Jim Krenn

Jimmy Krenn

Pittsburgh jock Jimmy Krenn was an institution in local drive time radio as the co-host of the top-rated WDVE-FM morning show. His comedy bits made the approaching work day a little easier to face, and after 24 years behind the mic, Krenn was as recognizable as any DJ in the region.

Raised in the Strip, behind what's now the Heinz History Center, Krenn went to North Catholic where he naturally excelled as class comedian, funny enough that even his teachers appreciated his sass.

Prepping at CCAC and then graduating from IUP in 1983, Krenn traveled the local comedy club circuit through his college years, eventually becoming a featured act on the stages of The Portfolio and The Funny Bone, which he parlayed into a spot on WDVE.

After joining the 'DVE Morning Show in 1988, the duo of Krenn and Scott Paulsen topped the age 25 to 54 drive-time demographics through the nineties with their mix of music, skits and impressions. After Paulsen’s departure in 1999, Randy Baumann picked up the slack and the zaniness and laughs kept comin'.

In fact, Krenn was selected as the Top Entertainer in the City several times by Pittsburgh Magazine. And in 2009, Pittsburgh’s Mayor Luke Ravenstahl declared February 22nd as “Jim Krenn Day.”

Then he vanished from the airwaves in December, and his name disappeared from the station's website. Krenn was yanked from his show, and WDVE offered him a different role as a sort of ambassador without portfolio, contributing on-line material and working promotions. But they made it clear that his on-air days were through. Krenn didn't go for it, and Clear Channel released him from his contract at the end of February.

“I was baffled,” said Krenn. “I have to be the first radio personality to hit his 25 to 54 ratings bonus for being number one and let go in the same week.” No explanation was offered, and none was needed. Clear Channel had a plan, and Krenn wasn't part of it any longer.

Paulsen and local stand-up comedian Bill Crawford joined the remaining morning team of Baumann, Val Porter and Mike Prisuta in January, so the circle remained unbroken. That also belied the rumor of wholesale change to attract younger listeners. WDVE stuck to the old tried-and-true formula when it replaced Krenn.

There were some negative fan reactions - a web site and Facebook page popped up decrying the decision, and Pittsburgh cowboy crooner Slim Forsythe penned "One Bird They Won't Set Free Is Jim Krenn."

But it had no affect, and the truth is that the show will probably roll along just as strong as ever with Paulsen and Baumann, who are plenty familiar to the 'DVE morning audience. The fan base seemed more dazed and confused than outraged over the change.

Freed from his contractual gag order, Krenn held a press conference this week where he said all the right things and announced his future plans.

He's ready to expand his brand. Krenn would like to catch another morning gig in the Pittsburgh market (he has no desire to relocate), but with the time to branch off into pet projects - a return to live comedy and web podcasts/vids, like his on-line 'DVE series "Jim Krenn Raw." His first post-'DVE performance will be on the comedy circuit.

The stand-up comic (he's performed with Jay Leno, Howie Mandel, Dennis Miller, Jerry Seinfeld, Richard Lewis, Gilbert Gottfried and Tim Allen) will headline "Jim Krenn aLIVE" May 26th at 8 p.m. at the Byham Theater, billed as "a toast to Pittsburgh and its people featuring a collection of friends and guest performers."

Tickets for the show are $32.50, $35.50 and $52.50 The top-end VIP tickets include a two-hour post-show party and meet-and-greet at the Bossa Nova club in the Strip. Part of the pot will go to Animal Friends and other charities.

Krenn and his wife Hedy are frequent participants in Pittsburgh area charities. In 2009, he received the Life Achievement Award ("The Golden Hydrant") from Animal Friends. In fact, his "Ralph the Cat" radio character was based on a pet kitty adopted from Animal Friends. He and Hedy have a houseful of dogs and cats roaming their Greentree home, all taken from area shelters.

The Pittsburgh personality has also been an advocate for Children’s Hospital and the Epilepsy Foundation while raising $1.2 million for those groups and others that include the Toys for Tots program, the Multiple Sclerosis Service Society, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation via fundraising events and the sales of 'DVE Morning Show comedy CDs.

We wish the 52 year old Krenn the best of luck in realizing his dreams. Switching stations isn't an easy thing to pull off, and he'll be competing against his own schtick on WDVE. There's not much of a track record for successfully swapping stations in Pittsburgh, although the original 'DVE comedy man, Jimmy Roach, was axed by the station in 1986, and after stops at Magic 97 and WDSY found a gig with Froggy in 1998 that's still running strong.

Jimmy Krenn has a lot of irons in the fire (he also has a marketing degree from IUP as an ace up his sleeve), a good name and a lot of friends in the City. It will be interesting to see what direction his upcoming journey takes. One thing we'll bet on is that he lands on his feet, just as Ralph did so often.

the groovy qv

Image from Jeff Roteman's KQV Page

KQV was one of Pittsburgh's five original AM stations (with KDKA, WCAE, WJAS, & WWSW), signing on as amateur station 8ZAE on November 19, 1919, the love child of ham operators and engineers Francis Potts and Richard Johnstone.

It actually beat KDKA to the airwaves by three years, but KD was granted the nation's first commercially licensed station in 1920 and with it, the title of nation's oldest radio station. In January 1921 8ZAE became KQV, which stood for King of the Quaker Valley. On January 9, 1922, the feds granted KQV its' own commercial license.

Only three other radio stations east of the Mississippi have a call sign starting with K. Besides KDKA, there's KYW in Philadelphia and KFIZ in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. KQV is the only one of the group that's not hooked up with a TV station.

