Beaker Street settled into the 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. time slot and was followed by Beaker Theater, consisting of mystery programs from Great Britain. By that time, FM had taken hold, and I was now listening to “underground” radio on Radio Free Madison, WIBA-FM from Madison, Wisconsin. "On the air: Tune into unexpected AM find in the p.m.", KAAY: The Mighty 1090 Gave Arkansas to North America", Cedar Falls Band to be Inducted into Iowa Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, KAAY Blog, hosted by former KAAY air personality Doc Holiday (aka A.J. Incidental Music: Head “Cannabis Sativa” Check out: Arkansas Record and CD Exchange Rock City Outfitters (Beaker Street Merch) and, when in Little … KAAY also successfully brought a new musical format to mid-America on the program Beaker Street. The station tried to be as mysterious as possible, at one time even running a contest for listeners to try to guess how to spell Beaker, suggesting that it was spelled in some unconventional fashion.[1]. The name of the show reflected the era in which it was created. Anonymous March 11, 2016 at 12:33 PM. Dale Seidenschwarz, aka Clyde Clifford, was the prototype of the laid-back late-night radio DJ, known for the very long pauses in his speech. The purpose of this study is to examine the Beaker Street program on Little Rock's KAAY AM-1090. Beaker Street began on KAAY late in … George also provided the material for "The Breakfast Serial". 100% Cotton White Tee ready to be tie-dyed Years later, Clyde Clifford and Beaker Street returned to the airwaves every Sunday night from 7 p.m. until midnight Central Time, first on KZLR (KZ-95) and later on Magic 105.1 FM KMJX. KAAY (AM 1090) has been one of Arkansas’s most influential radio stations since it came into being on September 3, 1962. When the program was discontinued in 1972, Clifford left. Beaker Street began on Little Rock, Arkansas 50,000 watt AM … Originating in Little Rock in 1966, Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford was the first underground music program broadcast regularly on a commercial AM radio station in the central US. The band released a 45-rpm record "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" which attracted the attention of Clyde Clifford and was placed in regular rotation on Beaker Street. Still, I missed the unique Beaker Street format. As a result of a change in station programming format, the final Beaker Street on Magic 105 was broadcast February 17, 2008. Original records or tapes of this performance are rare, but a similar version of Cindy's Cryin has been performed by talented fans of the music, fans who first heard the song on Beaker Street. Titanic"; a rambling 13-minute Titanic opus, recorded in 1969, which has the ship's captain smoking a hemp cigarette with the first mate minutes before the ship hits the iceberg. This seems to be Part D of the 4/13/71 "Beaker Street" show, as it has some overlap of Part C. I figure if all four parts are concatenated, with overlaps edited out, then you've got a 3½-hour-long aircheck, which includes the entire "Beaker Street" show, the news at the end of the show, "Beaker Street Theatre," and Santana's "Black Magic Woman" concluding this awesome aircheck. Mountain “Taunta (Sammy’s Tune)> Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin)”, 3. Beaker Street 3-12-21 Posted by Tyler Vincent March 12, 2021 March 12, 2021 Posted in Uncategorized LISTEN LIVE ON FRIDAY, MARCH 12TH 2021 FROM 9 P.M. TO MIDNIGHT (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME) ON THE ARKANSAS ROCK RADIO NETWORK Here's the Wikipedia description of this epic radio program. Their late night program, called " Beaker Street " (and I still don't know where that name came from) and its host Clyde Clifford helped to pioneer the 'underground radio' sound of the day. The original background music, composed by Henry Mancini, came from the dream sequence in the movie Charade. KAAY - 50,000 watts - 1090 - Little Rock 6-5-68 (13:24) 133. In a 2011 interview with KUAR, Clifford said, "I started doing Beaker Street in late 1966 at KAAY and it … Their late night program, called " Beaker Street " (and I still don't know where that name came from) and its host Clyde Clifford helped to pioneer the 'underground radio' sound of the day. Beaker Street 1-8-21. Reply. It's not but it was still very good and very early. Stuart McRae expanded the show from the original three hours to a full five and a half hours (11:00 PM to 4:30 AM). KAAY management didn't do a great deal to promote it. Aircheck of Beaker Street and Beaker Theater - 4/13/71. Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford was the first underground music program broadcast regularly on a commercial AM radio station in the central US. Tarter, Steve. The Byrds “Lover Of The Bayou” (Live- Untitled), 2. Delete. Cream “Deserted Cities Of The Heart” (Live Cream Volume II), 2. my radio hero Clyde Clifford, Beaker Street and the history of KAAY 1090AM KAAY: The Mighty 1090 Gave Arkansas to North America By Stephen Koch For a few magic years, for music fans throughout a figure-eight centered in Little Rock and stretching from Canada to Cuba, one radio station was king of the nighttime airwaves: KAAY-AM, The Mighty 1090. Demento and Firesign Theatre. Beaker Street6-28-70 (47:09) 137. George was News Director and later Program Director/AM Drive team member. “Beaker Street,” Clyde Clifford’s pioneering late-night radio show, is back on the air. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Beaker Street Art This artwork graced tee-shirts that were used by KAAY to promote the "Beaker Street" late-night, early morning radio program. However, the program was resurrected and aired again with different deejays. The popularity generated by the Beaker Street exposure allowed the band to move to bigger and better performances, and in August 2006, the band was inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[3]. Titanic" was also played in the third hour of the final show on the Point on February 6, 2011. Replies. Host: Clyde Clifford. During the run of Beaker Street, the Firesign Theatre actually made several live appearances on the show. Ironically, the studio of The Point 94.1 FM is located in the same building (2400 Cottondale Lane in Little Rock, Arkansas) where Clyde Clifford broadcast the last hours of rock music programming on KAAY twenty-three years earlier. and bong. “Beaker Street,” Clyde Clifford’s pioneering late-night radio show, is back on the air. The Chambers Brothers “People Get Ready”, 9. For the Boomers however, this tee may cause you to fetch out your old moccasins, low rise bell bottoms. Dale Seidenschwarz, aka Clyde Clifford, is the host of Beaker Street, a weekly freeform rock radio program.. Beaker Street, which first aired on clear channel KAAY AM 1090 in Little Rock, AR, from 1966 through 1972, was the first underground music program broadcast regularly on a commercial AM radio station. Radio theater also made a comeback on Beaker Street, in half-hour or hour-long segments called Beaker Theatre; sometimes utilizing serious (and occasionally not-so serious) re-workings of old radio serial scripts, voiced by the Beaker Players; sometime playing the recordings of the comedy group Firesign Theatre, especially the "Nick Danger - Third Eye" series of skits. He hosted a one hour version of his program Beaker Street, which aired progressive rock. The album rock program is described by Clifford as a … The Midwest's underground station. During the 1960s in the United States, AM radio stations began broadcasting an underground format. The album rock program is described by Clifford as a … The strong nighttime signal of 50,000 watt, clear channel KAAY meant that it was possible to regularly listen to the station's nighttime programming in a wide area of the midwest and south. By that time, FM had taken hold, and I was now listening to “underground” radio on Radio Free Madison, WIBA-FM from Madison, Wisconsin. These were also used on the morning drive time program and were known as "Breakfast Serial". Reply. Hr 1 First on KKPT - Mar 9, 2008-2014-08-14-03-51-14 (51:05) 134. Originating in Little Rock in 1966, Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford was the first underground music program broadcast regularly on a commercial AM radio station in the central US. This audio clip is a 1973 recording of the legendary radio program "Beaker Street" on KAAY radio 1090 (Little Rock, Arkansas) containing material from the band BABY featuring John Mark Camp on Rhythm Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford was the first underground music program broadcast regularly on a commercial AM radio station in the central US. It’s being canceled by its current broadcast home, KKPT-FM, The Point 94.1. For the most part, the "theater" radio dramas came from George J. Jennings' collection of old time radio shows. Actually, some FM stations were doing this at night, taking advantage of … Broadcasting from the transmitter site allowed a single employee, Clifford, to serve in the dual capacity of overnight broadcast engineer and as announcer. Black Sabbath “Children Of The Grave.”, 7. McRae resigned over this decision, and the last regular Beaker Street shows were handled by Don Payne. One such performance was a melancholy rendition of a Tom Paxton song, Cindy's Cryin, performed by the Little Rock band Deepwater Reunion with vocalist Barbara Raney. thank you Tyler I’ve got lost with some tunes .. have a nice week-end. I grew up in Evanston IL, a northern suburb of Chicago. This past New Year’s Eve, Arkansas Rocks brought Clyde Clifford out of retirement for an encore of Beaker Street, and the program was so well received that he was talked into reviving it on a regular once-a-week basis. Whatever the origin, it’s obvious the original was put