popular radio stations in the 1970s

Ive great memories of WLS, and WCFL. Then the Canadian govt. The FCC wasnt amused, but the public was. I ended up racking up 25 years total. WEAM 1390..WPGC.1580.WEEL.1310 and one of my favorites WRCThe Great 98. I cant believe the PNW was left off of everybodys list. About my Junior year in High School, i found WXLO in New York. Unfortunately Their gone for good. Or maybe KSFO went all-soft rock later on in its years as a music station? None in major markets. Another station that deserves mention was WZZD, 990, when it was a Disco Hits format (i.e., disco hits played in a random Top 40-style format, as opposed to beat-blended, as on WCAU-FM.) Thats a fact. Mike Phillps, Jerry Kay, Lan Roberts, and many more, plus grabbing as much as 35% of all radio listening in the nations 13th largest market. And here are my picks for the 20 greatest Top 40 radio stations of all time: This was a tough assignment. Theyd say Goodbye, Dinuba, goodbye Orange Cove Then my cousins would tune in KONG/1400 from Visalia, or surf the iffy skywaves of KRLA, KFWB, KFRC and or other relative weaklings, since the West Coast at the time lacked a Top 40 flamethrower such as the Midwest, prairie and East enjoyed with the likes of WLS, WABC, KAAY and KOMA. Even the news anchors, like Grant Hudson and Byron MacGregor (who had a hit record of his own, The Americans) sounded spectacular. But lets be honest, there were TONS of great Top 40 stations and narrowing it down to 10 or 20- or 40- is nearly impossible because of what appeals to the one making the choices. Owned by Hugh Holder, then Henderson Belk, Southern Broadcasting and Mann Media. What was the top radio station during the 1970s? : r/LosAngeles They took overalong with the likes of Tommy Shannon, the still-to-come Dan Neaverth, Joey Reynolds and so many others. And, I confess to plagiarizing W-C-F-L of-a-TownCHI-CA-GO for the rebranding of CKSL London Ontario in the mid 70s. [Apologies if Im forgetting anybody.] Morgantown? Great contemporary, traditional country, and rock and roll, are gone. WVAQ/Morgantown, WV. WSB (read: WSB-AM)s full-service format had, musically, reformatted to Adult Contemporary by circa early 1980s, that is. Log In (Existing Digital Subscriptions Only), KILT Goes Way Over 10K For The Troops In Houston, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i6WheuRi0s, Political Rewind Out Of Tape After Public Radio Cuts, AM Matters: This CO Mayor Saved His Towns Station. Great fun and memories. Too bad the radio gurus dont travel a little far to the east. Then 890, Chicago, 1520 KOMA, were the ones to listen to at night. Funny?, I swear that one of those lists *did* mention WFIL. Hope you are doing well in all of your endeavors. David Amen to WKIX 850 AM/96.1 FM The Giant of the South with a healthy share of PAMS jingles! Not long after you came on board in early 1972, WLS reduced its published chart to a Big 8 + 9 playlist. Amen. He brought me to 93Q in 87 as the night jock from B97 New Orleans. And if all of those werent enough, WADO in New York, which broadcasted Top 40 programming from 1959 to 1963. Amen! Mac was also a very nice guy, btw. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Daily industry headlines plus breaking news bulletins. I hope he and his legacy will never be forgotten. I listed WTIX because they were the very first Top 40. Some stations have been amazing at times and just awful at others. While I was there a tornado hit nearby at a car dealership. Hy Lit was its best, played R and B on a top 40 station. I just wish I had been in the business ten years earlier. on. Yes, football on Top 40 worked for them with the excitement of a new team in town. In that decade, it was an outstanding battle of the FM CHRs, 93Q/KKBQ and Power 104/KRBE. I could hardly go to sleep cause I was so revved up by that great music and Long John Silver. But any list that completely overlooks the Todd Storz stations, including WHB/Kansas City, KXOK/St. It was a crazy idea. WMEX is my favorite Top 40 station of all time!! Frank Brodie (CKLW) was incredible on the air in ANY format, as were most of the jocks from the true Top 40 era. The story of Today and his PD, the great Bill Stewart hoisting a few pops