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Nothing surprises me in radio anymore. But I have to admit this did.
There's a radio station in the small town of Princeton, West Virginia that broadcasts at 93.1 FM with a whole 100 watts of power using an oldies format. But it's the owner of the place that makes it interesting. It was started by the late Bob Denver, the former star of Gilligan's Island. And it's known by its nickname, "Little Buddy Radio," which is what the Skipper called his befuddled first mate in the TV show.
How did this come about? Turns out Denver retired from showbiz to take care of his autistic son and they set up the radio station as a means to raise money for people who have that issue, as well as others who need help. Not sure how a 100-watt non-profit radio station does that, but well, good for them for trying.
Denver died in 2005 but his wife still runs the foundation behind it.
The station's official call letters are WGAG-FM and I'm assuming the Professor is the chief engineer and that someone is pedaling that bicycle to keep the power on 24 hours a day.
If you want to hear what it sounds like, here's a link that works.
Little Buddy Radio
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The station seems to have a much wider playlist than most oldies stations. I have had to use Shazam several times because I was not familiar with the tune.
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For those with a Sonos box, the station can be found on MyTuner Radio.
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I wonder...what happened to their website?
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Been listening off and on and I'm kind of impressed by the range of oldies they're playing. It's pretty unusual.
Considering it's the Gilligan's Island station, do you suppose they ever play "Liar Liar" by (wait for it) The Castaways?
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Just came across this incredible bit of trivia I'd never heard before. And it's just too good not to pass it on through this thread.
It was FCC Chair Newton Minnow who in a 1961 speech, famously called TV "a vast wasteland."
It turns out producer Sherwood Schwartz, the creator of Bob Denver's Gilligan's Island, was so incensed by the insult, he named the ship that ran aground stranding the castaways "The S.S. Minnow."
Now you know why.
60 years later, the ‘vast wasteland’ of TV is even vaster
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I actually knew about the "Vast Wasteland" story. It may have been mentioned in the 1999 documentary Gilligans Island-E!True Hollywood Story.
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If you look closely at the opening credit sequence, you'll notice that the American flag is at half-mast. That sequence was filmed on November 22, 1963, the day Kennedy was shot.