Rick Minerd - Life Is A Jukebox

In the early day's of personality radio, not long after big production broadcasting when studios resembled auditoriums to accommodate  actors and live musicians, there were some fascinating  personalities in our market.

Eddie Saunders, Doctor Bop and Spook Beckman I've already talked a little about. But there were many others that found their way onto the air-waves between radio episodes of "The Shadow"  and  Gunsmoke starring William Conrad as Matt Dillon.

Among some of the more colorful characters was Doc Lemon. I was too young to appreciate Doc in his early years, but I came to hear a lot of great stories about him during my time at WMNI.

For a guy who had been long gone from that station when I joined up he had  more members of his fan club than the rest of us. Excluding maybe Ron Barlowe. Other guy's at the station like Carl Wendelken aka "The Old Night-Crawler"  and  Bob Rader- "Rader On The Radio" Martin Petree and probably Larry Trimmer would have more insight on  Doc, but I can address his popularity among WMNI for years after he left the station.

Everyone it seems knew the guy personally. Listeners would actually get mad if I couldn't tell them  "Whatever became of 'Ol Doc?"   My favorite was  "You'll never be another Doc Lemon." Another  was,  "Ain't been no good DJ' on that station since  'Ol Doc left."  This went on for years.

I was at a disadvantage because I had never heard him on the air. Not that I would have tried anyway. Working in the shadow of  "The Old Night-Crawler" was almost more than I could  live up to. I replaced Carl after he left the air to go into the stations promotion department. Listeners didn't quit asking "When's "Ol Carl comin' back?"  for about two years. Talk about an ego buster.

But they never stopped asking about "Ol Doc." As I wrote in an earlier text, 'them country music fans were loyal!   Some of them seemed to only like one artist. There was Ruby, aka "Hag's Girl"  who would call every night and request only Merle Haggard records.  "Crashes Girl"  Connie, only wanted to hear Billy Crash Craddock songs, and Brenda was "Conways Girl."  You can probably guess what she called for night after night.  These gal's did know Doc Lemon, apparently very well. They sure talked about him a lot.  And then there was my favorite, Mrs. Dotson. 

Mrs. Dotson never slept.  She was a regular caller day and night. She couldn't get enough of Elvis Presley. A feisty old gal who could raise some hell if she didn't hear "The King"  at least once an hour. And unlike the afore mentioned, she was quite deliberate about her requests, I mean her demands.

When she called it went something like this,  "Hi, WMNI."  "PLAY AN ELVIS PRESLEY RECORD!"  Click.  She didn't always get what she wanted but we did the best we could. But when our best wasn't good enough she'd call back relentlessly and remind me that I'd never be another Doc Lemon.

Once she told me if I was trying to fill "Ol Carls" shoes  I should take 'em off 'cause they sure don't fit!"  Carl probably played lots of Elvis records.

It's fun to reflect on the day's when I played country and western cowboy records on the electric radio.  We were WMNI's  "Country Gentlemen."  The guys who offered a "Tip o' The White Stetson'" to our businessman of the day,  and roses if it were a woman.  "The Good Neighbor station." Country, when Country Wasn't Cool.  Which brings me to ask this-What in the hell is that crap coming out of Nashville now?   Because like the rest of our listeners used to complain when we accomodated Mrs Dotson,  "Turn that shit off, it shore ain't country!'  Biff Colly, Ol Doc  and Carl have to be rolling over in the here-after.    Rick

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