Joe Thomas 1960s

Could anyone provide information about Joe Thomas in the Providence market in the 1960s? I grew up listening to him and even saw him as an emcee of a show at URI around 1967. Did he use another name off-air? Also I remember his theme being "Las Vegas" but cannot find it anywhere.

I would really appreciate any info. Thanks.

Crumbcake

I worked with Joe Thomas at WPRO AM from 1969. I believe he left in 1971 (not his choice) Although I listened to Joe prior to working with him, I don't recall a theme song. A #1 Top 40 station wouldn't let jocks have theme songs, takes time away from playing the hits. Joe also had a TV show on (then) WPRO-TV in the mid 60's. Providence Journal did a story on him in their Sunday magazine section. Joe Thomas was his stage name. I don't think it's fair to reveal his real name. Last I heard, about 8-9 years ago, coincidently, he was in Las Vegas. He was in a wheel chair, but I don't know the reason why. Heard him, participating at the time in a call in contest On Live with Regis and Cathy Lee. Joe had a quick mind, very off the cuff delivery manner. Youu might want to check the Nevada radio board to see if anyone there can provide updated information. I too would like to know what's happened to him. I figure by now he might be around 67-68 years old. Regards, JG

I was a teenage "fan" of Joe Thomas, and yes, Las Vegas was his "theme", because he had worked in Las Vegas. I think he had a one day stint on WMEX in Boston, but didn't make it in early sixties. His copy of Las Vegas was a hard to get promo copy on Kapp by Vic Schone's orchestra, and I told him I had a fresh copy not worn out, and he asked me to bring it in for him to use. That's the last I ever saw of that particular 45! I thought he was very compelling, funny, and had great taste in music. I listened to him on WPAW, WXTR (same station at 550) and remember he went to WICE, and then WPRO, which cramped his style immensely. He was the "Wolfman Jack" of Rhode Island when he was on 550. All the kids listening to him, because he played the hippest and newest records, plus the best oldies. Top 40 at WPRO didn't suit him, and he couldn't be as loose and fun as he was on the smaller station. I visited him at WHIM studios when he was on 1110, (where I gave him my copy of Las Vegas) and found him to be very friendly and congenial. He was one of those jocks who really gave of himself on the air....the antithisis of a "card reader" found on radio stations today.

Thanks to JG and abcparamount for your timely replies to my query about Joe Thomas. Just reading the info you provided brought me back to what I consider the golden age for jocks and for music. There was a sense of excitement then that I think is definitely missing today.

Crumbcake

If I recall correctly, Joe Thomas came to WPRO and worked evenings and was a big hit with the teenage audience, but somewhere around 69 or so, was moved to middays to replace Charlie Jefferds who had left for WNEW in New York. My opinion is that Joe just never seemed to fit the folksy, housewife type shift like Jefferds had and I believe that is what led to his eventual replacement.

Joe wasn't as folksy as Charlie (but who is?), but his replacement with a new GM, had a lot more to do with saving money, than being folksy. In fact his replacement was from WSVP, who ripped off the Drake format, was anything but folksy. JG

Joe was something of a prodigy and certainly a legend. I'd love to see his broadcasting CV, I don't think he had any previous background prior to WPRO but I'm not sure about that. I don't remember the L.Vegas theme, but I do the James Brown personalized into he used a lot.

He went from a Steve Allen look--with the glasses--to a something considerably different(contacts,dry look) when he was filling in for Mike Ivers at WJAR sometime in the '70's. I remember he and Chris Clark talking about their WPRO days. Have heard lots of things about him but he was always very ellusive. A very compelling talent and if I could hear anyone again from this market's past, it would be Joe.

* The post that wanted to know his last name, I believe it was slavic, with a 'enko' ending.