after work and watching the waitresses load the jukebox is priceless and will live on and on! Taking a chance on a record on-air from time to time and listening to their feedback, not just auditorium testing. This was a tough assignment because so many great stations had to be left out. KCBQ/San Diego. about IRONY! The later 5kw night site used 12 towers to put a lobe over Dallas that also covered the mid cities and just reached Ft Worth. When the Dodgers and Giants fled, the Yankees moved to WMGM. Topics include music, pop culture, movies, TV shows, celebrities and everyday life in the Midwest. The FM is still Tp 40. Do you mean KFRC and *KYA* San Francisco? As does WICC Bridgeport, CT belong on not only my list of the greatest Top 40 stations in the New York suburbs, but also one of THE greatest Top 40 stations, PERIOD. Marc took The Outrageous FM to a 17 share, 500,000 cume in a market of less than a million at the time. WJLK-FM Asbury Park, NJ (now Hot AC 94-3 The Point) Jerry Clifton blazed a huge trail when he turned WXLO FM into 99x. Also WFIL tried a comeback in the early 80s with Oldies: Great jocks, personality, nostalgic jingles. And lets not forget Z-100 (WHTZ) ITSELF! In the mid 7Os WLS was the greatest top 40 radio station of all time. Unbelievable! In the mid-70s, Knoxville had a three-way AM Top 40 battle between WKGN, WNOX, and WRJZ going, while WOKI was playing the hits, sort of, on FM. Even Hot AC, or Uptempo MOR stations like KING and KGW were top notch. And if you dont know what I mean by that. Marc WebFirst and only Metroplex station to regularly broadcast 1970s pop oldies. They had a New Years count down of the top 100 from the year and I listened to every song for several years. Much love Boomer, Late 1967As Paul Drew gave me my first look at the Big 8 control room, Tom Shannon was introducing Glen Campbells By The Time I Get To Phoenix. Great visit Great station!! Especially before I Heart and Cumulus took over. History-making in so many ways, and still great today. Hal Moore and great newsman/dj..Phil Thomas to KMIN in Denver. And in Charleston, SC it was WTMA / 1250 for many years. (Amen! WMCA outgunned WABC and WINS both with terrific signals. You mentioned Philly Top 40 station WFIL but not that same citys WIBG? Favorite part is the commercial for the Barracuda (or Baccaruda as the Plymouth man said). CKLW was high on a pedestal in those days and people admired it. Stan invested in talent and promotion. My decades of respect for Lee Abrams has increased thanks to his 15 Characteristics of the Great Top 40 stations and his selections are 85% perfect. Who pissed the furthest? Sandy Shore went all the way to Drake LA as Marc Elliot. A doctors son financed the killer Top 40 15Q until the money ran out. as a Top 40 station. But KBOX was pretty amazing for having only 500 watts at night at 1480. I didnt see WIBG Wibbage 990 in Philadelphia. Radio - FM, Pirate, Local, and Public-Service Stations WHB and KXOK were among his best. By the way, I have since heard, on the Rock Radio Scrapbook website, an composite aircheck of WINS last day as a Top 40 station (complete with [a] then-weekly Sunday night/Monday morning transmitter-maintenance sign-off followed by [a reinserted recording of] the National Anthem, [b] the then-weekly Monday-at-sunrise sign-on [with the prior or shortly-subsequent SSB edited out?] WABC carried the Yankees during its final years, and I vaguely remember WMCA caring one of the teams in its final rock/talk years. From well into the early 70s through the mid-70s, it underwent an MOR-to-soft rock transition not unlike what WIP Philadelphia underwent a half-decade earlier-and-change, tops. Brief History Of The Radio From Love your show! Forever. (The same year the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, by the way. Incidentally, almost all of us had been previously on WKDU, which shared time with us on 91.7 FM. C-K-S-L of-a-TownLONNN-DONNN!! And let us not forget the news department which was something to be reckoned with. After PD Cagle left in late 1983/early 1984 and the jocks Bill Lee, Jack Armstrong, Mark McKay left I switched to KMEL/KITS on FM. KMPC remained Adult Contemporary (the soft-rock radio formats name by then) until