[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 50 (Monday, May 2, 1994)] [Senate] [Page S] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov] [Congressional Record: May 2, 1994] From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] TRIBUTE TO BILL BAILEY--KENTUCKY RADIO LEGEND RETIRES AFTER 40 YEARSMr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a Louisville and Kentucky legend. Bill Bailey, a radio personality for over 40 years, has decided to move on, retiring from his job at radio station WVLK in Lexington. Wednesday, April 20 was his last day on the air after entertaining generations of Kentuckians. Bill Bailey got his start in North Carolina as a teenager. From there he worked in several States, including Alaska, before finally coming to Louisville in 1965. Long before America had heard of shock jocks, Bill Bailey was pushing the limits on his shows. He was one of the first deejays to question what was considered to be normal. He spoofed local officials and politicians, earning him such descriptions as irreverent and brazen. In fact, in his early years his sometimes controversial sense of humor tended to scare some radio station program directors. Bill Bailey's abrasive reputation did not preclude him from holding down the same time slot at Louisville's WAKY throughout the 1960's and 1970's. In fact, generations of Louisvillians, including myself, remember driving in to work and having difficulty seeing the traffic through the tears in our eyes caused by the laughter Bill Bailey's commentaries often provoked. After 40 years of dedicated service to the profession he loves, Bill Bailey has decided to step down. After 30 years of working in the Louisville and Lexington area, those of us from Kentucky will never be able to forget him. We will remember him and we thank him for brightening our days. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Bill Bailey a productive, happy, and healthy retirement. In addition, I ask that an article from the April 21, 1994, Lexington Herald-Leader be inserted in the Record at this time. The article follows: [From the Lexington Herald-Leader, Apr. 21, 1994.] Lexington Radio Legend Signs Off After Four Decades of Stirring Up Airwaves (By Nancy Crane) After more than four decades on the air, Bill Bailey has hung up his headphones. Bailey, the gravelly voiced afternoon disc jockey on WVLK- AM (590), spent his last day on the air yesterday playing songs and saying goodbye to his listeners--many of whom called the studio at Kincaid Towers to say they had listened to him for 20 years. ``It's nice to be remembered that way,'' said Bailey, 63. ``A lot of people think they're insulting me when they say `I listened to you when I was growing up.' But they're not.'' Bailey is a legend among some Kentuckians. People in their 30s, 40s and 50s remember Bailey as the ``Duke of Louisville,'' an unpredictable and opinionated morning disc jockey who played rock 'n' roll on the now-defunct WAKY in the 1960s and 1970s. ``When I was a kid I used to listen to him,'' said Harold Browning, 48, an account executive at WVLK, where Bailey has worked since 1989. ``To end up working at the same radio station with him is a dream come true.'' Bailey started in radio as a teenager in North Carolina playing old 78s. His career took him to at least a dozen radio stations across the country--including one in Alaska-- before he landed in Louisville in 1965. Bailey's brash style--he once called police uniforms ``pigskins''--attracted a large audience. ``He was the first one to push around politicians and make public officials shiver in their boots,'' said Terry Meiners, afternoon disc jockey on WHAS-AM (840) in Louisville, who hung around the WAKY studios as a youngster to watch Bailey work. ``Program directors were scared of Bill,'' said Johnny Randolph, Bailey's former boss at WAKY. ``He borders on the edge . . . that scares them.'' Bailey is just as irreverent in his personal life. He has been married six times and claims he can't remember the name of his second wife. ``A couple of those marriages were annulled. I was young,'' he said. But Bailey is devoted to his four grown children--a son and three daughters--who live in Louisville. He said he will move there to be closer to them. He also plans to spend a lot of time painting. ``I do have a love for painting pictures. I do landscapes, and I like oils. And I'll be happy to devote some time to that,'' Bailey said. In addition to his age, Bailey says his health is a reason for his retirement. ``I have emphysema, and I am a smoker. And I suffer from hypertension . . . I certainly don't want to drop dead from a stroke on the air.'' Although Bailey has no regrets about his decision to leave radio, he will miss it. ``It'll feel funny not getting up and going to the microphone every day. I've done it since I was 16.'' WVLK program director Robert Lindsey says it won't be easy to replace Bailey. ``You don't really replace somebody like that,'' Lindsey said. ``You find someone that can do the job. You're never going to find anyone who's going to be a Bill Bailey. He's unique.'' While Lindsey looks for a new afternoon personality, part- timer Joe Thomas will fill the 2 p.m.-to-6 p.m. slot. Bill Bailey not only raised a couple of generations of Kentuckians on rock `n' roll, he influenced other disc jockeys. Here's what some of them said: Terry Meiners, afternoon disc jockey on WHAS-AM (840), Louisville: ``I pretended to be him when I was a little kid. My brothers would laugh at me. Before school, I would play 45s on our little RCA record player and I would say `I'm Bill Bailey, and I've spilled coffee all over my pants.''' Gary Burbank, afternoon disc jockey on WLW-AM (700), Cincinnati, voice of the syndicated ``Earl Pitt's America'' and former Bailey colleague at WAKY: ``Earl Pitts was heavily influenced by Bill Bailey. Earl is funny and witty, and you catch yourself agreeing with him, and then you smack yourself in the face and say this can't be right. Bailey is that way. Bill Bailey is the father of Earl Pitts, and I do want child support.'' Jack Pattie, morning personality, WVLK-AM (590), Lexington: ``I listened to him in high school. . . . He's the greatest communicator I ever heard. He has the best handle on the language I ever heard. He just knew how to talk to people.'' ____________________