I will do my best to convert some of my thoughts on the death of Bill Berlin to words, but I am not sure how good a job I will do.

I was hired to replace Captain Midnight at WKDA in February of 1964 after he was fired for leaving the station to eat and drink coffee during his shift. I grew up listening to the station, and it was hard to believe I was actually going to be a "Good Guy." The radio wars in those days between KDA and WMAK were legendary, and as a teenager one usually chose one station or the other as a favorite. I had chosen KDA several years earlier, so it was quite a thrill to actually work there, especially since I was only 19 and a student at Vanderbilt at the time.

Bill Berlin was working the shift before me, from 7pm-12 midnight. He was only 18, and had been dubbed the "Wild Child" because he was so young. Only now can I fully appreciate what he was being called upon to do back then: just out of high school, virtually no real experience, and having to replace Audie Ashworth, one of the most popular nighttime Nashville radio personalities ever. And doing nights, reaching out for teens, when he was still one himself. What a task he was given. But he came through with flying colors, building a large and loyal audience of people who absolutely loved him.

I would come in about 11:30 to begin my show prep, and he had already been going for 4 1/2 hours by then. But his energy level was so high, you would think he was still in his first hour. There would be stacks of audio carts everywhere. All of the music was carted, and Bill had every 'bit' he used on a separate cart. Sound effects, women's voices, cartoon characters, stingers---plus our PAMS jingles...I don't know how he kept up with them. But he did.

Bill was constantly moving, never still. And always smiling, always in a good mood. He was fun to be around, and he made it fun, and easy, for me to come to work there. Once in a while we would play tricks on each other, change the labels on carts with the bits on them, make new, strange carts and put the wrong labels on them, so instead of playing a screeching cat effect he would hear a dog bark or a person burp. Mostly, he did it to me, and I did it to Don Bowman, who came on at 6:00 am when I went off. That way Bill could hear what he had done to me, and when I left in the morning, on my way home to shower and dress for an 8:00 class at Vandy, I would hear what I had done to set up Don Bowman.

Bill was also a whiz at the technical aspect of production. Like Chris Romer, he could perform magic with a tape, splicer and razor blade. Stacking voices, using lots of music and effects, he really was good at it. I left WKDA the next year to become Program Director at WDXN in Clarksville, but worked with Bill again when I became Sales Manager at WBYQ-FM (92Q) in 1977. I remember still being in Hendersonville (before we moved to Division Street in Nashville), watching Bill do production, in August of '77 when word came across the news wire that Elvis had died. We were all in the room together, unable to grasp what we were reading and hearing.

When we put the Portland station back on the air in the fall of 2004, someone told me that Bill was living there. I called his house and talked to his wife, but he wasn't home. I called every five or six months for the past three years, but never caught him there. I now understand that he was in very bad shape, and just wasn't up to renewing an acquaintance. I wish I had been able to talk to him, because I was going to tell him that if there was anything at all he wanted to do with the station...for fun or for money...all he had to do was tell me. I thought if he really felt bad, but wanted to bring back a little of the old joy of radio, we could do it together. But it was not to be, and I truly regret it. I understand he was not well for the past four years, but I really thought a little radio would help make him feel better.

I will miss Bill. He was an important part of Nashville radio in the 60's and 70's. If we ever create a "Nashville Radio Hall of Fame," Bill deserves to be one of the first to be voted in.

Lee Dorman