WHO CAME UP WITH THE CALL LETTERS “WTIT”?
Bud had 16 reel-to-reel tapes by 1967. The first tape was grabbed randomly and was Tape 10. Bud and Bouncing Billy were on that first tape and called it only by “The Big TT”. A rock station in Hartford was known as “The Big D”. The second tape was Tape 15 and the call letters were born.
The largest station in Hartford was WTIC. So, besides the obvious “breast” reference (these guys were 15 years old, remember), the Tape Radio station was christened, “WTIT, the Big T”. Obviously, no one thought we’d live with those letters for over 50 years. However, since the FCC never allowed them to be used, they remained ours. The tape numbers, by the way, did not even go in order until Tape 17. For the longest time Bud claimed that he wasn’t sure whether it was he or Bill who came up with the call letters WTIT. Recently Bill won the argument over who named the Tape Radio station. He said to Bud, “It was YOUR tape recorder. Why would I name it?” That certainly ended any mystery.
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE ANNOUNCED IN THE INTROS TO MOVIE AND TV PARODIES THAT ARE SAID TO BE STARRING, PRODUCING & DIRECTING THE “SHOWS”. THEIR NAMES ARE NOT ON THE SITE?
They are names off a movie poster from 1967. The movie was Operation Kid Brother starring Sean Connery’s brother Neil. It was a “James Bond” spoof and flopped big-time. (Although if you watch it on Mystery Science Theater 3000, it’s fabulous.) Bud had just put up mostly music posters in the original studio (Dylan, Beatles, Cream, etc.) Bud had a couple of movie posters as well. Here’s a copy of that poster:
Most of these supporting characters appeared in early Bond films. (Lois Maxwell was Miss Honeypenny, Bernard Lee was the original “M”. Anthony Dawson was in three Bond films playing Professor Dent in the James Bond first film Dr. No (1962, Earnist Stavro Blofeld in From Russia With Love (1963) and Thunderball (1965).
DID ANY OF THE DJ’s USE THEIR REAL NAMES? IT SEEMS MOST ARE EITHER ALCOHOL OR CIGARETTE NAMES.
Yes. Bouncing Billy, Gypsy Joe, Many Miles, Galloping Gary, Carter B., and Michael J. all referenced their last names. For a while Bud Weiser used his real name and then switched back.
IF I WERE TO LISTEN TO AN ENTIRE TAPE, (NOT JUST THE COMEDY BITS) WHAT WOULD IT SOUND LIKE? HOW MANY STILL EXIST?
Mostly, the DJ shows sound like a morning radio show. The DJ’s however do get serious at times, updating the recordings with what was going on in their lives. Bud and Billy did a tape on the night Bud’
s first child, Heather, was born, as an example. And to complete the circle, when Billy return to WTIT, on Heather’s 40th birthday we played that recording. All the recordings still exist.
You mention several “Studio” names. How many are there, and what do the names mean?
The names are either for the town or street, except for “Penthouse” which referred to being on the top floor. The “Hell’s Kitchen” name was created when the apartment that Bud and Harvey Wallbanger shared had a huge kitchen where the studio was set up. It also had a gas heater in it that showed large flames. While all the tapes ID’s say: “WTIT West Hartford”, not all the studios were in West Hartford. In fact, only half were. Note that after over a year in Boston radio, we returned to the Turnbull Studio.
We’d be there for just one more year. Here’s the entire studio list:
1. The Soby Studio 1967-1973, West Hartford, CT
2. The Glastonbury Studio 1973-1974, Glastonbury, CT
3. The Edgemere Studio 1974-1975, West Hartford, CT
4. The Maplewood Studio, 1975-1976 West Hartford, CT
5. The Cromwell Studio, 1976-1980, Cromwell, CT
6. The Hilltop Studio, 1980-1983, West Hartford, CT
7. The Braeburn Studio, 1983-1990, West Hartford, CT
8. The Walton Studio, 1990-1993, West Hartford, CT
9. The Hell’s Kitchen Studio, 1993-1994, New Britain, CT
10. The Turnbull Studio, 1994-1995, Manchester, CT
11. The Nobscott Studio, 1995-1996, Framingham, MA
10. The Turnbull Studio, 1996-1997, Manchester, CT
12. The Tudor Studio, 1997-2001, Manchester, CT
13. The Penthouse Studio, 2001-2003, Avon, CT
14. The Gatewood Studio, 2004-2011, Enfield CT
15. Studio 33 1/3, 2012- 2017, Enfield,CT
16. The Rocking Rockville Studio, 2017-2019 Rockville, CT
17. The Johnnie Walker Studio, 2019-present, Bloomfield, CT
