WCHB DJ's -- summer 1965

[jsmith]

WCHB was rated as Detroit's top R&B radio station in 1965 [[just topping WJLB) even though the top local R&B radio DJ back then was WJLB's Ernie Durham.
The top DJ over at WCHB was LeBaron Taylor with Butterball & Bill Williams trailing a long way behind.
However another WCHB DJ also gets a mention in dispatches; Donny Brooks !!
I guess this is the Donny Brooks who had started out in St Louis with WBBR & KATZ.
He later turned up on in Philly with WDAS in 1967 before returning to KATZ where he remained a top spinner into the 70's thereby establishing himself as one of the top radio guys on the St Louis airwaves.
Anyone here remember him from his time on WCHB ??
Was he with the station for any length of time ?

[marv2]

I don't remember him, but I sure remember "Frantic" Ernie Durham. I met him many years ago in Detroit.

[jsmith]

I'm sure Donny Brooks was only with WCHB for a short time, but I'm finding it difficult to track down any info on his time in Detroit ....... also how he landed the job with WCHB and why he seemed to leave quite quickly.

[nosey]

I remember "Soulfinger" Donny Brooks when he was in Philly and his theme song was Agent Double O Soul. Boy those were the days............

[jsmith]

Yes, Donny got about a bit in the mid 60's.
I've got a copy of an ad for the WCHB daily line-up of DJ's in the mid 60's ....
The rundown of the scheduling at the stn back then was .......
Donny Brooks .............. 6 to 10 am
Martha Jean ................ 10 to 1pm
Bill Williams ................. 1 to 4pm
LeBaron Taylor ............ 4 to 8pm
Bill 'Butterball' Crane ... 8 to 1am
As Donny did the morning 'drive-time' show I thought a few locals would remember him.

Donny compiled two LP releases that carried his name ....
the 1st one was on Arctic, with the 2nd being on the Badfinger label [[this one was a double album that contained a few Motown tracks).

[jsmith]

MORE GENERAL Q NOW [[though still related) ....
I don't get why so many US soul radio DJ's were known as Butterball back in the 60's [[probably because I'm a Brit) ....
.... what was [[is) a Butterball [[apart from the obvious) and why were DJ's prone to be called it back then ??

[laurence]

Being a UK fan of Detroit 60s music the local radio of 60s Detroit is an issue I know little about, but one name we've learnt of because of an Edwin Starr 'jingle' type record sometimes found on a Ric-Tic demo is Scott Reegan. Where does He feature in Detriot 60s radio?

[marv2]

Being a UK fan of Detroit 60s music the local radio of 60s Detroit is an issue I know little about, but one name we've learnt of because of an Edwin Starr 'jingle' type record sometimes found on a Ric-Tic demo is Scott Reegan. Where does He feature in Detriot 60s radio?

Scotty Regan was very popular on Detroit radio in the 60's. We use to listen to him on KEENER 13. I believe he even wrote the liner notes for several Motown albums.