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Martin Karant Tribute Page
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"It's time for me to go for today. But, good Lord willin' and the creeks don't rise, I'll be back with you in the morning after the seven o'clock news." - Martin Karant. November 10, 1917 - August 14, 2004 |
Martin Karant Radio Tribute below produced by George DeVault.
Press HERE for the 5 minute MP3 tribute.
| First day on the job for a young Martin Karant in January of 1942. |
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1947 - Martin interviews one of the greatest baseball players in history, Ted Williams at the J. Fred Johnson Stadium in Kingsport, Tennessee. |
From 78s to CDs, Martin Karant was "The Voice" of WKPT-AM 1400. It's a seat he occupied since 1942 until his retirement in 1997. Martin spun 78 rpm records here in the days before Glenn Miller's plane crashed during WWII, and when both Dorsey brothers were on the road with their Big Bands. He was on the air when Elvis swiveled his hips, when the Beatles swept America, and when President Reagan said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Martin was behind the microphone reporting it all. Martin met and interviewed dozens of his musical heroes along the way, like Tommy Dorsey and Sammy Kaye. He followed Dobyns-Bennett high school sports, reported the famous explosion at Eastman Chemical Company - which was carried around the world on NBC radio affiliates. Martin Karant's style was conversational, old-school method. It worked... everyone loved listening to "Marty". In addition to his work in the WKPT studios, Martin was always broadcasting from remote locations. Below is a photograph of Martin (on right) during his long running "Housewife Serenade" series from the Oakwood Market on Eastman Road in Kingsport - circa mid-1960s. |
Martin was always eager to help young broadcasters from area high schools:
Two Broadcasting Giants! Martin Karant and Charlie Deming in 1971. |
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Martin Karant's 80th birthday party.artin's 80th birthday party. November 1997 |
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President of HVBC Group, George DeV Martin receives his wall plaque in 1997 from George DeVault (president of Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporation).an engraved plaque on Oct. 31, 1997 - recognizing his many years of service |
That's me (Charlie Aesque) on the left along with Martin Karant during a live broadcast from Cobblestone Place - July 1997.
On a personal note -- Martin was like a father to me and he made a real difference in my life. I started at WKPT in 1986 as an advertising sales representative and I sold commercials on Martin's morning show. I also wrote some of his commercials and I remember the first :60 second script I penned for Mr. Karant. He handed it back to me with grammar and spelling corrections -- in red ink! Truth is, he showed me "the right way to do it" and I'll always be grateful that he took the time to help me. Charlie Aesque, Sales Manager / Webmaster |
Rare autographed photo of Martin. This is the last photograph taken of Martin inside the WKPT radio studios. He signed it, "Hi Brock!" (a reference to my son, Charles Brock Aesque).
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