Rock Radio Scrapbook

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Talent: GEORGE "HOUND DOG" LORENZ
Station: WKBW Buffalo, N.Y.
Date: May, 1958
Time: 3:29 (Upgraded 1-3-12)

Nineteen-fifty-eight marked the beginning of one historic era at WKBW and the end of another.

On July 4, 1958 - as rock 'n' roll continued to sweep the world - WKBW went to a full-time Top 40 format. While WKBW had played rock 'n' roll before, it had not done so on a 24-hour basis. (To compare before and after lineups, click here.)

The beginning of WKBW as a Top 40 station marked the end of the legendary George "Hound Dog" Lorenz's involvement with the station. He had joined 'KB in 1955 and shook things up with a rock 'n' roll show in the evening and his "Hound Dog Hit Parade" on Saturday mornings. Not everyone liked his act - church bulletins railed against him - but the Hound just kept right on rockin'. His son Frank - quoted in Wes Smith's excellent book "Pied Pipers of Rock 'N' Roll" - says of his father "he felt very strongly about the music and black artists in particular. He fought hard to keep their music on the radio."

Lorenz did not wish to work within the confines of Top 40 radio so he left WKBW before the switch. He went on to found WBLK-FM - one of the first black music stations on FM - before passing away in 1972 at the age of 52.

Enjoy Hound Dog Lorenz from May, 1958 here.

(The Dan Haber Collection)

AUDIO ENHANCEMENT by Andy Rebscher

More 1958 airchecks here!

RETURN TO ROCK RADIO SCRAPBOOK