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WMMR, WYSP, WIOQ
- Thread starter JH_Radio
- Start date
The WMMR/WYSP rivalry lasted well into 90’s and I would argue up until the mid 2000’s when Free FM launched although by then it had somewhat cooled.
How?
I mean. from 1985 to 1995 maybe? WYSP was straight classic rock, whereas WMMR was AOR right?
Somewhere in the 'mid 90s WMMR leaned more AAA, and WYSP tried to mix in active rock with classic rock.
I actually wanna say that with WYSP that mix started in 1995.
J
JoeLouis
Guest
I remember when WIFI 92 competed against WCAU 98.1, wow I'm showing my age.
Anecdotally speaking I can tell you that most people I knew in the early/mid 90’s had WYSP and WMMR programmed on their presets in the car and switched back and forth on a regular basis. Also, there was a lot of talk about who liked which station better. And of course there was the Stern/Debella situation which added to it as well. Again, this is anecdotal and I recognize that their presentation/playlists were different but 25-30 years ago many people were heavily into both classic and more contemporary Active Rock which made the two stations fierce competitors.
In the 70's, WMMR had a much wider playlist than WYSP.
WYSP if I'm not mistaken, was consulted by Lee Abrams with his Superstars album rock format. the news was from ABC's ABC FM and WYSP used wind chimes as a bed. WMMR owned my Metromedia had a format similar to WNEW FM.
WIOQ, former WFIL FM, was eclectic , as they mixed in softer tic with their harder contemporary
WIOQ was a station constantly in a state of transition throughout the 70s. Starting off the decade, they were WFIL-FM Popular 102 and played the softer MOR stuff like Burt Bacharach tunes, Tom Jones, Engelbert, Dionne Warwick, Sergio Mendes.
When Walter Annenberg sold off Triangle Publications, WFIL-FM became WIOQ, where the call letters were supposed to represent 102. ( A script capital Q looks like a "2"). The soft format continued as they moved out of the roundhouse and into 2 Decker Square, adding an automation setup to rotate the soft rock.
By sometime around 73, the songs started getting a little harder, favoring some of the more rock and soul sounds of the day. By 1974-5, they pulled the automation plug and began morphing toward an AOR sound, and always with an idea to at least compete with WYSP, though they never really achieved parity at all. I worked there in the office from 1974 through 1976, so I'm pretty familiar with the goings on at that time. During the later "prog" phase, the jocks were Bill Paul overnights, Jim Harlan mornings, Bill Fantini middays, Alex DeMers afternoon drive, and John Harvey evenings.
By the end of the decade, the owners had to sell to Outlet and the station morphed back to a more Pop/rock sound and moved Harvey to his more famous morning slot.
When Walter Annenberg sold off Triangle Publications, WFIL-FM became WIOQ, where the call letters were supposed to represent 102. ( A script capital Q looks like a "2"). The soft format continued as they moved out of the roundhouse and into 2 Decker Square, adding an automation setup to rotate the soft rock.
By sometime around 73, the songs started getting a little harder, favoring some of the more rock and soul sounds of the day. By 1974-5, they pulled the automation plug and began morphing toward an AOR sound, and always with an idea to at least compete with WYSP, though they never really achieved parity at all. I worked there in the office from 1974 through 1976, so I'm pretty familiar with the goings on at that time. During the later "prog" phase, the jocks were Bill Paul overnights, Jim Harlan mornings, Bill Fantini middays, Alex DeMers afternoon drive, and John Harvey evenings.
By the end of the decade, the owners had to sell to Outlet and the station morphed back to a more Pop/rock sound and moved Harvey to his more famous morning slot.
I remember when they first flipped from BM (Y)our (S)tation in (P)hiladelphia, around 1971, I worked in the suburban station building 16th and Arch Sts, their studios were in the middle of the first floor encased in glass, you could see the techniques turntables they used on the side and the big rock in the center with ROCK WYSP 94 painted on it, every few days former WIBG jock Frank X Feller the new GM used to give out T Shirts and Albums in the middle of the day to all, great times when radio was king..
Great stuff. Although I don’t think radio has been King since the 40’s. That phrase however was used at night time in the 80’s when WCAU ran old time radio shows from the 40’s at 8 PM. I wish I could remember the name of the host. I don’t recall if the show was local or syndicated. That said, I have piles of cassettes that I recorded of WCAU and those old time shows packed away in the basement. Hopefully I’ll get around to digitizing them while I’m still on this side of the dirt but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.
Anyone know whatever happened to Bill Fantini, Bill Paul, Alex DeMers, and John "Harvey in the Moning" ?
This has become a great topic!
This has become a great topic!
Bill Fantini did work for some national radio news outlets. I've heard him on air on some Wall Street Journal reports, and in the past he did some ABC News reports.
Alex Demers became a consultant for radio stations. The one time I ran into him, I surprised him with the old WIOQ ID music that I had as a computer file. ( Stardrive, Robert Mason )
Harvey is out of the radio business and was working in the home building craft.
Bill Paul and Jim Harlan (?) - I got nothing.
Alex Demers became a consultant for radio stations. The one time I ran into him, I surprised him with the old WIOQ ID music that I had as a computer file. ( Stardrive, Robert Mason )
Harvey is out of the radio business and was working in the home building craft.
Bill Paul and Jim Harlan (?) - I got nothing.
That was always my impression. I never lived in that market but I recall seeing their playlists on the AOR page of Radio And Records as well as Walrus(!) and they always appeared to be pretty progressive back in the mid and late '70s...In the late '80s Alex Demers was the consultant at a Classic Rock station that I was working at in those days too up in Albany, NY...
and when that happened, it caused WBUX to drop their all 70s (they were ahead of their time with that still experimental format) which they were running a few years, I was kinda disappointed because WBUX played deeper cuts like Toast and Marmalade by Tin Tin, Small Beginnings by Flash and even Easy Loving by Freddie Hart where MGK only played National Top tunes.
coming from a guy that listens to only Rock music, and thats all I listen to, I can say with confidence that Rock formats compete against each other in a way no matter what. Think about it, how many people that listen to WMMR, also listen to WMGK? i'd say nearly all of them if theyre in range of both stations. back in the early 2000's Id flip between 93.3, 94.1, 94.5, and 102.9. Rock & Roll is Rock & Roll no matter what the subgenre or era is. just my 2 cents, maybe right, maybe wrong.
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