96-X - THE EARLY YEARS

[The-Major]

As a pre-teen growing up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. during the wild and crazy late-1970s one of my favourite TV shows of the era was "WKRP In Cincinnati". I had always been interested in the radio business (even as a little kid earlier on in the decade), but this show essentially propelled my love for all things radio to a new higher level. I wanted to be a radio deejay. Doctor Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap seemed to be having so much fun spinning the discs at that station, and I wanted to be just like them working for PD Andy Travis.

Stuart Elliott - You worked at the original 96-X way back then when "WKRP" was 'on-the-air'. Was 96-X anything at all like that ? Did it accurately portray what TOP 40 / rock radio was like in 1978 ? Take us back to that era of obnoxiously loud plaid leisure suits a la Herb Tarlek, dish the dirt, and wax the nostalgia for all of your loyal fans on here.

THE MAJOR

 

[voicetrack]

WKRP, while being a great sitcom, bore very little resemblance to anything that ever really happened in radio.

Didja ever notice that the request line phone was behind the jock, mounted on the wall on the other side of the room? I always loved that.....

 

[top4odj]

Stuart Elliott - You worked at the original 96-X way back then when "WKRP" was 'on-the-air'. Was 96-X anything at all like that ? Did it accurately portray what TOP 40 / rock radio was like in 1978 ? Take us back to that era of obnoxiously loud plaid leisure suits a la Herb Tarlek, dish the dirt, and wax the nostalgia for all of your loyal fans on here.

THE MAJOR

Well Major....WKRP was nothing like 96X was.....Our On Air Studio was about the size of a middle bedroom in a home. You saw (I believe) the Gates Executive Console in the picture. To the left of that console were 2 Turntables, to the right were the 6 line phone, 2 Scully reel to reels. Behind where we sat or stood (it was a stand up board..or elevated to give you the option) were 2 large cart racks that held all the music. Just on the otherside of the reel to reels on the right, were the Transmitter panel & STL (Studio to Transmitter Link, which fed the signal to the tower..at that time was off 441 & NW 199th Street), and a single reel to reel for air checking (At that time cassettes weren't quite in the picture lol). Believe it or not...there was red and black shag carpet on the walls. Alot thought it was real gaudy, but hey, it was the 70's!

Air staff wise, while I can't remember the actual first line up as 96X, the one that I enjoyed the most & the closest group as i've ever worked with was: Lee Logan-Moring Drive, Frank Reed-Mid Days, John Lee Walker-Afternoon Drive, Kid Curry-Nights, Eric Rhodes-Late Nights & The Boy Wonder-Over Nights. Jerry Clifton was the PD and my mentor. He was the one that gave me my first shot on air.

We were not only co-workers, but we were friends as well. Pretty tight nit. We did things together outside of 96X. For instance....say it was a Saturday night...we'd be at the former Grand Prix Raceway in Fort Lauderdale playing pinball & racing go-carts. One nite we were having a blast, and I just happened to look at my watch and noticed it was about 11:15 PM. Mind you, I had to be on the air at Midnight and we were a good 50 minutes to an hour or so from the station which was located on Miami Beach, down the street from Mount Siani Hospital off the Julia Tuttle Causeway and Alton Road. I looked at Jerry and said "I got to fly...i've got to be on in about 45 minutes and i'm going to be late, I don't even have time to prep!" No you tell me with this reply he gave, that this would happen today....He said "It's ok, the PD knows where you're at and it's not a problem" Now that..shows you how well we all connected.

Unlike WKRP...when we played a record (you still remember them don't ya??), we cued it up. The turntables were quick start, so it was about a quarter turn back and the song was right there when you hit the button. If you really watched WKRP with a critical eye..when they played records, they just dropped the needle down on the album and the song was there. And they didn't use headphones either. None of us used candles for mood...nor incense. Our sales staff were young and hip, dressed well & there were no "Herb Tarlek" types. Our GM was a younger guy (compaired to Mr. Carlson) & the receptionist was cute, but no Jennifer Malone by any means.

All and all, we were a good group of people who meshed well & it reflected on the air. We had fun and passed it along to our listeners. We didn't have the $$ or flash of Y-100, but there wasn't a day that went by that we didn't enjoy what we did.

