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WRR 1310 AM
"Kat's Karavan" 1961
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Part 1: DJ--Jim
Lowe (7:16) (Listen)
Airdate: March 22, 1961 10:30 pm
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Part 2: DJ--Bill
Carroll (6:56) (Listen)
Airdate: March 24, 1961 11:15 pm
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Note: These historic WRR broadcasts
contain sound limitations inherent in 1960's recording technology.
Priority has been given to historical content. Recording is incomplete.
Thanks to Phil York for audio restoration. Listening requires the
free RealPlayer.
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Licensed in August of 1921, WRR is Texas' first commercial radio station. Recognizing the
station's 80 plus years of broadcasting achievement, WRR was recently honored
as a "Cornerstone Company" by the Dallas Historical
Society. In early 2003, WRR 101.1 FM will receive historical designation
from the Texas
Historical Commission, which includes the dedication of a bronze plaque
to be placed in front of the station's studio facility in Fair Park, Dallas, Texas. In celebration of these two prestigious designations,
WRR will be making available historic radio broadcasts in coming months. This
web feature is the first installment.
Mention WRR 101.1 FM's former sister station, WRR 1310 AM,
and thoughts quickly turn to "Kat's Karavan,"
a popular rhythm and blues program which aired from 1953 - 1967. With an  emphasis on local Dallas artists like The Nightcaps, as well as nationally
renowned bluesmen such as John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters, the show received
cult-like adulation from countless Texas teenage baby boomers. Today, more than three decades
after the famed program retired from the airwaves, many of those Texas teenagers, now in their 40's and 50's, frequently contact
WRR to see if archival episodes exist.
Unfortunately, no copies of Kat's Karavan have
surfaced in the station's archives--all are feared lost or destroyed. It
seemed as though fans of the legendary WRR program would have to make do with
their wonderful, faded memories. Until now.
 Two seven-minute Kat's Karavan
broadcast fragments from 1961 have recently been unearthed by private
collector Phil York, who kindly offered them to WRR. These broadcasts,
unheard for more than 40 years, are available here for your listening
enjoyment (Part 1,
Part 2).  Considering their age, these recordings have survived in
remarkable fidelity and give us a rare and tantalizing glimpse of Dallas radio in the early 1960's.
The Kat's Karavan theme, Duke
Ellington's "Night Train," kicks off the broadcast. Listening to
the late Jim Lowe's trademark laconic delivery, as well as the machismo, dry
humor of co-host Bill Carroll, it's easy to
understand the following the show had. Both men were seasoned DJ's, and their
charisma shines through in these wonderful WRR recordings. But the real star
of the show was the innovative music format Karavan
showcased. "Part 1," which began at 10:30 pm each weeknight, focused on rhythm and blues vocal groups,
while "Part 2" spotlighted electric and acoustic blues artists.
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The Nightcaps
"Thunderbird"
Recorded at WRR Radio 1959
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Thunderbird (2:26) (Listen)
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Note: The Nightcaps' LP
"Wine, Wine, Wine" was recorded at WRR's
Fair Park studio in 1959 and issued on the indie Vandan label in
1960. This recording © 1959 The Nightcaps. All
rights reserved. "Thunderbird"originally
issued as Vandan single 7491. Special thanks
to sound engineer/producer Bob Kelly. Listening requires the free RealPlayer.
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On these tapes, Lowe and Carroll plug the blues group The Nightcaps relentlessly; and the relationship between
the band and WRR deserves special mention. A Dallas group, The Nightcaps recorded their only LP at WRR's Fair Park studio in 1959. Issued on a local independent label, the
LP, titled "Wine, Wine, Wine," was a clever cross-promotional
vehicle for the Kat's Karavan show. WRR's Bill Carroll wrote the album's liner notes, and
another WRR DJ, Bob Kelly, handled the recording duties.
I recently spoke with Bob Kelly, who revealed how he produced the legendary
album by The Nightcaps: "All of these tracks were recorded at WRR
studios. I was the all-night DJ (midnight to 6am) for
WRR AM radio. So, The Nightcaps would come to the studio about 1:00 am, and Bill Carroll would watch the board for me--and I
would set up for recording. I would occasionally go back into the studio for
commercials and such. We recorded about 3 or 4 nights-- for 3 or 4 hours--and eventually got enough for an album.
It was called 'Wine, Wine, Wine' and was originally
released on the Vandan label. The Nightcaps'
recording was done on an Ampex full track--there
was no stereo except maybe at the most modern, big-time recording studios--so
it was mono at 15 ips (inches per second). I didn't
use a reverb unit of any kind because the room was so live--I just put an
extra mic on a boom high up and let the natural
acoustics of the room be the echo. I had a Telefunken
mic for the voice, and that was by far the best mic available for recording (notice it in the cover shot). Most of my other mics
for the instruments were Shure mics."
 The record went on to become a huge regional success,
containing the hit singles "Wine, Wine, Wine" and "Thunderbird" (sound clip). These
recorded sides had a huge influence on two Oak Cliff boys, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Vaughan, both of whom would
include "Thunderbird" in their set lists when they became adult
performers. The single "Thunderbird" is reported to have inspired
the name of Jimmie's band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds. In addition, the Texas rock act ZZ Top would also cover "Thunderbird"
years later. Forty-three years after the original version was recorded at WRR
radio, "Thunderbird" remains a quintessential blues standard for
any Texas band worth their salt.
The original Nightcaps/WRR LP from 1960 has been reissued
on compact disc by the Collectables label and is available here from Amazon.com. The cover photo features the band in performance on WRR's Fair Park studio soundstage. That this highly influential blues
album was recorded at the WRR studios--by WRR staff--remains a little known
fact and is but one of many examples of how the pioneering radio station is
inextricably woven in the fabric of Texas history and culture.
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