The Storz Stations, which included WDGY, hosted the first-ever Pop Music Disk Jockey Convention & Radio Programming Seminar in Kansas City at the Muehlebach Hotel on March 7, 8 and 9, 1958. Newly-employed Bill Stewart coordinated the event. Full-page ads in Broadcasting and other radio/TV magazines promoted free registration “open to all Disk-Jockeys, Program Directors, Record Industry Management Personnel and Broadcasting Industry Management Personnel.” Stewart framed the convention as a seminar offering privileged information from high-dollar media experts, radio group executives and major-market air talent. Topics for discussion included “How to Run Profitable and Successful Record Hops,” “The Ingredients for Today’s ‘Formula’ Radio,” and “Is Rock and Roll a Bad Influence on Teenagers?”

A gala “All Star Show” featured Tony Bennett, The Four Lads, Laverne Baker, Andy Williams, The Crew Cuts, and many others. The gathering was attended by many of the biggest names in radio at the time, including the Presidents of the Hooper and Pulse rating services, Gordon McLendon, well-known New York Disk Jockeys Martin Block, Jack Lacy, Al “Jazzbeau” Collins, Peter Tripp and Chicago’s Howard Miller. Participating record companies included Columbia, DOT, Mercury, RCA-Victor, Atlantic, Roulette, Capitol, ABC-Paramount and Epic. The beauty part is that it was free to the DJs, underwritten by the record companies.  Says so right on the registration form.

The convention was relatively boring, with Mitch Miller somehow asked to speak, although it was widely known that he hated rock ‘n’ roll.  Plus Kansas City in March was no picnic.  But things got better.  Just wait til May 1959.