This photo represents where I have started my weekdays for nearly twenty years now and I have the guy in the photo, Robert Becker, to thank.
I have forever had a love affair with radio. No, I did not grow up with an aspiration for a career in radio. Don’t mistaken that. I just have been fascinated with the mechanism itself. When I was a kid I could hold something in my hand, place a chord in it and on the other end of the chord was an singular ear piece. I placed it in my right ear always. I was right-handed and figured I must be right-eared. In my right ear in 1975 I heard a guy on 890 WLS in Chicago playing Barry Manilow’s “I Write the Songs”. I was seven years old under the covers in my bedroom in Brownstown, Indiana listening to a guy spinning records in Chicago! That is a distinct and precious radio memory.
Radio put its first spell on me a year earlier in 1974. I grew up appreciating and singing the songs I learned at the Brownstown Baptist Church. I still hold dear to many of those old songs and either sing them or hum them to myself from time to time when the Spirit moves to do so. My first foray into music outside the church came to me by way of a scratchy AM radio signal reverberating through the multiple ceiling speakers of Stanley Steinkamp’s Brownstown Central School Bus #1.
The station blaring its way to a bus full of school aged children was 790 WAKY. Wacky. The morning Disc Jockey was The Duke of Louisville, Bill Bailey. If there was ever a voice made courtesy of nicotine, it belonged to Bill Bailey. In between the raspy -voiced bits of Bailey and his time of day updates….”It’s 7:49, eleven minutes before eight o’clock”….there were the songs that captured the ears, heart, and imagination of a little kid waiting on his next favorite radio song to find him. It started with Billy Swan’s hit song “I Can Help”. The Farfisa organ and the guitar lick grabbed me and hasn’t let go to this day. I still stop and take it in when I hear it, thanks to radio on a school bus ride.
In addition to the sounds coming from Louisville, I have a soft spot for the more local flavor that I grew up listening to as well. 1390 WJCD in Seymour was on the old silver JC Penney radio that lived in our Brownstown home. Bud Shippee gave the news as I recall. The day the old Radio Shack store opened at the Jackson Park Shopping Center, I was interviewed by a guy doing a remote WJCD broadcast from there to promote the grand opening of the store. I still remember old commercial jingles from this Seymour station. The singers sang “Brown’s Grocery and Jay’s Market…” and I remember the country twang of another ad…”Co-Op, Co-Op, count on Co-Op Quality!”
It was on 1010 WCSI out of Columbus that I listened to Casey Kasem doing the American Top 40 countdown. From this station I also heard the continuing saga of a serial called “Chicken Man!” And how could I forget Paul Harvey’s News and Commentary and his iconic The Rest of the Story.
Does anyone else out there remember the suspense of “Mystery Theater”? The tales told by E.G Marshall on CBS Radio from 1974 to 1982 were legendary to me.
Also legendary were the sports broadcasters on radio that I enjoyed so much. Monday Night Football may have had Howard, Frank, and Dandy Don on TV, but for a long time on radio it also had Jack Buck and Hank Stram. I could listen to them call a cotillion. Jack Buck with his straight-forward in-command tone and Hank Stram with his “sixty-five toss power trap” homespun delivery and one liners.
When I was doing football on radio I borrowed from three sources. Mike Patrick, his intros were smooth as silk. Keith Jackson could talk us into anything. And Hank Stram once said about facing an opposing defense, “That’s like throwing popcorn at a battleship.”
Jack Buck and Hank Stram kept my right ear informed as I was dosing off on many a Monday night, only to discover my nine-volt was getting low the next morning.
Baseball? Just let me say Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall doing the Cincinnati Reds. An evening with my Dad in a lawn chair in the front yard listening to Marty and Joe was Norman Rockwell worthy.
In 1979, my family moved from Brownstown, Indiana fifty miles south to Harrison County, Indiana. Local radio was not a thing one could easily grasp hold of here. To this day the primary frequencies in Harrison County belong to stations claimed by the Louisville, Kentucky market. That’s business for you.
