITHIN 120 MILES OF LYNCHBURG!! THERE MIGHT BE A BLACK FORMAT (EXAMPLE VIBE-100, WJJS,) IS NOT BLACKED OWNED!  THERE ARE A LOT OF PIRATE/BOOTLEG RADIO STATIONS WITH NO LICENSE OPERATING IN THE UNITED STATES! ANYONE CAN GET A TRANSMITTER OFF AMAZON, HOOK UP A MICROPHONE AND AN I-POD OR A MUSIC COMPUTER,  AND GET ON THE AIR! WANT TO FIND OUT HOW? (CLICK HERE)

THERE ARE A LOT OF PIRATE STATIONS OPERATING ESPECIALLY IN THE NEW YORK AND FLORIDA AREA WHERE THERE ARE A LOT OF SPANISH, CARIBBEAN, AND ASIAN CITIZENS THAT DON’T HAVE A RADIO STATION TO LISTEN TO! UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE A FEW AS–HOLES THAT ABUSE THE TRANSMITTERS! I READ ABOUT A GUY IN OHIO THAT PLAYED THE RAP GETO-BOYZ VULGAR AND CURSING “MY MIND PLAYING TRICKS ON ME,” AND OTHER GANGSTER RAPS, 24 HOURS A DAY!! OUT WEST SOMEWHERE THERE IS A WHITE SUPREMACY GROUP THAT PLAYS HATE SPEECHES ALL DAY LONG! THIS ILLEGAL STATION TAUNTS THE FCC BY SAYING THINGS LIKE, “WE ARE WHITE AND RIGHT AND WE DARE THE FCC TO TRY AND COME IN AND SHUT US DOWN! WE HAVE DEFENSES WAITING!!” WOW…THAT IS GOT GOOD! ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE IS A LPFM IN GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA CALLED MALCOM X RADIO, NEED I SAY MORE!! RECENTLY, WHITE OWNED KISS 92.7 IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, CHANGED FORMAT FROM BLACK TO COUNTRY AFTER NINETEEN YEARS WITH THE FORMAT! FORTUNATELY, A NEW LPFM WVAI 101.3 FM THERE STARTED PLAYING BLACK MUSIC! IT SOUNDS LIKE RAP CITY, BUT AT LEAST IT’S SOMETHING! IF YOU LISTEN TO A ILLEGAL STATION IN NEW YORK, I WAS TOLD THAT YOU COULDN’T TELL IT FROM ANY OTHER STATION! IT HAS COMMERCIALS, JINGLES, AND EVERYTHING!! WOULD YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE IS AN ILLEGAL RADIO STATION THAT CALLS ITSELF WMLK….IT PLAYS KING, OBAMA, SPEECHES ALL DAY….GOOD RIGHT? NO….ALL THROUGH THE SPEECHES THERE ARE MONKEY, APE SOUNDS AND TARZAN YELLS OVER TOP OF THEM!! I WISH I COULD TELL THEM THAT “LOOK….WE DON’T WANT TO PISS OFF THE FCC….OK!!”  (CLICK HERE) IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME! ON WKKD, I DELETED THE SONG “STROKING” BY CLARENCE CARTER TO KEEP IT CLEAN! I JUST WANT TO PLAY A LITTLE MUSIC THAT REMINDS US OF THE GOOD OLD DAYS THAT WILL NEVER COME AGAIN! AS LONG AS I CAN I WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY “SOUL,” NO OTHER STATION IS DOING THIS….NO OTHER STATION HERE WOULD TOUCH “SAY IT LOUD,” BY JAMES BROWN, “CRY BABY,” BY GARNETT MIMMS, OR PUT OUR LOCAL LYNCHBURG AREA TALENT ON THE AIR! ASK DELISSA CARR WHAT HAPPENED WHEN SHE TRIED TO GET HER SONG ON A LOCAL STATION!? ……OUR MUSIC LIVES ON!!!

