104.7 WYDD

[Kurt Toy]

Weren't they known as Y104 around 1981-82? I remember I once confused them, namewise, with B94.

 

[xm41]

Weren't they known as Y104 around 1981-82? I remember I once confused them, namewise, with B94.

Read the thread.

 

[Parttimer]

Wasn't it Power 105 right before it was Energy 105? I seem to remember Power 105 on the 104.7 frequency before Energy 105.

Where is Rich Anton these days? It's like he fell off the face of the earth.

Who was the midday gal on Power 105? As I recall, she was very good. Always upbeat, hit posts really well, and great with phones.

Rich spent 10 years at WTTS in Bloomington, IN, a very good AA format. He's now mroning drive and PD at forever's WUZZ 94.3 and 107.7 in Northwest PA.

I think the midday person was Lani Daniels maybe? (I get the feeling you actually know the answer on that one....)

 

[ScottyBman]

BTW, wasn't now WJAC weatherman Big Jim Burton part of the WYDD crew back in the day?

I don't think so, he was at WKYE (Key 95 Johnstown) for well in excess of 20 years.... I think he may actually have been part of the original lineup there.

Yes, he went there in the fall of 1983. I was an intern at WHJB in Greensburg the summer of 83 and he was there (HJB) and telling me about his move to Johnstown. I talked to him a few times at WKYE in teh fall and then we just drifted apart. He is a great guy and someone I always looked up to.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

I remember a short time when Pittsburgh had only two CHR stations, B94 and WYDD. 96.1 had moved to AC at the time. B94 was a real high energy station, but WYDD had no jingles and and the type of slower pace that one might associate with Cox radio today no matter the format. This did not seem like a typical old school CHR war as WYDD was not playing by the rules of the times. Listening to what passes for radio, especially in the South with Cox all over the place, WYDD as Top 40 might have been a glimpse into radio's future.

 

[johnknapik]

I loved the WYDD format and imaging. I was just a kid who didn't know much about radio but thought it was interesting on the weekends where they would play blocks of artists. They'd play 3 songs from artists like Madonna, Boston, Whitney Houston, The Cars, and Van Halen. It was really a great mix of music. Classic rock & Pop.. it was like Jack before the format was created.

 

[xm41]

I loved the WYDD format and imaging. I was just a kid who didn't know much about radio but thought it was interesting on the weekends where they would play blocks of artists. They'd play 3 songs from artists like Madonna, Boston, Whitney Houston, The Cars, and Van Halen. It was really a great mix of music. Classic rock & Pop.. it was like Jack before the format was created.

I don't remember the format ever being that mixed. For the most part fans of Boston, The Cars and Van Halen would claw their own ears off if forced to sit through Madonna and Whitney Houston.

As a rock fan I do not like Whitney Houston but I can't deny her singing talent. Madonna however is completly talentless. She does not play a single instrument and she does not even sing live at her so called concerts. Lip Syncing, Dancing and looking like a skank are not musical talents.

 

[Raymond]

Rich spent 10 years at WTTS in Bloomington, IN, a very good AA format. He's now mroning drive and PD at forever's WUZZ 94.3 and 107.7 in Northwest PA.

I think the midday person was Lani Daniels maybe? (I get the feeling you actually know the answer on that one.

Sorry to burst your pithy bubble Parttimer, but I was asking a question because I truly did not remember the gal's name. No reason for your smart alec answer in paranthesis. It definitely was not Lani Daniels. She was on the Point but never Power 105.


Thanks for the info on Rich. Nice that you keep track of people's careers like you do.

 

[cingram]

I don't remember the format ever being that mixed. For the most part fans of Boston, The Cars and Van Halen would claw their own ears off if forced to sit through Madonna and Whitney Houston.

All of these artists were current and had big hit songs in the mid-1980s (admittedly, Boston only had "Amanda"). So it wasn't that crazy at the time.

C.

 

[johnknapik]

Yep.. those artists were current and WYDD would play Amanda in between cuts like "More Than A Feelin'" and "Peace Of Mind". When they would play the Cars newest cut (Tonight She Comes) they would also play "Candy-O", "Best Friend's Girl", or a longer strange remix of "Hello".

 

[Chad-Stevens]

Did WYDD - around say, '85-'86 - have a late night "new music" show playing alternative music - the more commercial end of which at any rate? I seem to remember staying up late to hear it many times.

I also remember the B94 "Battle of the New Sounds" where a new song was played and if it received a two-thirds approval rating it was given a standing ovation sound effect. A two-thirds disapproval got a toilet flush sound effect. There were later variations on it, but this is the format I remember best.

 

[myoda7]

Re: 104.7 WYDD memories

Approximate (if not exact) order of 104.7 Stations since WYDD.

WNRJ "Energy 105" - 1989
WEZE "Easy 104.7" - 1990
WORD "Word-FM" - 1991
WXRB - "The Rebel" - (Whatever year Salem ditched 104.7 for 101.5)
WNRQ - "The Revolution" 1994/5
WJJJ - "Smooooooooooth Jazz" 1996
WJJJ - "Jammin' Oldies" 1999
WPGB - "News Talk" 2004

I could have some of the station names confused, but that's how I remember it.

You forgot "Power 105". That happened right before we all got blown out of 810 Fifth Avenue in 1989...I'm probably the only person who worked at 104.7 5 times.

1) 1979 - I was music director - what a great year to be in Pittsburgh. Steelers won the Super Bowl and the Pirates won the world series. YDD had a great year, from what I can remember...Jack Robertson was the morning guy, I was on after Jack. Worked with Rose Ryan, Sean McDowell, Jim Kinney, Jim D with Jazz Depressions. I remember when Phil and Scott from Thin Lizzy stopped up to visit the station for a interview before their show at the Stanley. Scott wanted to check out our transmitter on Murray Hill Road so off he went, leaving Phil on the corner across from the Liberty Theater to hang out till he got back. Honest. Saw the Police at the Decade in Oakland. Sting let me play his bass upstairs in the dressing room. Good times. Had a hard time convincing Jack to play 'Roxanne'.

2) 1986 - Back to Pittsburgh after stints in New Haven, Connecticut, Madison, Wisconsin, and Detroit. Station had no money, but we were lean and mean and layin down that "metro music." We were your "new hits" station. I programmed an hour of new music after midnight - lets see a show of hands for those who remember the 1260 Club....

3) 1994 - Overnghts at "Pittsburgh's Hit Country, The Rebel". Yee ha.

4) 1996 - 98 - Part-time at Smooooth Jazz, WJJJ - Too bad Clear Channel pulled the plug on that format here in Pittsburgh.

5) 1999 - 2001 Part-time at Jammin' Oldies, WJJJ - station re-imaged itself, changed to "Jammin' Hits" to not piss off soccer moms (make them feel older) when they were listening to Tone Loc's "Funky Cold Medina"

Me and Dave Shedlock were pondering where we could find an extra 10mil or so for WDUQ....
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Mike Kirven