My radio world languished for a while. In 1982 all that changed. I was back in the radio business and was glad to see the sun go down. The sooner evening time would get here, the sooner I could find the signal to tune in to my new radio best friend and it was an old friend. 890 WLS known as “The Rock of Chicago”. The top nine at nine may have been on at ten in my time zone, but you better believe I was there. And in the morning before school, I was locked into Larry Lujack and Tommy Edwards ready to listen to their bit called “Animal Stories” which is by far the funniest thing I have ever heard on radio.
Tommy Edwards was the public address announcer at the old Chicago Stadium and he was the one who began playing Alan Parsons’ tune “Sirius” while doing Chicago Bulls player introductions.
I raise a glass to my WLS heroes Larry Lujack, Tommy Edwards, Chuck Britton, John Landecker, Don Nelson, Fred Winston, Catherine Johns, and Les Grobstein with sports.
WLS went to a talk radio format in 1989. I was dumbfounded. Talk about the day the music died. So long Animal Stories. So long top nine at nine. At least I knew something about Chicago traffic now and one day it would come in handy. I reached for a homemade Moody Blues cassette and listened to it over and over for a few years. Then something happened for a good reason.
It was 1992. My dear friend Jerry Brown was about to be married. I was visiting him at his about to be newly minted business Celery Signs. Jerry too likes music. When he works there is always a tune playing in the background. On this day in 1992 I had not been there twelve minutes when The Moody Blues’ song “The Story in Your Eyes” came flying through the room to help us all.
“What station is that, Brown?” I asked.
“A new rock and roll station in Seymour, 96.3”, he replied.
That was it. That was all it took. If there was a radio guy or gal out there with the good sense to play The Moody Blues, I was their fan. Period. They would have to do something really stupid to mess that up. To this day, it hasn’t happened.
With apologies to Ferris Bueller, Robert Becker you’re my radio hero!
For the next few years whenever I was within listening distance I was tuning in. If you get to Palmyra and are moving North up Highway 135, you have it made. You have found radio freedom; you have found WJAA 96.3 and the man behind the curtain, Robert Becker.
In 1998 I took a job at Medora Schools and worked there until 2015 when I came back to North Harrison. Every morning I drove up Highway 135 North back to Jackson County and thanks to Robert Becker it was smooth sailing all the way. At 7 AM Robert Becker announces a welcome to one and all and gets folks “Ready to Rock”. Morning time in Jackson County had officially arrived when I was listening to “Breakfast with Bob” as I hurtled toward Medora.
So what about this Robert guy?
Robert Becker wanted to start a radio station. He found an available frequency to buy and that led him to Seymour, Indiana, that small town John Mellencamp sings about. In a location that is relatively close to Indianapolis, Louisville, and Cincinnati, the Chicago native found his radio station along I-65 and he has found a home.
Robert grew up on the South Side of Chicago. He went to high school at the prestigious Lab School. He then went on to the University of Wisconsin and went to grad school at NYU.
One thing that can be said about Robert Becker is that he has ‘been around’. Among the jobs he has had before settling in to be the King of South Central Indiana Classic Rock Radio were a carpenter, cab driver, building superintendent, screenwriter, and movie publicity writer.
Robert Becker appreciates classic rock and roll music. Some of his favorite groups are The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and U2. When asked about some of his favorite solo artists he gave me the names of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, and Frank Sinatra.
Like many of us, Robert likes a great live music performance. When asked about the best concerts he has seen he included Springsteen, the Stones, Leonard Cohen, U2, The Allman Brothers, Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo-Ma, and The Moody Blues. What can I say? The man knows! And he has seen some shows at iconic venues like The Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden and Mill Race Park.
Robert Becker has visited Rome, Paris, Africa, Myanmar, and he has lived in LA, New York City, San Francisco, Madison, Wisconsin, Chicago, and still he has found his calling…or at least his call letters…in Seymour, Indiana. I am so glad he has done exactly that.
