|
 If you meet James "Skyy Dobro" Walker or D'Arcy "Shuffle Shoes" Ballinger in person, don’t mention the Blues, unless you want to talk for awhile. The word alone spreads a grin across their faces and triggers an infectious energy that shoots from their eyes. They'll speak of forgotten legends like J.B. Hutto and Sonny Boy Williamson; current “unknown” favorites like Kid Ramos and Too Slim and the Taildraggers; and regional standouts like “Mondo” Cortez’s Chicago Blues Angels and the Kilborn Alley Blues Band.
On the Friends of the Blues Radio show, you'll hear classics as well as the newest artists. “We are not going to be stuffy, and we don’t care if we laugh out loud. What we will try to do is get down to all listeners’ levels, from beginners to aficionados. We want to let them know we truly love them and the music. This is entertainment for us, and we intend to have a good time with the listeners.”
 Willie Dixon has been spinning jazz records on the air for more than 25 years and has hosted WKCC's All That Jazz since 2007. He heard his first jazz recording in 1946 - Lionel Hampton -broadcast from a sound truck that was driving through his South Chicago neighborhood. He’s been a jazz fan ever since.
Listen to All That Jazz and, Dixon says, you will take a step back in time when you hear artists including Nat Cole, Sarah Vaughn, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. All That Jazz can be heard Fridays from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
 Vic Johnson, local historian and author, first became interested in history as a teenager, when he found a copy of Gurdon S. Hubbard's autobiography in the Kankakee Libary. A freelance illustrator, graphic designer and writer, Johnson focused on local history in earnest after his retirement.
He began recording Grand Prairie Chronicles in the spring of 2008. The radio series draws from his extensive body of work, which includes his Kankakee Journal's Up Till Now columns from 1990 to 2001 and his books: Bradley: A Centennial History of a Prairie Boomtown, An Illustrated Sesquicentennial Reader: Kankakee County 1853 to 2003, and Burt E. Burroughs Annotated: The Story of Kankakee's Earliest Pioneer Settlers.
Join Vic weekdays at 6:20 a.m, 8:20 a.m, and 3:00 p.m. for Grand Prairie Chronicles.
Sarah Zirkle is in her fifth year at KCC and serves as the college's coordinator of student life and sport information. Sarah graduated from Tri-Point high school in 1999, where she played volleyball, basketball and softball, and continued her academic and athletic careers at KCC.
After graduating from KCC in 2001, Zirkle transferred to the University of Southern Indiana on a basketball scholarship and graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and minor in psychology.
As the host of the KCC Sports Report, Sarah updates listeners on weekly athletic scores and has a new guest on the show every week. Listen to the KCC Sports Report every Wednesday at 6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. and 5:20 p.m.
|