I had a brief opportunity to work with Joe Thomas back in the 80's at the then-WICE AM Stereo 550, in the old WGNG building on John Street in Cumberland. He was always very nice to talk to, and I realized that he was a living legend in RI radio (even back then).

hey everyone i was elated to see this thread.
not only did it explain some of the info i was looking for but also people who worked in the station im inquiring about.
i recently purchased a vintage champ fedora it is in pristine condition.
however the hat pins on champ hats are the real secret.
this hat pin reads "WXTR 550" and its written in a microphone. the hat box it came in is from macys which would only go to reason because wxtr was in providence.
i believe champ made custom hats and pins for special orders.
whould anyone know about this hat who it belonged to etc
it is dark green with a pastel orange feather and a beautiful orange silk liner hat size is 6 7/8.
like i said if it was worn at all it wasnt more than a handful of times worn it is imaculate.
i purchased it on ebay from a seller in star junction PA.


any information would be greatly appreciated.
at any rate it is a is a bit of history from a radio staion in providence and that is cool.

wxtr (demand radio) is the old WGNG. Macy's hat box has nothing to do with it, as Macy's was not in Providence in those days. Or, Boston at that time. Macy's came to Providence with the opening of Providence Place Mall in early 2000. Since the hat size was a 6 7/8, seems to be too small for a jock, must have been radio salesman..

Good one Jimmy! I was thinking a general manager when I read it. Having moved to MA in 1980, I wasn't aware that Joe was still around on Providence radio in the 80's. I thought he was in Vegas then. I also remember him doing some weekend work at WPRO long after he had left full time there. I don't remember exactly when it was, but I recall him on one Saturday afternoon from noon to 6, and in typical Joe fashion, he kept complaining about the long shift and referring to it as the Joe Thomas Marathon. Still think WPRO should have kept him on nights, but then again we never would have had Big Ange.

correct me if im wrong but i did a search on google and there is a letter from wxtr 550 and post dated from providence rhode island which if im not correct is in the newyork area.
bieng canadian i still may be wrong but wasnt there a macys in newyork?
the letter was dated 1968 and the transmitter was in Cumberland R.I.

Is this the right 'PRO lineup from that period: Salty/Joe Thomas/Vic Armen/Big Ange ('68 or '69?) That's how I remember it. Those years also recall that WICE (1290) was giving 'PRO a bit of competition despite their weaker signal in South County. WICE was briefly "the Rock of Rhode Island," with guys like Dave Pearce, Bob DeCarlo, etc. Memories ...

I believe that to be the correct lineup for 1968. I joined PRO in September of 1969 as a partimer. 4 weeks later to full time. Lineup then was Salty6-10, Joe Thomas 10-2-Vik Armen 2-6, Ange 6-10p, Davy Jones 10P-2am, & Jimmy Gray 2a-6am. (what a shift) A few weeks later, Vik Armen got some bad publicity on page 2 of the Providence Journal (WPRO-DJ caught in drug raid in Bristol Night Club. 2-3 years later in court Vik, who was a "hippy" partner in the club was found innocent. Actually the club wasn't even opened at the time of the raid, was under construction) Anyway, when this happened, Al Herksovitz the PD, thought it might be better if Vik wasn't on the air. He was NOT fired. (he did do a few "buried" part-time shifts as he fought the drug charges, and also fought to get the club opened in Bristol, as after the raid, the town pulled all permits etc. Town never wanted the club in the first place) So shifts changed, Salty 6-10, Joe 10a-3p, Davy Jones 3-7pm, Ange 7-Midnight, and myself Midnight to 6am.
At the time Cap Cities had a hiring freeze. Early in 1970 that was lifted,shifts changed again. Salty 6-10a, Joe 10-1pm, Jimmy Gray 1-4pm, Davy Jones 4-8pm, Ange-8-12pm and Len Daniels midnight to 6am. That lasted about a year when a new GM came in (Warren Potash). He let Joe go, bringing in Jack Casey (from WSVP in warwick) a while later, don't know the reason, Len Daniels left and was replaced by Dusty Brooks. Then it gets fuzzy in my memory but within a year or so lineup was. Salty6-10, Jimmy Gray 10-2pm, Davy Jones 2-6, Ange 6-10, Gary Berkowitz 10-2pm and Jim Henchy 2-6am. Later Berkowitz would go on to Program PRO-FM, Ange went to Superstar JAR, Jones left to open a restaurant. Some others that come to mind...Mike Fitzgerald for middays. Finally the changes stopped somewhere around 73 or so and the lineup was Salty 6-10, Jimmy Gray 10-2:30pm, Larry Kruger 2:30-7pm, Holland Cooke 7 to Midnight and Ed Cherubino Midnight to 6am. Later, larry joined salty as a side kick and Gary Degraide took Kruger's shift. In 1978 I left to do mornings on PRO-FM, and I lost track of personalities and timetables on the AM. Long story to a short question but that's the way I remember it.

