WSM 650 this evening: That was a treat.

This evening Eddy Stubbs at WSM had Merle Haggard in studio picking the records.  In between songs, they’d have a mini-interview, or discuss some personal or historical aspect of the song just played or about to play, or just talk about something country music related.  There was quite a discussion about the manners expected in the rough-and-tumble of roadside bars back last mid-century.  (If you invent order from ACME a time machine and want to go honky tonkin’ back in the 1950’s, be sure and stop off at about 11:40 CDT on 10/24/2012 in the listening area to brush up on how to act.  If I remember correctly, the three main rules were to never touch another man’s woman, beliefs, or his hat.  And be sure to park the Delorean in a discrete spot, it'd probably stick out too much around all the Fords and Chevys.)  

They also discussed the hows and whys of country music sounding better after dark on AM radio, and I concur.  If you've never tried it, especially via long-range skywave propagation, you're missing out on a big chunk of America.  WSM, being an FCC-designated clear channel station, is the only transmitter in North America licensed to operate on 650 kHz, and it pumps out a healthy 50 kilowatts day and night.  If you're east of the Rockies, you can probably step outside on any clear night and pick it up on your car's radio.

Finally, in a parting comment as the show ended just before midnight, Stubbs mentioned that tomorrow (i.e., today) would be Minnie Pearl’s 100th birthday.  That’s quite a coincidence.

A unique view of WSM’s Blaw-Knox tower, from over at the Radio-TimeTraveler blog.

p.s. 10/26/12: link to WSM's archive of the evening.