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Mix 96 WMXF Fayetteville-1991

R

RobynWattsV2.0

What we're gonna do right here is go back....way back, back into time.....

OK, that's too far back, better just make it 1991. ;D

This is a composite that a friend had sent to me over 10 years ago of Mix 96 WMXF/Fayetteville. They've signed on July 4th, 1990 as the market's only Top 40 station (Q-98, by that time was AC) and lasted for about 3 years before flipping to Oldies in 1993. Grab it while you can:

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=290373F2796DB980

Robyn
 
Sounds like the new Mix 96 was a great sounding station. The only thing I could see that was wrong with it was that the promos were too long. They seemed to drag on. Other than that, it sounds like some of the radio I missed back then and continue to miss today.
 
[EDIT] I know I'm selling cars, but my gosh man. You constantly have to have some sort of negative swing on everything. You say on the East TN board, you're a pd, but you can't do the music! Dude, worry about your own backyard and quit mowing everybody elses. How many times have you been fired? EVERYTIME. EVERYWHERE!

Shut up and just try to keep your job.

[EDIT-inflammatory]
 
Here I am, trying to make an intelligent observation on what was once a great radio station, and there you are, constantly ragging on me. Do you get some kind of perverse pleasure out of that? Or is your opinion the only one that matters? Just keep selling your cars (at least you got into a business where you can earn more money than you can in radio) and let me keep doing radio and making observsations like everyone else does. Everyone else can make their opinions known...why can't I?

The name is CROSSMAN
 
The exact same station that is now 96.5 The Drive. One question...do they have jocks on the Drive? I've never heard any.
 
Yes, the station on 96.5 was Mix 96. They were originally a Docket 80-90 move-in from Lumberton that went on the air as Mix 96 on July, 4th 1990. As you could tell in the composite, they were very Hot AC leaning during the day and more CHR at night like many CHRs during that time. Mix lasted until April 1st, 1993, when they've launched a 2 week long stunt as "Louie 96.5" where they played every known recorded version of the song "Louie, Louie" before segueing into the Oldies format. Dale O'Brian was the station's PD and "Slammin" Sammy Simpson was the Music Director in 1991. O'Brian left for PD/Morning duties Mix 94.5/WMXL in Lexington, KY in 1992.

For you production geeks out there (and I'm one of them), the voice of Mix was Mark Driscoll (utilizing f/x from Firstcom's Turbo Techsonics production library) and was later replaced by Mitch Craig. Jingles were from TM Century's Dallas Power package throughout the station's lifespan.

Robyn
 
Thanks for the info. I could kinda tell that Mark Driscoll was in there somewhere, and I'm a big fan of Century 21/TM Century jingles.
 
Hey Robin,
Thanks for the memories. Mix 96 was a great sounding station. I was doing nights at WRCQ while I was finishing out my stint as a paratrooper and was amazed at how hot Mix sounded. Dale is a super programmer and he and Sammy did a great job. Incidentally, I succeeded Dale as the morning guy. I teamed up with Carmen Connors(who went on to Memphis and then to Tampa) until RCQ hired me to do mornings. Also incidentally, Dale went on to program successfully in Washington, DC and then in Atlanta at 955 the Beat (where I worked for him in 2001).

Mix was ahead of it's time. It provided top notch radio before deregulation kicked in and radio became so formulaic. Sammy went on to work at Z100 NYC before starting his own radio promotional firm. Dale is back in Lexington, KY working for CC at the Mix station. Shadow Haze(I forget his real name) went to work for Driscoll. Who was the Australian midday guy? He was good.
 
Mix96 existed before 1990. It was WSTS Laurinburg, one of the highest-billing standalone smallsmallsmall market stations around, a southern gospel legend. Then Mr. Curtismedia changed it to WMXF Mix96. The WSTS call letters went to 100.9 in Fairmont soon thereafter, where they still are today.

Mix96 had a great sound, they were installing "the new computers" last time I knew (supposedly cost $20,000 and was probably as powerful as mine here today sigh). I tried working there a few times, I ain't gonna lie. I remember Allan Hoover was a dj toward the end of the Mixreign, and LouieLouie96 for some reason never got old that whole week they did it (in like five versions). :D
 
Hey Robyn correct me if I am wrong... I seem to remember WSTS family radio being on 96.5 until the late 80's... For some reason I remember something happening to their tower and they were off the air for a few weeks... Once Mix signed on STS moved up the dial to where they are now... Maybe I am "Crazee" but did that happen or is my brain really that tired :) take care CC1
 
WSTS, Laurinburg, was the station (along with WEWO) that Don Curtis owned and operated until he sold it to Durham Life Broadcasting in the mid 80s. The format was mostly paid religion, and as stated previously, it was very profitable. This station was NOT an 80-90 drop in...that was WCCG in Hope Mills. One of the things that held WMXF back in its top 40 era was that the studios were still in Lauinburg, not Fayetteville. Curtis sold 96.5 to Beasley in the mid 90s for about $4.5 million. This was at the same time he was buying 96.1 in Raleigh.
 