together using several different sources of sound. Change ), Rock City Outfitters (Beaker Street Merch). Clifford left Beaker Street and KAAY in 1974. For a young man who was fascinated with radio and eager to work in it, Beaker Street and KAAY was radio magic for me. The KAAY nighttime signal was so strong that young people in Havana City and in other places in Cuba were able to receive it clearly. In early 1977, a new program director at KAAY decided to end Beaker Street, viewing it as inconsistent with other programming. Still, I missed the unique Beaker Street format. The influential program was launched as a money-saving maneuver. For fans of Beaker Street, many album cuts became favorites over the years, including songs which were generally not available on either 45-rpm records or LP albums. These background sounds were necessary to mask the noise of the transmitter since the program originated at KAAY's transmitter location in Wrightsville, AR rather than in the station's broadcast studios in downtown Little Rock. "Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford was the first underground music program broadcast regularly on a commercial AM radio station in the central US. George was News Director and later Program Director/AM Drive team member. Radio was always something that as a young person was his job, but when he was doing “Beaker Street,” that was a once-a-week program, so radio became more of a … Beaker Street, hosted by Clyde Clifford, will air from 9 p.m. to midnight Friday on the Arkansas Rocks network of stations. Beaker Street was an oblique reference to LSD. On May 15, the first show of the new Beaker Street aired, and the show has gotten more and more support as the weeks have passed. KAAY - Beaker Street Radio intro's (5:39) 132. At The Edge Of The Middle (Steve Morse, Jim Beard, Randy Brecker & Percy Jones) “Every Little Thing” (From the 5 disc collection “The Prog Box”), 4. Both have mostly good skip reception with some fading. This show presented non-mainstream programming. Kocour Misa…as somebody that lived in Little Rock during the mid 1970s, I am well familiar with Clyde Clifford and his wonderful Beaker Street program that originally aired for many years on KAAY. Radio stations which had directional antennas were required to have an engineer on duty at the transmitter all the time. Beaker Street began on Little Rock, Arkansas 50,000 watt AM radio station KAAY late in 1966 and ran through 1972. 100% Cotton White Tee ready to be tie-dyed ( Log Out /  With a very few exceptions, there are some general criteria for a radio station to be linked on this page. Disc jockeys supported alternative points of view, while playing underground music. ( Log Out /  Clyde Clifford currently DJ's Beaker Street on friday nights from 9pm until 12am US central time on the Arkansas Rocks network of radio stations and internet streams. Beaker Street is an Arkansas institution which began quite literally as a cost-cutting move for 50,000-watt KAAY. I actually know the man who recorded this broadcast. Things haven’t changed much over the decades. Clydes real name was Dale R. Seidenschwarz. In a 2011 interview with KUAR , Clifford said, “I started doing Beaker Street in late 1966 at KAAY and it was just kind of a nod toward all of the long-haired, weird music that was coming in from the west coast, and it just took off like a house of fire. This strong broadcast signal enabled Beaker Street to deliver the music of the late 1960s counterculture to many smaller cities and towns in America, where such music could not otherwise be heard over the air waves. When KAAY was sold and converted from a rock music to a religious format in 1985, Clyde Clifford was invited back to handle the final hours of rock music programming on March 3, 1985. The ever so popular Beaker Brothers hail from Eastern Iowa with deep roots in Blues, Jazz, Rock and original Jam Band music. ( Log Out /  Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford was the first underground music program broadcast regularly on a commercial AM radio station in the central US. The program debuted on 50,000-watt AM radio station KAAY in 1966 and established itself as an underground dispatch — and as an antidote to commercial radio’s milquetoast formulas and penchants for repeating the same 100 classic rock tracks on a carousel. Recalling the heyday of 'Beaker Street', the powerful late-night underground radio program out of Little Rock, Arkansas (KAAY-AM the Big 1090) on Thursday's MEDICINE BALL CARAVAN on KRVS (11am-noon CST on 88.7FM locally or krvs.org).It became the bulk of … They didn't really have to, but according to Clyde Clifford, A.J. Here is more than an hour of untelescoped Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford on Friday night, June 26 1970, from 11:00pm to 12:14am. I am well familiar with Clyde Clifford and his wonderful Beaker Street program that originally aired for many years