Colin Wishneski curated this story by Karen Grigg which The Appalachian published April 18, 1974.
WASU will celebrate its second birthday with a special week of parties, April 22-26.
April 19 is the actual anniversary of the day two years ago when Bob Cowan, faculty broadcasting director, saw his plans for the station put in motion.
Eric Loy, now program director of the station, says the first party will be held on Monday with anthologies of various groups such as Moody Blues; and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, being played on the air beginning at 7 a.m. and running until…
The second party will be in the form of radio dramas, starting at 8:00 Tuesday night. Old radio dramas like “The Lone Ranger” and “Amos and Andy” will be aired. An original radio drama written by David Johnson entitled “Shadow and Ygor” will also be featured.
Wednesday morning “The Great Awakening Will Return” with alumnus Dave Wright hosting the third birthday party of air from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m. Wright was program director of the station two years ago.
Thursday brings the greatest hits of WASU from 7 a.m. until 2 a.m. Friday. Solid gold hits of the Bell Bottom Blues, The Beach Boys, the Beatles and the other groups housed in WASU’s library of albums for these two years will be played.
The finishing touch on Friday is a re-run of the Beatles Anthology. Loy claims this anthology includes all the songs the Beatles have ever done. He says other stations have tried to do this, but WASU is the only one he knows of that succeeds in leaving out nothing. It will be aired from 7 p.m. until…
WASU is also sponsoring a contest next week. Students who go by the contact table at the Student Union and put their name in the pot will have a chance of winning one of several prizes. The Grand Wazoo (WASU) prize is valued at over $31, says Loy. It includes two tickets for the student and a friend to Rally Weekend, plus two WASU T-shirts.
Other prizes include one kilo of ice cream, one complete ticket to Rally, one ticket to Friday’s concert of Rally, and one ticket to Saturday’s concert of Rally.
Loy adds that the bookstore donated the T-shirts and the Popular Programs committee gave the station the tickets.
As another feature of the birthday week, the station encourages anyone with anything to buy, sell, or trade to contact them about running a free classified ad during the week. (It is not for commercial purposes!) Loy says any student with any requests or additional ideas for the week should call the station at 262-3170.
He says the birthday week has involved a great deal of time and effort by a lot of people, and he hopes ASU students enjoy what the station is doing.
According to Loy, 80 percent of Appalachian’s student body listens to the station, along with faculty and community members.
WASU tries to play “a little bit of everything to please everybody–yet be consistent.” They offer classical, progressive, jazz, top 40, and oldies music as well as the top 100 album cuts.
The station has been recognized by the Billboard Magazine–a magazine important to those in the radio business.
WASU is staffed by students learning about broadcasting. It is a valuable experience, Loy says, for them to be able to apply their skills. There has been 100 per cent placement in stations of those students after graduation, he states.