While WKRP was fun to watch & it did have some funny stuff, it was just a TV show and in no way portrayed real radio.

 

[Groove1670]

Stuart,

Was most of the music played on the turntables, or on cart. What processing did 96X use.

 

[top4odj]

Stuart,

Was most of the music played on the turntables, or on cart. What processing did 96X use.

98% of the music that was played on air was with carts. The 2% was mainly, but not exclusive to shows like American Top 40 and other syndicated weekly shows. For the life of me, I can't remember what processors were used, I just know that they weren't the popular Orban 8000 series like we used at I-95 & Y-100. If for some reason I have a mass infection of memory gain and it comes to me, i'll let ya know.

 

[The-Major]

Well Major....WKRP was nothing like 96X was.....While WKRP was fun to watch & it did have some funny stuff, it was just a TV show and in no way portrayed real radio.

I am shocked - absolutely shocked - that 96-X en Miami was nothing like "WKRP In Cincinnati". I guess the next thing you're going to tell me is that WJM in Minneapolis was nothing like WTVJ en Miami in 1970 when Mary Richards showed some spunk to her new boss Lou Grant !

STL (Studio to Transmitter Link, which fed the signal to the tower..at that time was off 441 & NW 199th Street)

I am amazed of all of the various MAMMOTH transmitters that are located all along U.S. 441 for several miles on both sides of the Miami-Dade / Broward County lines. I wonder why that particular area of South Florida was chosen as the 'stick farm' ? I mean besides the obvious - its central location in the region. I would think that it would make more sense for them to be located further inland such as on the edge of the Everglades west of the Turnpike near the Doral area, but then again that would place them in the direct flight path of Miami Internacional Aeropuerto. I guess I just answered my own question there !

& The Boy Wonder-Over Nights.

How did you get that nickname 'The Boy Wonder' ?

Unlike WKRP...when we played a record (you still remember them don't ya??), we cued it up. The turntables were quick start, so it was about a quarter turn back and the song was right there when you hit the button. If you really watched WKRP with a critical eye..when they played records, they just dropped the needle down on the album and the song was there.

I've actually seen that 'cuing up the record' action with the quarter-turn back. I don't remember where I've seen it done before, but I've always known that was pretty much standard practice back in the day. Even as an 11-year-old I knew that you couldn't just drop the needle on the record and have the song start in the perfect spot.

All and all, we were a good group of people who meshed well & it reflected on the air. We had fun and passed it along to our listeners. We didn't have the $$ or flash of Y-100, but there wasn't a day that went by that we didn't enjoy what we did.

That was then and this is 2006. Radio is nothing like that anymore. You can feel it in the air. There's no more love.

THE MAJOR

 

[954]

I am shocked - absolutely shocked - that 96-X en Miami was nothing like "WKRP In Cincinnati". I guess the next thing you're going to tell me is that WJM in Minneapolis was nothing like WTVJ en Miami in 1970 when Mary Richards showed some spunk to her new boss Lou Grant !

"I hate spunk!"

I am amazed of all of the various MAMMOTH transmitters that are located all along U.S. 441 for several miles on both sides of the Miami-Dade / Broward County lines. I wonder why that particular area of South Florida was chosen as the 'stick farm' ? I mean besides the obvious - its central location in the region. I would think that it would make more sense for them to be located further inland such as on the edge of the Everglades west of the Turnpike near the Doral area, but then again that would place them in the direct flight path of Miami Internacional Aeropuerto. I guess I just answered my own question there !

When they were built, 441 near the county line was really out in the sticks. I don't think there was much of anything north of 183rd st along 441. Besides, Doral and the turnpike extension were far in the future. Furthermore, that location served Broward better.

Similarly, I remember in the 70s WGMA's transmitter location was 9881 Sheridan Street. But Sheridan didn't go out that far. Nor did Taft or Johnson. You had to get there via Palm Ave, from Hollywood Blvd. Now it's surrounded by condos and shopping centers. I don't remember what station is out there now. Probably successor WLQY.

