Always, the horn

(Family photo, circa 1964)

As I mentioned in the previous post, the bicycle horn went everywhere with me in the early 1960s, even to the State Fair of Virginia for a live broadcast. I still have that horn, tucked away in a box in the attic. It wasn't so much that I loved that horn, or that I identified with it, as much as it was that it was just there. I found it in one of the studios early on in my days at WMBG, decided to try using it on the air, and it just stuck. I used it to punctuate jokes and comedy bits.

Our State Fair setup was simple: two turntables, headphones and a microphone. Fairgoers liked to stop by and chat, and I even signed a few autographs. One of the people I met at the fair was Mrs. Harvey Hudson. She told me she enjoyed my show. I asked her if I could have her phone number.

This Mrs. Harvey Hudson was not related to THE Harvey Hudson, who ran WLEE (our biggest competition in rock radio) and presided over the station's highly succesful morning drive-time show. I think her husband was a fireman. THE Harvey Hudson was not, at the time, married, if I recall correctly.

But there was a germ of an idea sprouting. That's why I wanted Mrs. Harvey Hudson's phone number.

I called her the next week and asked her if she'd come to the WMBG Studio on Broad Street. She asked why, and I told her. She laughed out loud and agreed to come in.

I wrote a short script for her that I knew would really get into THE Harvey Hudson's craw: "Hi. I'm Mrs. Harvey Hudson, and when my husband is at work, I always listen to WMBG. They're just great!"

The next day, we started playing Mrs. Harvey Hudson's recording on the air -- in heavy rotation. Screams of anguish -- and later, revenge -- could be heard from Horsepen and Broad, where WLEE's studios were. To rub more salt into the wound, I tracked down more wives whose husbands had the same names as well-known WLEE jocks. I found them in the phone book. More cries of "foul" ensued.

And that is why THE Harvey Hudson tried to screw my career as a rock jock, as I noted in an earlier post. [See "Safety First," Sept. 09]

I had -- and still have -- great respect for THE Harvey Hudson. He is a legend in tales of the heyday of AM radio in Richmond. His career continues today. I often catch his weekly broadcast on Saturday mornings. People still enjoy listening to a Richmond man who started in broadcasting when I was too young to walk.