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Maine Airchecks

W

wthorne

Lets start off with WIGY
WIGY came on the scene in 1976 as the FM of WJTO AM. The station was oned by Turner Porter and within 3 years was the midcoast powerhouse in Maine. It was the home of AT40 with Casey Casem. The station came into hard times and went belly up in 1998.

First up:
The great Bob Anderson.
Bob started at WLOB in the mid 60s, and while he never gained true notoriety until he landed at WMGX in 1982 he never let it stop him from plugging away at it. Bob was the "Duke" of Portland
Bob left us doing what he loved to do. He passed away doing an overnight shift at WYNZ, behind the mic.
http://www.sendspace.com/delete/7s4nww/b69d01a3a69937a2652f5d4b2a4d39f5

Next up
Willie Mitchell
Willie found his way to WIGY on day 1, and he was there, mid days untill the end. This mans high energy carried the station through many tough days. But it was his signature sign off that caught the attention. He allways thanked us EXTREEEMLY much for stopping by and told us to take good care of our bods. Then he called out for his mom to come pick him up. I don't know alot about him, I can't seem to find anybody, anywhere in the country who know what happened to him after leaving the station.
http://www.sendspace.com/delete/tht6bj/0d05ba4f9858054b55197cddf27ebeb3

And here's a version on his sign off
http://www.sendspace.com/delete/gtuum5/5539577e51ffe7a7a5d095bb10f22f82
 
wthorne.How do you listen to this?It says something about an error and the file being deleted. Willie Mitchell was always one of my favorites.Do you know where else he worked.I think I remember him at WLAM.
 
Andy Taylor,
As I said I've never been able to find any information about Willie. Nothing about where he came here from or where he went. Seems odd that he was on WIGY for all 22 years the station was around and nobody knows anything about him. If there's anybody who can tell me where he is or anything I would appreciate it.
 
Some nice audio there, WT! Thanks for sharing. Anyone have any airchecks of Steve Rogers while he was there? And who was their first PD - Jack O'Brien? Anyone remember their mascot, "Wiggy The Wonderdog?" And how about those listener boat cruises they used to have? Gives new meaning to, "what happens on the boat cruises, stays on the boat cruises." That was back in the days of single station ownership, when no one knew the term, "cookie cutter programming," and radio was fun and occasionally hazardous to your health...
 
Wow... this thread takes me back. WIGY was my second radio job... worked evenings and overnights while Bob, Steve, Willie et al had the drive time shifts. That station was a POWERHOUSE.

Other WIGY alumni: Bruce Biette of Blueberry, Chris Mac from PRG, and Don Hill, who went into advertising.
 
Andy Taylor said:
wthorne.How do you listen to this?It says something about an error and the file being deleted. Willie Mitchell was always one of my favorites.Do you know where else he worked.I think I remember him at WLAM.
Click to expand...

Back in 1980, I found an old aircheck of Willy Mitchell in the production studio at WLOB AM/FM. The aircheck was of Willy on WLOB-AM 1310 from 1975...
 
wthorne said:
Lets start off with WIGY
WIGY came on the scene in 1976 as the FM of WJTO AM. The station was oned by Turner Porter and within 3 years was the midcoast powerhouse in Maine. It was the home of AT40 with Casey Casem.
Click to expand...

Didn't WIGY replace the former 3000 watt WJTO-FM 95.3???
 
Well yes and no, when JTO switched frequencies to 105.9 the calls were switched to WIGY. The frequency was changed due to a conflict with Brunswick Naval Air Station, I understand.When the frequencies were switched Porter was nolonger grandfathered on the simulcast rules so, new freq, new calls.
Wayne
 
Here are a couple more from WIGY.

John McKay from 12/21/79. I really don't know anything about John, wish I could share some info.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/7qehxg



JoJo Kramer from 12/21/79. I don't know anything about him either, sorry.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/3nvp33


I am converting these as fast as I can. I work 12 hours a day, 5 days a week. I'm sorry if these aren't coming out fast enough to keep the conversation going. I do have airchecks from other stations. If anyone gets boored with WIGY let me know I can jump to another station.
As faw as WIGY goes the checks I have left from it are:
C Mack 06/14/84
Scott Robbins 06/14/84
Rick James 12/54/84
Ckuck Knight 12/24/84
Jack O'Brien 03/16/79
 
MisterBilge said:
Anyone remember their mascot, "Wiggy The Wonderdog?"
Click to expand...

I did a remote with Wiggy a couple of times in 1982-83. Wiggy was actually played by an extremely attractive young lady... and it was hilarious to hear the kids who showed up for the remotes ragging on Wiggy, assuming she was a he.
 
Didn't Morse High School use the 95.3 frequency until about 1990?WIGY went silent on February 16,1990 when it was owned by Maratine Broadcasting which I think was owned by Bob Dearborn who worked in a lot a major markets,proboly best known from WCFL in Chicago.In December of 1990 Kalidoscope Broadcasting took over 105.9 and put it back on the air as Classic Rock WKRH on February 17,1991. The owner of Kalidoscope Broadcasting was Frank Burke,son of Dan Burke owner of the Portland Sea Dogs.Then the station went silent again for a short time in May 1995,then eventually came back as the current WBCI.I think Willie Mitchell did afternoons for most of his stay at WIGY.On this aircheck he was doing evenings.I don't think Wille was there after 1990.The only local familliar name I can think of is Ted Talbot who landed there soon after leaving WYNZ FM.I remember that story back then about Willie becoming a physician.Would really like to hear Steve Rogers.
 
Steve Rogers was great on the air - Chris Mack, too. Rick James was one of the new owners. Good voice but a bit full of himself, not much of a people person - and apparently not much of an owner. Think Steve Rogers moved to another station somewhere down the Atlantic coast seaboard.
 
For the record. Bob Anderson was not doing overnights when he tipped over. It was a day part. Which makes it even more fitting for Bob who never missed an opportunity for a sick joke even at his own expense.

Richard Kazimer
 
wthorne said:
JoJo Kramer from 12/21/79. I don't know anything about him either, sorry.
(Dead Link)
Click to expand...

JoJo Kramer became Jack Kramer when Jack O'Brien left. Then, JoJo became Mitch Mitchell at WGUY Bangor's new FM, Y-101, circa 1980. Judy Parks was his co-host/news anchor. She is Judy Pancoast and appears regularly around Maine as a singer. She sounds EXACTLY like Karen Carpenter! Mitch and I left WGUY-FM when Stephen King offered us both jobs at WZON. That was circa 1985/86. Then in 1990, Robert Hecksher in Ft Myers Florida offered us $1500 a week to work as a morning team at his Country FM station! That's $750 each! in 1990? Wow!

Mitch retired in 2008, as did I. The old JoJo Kramer is alive and well, and is a cancer survivor! He is living alone in Dade City, FL.

Doug Shannon
 
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