Thanks everyone for the info. That what happens when you are 1): Not from the area and 2): Relying on info that was secondhand at best.

For some reason, every since Q-98 flipped to AC in the late 80's, Top 40 hasn't been successful in Fayetteville. Does anyone remember when Q-98 tried CHR programming off the bird around 1995 (calling themselves "The Power Q")? I seam to recall that they went back to Hot AC shortly after and it wasn't until around 2000 when they jumped back to CHR again only to drop it once again for Hot AC a few years later.

Speaking of Laurinburg radio, does anyone remember a daytimer AM that had a Top 40 format in the early 90's? They were written up in "Billboard" magazine with several other AMs that featured Top 40 programming?

Robyn
 
The only satellite programming on Q98 over the years was (and is) the Bob and Sherri morning show and some weekend programming on Saturday night. During its automation days in the mid and late 70s, everything ran off 10-inch reels of tape on a Schafer automation system. When Q98 morphed into AC/HOT AC they briefly tried the "Magic 98" moniker, but ran into trademark problems, I think from "Magic" in Greensboro. Then it became just WQSM 98.1 FM. But people WOULD NOT stop calling it "Q98," so management finally decided to go back to "Q98." Q98 has never been known as "Power Q." The AM daytimer in Laurinburg that you're thinking of might be WLNC.
 
Yeah WLNC is 1300 AM right?
Fred Fox also ran a good ship for a tiny daytimer back when I was around there.
He always wanted to split off WEWO from Mix96 so he could have 24 hours, but the WIDU folks beat him to it somehow.

When I'd send out random resumés when i wanted to get back into radio a while back, he was about the only one who would ever respond to them in any way, shape, or form. He was all right by me.

They even had a website a couple years ago, last time I checked.
 
Wasn't the AM out of town, like WBLA? I do remember an AM daytimer coming on with CHR after the demise of WMXF.

I was able to pick up Mix 96, the Charlotte top 40's, and G105 in Raleigh while in college. Mix was my favorite during its brief existence. I actually interviewed there at the start of their Louie Louie stunt. The Mix 96 van was still in the parking lot. In Laurinburg. They had a night jock by the first name of Lea was often featured on professional airchecks as one of the hottest night jocks in the country.
 
I programmed WSTS (96.5).. and did the morning show from 1986-1989. (for Durham-Life Broadcasting) It was a money making Southern Gospel giant. Along with.. (AM) WEWO.. we had a great thing going. We were paid programs from 10am - 2pm M-F.. and a bit longer on weekend days... But we were mostly music. I programmed an uptempo (non church sounding) Southern Gospel format.. just like a country station. We did it all,.. news, sports, contests,.. promoted concerts and all. Those were some of the most fun years of my radio career. I miss N.C. a bunch!

I was there when the jet took out the WSTS tower (mentioned in an earlier post).. We were off the air for a few days. I recall being at the station.. we went off the air (unknown reason).. I was trying to use the remote to get us back on. We started getting frantic phone calls from residents.. reporting a plane crash. Then people said a fighter jet,.. possibly from Shaw Air Force Base (Sumter, S.C.) had gone down. I was a bit ticked off.. because we were off the air,.. and a big news story was happening that we couldn't report. Then it hit me.. maybe our off air status and the plane crash reports were somehow connected.

Anyway.. thats what happened.. a jet from Shaw hit the guy wires and took out the tower. pretty amazing site.
 
Hey RobynWattsV2.0

I know the link is 4.5 yrs old, ;-) but it's no longer working. Any chance you still have the Mix96 composite? I'd love to hear it.

I worked on the air at Mix96 during this period and Dale O'Brian is, without doubt, the best PD and Morning Guy I've worked with. His ability to give a station 'attitude' is remarkable. Of course, Mark Driscoll's talent helped with that kind of imaging. But, the creative vision and implementation was all Dale's.

In particular, Dale's a genius at strong competitive repositioning. Repositioning sweepers that "went up the dial to check out the competition" left everyone laughing. The sound was always fun, but cheeky (unless it was being patriotic...it is Fayetteville, after all (home to Fort Bragg)). I have a cassette somewhere containing 10 or 15 Mix96 sweepers. I'll find it, clean it up a bit, and post it at some point.

The lineup when I started was...

Dale O'Brian & Tank Sherman (a local funnyman from Laurinburg)
Pete Moss
Shayne Foley (Me..I took over from the talented and very beautiful Leah Scott)
Sean Michaels
Slammin' Sammy Simpson
Greg Stevens
"Silent Sal"

I had come from Australia to work at the station and I'd never heard anything like it before. I had received an early composite from when they first went live with Mix and was blown away by their sound. It was definitely a rockstar in the Fayetteville market....while it lasted.


Shayne
 
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