about the turn of the following decade. The station which invented Top Forty. Yes, you were the last DJ on Wins, and , yes,Out in the Street (pun intended?) The story of Wolfmans visit to WROV can be found under History of Roanoke Radio then click on WROV. Radio KFM-BFM San Diego was, IIRC, the first major market FM Top 40 to be #1 in all demographics 12+ and all day parts, in Fall 1977. SON! Louis, WTIX/New Orleans and WQAM/Miami (or at least one of them) cant be taken seriously. Look, I am a total Drake disciple (and in my early years, I had the privilege of working for Gordon McLendontwice). Agree with Bill Wayland at one point 68 WRKO had an almost 60 share Teens. How bout them Kardashians.? The reason is KHJ, Drakes first RKO project, was huge news and sent Top 40 radio on a new trajectory that would eventually affect virtually every station in the format. Bobby thanks for your kind comments. Top 5 Best Mimo Antennas In 2023 Reviews & Buying Guide; Thats a shame. I think one of the elements that is missing today is competition, radio wars. I think one of the elements that is missing today was competition, radio wars. Oh-lets not forget about three more Top 40 stations in the City That Never Sleeps: WWDJ Hackensack, NJ (1971-74); in the City itself, WPIX (1971-77, 1980-82) and WAPP (mainstream Top 40, 1984-85; Top 40/Rock 1985-86). Only later was the format extended to WHB and the other Storz stations in larger markets. Seeing Lees List recognizing Big WAYS as a Top 20 Station and Randy Michaels actually listing 15Q, WAYS, and the Funky Monkey WAPE, gave me some warm fuzzies I remember when ABC proposed Superadio in 1981, putting jocks from WABC, WLS and KQV on your small-town station. I was fortunate to work on 99X iin my 20s! RKOs WOR-FM. Other stations have been more outrageous, more groundbreaking, or more entertaining, but KIIS is the most influential Top 40 station. WGLI Babylon, LI, NY And during its last two years as a music station (continuing as a talk station almost a month-and-a-half into the latter of the two years), WABC was the Yankees flagship station. I worked with legends. For me, WLSs personality driven approach was magic. got a reply that he would love to have hired me but he needed someone who lived locally and could fill in on short notice. Radio It was more than just the music. A lot of people went to bed and woke up with the Good Guys at KIOA. just wanted to list my name as the author of the preceding post. Also, not at all intending to sound braggadocious, I think I was the first one to introduce a Classic Rock format. KBOX gave us Dan Ingram, Bill Ward, and many others. Does anyone remember the station? The best years came in the early 70s when the Top 40 battle was between WDGY, True Don Bleus KDWB before he went to KHJ, Chuck Knapp and MG Kelly on KSTP and Rob Sherwood moving from KDWB to start up U100. In the very-early Sixties, thanks in no small part to three fulltime Top 40s in NYC, WADO reintroduced African-American and Italian programming to its daytime schedulethis time, sharing it with Top-40 rock n roll. Thank you I Heart, for ruining the industry. WebCT Radio History Timeline 1970 - 1989 1971 WPLR 99.1 New Haven (formally WNLC-FM) becomes first progressive rock FM station in southern Connecticut. Radio When I made the trek to Dallas, I was enthralled by WebUncle_Erik 8 yr. ago. How can we not mention the stations owned and operated by the late Todd Storz which basically invented the Top 40 Format. Listen To The Most Popular Podcasts On iHeartRadio! During the summer I would break away and listen to WCCO AM for Twins baseball games. Talk about versatility!) I grew up in Goldsboro, NC, and there were a couple of stations that played top 40. [Reportedly, WCAU-FM, the Disco Powerhouse at the time, was calling our P.D., to get reactions to new songs we were breaking.] I know, because I was just cutting my teeth in Toledo radio beginning in 1973. https://wjla.com/news/entertainment/argo-contriversy-ex-canada-ambassador-slighted-by-affleck-s-argo85572. KBOX/Dallas. During the day we kistened to WKY (Oklahoma City) but when dusk came we had KOMA (Oklahoma City), WLS (Chicago), KLIF (Dallas), WNOE (New Orleans), and XERF out of Del Rio carryying Wolfman Jack. Best wishes to all alumni of radios golden age. Our radios were permanently tuned to Music Radio 89 WLS. Radio of THE PACIFIC MOTHERFUCKIN NORTHWEST!!! It deserves mention here. Is this the fluff-stuff that fires the imaginations of contemporary radio people? As did WPGR, VLT plays a vast playlist, a lot of forgotten hits and a heavy smattering of old local Philly hits. If I could go to 30, TIX and MCA WOUKD certainly be in the mix. WABC was the Yankees of the group. