In 1970 I was a DJ at AFN in Berlin Germany. The station had a extensive record library, with AFRTS recordings that dated back to the old radio soap operas. Wally was to record a concert by Creedence Clearwater Revival and he showed up at the station a few days early, so he could go through the library to “document” the recordings that were there. I’m not sure what exactly he was looking for, but he was taking extensive notes, with the help of the music librarian at the station.
When I mentioned to him that I would like to conduct an interview with CCR for my radio show, Wally said something like “meet me at the gate at 7:30 and I’ll see that you get your interview.” I went to the gate with the station engineer, Wolfgang Wunderlich, and Wally met me at the gate, in a panic. He was in a cab or limo, I can’t remember, but he said “jump in.” Once we got in, he asked if we had seen a “big truck.” We said we hadn’t, and then he instructed the drive to drive around the concert hall. Suddenly, he let out a sigh of relief…THERE WAS THE TRUCK. It seems his recording truck was delayed crossing (communist) East Germany on it’s way to Berlin for the concert.
Although he had a lot on his mind that night, he made sure that Wolfgang and I got backstage for the interview. Unfortunately for me, the band had just done an AFN interview in Frankfurt and declined my offer. Wally felt pretty bad about that, but said I was welcome to stay back stage and allowed my to walk around on the stage when the roadies were setting up (although I was asked to get out of the way at one point). When the concert started, Wally gave us a quick tour of the recording truck and then we sat back and watched the concert from back stage! As a wide-eyed young DJ and music lover, I was totally on cloud 9.
I also had the chance to discuss music with him during his time at the station. He was quite a guy, and I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone since who loved what he did as much as Wally. I’ll always remember how nice he was to me, and the experience of the “lost truck.”