Check this out:

http://www.cafepress.com/wftlfans

73s

 

[top4odj]

I am shocked - absolutely shocked - that 96-X en Miami was nothing like "WKRP In Cincinnati". I guess the next thing you're going to tell me is that WJM in Minneapolis was nothing like WTVJ en Miami in 1970 when Mary Richards showed some spunk to her new boss Lou Grant !

<Sniff><Sniff> Is that the smell of SARCASIM?????


I am amazed of all of the various MAMMOTH transmitters that are located all along U.S. 441 for several miles on both sides of the Miami-Dade / Broward County lines. I wonder why that particular area of South Florida was chosen as the 'stick farm' ? I mean besides the obvious - its central location in the region. I would think that it would make more sense for them to be located further inland such as on the edge of the Everglades west of the Turnpike near the Doral area, but then again that would place them in the direct flight path of Miami Internacional Aeropuerto. I guess I just answered my own question there !

Don't forget, at one time Fort Lauderdale International Airport was nowhere near what it is today. Towers were there first, so everything is built around them. The tower closest to NW 199th Street is only occupied by WBPT Ch. 2. When I started at the X in 1975, The tower was shared by Ch. 2, WAIA-97.3 FM (then WGTR & now The Coast) and WMYQ/WMJX. In 76-77, they took xrays of the tower and saw it was so rotted out, that within the next few years, it wouldn't be standing. So I got to see my first of 2 actual tower constructions. The new tower went up, they put the microwaves & antennas on it, then proceeded to dismantle the old one. Going north, the next tower would be WSVN-Ch. 7 and then WPLG-Ch. 10. In the early 80's Gannett, who owned WINZ-FM & AM decided to build their own tower. Ch. 2 found out and pretty much told 97.3 they're off the stick. So Gannett went up and the last time I was there, was being occupied by WINZ-FM, WPOW, WLVE, WSHE, WEDR, WLYF, WKIS, WHYI & Ch. 69. I belive there are 1 or 2 more TV stations and at least 2 more FM's besides various Cell Microwaves. The other new tower closest to County Line & 441 is the Dico Tower, mostly used by Cells and 2-way systems. A bit west would be the WFOR-CBS4 Tower that they got with the NBC/CBS station swap a number of years ago.


How did you get that nickname 'The Boy Wonder' ?

The name came gratis via Jerry Clifton. At 17 (Thanks Janis Ian), I was pretty much the youngest on air in South Florida, so because of that, Jerry said "Thats your air name....people will remember it". I used it till Joel Denver became PD and we felt that it was time to go to a more civilized name...so it went The Boy Wonder, Stuart The Boy Wonder and finally phased to Stuart Elliott. I remember sitting in the GM's office with Joel one day when we were deciding on my "real name" air name to use. I wanted to use the name Cecil Heftel, who was the owner of Y-100, but the GM was a wuss and didn't want to start any problems, so I just said that I wanted to use my real first name, and that Elliott sounded good. They agreed and that was it.


I've actually seen that 'cuing up the record' action with the quarter-turn back. I don't remember where I've seen it done before, but I've always known that was pretty much standard practice back in the day. Even as an 11-year-old I knew that you couldn't just drop the needle on the record and have the song start in the perfect spot.

The record player of choic back the were Technics by Panasonic. They had just 45 & 33 RPM plus the knobs to speed up & slow down. Great tables..they were work horses. FYI...if you hear older air checks, and the music sounds fast, thats because alot of stations back then sped up the RPMs abit. Reason being is to be able to fit another song or two in the hour.



That was then and this is 2006. Radio is nothing like that anymore. You can feel it in the air. There's no more love.

Nope, you barely know your co-workers these days. This is one of the main reasons I never tried to get back in.

 

[Obtuse1]

If you watch the WKRP pilot, the first rock record played (Ted Nugent-Queen Of The Forest) actually has the tonearm resting squarely on the LP's label!

 

[The-Major]

So Gannett went up and the last time I was there, was being occupied by WINZ-FM, WPOW, WLVE, WSHE, WEDR, WLYF, WKIS, WHYI & Ch. 69.

We here in the Homestead area are fortunate to have NBC-6's MAMMOTH tower in our backyard. When the Cable TV goes out the only station that we can pick-up over-the-air is NBC-6. Every other TV station is too far away from us (about 50 miles away). You can see that tower from pretty much everywhere down here. Why that signal is so strong - (How strong is it ?) - it's so strong that I can pick up its images on ordinary kitchen utensils !