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. For me it was KFRC and KYA being born and raised and living my entire life in the Bay Area. And this is only a partial listing. WRKO were all slices from the Bill Drake pie. put their content rules into the playlist.Too much Ann Murray and other Canadian artist. KMPC retained its AC format from circa 1976 through the rest of the decade. Poor Lee hadnt been paying attention. Doug Limerick, you might remember, was later a news reader for the ABC Information Network. I will always be thankful to those great PDs, Bill Holly, Dick Star, Charlie Murdock and Lee Sherwood. Who wants to play that crap? I went on to have a 40 year career thanks to that 50,000 watt monster. Or certainly brought FM into the 1970s! Re said posters comment posted September 6, 2018 at 2:34 pm: THATS! Randy, get over yourself. 1. (Welland was kind of a suburb of Buffalo, just not as close as Tonawanda was.) And it had Dr. Don Rose. I completely understood but I was so happy to have heard back from him and that he liked my work. EVERYONE wanted to be like you guys, including me who at the time had a lot to learn. The two most influential Top 40 radio stations of all time? Even that 50,000 watt blowtorch signal was so strong that it easily penetrated into my bedroomdown in the basement! WBEB Philadelphia (What did it change its nickname from B101.1 again?) iHeart70s | iHeart Mac Richmond brought Arnie Ginsburg to 1510 from WBOS-AM. The mainstay jocks on our station throughout this period were Big Bill Barthe, our P.D., who was legally blind, Sab Michael, Ken Nelson and myself, Bruce Scott. Also, while I suppose KLIF/Dallas has to be on the list, I would be remiss if I didnt mention that we dusted their asses when I was at KNUS/Dallas (the station Fairchild foolishly didnt want to buy when they purchased KLIF from McLendon, but passed on his FM station). WFIL, Philadelphia (c. 1983) Jim Jackson. Radio Ink is a radio-industry trade publication that is published 12 times a year for the radio management sector of the radio broadcasting industry. Worth where Paxton Mills started and George Carlin got his start (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i6WheuRi0s). Your right Guy. The station was 1000kw days 250 nights but still was credited by many of the major record labels as being great market for breaking new artists and new singles, sorryfirst sentence should read owned the market not on the Market. According to Pete Battistini, author of the book, American Top 40 with Casey Kasem (The 1970s), Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, Ron Jacobs and Casey Kasem were the individuals who helped create the AT40 show. The Storz stations ruled for many years. and the WINS head honchos intro of its all-news format). . CKY was our main source of music in the 60s, we were only 6 miles from the Manitoba border in Warroad, though sometimes we could get WLS or KOMA in the night. WLS and WCCO are now news talk stations. WYHY (Y107)/Nashville. WebStations like WYSL-FM (later WPHD, WEDG), WBNY-FM (later WJYE), WGRQ-FM (later WGRF), WADV-FM (later WYRK), WBEN-FM (later WMJQ/WTSS), WWOL-FM (later WHTT) and WBLK-FM slowly eroded the listener base of AM radio. 