Remembering A Charlotte TV-Radio Pioneer
When I was 8 years old, I first saw “Kilgo’s Kanteen” on Channel 9 on a Saturday afternoon because my older cousin was scheduled to be on and we just had to gather round to see a family member on television. That was BIG in 1962. The host of “Kilgo’s Kanteen”, Jimmy Kilgo passed yesterday at 87. He was often referred to as the “Dick Clark” of Charlotte.
Watching my cousin dance on “Kilgo’s Kanteen”, That may have been when my love affair with music began. Jimmy Kilgo on “Kilgo’s Kanteen” ran every Saturday until 1970. The next time I heard of Jimmy Kilgo he was now on my favorite radio station, 61 Big Ways in the mid 1970’s. After that, he was gone from public life, but his impression was made on many. Jimmy Kilgo had been in radio before I first saw him on television, so in his career, it was Radio-TV-Radio.
What I didn’t know at the time, was that later in my career, I would have two intersections with Jimmy Kilgo’s legacy. First I would get to know his son, John Kilgo who followed his father’s footsteps into radio. A few years later in the early 80’s when Charlotte TV revived the concept of a local dance show, where area high school kids could come and dance to pop tunes and then watch themselves on TV every Saturday, I auditioned and won the role of host. In a sense, I got to be the “Jimmy Kilgo” of the 80’s. My show lasted 3 years. Jimmy Kilgo’s show lasted 13. My condolences to his son John, his family, friends and fans. Jimmy…You did it with style and class and “way cool” jackets.
Below is what Broadcast equipment looked like circa 1969
Brian Hodgson tunes the audio generators at the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop, Maida Vale, London, 22nd March 1969. The workshop provides incidental music and special sounds for radio and television programmes. (Photo by Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images)
