Hear KOL's Terry McManus

[jon]

Yesterday was the late actor James Stewart's birthday. Jimmy would have been 101.

Terry McManus made a name for himself, "Jimmy Stalwart" to be exact, doing Jimmy's voice. Eventually, he shed his own airshift and was co-host, with Lan Roberts, of the KOL morning show beginning in 1969. He did the entire show in his James Stewart voice. Except for the pre-recorded "Mr. Science and Jimmy" episodes, though Lan would do the Jimmy part, too, if Terry wasn't available.

But, for his entire tenure at KOL, Terry was the production genius with the killer Imaging voice.

A friend just passed along this Terry commercial from a year before Lan's arrival: advertising a November 8, 1968, concert by the Moody Blues.

Click here to hear Terry

My mind could be playing tricks on me, but about two years ago, I heard another version of this same commercial. Exactly the same script, but a much different read by Terry. In fact, this read is done in such a quiet voice, at first, I wasn't sure it was Terry.

If you lived in Vancouver around 1972, you likely heard Terry on the radio, doing concert commercials for North West Releasing when they booked some acts into Vancouver.

Sadly, Lan and Terry had a falling out in San Francisco many years later. And I don't believe they ever got back together before Lan died several years ago.

For my money, the greatest KOL daytime team ever was when (early Autumn 1969) Lan Roberts first did Mornings, with Terry McManus on mid-days, and Robert O. Smith on Afternoons.

OK, technically speaking, Lan first did mornings at KOL in about August 1961, when he was hired out of New Orleans. Six months later, he was at KJR.

[Neumann Sennheiser]

A friend just passed along this Terry McManus commercial...advertising a November 8, 1968, concert by The Moody Blues.

..and the Moody Blues are back in the Seattle area this summer in July, this time outdoors at the St. Michelle Winery in Woodinville.
40 full years and a half dozen months or so later. How old do you feel now!

[skyvalleyradio]

...old enough to remember how much in awe I was the first time I heard "Days Of Future Passed" on a REALLY good stereo & speakers

[jon]

Wasn't "Day of Future Past" the first album to have a "rock" group fronting a symphony orchestra? George Martin would bring in string sections for Beatles sessions, but that is not really the same.

Before I pushed Submit on this response, I got to wondering about the Neon Philharmonic, but they were a full year later, with "Morning Girl". Plus, they only used a "chamber-sized orchestra" collection of musicians from the Nashville Symphony, according to Joel Whitburn.

[skyvalleyradio]

yes jon, "Days Of Future Passed" had the London Philharmonic Orchestra (I think that name is right)as part of the session. The album still stands out today and sounds even better on a quality pair of headphones.

[eekthebeak]

Do any of U folks know, where Terry McManus is these days? Is he still in radio?

[jon]

Nearly 10 years ago, I tried to track Terry down when a KOL Mr. Science and Jimmy adventure was being prepared for reelradio.com. Not absolutely positive it is the same person, but I am pretty sure that he was living on an island in Puget Sound just West of Seattle.

I could never find any association with a radio station or other radio work at that time. Nor was he active in Norm Gregory's kjrseattle.com site, which, despite the name, also attracted a lot of KOL folks, too. Norm's site ran for several years at the beginning of this century.

So, my best guess is that Terry is retired on an island in Puget Sound.