My Memories of Jack Sanders (WAKY Early 60s)
By David Cox
By David Cox
| My interest in radio started early in life, I can’t remember exactly when, maybe at birth. Anyway when I was fourteen, I discovered that in order to get into radio, I needed to pass my FCC Third Class license test. After a week or so of preparing for the exam and being too young to drive, my friend Jim McPhail and I boarded a train in Winchester for a trip to Louisville, where the test was being administered. At that time in my life, WAKY was “The Station” and Jumpin’ Jack was “The Man”. After completing the FCC exam, and with several hours before the train was scheduled to make its trip back to Winchester, we decided a visit to WAKY and meeting “EL’ Jump” would be a great way to top off our trip. I located a pay telephone near the front of the Federal Building, where the test was given, called WAKY and managed to talk my way into the control room and connect with Sanders. I conveyed my interest in radio and especially with WAKY. Jack said “Hell Yes! Come on up”, and gave us directions. It didn’t take us long to arrive at the original WAKY studios where we were greeted with near VIP hospitality, of which I was unaccustomed to, but welcomed. The receptionist gave us the grand tour, which ended with an invitation to have a seat in the control room for a visit with Jack. Jack was very quick witted and was quick to hone-in on my keen interest in radio. He was using the first tape cartridge machines I had seen. This was most interesting because prior to this visit, I had only seen small, three- inch reel-to-reel tapes used for commercials and jingles. Jack took the time to explain exactly how they worked and let me examine one of the cartridges. It was shortly after I had returned the cart to the lazy-Susan wire-rack when a cocktail waitress, in full traditional early 60s attire, came through the control room door. She was dressed in high-heels and a mid-thigh length black skirt with her bosom pushed up and overflowing out of her top, quite a sight for an Eastern Kentucky fourteen year old boy. She was carrying a round tray and gracefully balancing three drinks, probably Manhattans. Jack received the drinks one by one placing them in a straight line just behind one the turntables and winking at the waitress as a gesture of thanks. With one hand he placed a ten-dollar tip on the round tray while with the other hand patting her, playfully, on the behind. The waitress laughed with a sexy giggle as she exited the control room. With all of this distraction and a side game of Chess going on with his newsman, Jack didn’t miss a single break or segway on the air. His “on the air” style and personality flowed with ease as if this was an every day experience. To this day, I have never seen anyone so relaxed and at ease during an afternoon drive-time shift. After downing two of the drinks, Jack ask us to please excuse him a minute, picked up the telephone, and dialed a number. After doing a live tag on the air about bus advertising in Louisville, he was talking with his bookie, placing bets on afternoon races at Churchhill Downs. He was on the phone for perhaps five minutes or so, taking time from the conversation to intro a record, read a live spot and make a move on the chessboard. Was I impressed? You know it. Was this part of Jump’s show, to impress visitors, or just the norm, I am still not sure. The old clock on the wall was moving toward 3:55 PM, our train was scheduled to depart at 4:55 PM, so I knew we needed to end our WAKY visit shortly. I thanked Mr. Sanders for the visit, and said we needed to get to the train station. While downing another one of the drinks, he insisted that we needed to experience a Gerry Wood newscast before we departed. Gerry, in the adjacent studio, was well into the news, when Sanders grabbed a 45 record from the rack and rolled his chair under the console desk. Form our vantage point; we couldn’t exactly determine what Jump was doing with the record and both of his hands under the desk. With about two minutes remaining in the news cast, Sanders rolled the chair out from the desk, got up from the chair and climbed onto the desk just in front of the control board. He was facing Gerry, only separated by about two feet and the glass window. It was only seconds until we figured out what he was up to under the desk. With both hands in the air and his manly-hood dangling through the hole in center of the 45-record, he did a hip-rolling imitation of Elvis. Needless to say, Wood ended his news cast as quickly as possible, with the last thirty seconds totally in complete hysteria. That was my only encounter with Jack Sanders. Needless to say, Jim and I had lots to talk about on our train trip home. David Cox Richmond, Kentucky |