15 WLAC in Nashville, my choice for the best. None of the 15Q guys Michaels mentions, were there when the station signed-on Dr. Steve (Bridgewater) West am drive, Ron Baptist midday, Shot Bob Kelly pm drive, Bro Mick Rizzo 6-10, Kid Curry did 10-2a Would have to be on my list. And while were on the subject of Midwestern 50 kay-dubba-you AM blowtorches, *(the Cleveland version of) KYW/WXYZ (Top 40)/WWWE (aka 3WE) (Adult Contemporary)* and *WGAR (Adult Contemporary-and probably Top 40 at one point)*, both in Cleveland! It was one of the stations that the great Wolfman Jack did his show from. Dick Fatherly was my first source for the story that WTIX, then on 1450, was the first station to use the phrase Top-40. KFJZ 1270 was Fort Worths Top 40 station, headlined by Marky Baby, later known as Mark Stevens of the Stevens & Pruitt morning show on KFJZ-FM (Z-97) which morphed into The Eagle (KEGL) on the same frequency. Mac converted WMEX to sports and talkradioand WMEX was very successful with that format, both on ratings and revenue, until new owners bought the station a few years later. I still carry a Kennedy half-dollar I got in some change our first night in Windsor, a constant reminder of the magic, good times and wonderful people we shared through most of 1972. Jim Woods in the night time was the most exciting thing around. 19. Im still grateful for the opportunity when you hired me in New Have, CT all those years ago. Radio How could you leave that out? No, but I was named for him. McClendon may have guessed wrong. Chuck Blores clever contests, tight production, and a great pick of music made KEWB one of the very best Top 40 stations. Station was located at 70 Brookline Avenue. ), WOR-FM/WXLO, WNBC, and WPLJ! Thanks for the great work you did there. Speaking of flamethrowersyou could get WOWO in Sudbury Ontario! And did I list Phillys B101 in my list of suburban-NEW YORK CITY ACs? Jesus, that station was the damn WABC, WTIX, CKLW, WLS, WINS, WMCA, KHJ, KRLA, KLIF, WQXI, etc. I The greatest Top 40 station of all time? And that was Mr Abrams #20. Again, I enjoyed reading about all the other great stations across the country as well. 15 Characteristics of the Great Top 40 stations. I do remember, however, getting WLS on my Zenith Royal 400 7-transistor radio on the floor of Yosemite Valley that same summer, though. I always thought of them as the WABC of the South. The BEST show came out of 55KRC in Cincinnati. WDSU had number one afternoon show called The Top 20 on 1280. It was a PERSONALITY driven format. 50000 good watts during the day, but cut back to 10000 at night, pointed at the city and South Jersey. WMCA, with its broader signal pattern and low dial position, covered the Monmouth and northern Ocean County beaches quite well, despite being only 5kw. Most were in smaller markets gaining local radio service for the first time. It didnt though. Respectfully, though, I would not rank WCFL below WABC, much less rank them last, undeR WIXY?????? he was a great talent and a class act! KBOX and the Balaban stations trained Stan Kaplan. 7. A Top-40 jock named Eddie Haskell?!? Apologies for any Ive forgotten So today I credit you guys and of course others back then, who made a shy teenage boy grab on to something called radio, and go for the ride of his life! 8. WebOldies America 70's SOUL RADIO Classics That 70's Channel Classic Country Radio Totally 70s Radio Network CLASSIC HITS RADIO (USA) Classic Rock Florida Classic YOU ARE!!! He trashed the beautiful-music automation and took KFMBs little 10,000 watt FM live with no jingles, minimal formatting, an expanded uptempo playlist that was carted up at 46.5 RPM, heavy promotion, heavy Oganowski compression and a staff of crazed, hyper-caffeinated jocks including Rob Landree, Dave Conley, Rocketman (Scott Wright), Willie B Goode, Jimi Fox, Gary Kelley, Kevin Anderson, Phil Flowers and Billy Martin. And lets not forget that WABC was the first flagship of the Metsduring its third and fourth years as Top 40. I love all of the comments! (OBW, I was there too!). The Drake stations all had Kanner Boxes, but Ed Butterbaughs setup, 50,000 watts, and lax Canadian rules on positive modulation made CKLW jump out of radios in a dozen U.S. markets all day long, and made the programming sound even better. KYA was also a great station with Emperor Gene Nelson, Tom Donahue, and many others. CKLW is definitely #1, and the most influential Top 40 of all time (thanks to Rosie). Like other stations, it rolled with the times and changed. Great to see so many radio brethren on here. The 1970's 2012 Archive: ( December) ( November) ( October) ( September) ( August) ( July) ( June) ( May) ( April) ( March) ( February) ( January) This is a topic from
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