WKRP in London (Flashback)

How could The Big Show on London’s 98.1 possibly have taken place fourteen years ago? It seems like five, but I’ve already been out of full-time radio for seven years so the math is correct. The death of Loni Anderson on the weekend brought radio back to the top of many minds. She was a huge part of the iconic WKRP juggernaut of the 1970s that influenced so many of our lives. I thought it was fitting to rerun this post from 2014 that explains how radio can also be embarrassing. Please enjoy this reposted post from March 2014.

The famous “turkey drop” episode of WKRP in Cincinnati is part of the consciousness of broadcasters. “As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!”  Those words have left the lips of most announcers, either to mock a situation or just to remember the classic TV moment.

The last time I felt that sudden blush of crimson over a radio station incident was in the late 1980s. I had been coerced into appearing at a shopping mall dressed as Gumby for Halloween. But as of last week, I have a more recent experience. The Big Show spoke those words from WKRP outside of a funeral home.  Allow me to explain.

Taking the Show on the Road

When a company invites us to come by on the Big Show Tailgate Tour, we pull up in two logo-heavy Free-FM vehicles. We step out wearing our matching, bright green, Free-FM football jerseys, hauling two ballot boxes and two large cut-outs. One is a football player, the other, a sexy referee. They’re missing their heads so our friends at the company can pose behind them for photos. It’s especially funny when a man poses as the female ref and a woman becomes the player. Derek and Blair both have microphones plugged into their iPhones to gather audio for the next day’s show. Our promotions person and I hand out reminder cards for a special contest we play just for the workers. Everyone fills out ballots for contests and it’s a whole lot of chaos and fun, followed by a free pizza and pop lunch from Pizza Hut.

We get hundreds of requests for our tailgates and we absolutely love meeting the people who listen to our radio station.

Last week, our list of daily visits included a funeral home/cemetery.  Off we went in our little green parade. As we pulled up to the place we noticed the parking lot was overflowing. It seemed like there might be a funeral in progress. Didn’t they know their own schedule? Why would they invite us on the day of a funeral?

Hiding in Plain Sight

We parked in front of the building and got out, but decided we had better send our promo person Jess inside to see what was going on before we lugged everything in. Just as we convened at the back of the truck, a woman ran out of the building in tears. Her husband followed, consoling her. Oh it was a funeral alright. And there we were, in plain view, the wacky fun crew from the radio station in matching shirts and louder than loud vehicles.

Sad people dressed in black started to trickle past us, some weeping. Jess came back outside quite freaked out.  Not only was it a funeral, her mother was inside because the deceased was one of her coworkers.  When Jess asked for our contact, he was called away from consoling the grieving family, and he was not impressed.

It Gets Worse!

So picture us, in our greenery, trying to make ourselves invisible as we slunk into our vehicles and pulled over to less obvious spots.  Then it hit us – oh no!  Pizza is coming. We couldn’t let the pizza guy pull up and make things even worse. We made frantic calls. It turned out that we were supposed to be there, onlyone week later. Humiliating?  Yes, beyond belief. We felt terrible for being a bit of a spectacle at such a sombre occasion. The pizza had gone to that day’s correct business. When we arrived there twenty minutes later (and forty-five minutes late!) we were warmly welcomed and had a lovely time. We didn’t breathe a word about the debacle we had just been through.

A mistake was made, and sincere apologies offered and accepted. Things happen. Back at the radio station they thought it was the funniest thing ever because there could not have been a worse possible location to go to on the wrong day. We visit insurance companies, government offices, printing shops, car dealers, factories etc.. But the one day it gets mixed up, of course we land at a funeral.

The good news is they still want us to come back on the agreed-upon day, and they’re looking forward to it.  We’ll be telling this story for the rest of our careers. We thought turkeys could fly.