The Folks that Made Milwaukee Famous for Me.

 Part 1.

My family moved to the downstairs half of a duplex in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, (Milwaukee suburb) when I was in high school.  The teamsters, of which my Dad was one, went on strike.  A job opportunity (read new winter coat) presented itself when my pal Bunkie and I discovered that the Top Forty Radio  Station just across the park from us needed some willing labor to catalog 45 records that were replacing the 78's they had always "spun."  

We hired on to catalog records for about $25 a month.  Bunkie returned to the real world of school and nursing dreams.  I stayed at WRIT in Milwaukee for the rest of my high school career.  I worked from four to eight each night of the week, cataloging new releases, helping with contests and winners, learning to write copy and generally having a very good time.  Our night time newsman for a while was Tom Snyder who went on to become a late night talk show host.  DJs came and went, our program director stayed on and found jobs for me to do ... including babysitting for their daughter. (an aside, she and I are FB friends!).

In those days of Top Forty Radio, record guys would bring their talents with hot new records around to be interviewed.  The first memorable one of those was Pat Boone. In the early days of rock and roll he ranked just behind Elvis for hit records.

Another memorable recording group was the Four Preps, who had a hit called "26 Miles Across the Sea, Santa Catalina is waiting for me."  It was when the guy groups were all the rage. They came to the station, mostly clean cut college boys, one slightly older 'pro.' They'd never been to Milwaukee before.  I gave them a tour, in my car, Lake Michigan, the breweries, fancy homes, all over the place.  They were complete gentlemen and it was fun.  

My favorite memory was when the Chicago record guy who was a friend of ours brought Andy Williams to Milwaukee to promote his hit "Butterfly" they needed to go to the other top forty station WOKY that was out in the country.  Dick LaPalm, the Chicago guy was leary about heading to unknown territory so I was volunteered as navigator.  We headed out, the fog came in, virtually unable to see in front of the headlights, each of them hung out open doors to verify we stayed on the road and I steered.  We sang his hits.  When we arrived safely at the station, in the record library, Andy Williams kissed me! A perfectly harmless in front of the dj and record guy.  The more famous he got as years went on, the more I repeated that event.

Then, in January of 1957, RCA Victor partnered with the March of Dimes (major fundraiser for Polio) and filled a train with RCA recording artists.  They headed from coast to coast stopping in all major cities, including Milwaukee.  Our News Director, Jim Wallace, with Bunkie and me in the back seat, went down to the train.  On board, tape recorder in hand, I got to interview Diahann Carroll, Eddy Arnold (who told me his wife's name is Sally), and a number of others whose names escape me.  Then we joined Jim in the news wagon, sitting in the back seat while he interviewed Billy Eckstine!  While sitting quietly in rapt attention the back door opened and someone got in.  As Jim closed the interview he said, "and next we will be talking to Eddie Fisher who just jumped in the car."  Two teenage girls went about nuts.  This was not long after he married Debbie Reynolds and while he had a TV show of his own.