I met Joe Thomas when he worked at WPAW/550 starting in 1958. He was a recently returned US Army vet and after attempting a career as a comic in Las Vegas had come back to RI to look after his elderly mother and try his hand at what "show biz" the state had to offer. I was the ambitious kid who hung out with Jerry Jerome in the morning and Billy Allen in the afternoons at WPAW. I had caught the attention of station owner Domynyck Hysko by selling WPAW advertising to a businessman who was operating a local beach as an amusement for teens and kids.
My ambition was to be an on-air disc jockey, as they were our new American heroes in the emerging rock 'n roll era. In 1956 at the age of 12 my world was rocked by Chuck Stevens, also of WPAW and Chuck was the hottest thing on the air. As a kid I had been adrift with no direction whatsoever, a bad reputation, and headed toward a rather oblivious life. Radio of that time and guys like Chuck, Jerry, Joe Thomas, Jack Spector gave me focus and direction and purpose.
Joe T was one of the most amiable, likable and talented guys you could ever meet. A bit of old school comedian with great musical knowledge of jazz and R&B, he brought a different sound to the RI radio scene--laid back, humorous and witty, warm. He didn't do dedications, requests, etc. on-air as others were, but you knew when he was playing your song for you. At WPAW Joe seemed the guy who was your neighbor in class or the guy you ran into at the store.
In those days also, I had invested in a sound system to do record hops and was the DJ's go-to guy for on-air guys who's radio show wasn't exactly portable. I would do the spinning, leaving them to be the personalities they were, relating and radiating with the crowd of dancers. Joe owned a 1956 Pontiac convertible and there were about four of us hangers-on who traveled to the Friday and Saturday night dances. Winters were't as great as summers with the top down.
Joe was ambitious, but his shifts at WPAW kept changing. Everyone knew mornings were the best slots and afternoons grabbed the biggest audiences of teen-age fans. WPAW rotated Joe through every day part, finally placing him on evenings permanently after he laced out on the air one morning against a news writer for an article in the Providence Journal vilifying a friend. That's another thing - if Joe was your friend he would fight for you -- vigorously.
For a brief moment in time, about two weeks I think, Joe was hired by WMEX in Boston, at that time the most interesting sound in New England. They were the forerunner of the programmatic formulaic sound, complete with reverb, that would come to dominate top 40 radio in the early to mid '60s. It wasn't Joe's milieu, though, and after a short while he was back in RI at 'PAW. Toward late '59, at age 15 I had moved on to become assistant to the music director at WPRO-AM and was responsible for the weekly disc-shaped top 40 countdown distributed at record shops in the "Radiant Radio 'Pro" ADI. Shortly after came college, Army, Vietnam and my own career in New York radio and TV.
Sadly, Joe and I didn't stay connected after that point. However, I was moved to melancholy about a year ago when I learned that he had moved to Clark, NV where he passed on Dec. 3, 2003.
RIP, JT my friend.

Error in Clark, NV. Clark is the county. Joe moved to Las Vegas, where most taxes are paid by gamblers.

Joe Thomas was my biological father I met him once when I was 25 when he lived in Burbank, CA with his mother this was before he moved to Las Vegas! I had little contact with him after I met him. I'm now almost 50 and would love to know more about my father! I was looking for him a few years ago and found he had died in 2003 in Las Vegas.

Would anyone know if Len Daniels is still alive and how to contact him? I was in High School when he was a DJ and worked part time
at the WPRO building. I met him them and would like to look him up.

Thanks,
Ken