TOP Live!
Did you ever visit the Teen Club at Grant Heights?
What does that have to do with FEN and Teenagers on Parade you may well ask. Well here's how the story goes as it was told to me during my tenure at FEN...
Dating back to the early 60s if not even the 50s, FEN broadcast a daily, live, "teen" show right after school. The show was completely produced, engineered, and hosted by Grant Heights area teens in a fully equipped studio built in the teen club by FEN. By the time I arrived in 1965, only the remnants of the studio remained, but the room was still there with the sound equipment for the public address system.
We Make 'Em Nervous
The story goes that the brass at FEN was "nervous" about having the teens in complete control of that time period during the "radical 60s" and so eventually the professionals took over and created what became known as "Fun Dial," broadcast from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. (and later also from 8:05 to 9:00 p.m.)
In deference to the teens themselves, "Teenagers on Parade" continued as a once weekly show broadcast on Saturday mornings from 11:05 to noon. To ensure that nothing unruly happened, the show was pre-taped, generally on Friday afternoons prior to Saturday morning broadcast.
Voices
A number of teens were heard during the years of the show. Unfortunately, I can only account for the following:
Producers
During 1965/1966, TOP was produced and engineered by Airman Wayne Lewis of "Fun Dial" fame. The 1966/1967 school year was produced and engineered by his "Fun Dial" cohort, Navy Journalist Craig Smith. Both of them were absolutely super guys.
Cancelled
In 1969, "Teenagers on Parade" was replaced by "The Teen Scene Discotheque" hosted by Airman Gary Griffin. Jim Grubbs returned during a visit from school in summer 1968 and appeared on the show which was broadcast live and on location. I recall a show from the pool at South Camp Drake along with a band called "The Green Apples" featuring none other than Severin (we knew him as Ed then) Browne. Severin now has three albums to his credit.
Kay Nishioka was Miss Teen Scene during the summer 1968 shows.
Sources
If you can contribute any information on the history of "Teenagers on Parade" or general information about FEN, please contact Jim Grubbs.