****2018 ADDITION: EVERYBODY I HAVE TALKED TO LOVE THE SOUL OLDIES A LOT! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE NEW WKKD HAS BEEN ON FOR FOUR YEARS DECEMBER 25TH 2018! I COULDN’T ADVERTISE THAT THE STATION WAS ON, SO I HAD TO DEPEND ON WORD-OF-MOUTH, AND A FEW FLYERS! I COULD TELL ABOUT IT ON MY WEBSITE! QUESTIONS I’VE BEEN ASKED INCLUDE….WHY DON’T YOU PLAY GOSPEL ON SUNDAY MORNING? I WOULD, BUT I WANT TO GIVE FLETCHER THE FULL MARKET FOR BLACK GOSPEL! AS FOLKS GET OLDER THEY TEND TO BE MORE RELIGIOUS….BINGO…..FLETCHER HAS HIS AUDIENCE! THEY NEED ALL THE HELP AND SUPPORT THEY CAN GET, WITH OUT ME INTERFERING, DON’T YOU AGREE… WHERE DID THE MUSIC COME FROM? I NEVER HEARD OF MOST OF IT….. I’LL BET YOUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS HAVE HEARD OF IT! I WANTED TO DO A LOT OF 50’S SOUL! HERE WE DIDN’T HAVE A “SOUL” STATION FROM STARLING MERRITT, TILL 1968….MAYBE 10 YEARS OR MORE! THE ONLY WAY TO HEAR LOCAL BLACK MUSIC WAS ON JUKE-BOXES IN CLUBS, DANCES AT THE Y AND DUNBAR, OR LATE NIGHT RADIO ON WLAC/NASHVILLE! I WAS 1-7 YEARS OLD AT THIS TIME….HOW DO I FIND THE NAMES OF THE SONGS? I LOOKED IN THE DUNBAR SCHOOL NEWSPAPERS(LYNCHBURG MUSEUM SITE) AND FOUND THE TOP SONGS LISTED THERE! STARLING MERRETT WROTE A MUSIC SECTION IN THE MID 50’S DUNBAR NEWSPAPER, I DOWNLOADED THEM AND PROGRAMED THEM ON WKKD. I HAD NEVER HEARD OF “BLUE MONDAY, SATURDAY NIGHT FISH FRY, TOMORROW NIGHT, CALDONIA, ECT! ARTIST, FATS WALLAR, STICK MCGEE, MUDDY WATERS, LITTLE WALTER, JIMMY REED, WERE KINDA UNKNOWN TO ME! A LOT OF THE SONGS HAVE TITLES AND LYRICS THAT ARE RISQUE TO SAY THE LEAST! “STOOP DOWN BABY, BIG PAPA, LUCKY LIPS,” ECT, YOU HAVE TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES FOR THE REAL MEANING….HAHA! THERE ARE SITES TOO OF OLD CASHBOX, AND BILLBOARD MAGAZINES ON LINE! THE FIRST RECORDINGS OF FATS DOMINO, ARETHA FRANKLIN, JAMES BROWN, ECT. ARE INCLUDED! THOSE WHO REMEMBER THESE SONGS MIGHT BE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN, BUT I INCLUDED 60’S AND 70’S TOO….STILL STUFF 40 YEARS OLD YOU WONT HEAR ANYWHERE ELSE! WE ALL REMEMBER THAT THE SAME PEOPLE WHO WERE PARTYING AT THE CLUB ON SATURDAY NIGHT, WERE IN CHURCH ON SUNDAY MORNING….RIGHT! STILL TRYING TO PLEASE EVERYONE(HARD TO DO), I DO AN “OLD SCHOOL WEEKEND” EVERY NOW AND THEN, MAYBE ONCE A MONTH!? THIS INCLUDES DISCO, 80’S, 90’S, NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN SOUL! CLUB BLUES AND SHAG IS INCLUDED, MEL WAITERS, MARVIN SEASE, DONNIE RAY, POKEY, WILL BE HEARD THEN!  THANKS FOR LISTENING!

WOULD YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE IS REALLY A RADIO STATION THAT IS RUN BY INMATES AT A STATE PRISON? KLSP IN LOUISIANA! (CLICK HERE) TO READ ABOUT IT!

ANOTHER UNUSUAL RADIO STATION IS WHAT I CALL “DUMP 100.5!” YOU CAN PICK IT UP AT 100.5 FM GOING DOWN RT. 29 SOUTH OF LYNCHBURG AROUND THE AREA OF CINDYS TRUCK STOP, BOJANGLES, AND FOSTER FUELS! IT HAS A CONTINOUS LOOP PLAYING INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO HAUL TRASH AT THE LANDFILL!!?

RIGHT NOW SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE OPERATES TWO RADIO STATIONS, FALWELL AND THE LIBERTY UNIVERSITY STAFF OPERATES EIGHT, AND WE CAN’T EVEN APPLY FOR ONE!!



MORE TO COME!
MADLAD!