MP3:
S.H. Speaks in Tongues and Buys a Coke (7:17)
Here's another of my treasured radio memories. As the 19-year-old low man on the totem pole at WPID Radio—a 1000-watt AM station in a tiny Alabama town—it was often my lot in life to be stuck with the all-day Sunday shift. And though the station's format was country music Monday through Friday, on Sunday it was wall-to-wall Jesus. From local sunrise to local sunset WPID broadcast an assortment of live remote church services, pre-recorded religious programs, gospel music, and live-in-the-studio preachers.
S.H. was one of the latter, a diminutive fire-and-brimstone breathing, tongue-speaking man on a mission. While most of our live preachers would bring friends or family members along to help with their broadcasts, S.H. was a lone wolf. He would arrive a few minutes before air time, give me $35.00 in cash for his half-hour program, and make his way to our tiny studio. At 4:30 PM I'd introduce him, and he'd be off and running.
This day's message had to do with how the "Bride of Christ" shouldn't orta not be livin' right or something along those lines. About twenty-five minutes into the program he started speaking in tongues, and I had the foresight to hit the "Record" button on one of our ancient Teac reel-to-reel machines and catch the remainder of the show on tape. Since the studio mike was routed through the tape recorder, I also caught the audio from the studio after the broadcast ended. Listen in glorious 192 kbps dual mono as S.H. asks how much those Cokes are, and then buys himself one!
If you're a cut-to-the-chase type, you can find the tongue-speaking at 0:25 and 3:43 and the Coke-buying at 6:32.
- Contributed by: Perry Amberson
Image: Piedmont, Alabama
Media: Live Religious Broadcast
Station: WPID Radio, Piedmont, Alabama
Date: 1981
Well, I'll tell ya whut! That there was some mighty fine preachin'! This ol' boy ain't heard nothin' like that since he left Georgia in 1971.
Posted by: A Meat Beetle | October 17, 2007 at 11:55 PM
That is fantastic. Thanks for sharing that 'un. I loved it. I feel much more holier now than I did afore, too.
Posted by: i, squub | October 18, 2007 at 02:35 PM
God and Coke, eh? An older kid in one of the podunk towns where I grew up held influence on some of the other kids. They spent all of their time hanging out at a pizza dive in town. That older kid (with the help of drugs) heard god in the Coke machine, evidentally, and he tossed all his music. The kids followed this guy like sheep, and today, some are still tatooed Jesus freaks in that same podunk town with teenaged kids of their own. Have a Coke and a smile!
Posted by: K.O. | October 25, 2007 at 02:24 AM
Stupid evangelical; shouldn't be buying a Coke on the Lord's Day; that's Sabbath-breaking, if you ask any Reformed / Presbyterian / Calvinist Christian!
Posted by: Will S. | November 09, 2007 at 01:42 AM