Billboard Hot 200 Albums from 1970:
#1 Simon/Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water 
#2 Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
#3 Chicago - Chicago   
#4 Beatles - Abbey Road
#5 Santana - Santana
Early 70's
WJRB sponsored many events and diversions for the students in the 60's and 70's. Some of our most fun and popular diversions were 25¢ movies in the science building auditorium, Merry Music give-aways, Shafer Street remotes with give-aways, movie tickets to all the movie theatres that once graced Broad Street, and record give-aways. You know... we really did conduct a lot of give-aways. There were even a few events that we put on with the Concert and Dance committee. We even helped to promote some ground breaking groups that appeared near campus.  We also brought back "The Shadow" radio drama from the 30's - 50's as part of our entertainment line-up.

Working at a student radio station gave us an enormous amount of freedom which generated a never ending  level of creativity. Mike Stavrou wanted to try selling hair cuts to hippies and produced a spot on spec before Adams Barbershop was actually a client. The scene is in the backseat of a car while his "girlfriend", Barbara Partin serving as voice talent, is slowly dropping a hint that maybe his hair is just a tiny bit too long. Just a little bit of a trim... The demo commercial was pitched to Adams Barbershop who then became a client and bought time on the station.
A 1970 yearbook picture taken outside the WJRB  side entrance at the rear of 916 W. Franklin St.

Dave Ruslander is in the top of the tree. In the middle is (left to right) Gary Morgan, John Laboranti and Doug Stell. Cliff Sleeman is on the shoulders of PT Walker. And to the right of PT is Barbara Partin and Elise "Rocky" Medding.
Virginia Commonwealth University, Schafer Street, circa 1972, looking south towards the Cabell Library (one story and basement). Schafer Street Playhouse is on the left and Chalkley House (men's dorm) on the corner at Park and Schafer. truck that took leaded gas Chalkley House Boy's Dorm
VCU, Schafer Street, November 6, 2007, looking south towards the four story Cabell Library. Schafer Street was closed off to cars years ago and is now a pedestrian mall . This view shows mostly the Hibbs building on the right and Cabell Library at the end of the street. Trees that didn't provide any shade in 1970 now block out views of the nearby buildings.
South end of Schafer Street with Schafer Street Playhouse on left and the four story Cabell Library in background. Chalkley house (men's dorm)was torn down in the 70's to expand Schafer Court leaving only the facade of the dorm facing Park Ave. Later Park Ave. was closed to the west to the rear of Hibbs and the facade was removed. Schafer Street was later bricked and became a pedestrian mall.
New dining facility that recently replaced Hibbs. Standing in front of Hibbs, looking east towards what was once Chalkley House, VCU Physical Plant offices, and the Science building  where we showed 25¢ movies. This view is looking east down Park Ave/Cathedral Place towards Monroe Park from the new compass circle outside Hibbs and Cabell library.
WJRB and the ConCom (Concert Committee) cooperated on numerous concerts to provide students with interesting entertainment. Turns out little known Boz Scaggs (back then) is still recording today. Best guess on the year is based on months that had the 25th fall on a Sunday. Possible dates were February, March or November 1970 or October 1972. The price of $2.00 would make 1970 a good bet. Big Poster
Utilizing his WJRB Press Pass, Cliff Sleeman frequently covered the Richmond Hockey games at the Richmond Coliseum. Since we never broadcast from the games, all he could do is bring us the scores the next time he came by the studio, usually a day or two later.
The Village Restaurant on the corner of West Grace St. and Harrison St. (which has since moved across the street into the former Meadow Laundry location) and San Dor's Book Store  were frequent advertisers on WJRB and courted the students of VCU as well as the locals. Across the corner was the original site of St. Luke's Hospital, then a Ukrop's store and then finally became a part of the VCU campus 2008 - 2009.
Having a Press Pass was one of the best side benefits of working at the station. Access was offered to Richmond Hockey games, special events, and we could cross police lines getting close enough to even pet the police dogs.
A Commonwealth Times article that never saw the light of day was to spotlight the station and the students that made it run. This shot of the "Good Guys" was shot in front of Hababas on West Grace St. circa 1970. Doug Stell John Valentine Wendy Howard, Cliff Sleeman Debbie Beard (Freedlander) Norm Freedlander Mike Stavro 3.2 beer 3.2 beer empty beer stein

Left to Right: Doug Stell, John Valentine, Wendy Howard, Cliff Sleeman, Debbie Beard (Freedlander), Norm Freedlander. (seated) Mike Stavrou.
The "Bad Guys" were shot in the alley between the studio on Franklin St. and the Grace St. parking lot.

Little Know Fact - (The "Bad Guys" weren't really bad, but they were originally credited with using the term "bad" to mean "good" and because no one in the group thought to copyright the term, they lost it forever to James Brown when he incorporated it into his hot new song "Super Bad".)		 Peter (P.T.) Walker William T. (Mountain) Ayrer Judy Quigley Santo Barretta John Laboranti Dave Ruslander Sandra Gibbs John Jeffers John's deck shoes John's deck shoes light pole shadow brick John's walking stick Gary Morgan The New Les Smith


Left to right: Les Smith, William T. (Mountain) Ayrer, Peter (P.T.) Walker, Judy Quigley, Gary Morgan, Santo Barretta, John Laboranti, Dave Ruslander, Sandra Gibbs, John Jeffers
Doug Stell is participating in the all familiar pastime of Frisbee in Schafer Court. Stop-motion photography of the early 1970's could not stop the speed at which this Frisbee was flying. See Doug now
PT Walker during one of his shows in the new and improved WJRB on-air studio. This important studio upgrade included new turntables, new board, new mic and headsets. The cutting edge design included a new stand-up console so shows could be done standing up. This design feature kept announcers from falling asleep during their shifts and minimized the time it took to run to the music library and back. PT Walker
Les Smith and Cliff Sleeman receive an award on behalf of the station from the Air Force for assisting in recruiting efforts on campus. Clearly, Les won the hair contest that year.

Official WJRB Station Signage Special Air Force Plaque Presented to WJRB

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