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skyye dobro and shuffle shoes

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.”

Vic JohnsonVic 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, and 8:20 a.m. for Grand Prairie Chronicles.

Dale BowmanJoel GreenbergDale Bowman, outdoor enthusiast and Chicago Sun Times outdoor columnist, and Joel Greenberg, naturalist, writer, and environmental consultant, host Outside, a weekly half-hour program that covers nature and the outdoors.  

Dale's writing has appeared in many newspapers, from the Seattle Times to St. Petersburg Times,and magazines, such as Sports Afield, Outdoor Life, Lake Magazine, Shore, Boating Life and Bowling Magazine.

Joel is the author of 2 books on northeastern Illinois, A Natural History of the Chicago Region and Of Prairie, Woods and Water, Two Centuries of Chicago Nature Writing. Join Dale and Joel Outside Mondays at 4:30 p.m. (rebroadcast Sundays at 12:30 p.m.)

Ted Petersen Ted Petersen, KCC Athletic Director since 2008, hosts with Mike Savage the weekly Sports Report, updating listeners on athletic scores and interviewing coaches, athletes and other local guests.

Petersen, a native of Momence, is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University where he served as co-captain and was a first team All-American for the football team. Petersen then played offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1977-1984, a team which won Super Bowls XIII and XIV. He also played for the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts in 1984-1985 and finished his career with the Steelers in 1987.

Tune in to Ted’s lively talk and his love of the games every Wednesday at 6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. and 5:20 p.m. Willie Dixon

Willie Dixon Jr. has been spinning jazz records on the air for more than 25 years and has been a volunteer jazz host on WKCC 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 In a Mellow Tone and, Dixon says, you will take a step back in time with artists including Nat Cole, Sarah Vaughn, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra.

Friday at 7 p.m. and Midnight.