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Dick Purtan
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Dick Purtan became WKNR's biggest star and remained a Detroit radio legend for the next three decades.
He found his first job at WOLF in Syracuse, New York, the same station where Dick Clark began his career. Purtan was the "Buckaroo Sandman", playing country music by request Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights from 8:30 - 10:00 PM.
By 1965, he had been at Cincinnati's WSAI for three years. The station was in a free fall when Purtan learned that Gary Stevens was leaving the afternoon shift at Keener. Purtan interviewed with program director Frank Maruca and was offered the slot. But after hearing from the other Keener jocks about how great Gary was, Dick had a fit of insecurity and demurred. Maruca then offered the 7-10PM shift to Purtan, but within a few days changed his mind, hiring Scott Regen who was burning up the Kansas City Market at WHB. Purtan ended up on the 10PM-1AM shift, replacing Bill Philips.
Three months after joining WKNR, Purtan moved to the morning shift where he became a legend. With creative collaborator Tom Ryan, Purtan rose to the top of the Top-40 morning drive ratings. With the exception of a brief stint at Baltimore's WBAL, he's been on the air in Detroit ever since.