Look, Robert is important to Jackson County, Indiana. In addition to spinning tunes for an old Moody Blues fan upon request, he provides a great combination of business and public service. When I asked Robert what he wants to offer listeners he told me he wants his listeners to be entertained, more involved in their community, informed, and hopefully somewhat enlightened. Nowhere here do you find a hint of ego. Listen to Robert. You’ll find that he is not in the game to utter off a grand supply of personal pronouns. He wants the listener to have the great experience.
Seymour! Do you know how fortunate you are? I hope so.
Community involvement is important to Robert. One way of doing this is firing up the Cool Bus. Looks like the Cool Bus is cold today.
Robert takes to Cool Bus to so many businesses and civic events doing live remote broadcasting and being, well, a man of the people. That is so rare these days. I say it again, he wants you to have a good time. Whether it is the Medora Goes Pink or Seymour’s Okctoberfest or Brownstown’s Hometown Christmas, you’ll find Robert Becker and the Cool Bus.
Part of having a good time with 96.3 WJAA beyond the music is the sports coverage the station offers. Look, Robert is no fool. He knew there was a quarter-mile dirt track in Brownstown ten miles from his radio station and in loud and clear listening range of the signal tower officially in Austin. I lived a cornfield from this track on Jackson Street when I was a kid. Robert knew a stock car racing mecca like Brownstown was perfect proximity to gain sponsors for NASCAR and an affiliation with MRN the Motor Racing Network. Robert Becker did exactly that. 96.3 WJAA is your home for NASCAR racing and you better believe folks are tuning in.
Speaking of Sports…(how’s that for a segue, Plump?)
One of the greatest things on radio in 2018 is WJAA 96.3’s Speaking of Sports. Around 7:45 every weekday morning, Robert, with the help of Jim Plump on Mondays and Fridays, will fill you in on the sporting world. This has always been special to me. That house I lived in on Jackson Street in Brownstown was visited by Jim Plump while he was a sportswriter for The Seymour Tribune in the mid-1970s. My Dad was the coach of the Brownstown Central Braves high school football team for most all of the 1970s and Jim Plump came to the house to interview Dad. My point of reference is ancient and unique.
Robert Becker, being a baseball fan and knowing that his listener-ship would appreciate a daily dose of sports, elicited the expertise of Jim Plump to do a morning segment of sports on a regular basis. Plump recently conveyed to me that he was not too hot on the prospects. He had long given up his sports writing forte to become the chief economic developer of Jackson County. What Jim Plump has meant to Jackson County is another great story.
In earnestness that I appreciate, Jim Plump told me that when he received his first tuition bill from his alma mater, the University of Evansville, for his son’s education, Plump called Robert Becker back and asked if remuneration was involved with his doing “Speaking of Sports” in the morning. I guess there was. Plump did it. They debuted the day after Labor Day, 1994.
Jim Plump and Robert Becker did Speaking of Sports on a five day a week basis. Give Plump credit. He worked the phones and gave it all he had. He knows darn well he could have showed up and did anything and would have still gotten paid. Jim Plump took the Speaking of Sports assignment and ran with it. My hat is off to him and Robert. In that 5 days a week period, Jim tried to get a weekly guest on the phone for the show. Yogi Berra was on. Whitey Ford was on. Fuzzy Zoeller was on. Buddy Baker was on. An old Brownstown grad, Todd Sturgeon was on. Heck, one day I was on. In 2006 I was calling high school football games on WKLO 96.9. I was doing North Harrison High School games and that week we were to come up to Brownstown for a game that was going to go a long way in deciding the Mid-Southern Conference that year. The build up for the game was HUGE. So was the storm that hit right before the game. It was so big it sent us all home without playing a game.
Plump had to whittle his schedule down in the early 2000s and they went to a Monday and Friday format. It enabled Jim and Robert to preview the weekend and then come back on Monday and review it. This works out very nicely. Personally, I love it when Plump gives Becker the business about not knowing something about sports or not paying attention (the last thing Plump needs to ask…and he asks it anyway is “What do you think about that…), or butchering up a guy’s name. I love Robert…but I gotta tell you the all time great in my book. Robert and Jim were talking about golf and Robert started asking about a golfer named Davis Love, Jr III…as in Davis Love Junior the Third….I thought I was going to run off the road that day.