on KAAY. (January 18, 2011) The radio program Beaker Street, which debuted 45 years ago playing progressive rock on Little Rock powerhouse KAAY-AM 1090 and had regular listeners around the country, could be coming to an end. Beaker Street showed us we didn’t have to color in-between-the-lines – that we could create new forms of radio programming. Lindsey), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beaker_Street&oldid=993200840, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2008, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 9 December 2020, at 09:23. Beaker Street begin broadcasting from its new home at The Point 94.1 FM on Sunday March 9, 2008, continuing to occupy the 7:00pm-midnight time slot on Sunday evenings. Here's the Wikipedia description of this epic radio program. Despite the show's demise on KAAY, Beaker Street remained a fond memory for many fans. The station's signal carried far and wide. This show presented non-mainstream programming. Cuban radio stations were allowed to devote only about 20% of their time broadcasting music sung in English, so many young people used to listen to American radio stations as a response to that limitation, and the KAAY was one of the most popular. Disc jockeys supported alternative points of view, while playing underground music. Today young people from those years still remember the DJ announcing "Beaker Street... an underground music service from KAAY, Little Rock, Arkansas..."[4]. (Below is a Beaker Street aircheck compiled from 1970, before the "Head" album.) Longtime Little Rock radio personality Tom Wood, currently at 94.9 TOM-FM, remembers listening to Beaker Street in the early ’70s when he was growing up in the suburbs of Chicago. KAAY(AM)-1090 radio, Little Rock AR. Beaker Street April 13-1971 pt2-2014-08-14-03-40-21 (73:30) 136. ( Log Out /  Jaime Brockett's "The Legend of the U.S.S. The program delivered the music of the late 1960s counterculture to the hinterland of America, to remote places where such music could not otherwise be heard over the air … The show's original announcer, Clyde Clifford, moved to FM in 1974[1] as the rise in popularity of FM radio began to impact the operations of many AM stations. Beaker Street began on Little Rock, Arkansas 50,000 watt AM radio station KAAYlate in 1966 and ran thr… Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Beaker Theater came from George J.Jenning's collection of old time radio shows. By that time, FM had taken hold, and I was now listening to “underground” radio on Radio Free Madison, WIBA-FM from Madison, Wisconsin. across the street at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, and a pack of wandering musicians will be on hand to make sure you find your way. Lindsey and others, there were unsure about how and what to do to promote "Beaker Street." 36th show of the Arkansas Rocks Radio Network Era. The station's signal carried far and wide. One example of the impact of Beaker Street can be seen in the evolution and success of the band Headstone, formed in 1969 by five students at the University of Northern Iowa. ‘Beaker Street’ Returns on Arkansas Rocks Radio Network by Kelley Bass May 22, 2020 0 comment Fifty-four years after it debuted on KAAY-AM, “Beaker Street” is back with the Arkansas Rocks network of stations its new home. People now working in public media, who heard it back then, still talk about it today. Fifty-four years after it debuted on KAAY-AM, “Beaker Street” is back with the Arkansas Rocks network of stations its new home. The Doobie Brothers “Ukiah/ The Captain And Me”, 8. The first is Clyde Clifford from June 1, 1972. Clifford left Beaker Street and KAAY in 1974. [1] During that time the show was also streamed live via the internet, from the Beaker street homepage. The program was influential for radio newbies like us because it demonstrated that radio didn’t need to be formulaic or dull. The Allman Brothers Band “Gambler’s Roll”, 3. Several Beaker Street hosts used the on-air name of Ken Knight, followed by Stuart McRae in the mid-1970s. Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)” (The Live Adventures of Bloomfield and Kooper), 7. ARTxFM and KUHS present Clyde Clifford of Beaker Street, 1090 AM KAAY Little Rock 2016 Grassroots Radio Conference Keynote Address Low Key Arts Center Hot Springs, AR Saturday, October 8, 2016 Some of the Beaker Street airchecks on this blog contain Beaker Theater episodes. Beaker Street was revived years later with Clifford as the host and was broadcast Sunday nights on Magic 105 FM, then KKPT 94.1 FM; it ceased broadcast at midnight on February 6, 2011 but was revived again in 2020, being broadcast on the Arkansas Rocks network of classic rock stations. Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford was the first underground music program broadcast regularly on a commercial AM radiostation in the central US. Still, I missed the unique Beaker Street format. Beaker Street, Clyde Clifford’s pioneering late-night radio show, is back on the air this Friday night. The last song of the new Beaker Street was, appropriately, the last song from KAAY, "The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell. KAAY’s current format is Christian talk radio and contemporary Christian music. Beaker Theater came from George J.Jenning's collection of old time radio shows. Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford was the first underground music program broadcast regularly on a commercial AM radio station in the central US. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Beaker Street with Clyde Clifford is one of the three radio programs usually cited as the "first" free-form underground type radio program. Clifford left Beaker Street and KAAY in 1974. His radio program Beaker Street liberated radio from the rules of commercial broadcasting and opened the doors to spontaneity and experimentation on air. In early 1967 Beaker Street was a staple for adherents to the burgeoning underground communities in the upper Mid-West especially in Des Moines, Iowa, where it was the only access to Dr. Demento and Firesign Theatre. "Beaker Street Memories A few reminiscences. The station's signal carried far and wide. KAAY's late-night "footprint" gained fans as far west as Wyoming and Montana, north to the Dakotas and Manitoba and south as far as New Orleans and into Florida. And while the big city rockers like WLS and WCFL provided no shortage of great listening, I was an active DX-er and was fascinated by that exotic station from Little Rock that … Beaker Street (a name making reference to acid (as in acid rock) being made in a beaker) was the most innovative and eclectic program on the air, giving listeners a preview of the AOR (album oriented rock) and classic rock formats that would become a mainstay of FM radio over coming decades. On May 15, the first show of the new Beaker Street aired, and the show has gotten more and more support as the weeks have passed. In the late 1970s, music sung in English was restricted by the Communist Government. This background is still in use today as a trademark of Beaker Street, although the need to mask transmitter sounds ended when the show left KAAY. Among the more memorable details of this radio program were the interludes of eerie sound effects and a background of space music between songs. The purpose of this study is to examine the Beaker Street program on Little Rock's KAAY AM-1090. [citation needed] Beaker Street began on Little Rock, Arkansas 50,000 watt AM radio station KAAY late in 1966 and ran through 1972. Browse all Children's radio shows, podcasts and mixes in BBC Sounds. Beaker Street began on KAAY late in 1966 and ran through the mid-1970's. What I needed to match up was the ominous swirling orchestration being used as the base of the production. Some of the Beaker Street airchecks on this blog contain Beaker Theater episodes. (Dale, correct me if I have any of this wrong). At the conclusion of this melancholy and somewhat emotional program, believed by many listeners to be the last Beaker Street, the final song played by Clifford was 'The Circle Game' by Joni Mitchell. Don't Miss Out - … For the Boomers however, this tee may cause you to fetch out your old moccasins, low rise bell bottoms. In early 1967 Beaker Street was a staple for adherents to the burgeoning underground communities in the upper Mid-West especially in Des Moines, Iowa, where it was the only access to Dr. Demento and … There's quite a bit of static and it's nearly inaudible in some spots, but that just adds to the mystery, doesn't it? He hosted a one hour version of his program Beaker Street, which aired progressive rock. Documenting the set lists of legendary radio program "Beaker Street", Listen to Kenneth Hawkins’ recordings of this show, 36th show of the Arkansas Rocks Radio Network Era, Check out: Arkansas Record and CD Exchange Rock City Outfitters (Beaker Street Merch) and, when in Little Rock, check out Hillcrest Family Clinic, 1. His name is Ray. Headstone co-founder Tom Tatman characterized Beaker Street as "the ultimate Midwestern underground radio program of the day." Smoking and drinking with beaker street playing on the am radio. During the 1960s in the United States, AM radio stations began broadcasting an underground format. Clyde W. Clifford was the comptroller general of LIN Broadcasting. George also provided the material for "The Breakfast Serial". KAAY, Little Rock, Radio, Beaker Street, Aircheck. Another rarely heard recording played on Beaker Street was the Jaime Brockett cover of an old Leadbelly song, which he called "The Legend of the U.S.S. [1] Beaker Street attracted a legion of fans across the Midwest with its pioneering format, which featured long album cuts from rock artists who otherwise would not get commercial radio airplay outside of large cities with freeform or progressive rock stations.