KQV kept creeping up the AM dial as the years went by. The first license was for 833 AM. KQV grew to 500 watts and in 1925 switched frequency to 1090 AM. Two years later it moved to 1110 AM. In 1928 it moved to 1380 AM, and then finally to the current dial position of 1410 AM in 1941. We think that one might be a keeper.

KQV was among the first to broadcast Pittsburgh Pirate baseball games, even though cross-town rival WWSW had an exclusive contract to broadcast Pirate home games and KDKA had the rights to the away games. That little legal hurdle didn't stop it.

KQV pirated the Pirates. KQV rented space in a building overlooking Forbes Field, and spotters relayed the action to the studio where an announcer gave the play by play. Alas, the broadcasts didn't last very long. The team put up a tarp to block KQV’s vantage point.

In 1938 it was sued in Federal Court for broadcasting play-by-play accounts of Pirate games without the expressed written consent of the Pittsburgh Athletic Company (you knew there had to be a reason that announcers still mouth that phrase during every game.)

The judge ruled baseball games were subject to copyright law and threw out the stations’ argument that the game was a bona fide news event worthy of live coverage. But it was a nice try, and KQV is still heavy into sports.

In 1945 KQV was sold to Allegheny Broadcasting for $575,000. The network affiliation switched to the Mutual Broadcasting System, and KQV became Pittsburgh’s “Live and Lively” station.

Pirate’s Hall of Famer Pie Traynor was KQV’s sports director. Dave Scott was a one man act, doing soap operas, talk shows, man-in-the street interviews, a trading post program, and as Uncle Dave, a morning kid’s program.

In August of 1957 ABC bought the station from Allegheny Broadcasting for $700,000. KQV would become ABC's and Pittsburgh’s first Top 40 station. It debuted its new pop format on January 13, 1958.

KQV became a monster of a top 40 station during the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, flourishing as an ABC affiliate. It went by the catchphrases "Colorful KQV," "Audio 14," "Groovy QV," and "The Big 14" over the years.

Dave Scott successfully made the transition to Top 40 jock. As one of the “Fun Loving Five plus One” he worked with DJs such as Rod Roddy, Fred Winston, Chuck Brinkman, Gary Gears, Dex Allen, Hal Murray, Steve Rizen, Jim Quinn, and Jeff Christie (you may recognize him by his given name of Rush Limbaugh.) A pretty fair crew of platter pushers, hey?

And what middle aged 'Burgher doesn't recall the KQV studios at the downtown Chamber of Commerce Building, "on the corner of Walk and Don't Walk," where the DJ's would spin their wax behind a large street level window as bypassers gawked?

The station was a major force in breaking new music and introducing Pittsburgh to artists like Sonny & Cher, the Rolling Stones, the Supremes, the Beach Boys, and the Dave Clark Five in the 1960s.

The station also welcomed the Beatles to Pittsburgh on September 14, 1964. With the group at the height of its popularity, KQV and KDKA heavily promoted the upcoming concert, with each claiming to be “the Official Beatles Station.”

It was a no holds barred Beatlemania rating war. Chuck Brinkman and Dexter Allen got a NY interview with the Beatles, beating out Clark Race, and then bumped him off the plane ride home - in the Beatle's plane!

The Beatles held a pre-show news conference that their management said could not be covered live as there were no phone lines on site. So KQV applied for an emergency phone license to cover a “Beatle infestation.” KQV aired the news conference live as everyone else raced to their studio with their tapes.

When thousands of screaming fans streamed into the Civic Arena for the concert they saw “KQV Audio 14” banners above the stage and on the scoreboard. When it was time for the Fab Four to take the stage, Chuck Brinkman strolled to the mike and proudly said “KQV presents the Beatles.” KDKA's Clark Race never forgave Brinkman for beating him to the punch and groused about one upped on the air for quite a spell.

But KQV slowly began to decline after 1970 with the rise of FM radio, including its sister station WDVE, then known as KQV-FM. After a year or two of simulcasting, KQV-FM broadcast the pre-taped ABC “Love” format. Live local FM programming followed a year later.

The FM call letters were changed to WDVE in 1971. Why? Allen Shaw, Vice President of ABC's FM stations decided during the hippie era that "DVE" would conjure the image of the countercultures favorite icon, the dove of peace. You expected something heavy? Today it's Pittsburgh's top-rated station, pumping out classic rock, and long since split from its' parent station.

KQV was sold by ABC Radio to Taft Broadcasting in 1974. On October 15th, 1975, the station switched to its' all-news format, carrying NBC Radio's 24-hour News and Information Service. Even though NBC inexplicably canceled the service two years later, KQV remained "all news, all the time" and has now outlasted its Top 40 era.

In 1982, Taft execs told General Manager Robert Dickey that it planned to dump the station. Dickey sweet talked quadzillionnaire publisher Richard Mellon Scaife into helping him save the station. They formed Calvary, Inc. and purchased KQV for just under $2M. Calvary still owns the station, 30-some years later and is still going strong.

Besides its' news and public affairs programs, the station airs a number of sporting events, including NFL football, Notre Dame football, and Duquesne basketball in addition to some live high school sports. On the evenings and weekends they run old classic radio series to fill the air time.

But for a couple of golden decades, KQV had the ear of every teen in town.

(KQV has a zillion fans and some great pages - the best is Jeff Roteman's KQV Web Site. Another good history piece is on the KQV History Site. I used them both shamelessly in researching this post, along with Wikipedia.)