World famous website for the
History, images, memories, and sounds of college radio at the
University of Connecticut in
Storrs



Preserving (and occasionally inventing) the history, photos, images, memories, and sounds of college radio station WHUS at the University of Connecticut (UConn). All WHUS alumni who were associated with the station between 1950 and 1999 are invited to submit their biographies, photos and memories.
I was a "Favorite 40" deejay on The Afternoon Soiree with Robert J on Super67 WHUS-AM from 1962 to 1964, and am especially interested in contact from anyone associated with the station from 1960 to 1966. Here's a partial list of names of WHUS staff who were on the air and behind the scenes during that period.
Dave Desmond (aka Danny Driver) | John Eklund (aka Johnny Lund) | Jeff Tellis | "Rockin' Russ" Ginns | Norm Voog | Carol Petito | "Bouncing Barry" Kircher | John Babina | Georgia Nikola | Pete Phillips | Gary Girard | Winston Heimer | Dave Delage | Gene Roure | Al Robbins | Tom Dinnella | Steve Primack | Bruce Cunningham | Dave Day | Bill Grimes | Rina Helfgott | Tom Hindle | Steve Kotchko | Bob Matzner | Mary Lou McGuire (aka Carla Saunders) | Cliff Milliken | Dave Millson | Alan Ritchie | Marge Rooney | Rick Semels | Tom Scanlan | Norm Zareski | Debbie Zolov

What have they been doing for the last 35+ years? Where are they now? Profiles, photos, and memories of the 1950 to 1999 WHUS people we've located to date, names of some 1960s alumni we're still looking for, and instructions for getting your name and profile listed are on our WHUS Alumni site.

Station Manager Jeff Tellis (left) keeping a watchful eye on Yours Truly during an Afternoon Soiree with Robert J broadcast.

Faster than a revolving turntable, more powerful than a ten watt FM radio signal, able to leap on tall bar stools at Flaherty's at a single bound! Robert J, mild mannered disk jockey for a closed circuit AM college radio station, became Super67man for personal appearances at some UConn campus events in the early 60s. Here's the Student of Steel doing a remote broadcast of a record hop in the Student Union ballroom and protecting WHUS deejays Georgia Nikola (left) and Carol Petito (right) from evil villians in front of the Student Union and in the WHUS studio.
SECURITY CHECKPOINT - PLEASE SHOW IDENTIFICATION


This is my official ID, so be sure to give me all considerations as you view this Website (Jeff Tellis will appreciate it)

Daily Campus ID- They didn't request or appreciate any considerations. These were actually Carol Petito's IDs, but I lost mine years ago. Thanks, Carol.

I couldn't take this one from her though, since I was no longer a student in 1965. I'm surprised that the University let her keep her hat and badge on for the photo. Her "Lucky Student ID Number" was 17 (the sum of the 3 digits in her ID Number), and she would have been the winner of a sponsor's product, a package of Verv caffeine tablets, if she was the first to call the station after we announced that number on the air. Of course I knew the ID Numbers of my girlfriend and her friends, so they always managed to call instantaneously and won a lot of caffeine "uppers" when I was on the air. Did that make us drug dealers?

All the records I played on The Afternoon Soiree felt good on the ears. I personally tested each one to be sure.
Whose Favorite Forty records for the week ending December 7, 1963 were these? Dave Desmond and I "surveyed" each other. Any similarity between our Favorite 40 and WDRC's Swingin' 60 or the Cash Box Top 40 was purely coincidental!

Georgia Nikola, who did some modeling while at UConn and gained national recognition in 1963 magazine ads as The ExLax Girl, was featured on the record sleeve photo of the WHUSeys' (Yours Truly, Win Heimer, John Babina, and Jeff Tellis) one and only record. I don't think that the record made into even the Favorite 400, probably because of a bad choice for a group name and/or a song name. Our lack of talent had nothing to do with it.

WHUS FAVORITE FORTY LISTS
These are the records I played on The Afternoon Soiree With Robert J. How many do you remember? How many would you rather forget?
Week of September 30, 1963
1 Talk To Me--Sunny
2 Cry To Me--Betty Harris
3 Crossfire--Orlons
4 Be My Baby--Ronettes
5 The Monkey Time--Major Lance
6 Blue Velvet--Bobby Vinton
7 Part Time Love--Little Johnny Taylor
8 A Love So Fine--Chiffons
9 Heat Wave--Martha & Vandellas
10 It Won't Be This Way Always--King Pins
11 Cry Baby--Garnet Mims
12 Straighten Up Your Heart--Barbara Lewis
13 Donna The Prima Donna--Dion
14 I Wonder What She's Doin Tonite--Barry & The Tammerlanes
15 Little Deuce Coupe/Surfer Girl--Beach Boys
16 Sally Go Round The Roses--Jaynets
17 Bust Out--Busters
18 My Boyfriend's Back--Angels
19 A Walkin Miracle--Essex
20 I Can't Stay Mad At You--Skeeter Davis
21 That Sunday, That Summer--Nat King Cole
22 Only In America--Jay & The Americans
23 Blue Bayou--Roy Orbison
24 Let's Make Love Tonite--Bobby Rydell
25 Workout Stevie Workout--Little Stevie Wonder
26 Fools Rush In--Rick Nelson
27 Betty In Bermudas--Dovells
28 Misty--Lloyd Price
29 Deep Purple--Stevens & Tempo
30 Guitars, Guitars, Guitars--Al Casey
31 Treat My Baby Good--Bobby Darin
32 Honolulu Lulu--Jan & Dean
33 When The Boys Are Happy--Four Pennies
34 Then He Kissed Me--Crystals
35 He's Mine--Alice Wonderland
36 Sugar Shack--Jimmy Gilmer
37 Hey Girl--Freddie Scott
38 What Does A Girl Do--Shirelles
39 Love At First Sight--Crayons
40 Busted--Ray Charles
See a list of every Favorite Forty hit record from 1930 to 2000!
WHUS MEMORIES MUSEUM EXHIBITS DIRECTORY
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