1983: The year with no AC or country crossovers on local top 40 radio?

[microbob]

I remember WCLU made it about to Walton on the southwest, Maysville on the southeast, and Forest Park on the north.

It never made it to Grant County at all

 

[keys2]

I was listening when this happened! It was "Sweet Freedom" by Michael McDonald.

It sounded like half their records were all scratched up, especially around 1985-86.

Bandit, recalling from our history on this board, I thought you worked at CLU 132 back in the ‘80s.

Say whatever you will about Q102 back in the day, but they’ve done a good job down through the years of doing whatever it takes to survive. They’re still the city’s top CHR/Hot AC leaving in the dust a whole host of competitors, starting in the ‘70s with legendary WSAI-AM. Remember WJDJ (94.1...94DJ), WOKV (103.5), Kiss 96, Yes 95? And in more recent times have maintained an edge on Kiss 107. I’d say they’ve always adapted well to the musical times and have hired folks who understand Cincinnati and how to be successful here, even throughout the corporate radio surge.

On a side note, I think this market, for its size, has been blessed with more than the typical market’s share of heritage stations in their formats reaching back to the ‘70s and early ‘80s — Q102, WEBN, Warm 98, B105, WLW, WKRC, WAKW. In an unstable and ever-changing business, there’s been some pretty good stability in Cincinnati radio.

 

[NoWayNoCC]

Bandit, recalling from our history on this board, I thought you worked at CLU 132 back in the ‘80s.

That was somebody else. I was just a regular listener.

 

[fedacct1]

It never made it to Grant County at all

I was able to get in the car in the northern part of Grant County. However, it was VERY spotty.

 

[fedacct1]

Say whatever you will about Q102 back in the day, but they’ve done a good job down through the years of doing whatever it takes to survive. They’re still the city’s top CHR/Hot AC leaving in the dust a whole host of competitors, starting in the ‘70s with legendary WSAI-AM. Remember WJDJ (94.1...94DJ), WOKV (103.5), Kiss 96, Yes 95?

That is very true. You can add K-Rock 94 to that too, those brief several weeks where they did top 40 in late summer 1985.

 

[fedacct1]

One other title I'd add is "You & I" by Eddie Rabbitt & Crystal Gayle. Did it get airplay in Cincinnati?

Yeah, they played it.

 

[NoWayNoCC]

That is very true. You can add K-Rock 94 to that too, those brief several weeks where they did top 40 in late summer 1985.

I thought they went straight from country to AC. I thought K-Rock was the name of WWNK-AM when they did oldies.

Also, WAQZ was satellite top 40 in 1991.

 

[CentralFL]

This situation also happened in the NYC/NJ area, where CHR station WHTZ (Z100) was launched that same year. Z100 never played any of the songs that you mentioned or any other song that was very soft. Neither did WPLJ.

I remember hearing "Islands in the Stream" on Long Island. I mostly listed to WPLJ. Perhaps it was on WBLI or WKCI out of Connecticut?

 

[keys2]

I thought they went straight from country to AC. I thought K-Rock was the name of WWNK-AM when they did oldies.

Also, WAQZ was satellite top 40 in 1991.

Exactly. Country WKXF became WWNK and was a Hot AC/CHR hybrid for a while as WINK 94.1 before morphing into a straight Hot AC and eventually becoming Mix 94.1 (WVMX). Forgot about WINK. Q102 survived them too. And K-Rock was what they called WWNK-AM when they switched from a simulcast to oldies. They soon got back the legendary WSAI call letters which never should have been off of 1360. I know. I’m showing my age.

And I don’t remember WAQZ being Top 40 in 1991 but I’ll take your word for it. I remember them as alternative Channel Z and thought they did the format pretty well. It seemed a bit more Top 40/CHR in its approach to alternative versus the AORish approach of Oxford’s 97X and alternative-formatted stations I remember hearing in other markets at the time.

 

[NoWayNoCC]

I remember WWNK-FM just being plain old AC, except briefly in the mid-'90s when its all-'70s show began to slowly take over the station.

WAQZ was satellite top 40 from about April to December 1991 just before it became The Power Pig.

 

[fedacct1]

Exactly. Country WKXF became WWNK and was a Hot AC/CHR hybrid for a while as WINK 94.1 before morphing into a straight Hot AC and eventually becoming Mix 94.1 (WVMX). Forgot about WINK. Q102 survived them too. And K-Rock was what they called WWNK-AM when they switched from a simulcast to oldies.

I don’t know about the AM, but I vividly remember 94.1 doing CHR and calling themselves K-Rock 94 for a few weeks around when school started back in 1985. This was right in between the country format and WINK. I recall being excited that Cincinnati got another CHR to compete with that awful Q 102 (in my opinion). It did not last long, probably less than a month.

I forgot about The Heat (the satellite CHR) on 107.1, which is what NoWayNoCC is referring to, before they did Channel Z. It got better later on, but when they first started out Channel Z played “No More Words” by Berlin like it was the only record they had.

 

[keys2]

I don’t know about the AM, but I vividly remember 94.1 doing CHR and calling themselves K-Rock 94 for a few weeks around when school started back in 1985. This was right in between the country format and WINK. I recall being excited that Cincinnati got another CHR to compete with that awful Q 102 (in my opinion). It did not last long, probably less than a month.

I forgot about The Heat (the satellite CHR) on 107.1, which is what NoWayNoCC is referring to, before they did Channel Z. It got better later on, but when they first started out Channel Z played “No More Words” by Berlin like it was the only record they had.

The K-Rock 94 thing was them stunting. Stations have long done some variation of this to tease a format shift.

I forgot about 107.1 as CHRs The Heat and The Power Pig. Seems like they went quickly through several identities and format variations before settling in as Channel Z in the early ‘90s.

 

[fedacct1]

Speaking of Top 40 back in the day, Z98, the lower power station in Delhi, does an excellent overall job with their imaging and playlist. They do play those early 80 crossover AC’ish/country songs. (Frankly, those usually make me change the station). Generally stream it even when I’m in Cincinnati because of the range and float between that and 107 WANS, who doesn’t play the AC songs.

 

[Time Traveler]

I first heard WCLU in late 1982. They played a lot of new wave plus "Up Where We Belong" and "Maneater" quite a bit.

Times certainly changed....When I first heard WCLU in 1965...They were Country as was 1560-WCNW. Country was pretty much on fringe signals in those days. WSAI and the former 1230-WCPO were Top 40 at that time...