WFEE
WFEE: Fee Hall Radio (..and then some)
WFEE began in 1967 in the corner of a storage room in the basement of West Fee Hall. By 1968, the station had taken over the entire room (which was about 300 square feet total). In the summer of 1969 a wall – with a large, double-pained window – was built dividing the room into the studio and the reception/office area. In the fall of 1969 soundproofing tiles were glued to the walls.
WFEE, broadcasting on 820khz, had a Sparta board, which was actually designed for remote broadcasts. The control panel was flanked by two turntables, one on each end. WFEE acquired its first cart machine, a rebuilt clunker with no discernible brand name, at the end of 1969. The mic was on a table stand until the spring of 1970 when a boom stand was attached to the wall. Until the spring of 1970, WFEE had a studio phone (353-9259) that actually rang. (You can hear the phone ringing in the background of old WFEE airchecks.) Although WFEE was sanctioned to broadcast to Fee Hall only, it “somehow” leaked to Hubbard and Akers, thus covering all of east campus. WFEE operated independently of the Michigan State Network until the spring of 1970, when it joined the other five campus stations as an official part of MSN.
The 1969-1970 year may have been WFEE’s glory days, as numerous future professional broadcasters started on WFEE that year. Among them were Joe Kylman, Al Pinter, Don Cohen, Steve Rinaldi, Dick Ott, Gary Ozanich, Mark Lurain, Chuck Baird, Jan Urban, and Skip Bearance.
Perhaps the best known of the WFEE (and later WMSN) air staff was the infamous Wildman (Bill Barron). Wildman – who was doing a Howard Stern-type show long before Stern had a clue – went from midnight to 2am four nights a week. Although Wildman’s entire act was racy at the time (come to think of it . . . it would still be racy today), he never actually said any naughty words on the air. His clever euphastimic terms were a lot funnier than the the real words anyway. WFEE even broadcast Wildman’s band – The Wild Spermer Group and Spunk Drop Band – in a live concert from the Fee Hall grill in 1970.
When Dick Ott became station manager of WMSN in the fall of 1971, he brought over many of the old WFEE jocks, including most of those mentioned above. In 1973, when MSU decided that Fee Hall would be converted from a dormitory to medical offices, WFEE died. Most of the equipment, including the Sparta board, was transferred to WMSN. What started as a 300-square foot storage room, then became the epicenter of east campus fun and excitement for a few short years, once again became a storage room.
Editor’s Note: Dick Ott contributed this remembrance of WFEE. His wide ranging experience in broadcasting lead to a successful career as a motivational speaker. Better known today as “Rick” Ott, he an author of several books and a popular cassette program. Visit his website at www.RickOtt.com. Read the MSUCR interview with Rick Ott.