Thankfully they are still at it. They are still Speaking of Sports. Robert is still rooting for the Cubs or the White Sox (if they are winning) or the Reds (if they are winning) or the Dodgers (if they are winning)….and Plump is still rooting EXCLUSIVELY for the Yankees come hell or high water, or jabs from Becker when the Yanks lose or overpay a free agent. After all, it’s what the Yanks do.
What about the Braves?
Home of the Braves
When Robert Becker got to Seymour, and it was apparent he was there to stay, there was talk of putting Brownstown Central High School sports, they had no consistent radio coverage at the time, on 96.3 WJAA. It worked out.
A few phone calls here and a discussion there with Robert and with the right folks involved and the realization that advertising dollars were to make it sustainable, your home of the Braves is now and has been since since about 1996 WJAA.
A peek into Harry Rochner’s BCHS Athletic Hall of Fame credentials tells he called football, boys and girls basketball beginning in 1996. Harry and Mark Norman, both Brownstown Central grads, got the Braves moving in the right direction, East on Highway 50 to the 96.3 mixing board.
The result has been fantastic. Robert Becker is very pleased with the “marriage”, as Mark Norman put it, with Braves Sports and 96.3 WJAA. Becker likes the dependability of the announcers for sure. He points out that the announcers calling Braves and Lady Braves games are not “ESPN wannabes”. Knowing the folks in Brownstown as well as I do, I know they appreciate how this has worked out for them. Mark Norman told me this has been a great thing for the community as well as a good thing for 96.3. Mark and former Braves teammate from back in the day, Brian Sommers, have been doing Braves Basketball games together for the last fifteen years. Mark said a trip to call a Braves state final game at Banker’s Life Field house in Indy, the home of the Pacers, was a memorable experience.
The stable of announcers Robert has enjoyed doing Braves games is just that…dependable and stable. They are there to tell you what is happening and to enjoy the experience. In turn, you too end up having a good time listening. And folks listen from far and wide.
An old childhood friend of mine, Harv Brown, has been in the football booth for a number of years now. He works with longtime Braves announcer Richard Berry on Friday nights. When Harv and I were going back and forth about the long distance listeners it was amazing to sit and think about and speak of. Last year’s starting quarterback had family in Nebraska tuning in. Harry Rochner has a buddy in Oregon listening regularly. At harvest time folks listen to the Braves while they are bringing in the crops. There is a large contingent listening in at the Hoosier Christian Village nursing home. Harv’s son Jake, a former Brave player and guest in the booth now and again, would find a classroom to study in and listen to the Braves while he was attending Butler University. In November 2017 during the Braves semi-state tilt with Lawrenceburg, Harv and Richard gave a shout out to Pasadena, California where my Dad and I were listening before going to the USC-UCLA game the next day at The Rose Bowl.
Harry Rochner and Harv Brown doing a game in 2014.
They were kind enough to let me get in on the act that night. With me is Braves legend Harry Rochner. Harry and Greg Walker, superintendent of Brownstown Central Schools, do Lady Braves basketball these days.
MUSIC
At the end of the day, we all first huddled around a radio to listen to music to hear our favorite song…. to feel better when that tune came on. We didn’t have phones then that could raise a tune in five seconds. We had radio and we had record players and we could not afford to buy every song we loved…so we had radio. That dynamic has never left me. I still get a shiver up the spine when I hear a great song on the radio I need to hear. A month or two ago Robert Becker played a song by Gregg Allman that brought me to tears. For whatever reason, it hit me just right. I was alone in the office at school listening as I prepped for the day. I sent Robert an email and thanked him. I hope he doesn’t mind hearing from me from time to time. He has no idea how important he is to us.
His work allows the rest of us to “Rock”.
Speaking the Rocking Rights….
Danny Johnson
