Left of the Dial, Right on the Music: 50 Years of Georgia State FM Radio
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University History Theses Department of History 12-14-2021 Left of the Dial, Right on the Music: 50 Years of Georgia State FM Radio Andreas Preuss Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_theses Recommended Citation Preuss, Andreas, "Left of the Dial, Right on the Music: 50 Years of Georgia State FM Radio." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2021. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_theses/134 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Left of the Dial, Right on the Music: 50 Years of Georgia State FM Radio by Andreas Preuss Under the Direction of Joseph Perry, Ph.D. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2021 ABSTRACT This study places the Georgia State radio station within the historical context of Atlanta cultural production, career development, and as a voice of the GSU student. Race, gender, and economic factors sparked the necessary tension for the station to adjust alongside the ever- changing trends of popular music and the media industry. WRAS/Album 88 started broadcasting from campus at 88.5 on the FM dial in January 1971. Georgia State students played music that spoke to their generation, music that was at first rejected by commercial broadcasters, then appropriated for profit. The station soon became a player in the Atlanta radio market. Throughout its history, the competition between WRAS, commercial, and public broadcasters was a point of contention, as well as the push and pull of the audience. The campus station speaks to the larger picture of American college radio impact and experience as a unique yet under studied field. INDEX WORDS: WRAS, Album 88, Radio, Broadcasting, Atlanta, Georgia State Copyright by Andreas Armin Preuss 2021 Left of the Dial, Right on the Music: 50 Years of Georgia State FM Radio by Andreas Preuss Committee Chair: Joseph Perry Committee: John McMillian Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Services College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University December 2021 iv DEDICATION This paper is dedicated to the hard-working men and women of college radio, particularly WTUL in New Orleans, LA, WRVU in Nashville, TN, and WRAS/Album 88 in Atlanta, GA. Without their commitments to play music for their audience, who knows if alternative music/college rock would have survived. They did it for free. I can still hear the rambling voices during breaks announcing songs, “before that was,” “and then,” all to provide their listeners with an awareness of great music. I would then rush to the record store, buy the vinyl copy, and put it on the turntable. Thanks for the memories. My wife, Marion (Nonnie) Thompson Preuss, was also a college DJ. I think it was our connection with college radio that sparked our relationship, and for that I am forever grateful. I wish our kids, Charlotte and Lele, listened to college radio, but at least they grew up with the music. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all the WRAS/Album 88 alumni who allowed me to interview them for this project. Special thanks to alums Gail Harris and Jeff Walker. Their deep knowledge of the station set me on a course of discovery, and I am forever grateful to them for opening the doors into this fascinating world. My committee chair, Dr. Joseph Perry, stood by me as I explored the option of a digital component to this thesis. He also has a deep knowledge of the culture and the music of college radio. I also thank Drs. John McMillian, and Denise Davidson. Dr. Jeffrey Young, thank you for opening my eyes to a new path in my academic pursuits. I also thank my fellow students in the Georgia State History Department. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION............................................................................................................................. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ V LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. VIII LIST OF ABREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................... IX PREFACE ..................................................................................................................................... X INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Historiography and Context .......................................................................................... 2 1.2 Methods and Sources ...................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER ONE: COLLEGE RADIO INDUSTRY ................................................................. 8 1.3 We Were the Freaks, Not the Elites .............................................................................. 9 1.4 The Record Companies Were All Over Us ................................................................. 10 1.5 We Were Slick, But Not Slimy ..................................................................................... 12 1.6 Album 88 Was 100 Percent an Elite Radio Station .................................................... 14 1.7 They Wanted to Hear from The College Radio Bunnies ........................................... 19 1.8 College Rap Radio Ran This Town ............................................................................. 20 1.9 It’s College Radio on Steroids ...................................................................................... 24 1.10 We Didn’t Want to Lose It Completely..................................................................... 25 CHAPTER TWO: RACE AND RADIO................................................................................... 31 2.1 We Were Attacking What Had Been Established ......................................................... 31 vii 2.2 Can I Please Get My Type of Music on the Air? ........................................................... 37 2.3 The Sound of the Station Changed Dramatically ......................................................... 40 2.4 This is Just Classic Jim Crow Type Stuff ...................................................................... 42 2.5 They Thought They Were Doing the Right Thing ........................................................ 44 CHAPTER THREE: GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN COLLEGE RADIO ...................... 47 3.1 I Can Learn This, Play Music, and Sit on My Bottom ................................................. 48 3.2 The Goddess of Punk Rock in Atlanta ........................................................................... 52 3.3 We Must Have Liked What We Saw .............................................................................. 55 3.4 As a Rule, Women Don’t Listen to the Harsher Stuff .................................................. 57 3.5 It Was On A Need-To-Know Basis ................................................................................. 60 3.6 The Sexiest Voice in the World ....................................................................................... 64 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 68 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................. 74 Appendix A: Figures .............................................................................................................. 74 88.50: MUSIC AND HISTORY PROGRAMS ........................................................................ 91 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 93 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1. WPLO: Psychedelic Music Radio advertisement, 1968…………………………...9 Figure 1.2. WRAS: General Manager and Directors. 1971……………………………………11 Figure 1.3. WRAS: Stereo Odyssey logo………………………………………………………11 Figure 1.4. WRAS: Michael Garretson holds Devo album, 1979……………………………. .13 Figure 1.5. Pure Mania playlist, 1981…………………………………………………………..14 Figure 1.6. Turtles Records store advertisement, 1988…………………………………………18 Figure 1.7. Musician Elvis Costello and WRAS staff. 1983……………………………………18 Figure 1.8. CD cover. WRAS 88.5fm Presents Radio Oddyssey, 1996………………………….21 Figure 2.1. DJ Carl Heyward at WRAS, 1974………………………………………………….32 Figure 2.2. Cecily Walker with WRAS staff members, 1991…………………………………..38 Figure 2.3."Tha Bomb" rap DJs of WRAS, 1994……………………………………………….42 Figure 2.4. DJ Sara Light on the air at WRAS, 1999……………………………………………42 Figure 3.1. WRAS journalist at Carter Presidential Campaign Headquarters, 1976……………48 Figure 3.2. Photo of WRAS DJ Thom West. 1975……………………………………………...56 Figure 3.3. WRAS promotional photo shoot…………………………………………………….57 Figure 3.4. WRAS Music Director Kim Saade…………………………………………………..59 Figure 4.1. WRAS Music Director with The Boomtown Rats, 1979……………………………70 ix LIST OF ABREVIATIONS SCRIPT KEY Radio and TV scripts are always in caps for ease of reading and for teleprompter