ROBERT J's WHUS MEMORIES MUSEUM

80 Years Of UConn Radio: From The Wireless To The Web

WELCOME TO THE WHUS MEMORIES MUSEUM

    

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

The WHUS "Favorite Forty on Super67 Radio" lists for every week in 1962, 1963, and 1964. The lists are actually from WABC Music Radio 77 in New York, but they always used our "Favorite 40" Survey to prepare theirs anyway.

1962     1963     1964

See a list of every Favorite Forty hit record from 1930 to 2000!

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