Seriously though it is so strong that Adelphia Cable has to tweak its cable signals a bit so that NBC-6 doesn't bleed over onto various other adjacent lower-band VHF channels.

THE MAJOR

 

[The-Major]

The name came gratis via Jerry Clifton. At 17 (Thanks Janis Ian), I was pretty much the youngest on air in South Florida, so because of that, Jerry said "Thats your air name....people will remember it". I used it till Joel Denver became PD and we felt that it was time to go to a more civilized name...so it went The Boy Wonder, Stuart The Boy Wonder and finally phased to Stuart Elliott. I remember sitting in the GM's office with Joel one day when we were deciding on my "real name" air name to use.

So if my math is correct you were a South Florida radio personality from the age of 17 until the age of 38. That's a nice long career, but it ended when you were still young. If you were still on-the-air today then you would be a lot younger than a lot of today's current talent. Do you think that if you had started your radio career later in life (like in your early-to-mid-20s) that you would still be on-the-air today ? Basically what I was wondering is if you were 'burnt-out' per se with the radio business by the time you hit your late-30s.

FYI...if you hear older air checks, and the music sounds fast, thats because alot of stations back then sped up the RPMs abit. Reason being is to be able to fit another song or two in the hour.

Some hit music stations still do that today - especially late at night. The same song that is played at 8 AM sounds noticeably faster at say 2 AM. I think it's annoying. I like to hear my favourite songs in the way that they were originally intended.

THE MAJOR

 

[top4odj]

So if my math is correct you were a South Florida radio personality from the age of 17 until the age of 38. That's a nice long career, but it ended when you were still young. If you were still on-the-air today then you would be a lot younger than a lot of today's current talent. Do you think that if you had started your radio career later in life (like in your early-to-mid-20s) that you would still be on-the-air today ? Basically what I was wondering is if you were 'burnt-out' per se with the radio business by the time you hit your late-30s.
THE MAJOR

Yes. I was fortunate to have started at 17 during my senior year of High School also never having to leave South Florida the whole time. Few in this industry can make that claim. My reason for leaving the business was a difficult, abeit easy. I'll try to explain without making it complicated. I started radio at a time when the industry was fun. I worked with some of the finest people in the business, which made it a pleasure. In any business, things change. Not that I can't adapt, but as stated before, Radio is a TEAM effort. A real team...not just saying you are on the air, but also bonding with your co-workers off air as well. You really don't have that now.

BURNOUT? Only to them...When I was at 96X phase II (1985) I was pulled off my full time night shift, because in the corprate eyes, being APD/MD/Full Time Jock (in at 8am out at around midnight 5 days a week, plus a weekend shift), in their eyes, I was going to suffer mass burnout. Believe me when I say that I argued the point extensively, that it didn't bother me at all, as I was there for 1 reason: To make that station work! But the higher hands prevailed, and you know the rest.

At Y-100, it was just a difference of opinion between PD and Announcer. With all due respect to my last PD, one week it was "You sound too much like a 70's jock", the next week it was "You don't sound enough like....". My reply was "If you're not sure what you want as a sound, how do you expect me to to know" Plus the fact that at that point of the ride, it was more read the liners & less on being a personality. I was in the business to be an entertainer.

Had I started in radio 10-15 years later, I wouldn't have known true personality radio as it was, so I wouldn't have known enough to care and who knows, I may not have been able to do the things I did, nor have lasted as long.

Overall, I can say I wasn't burnt as a Jock. I would have gladly stayed if I was able to do what I started out to do....entertain. If I wanted to do liner cards, i'd have become an announcer at a news station or a beautiful music station. When I run into former co-workers who are still in it, they tell me how I left at a good time. I know that when I left radio in August 1996, that it was a decision I was comfortable with then, and still to this day. I know that because (unlike other times when I departed for a bit), that I never got that "Itch" to get back in...to the point it drove me nuts to crack a mic and do my thing. I've always said, I may not have been to the caliber or had the fame of a Cox or Banana Joe or Kid Curry...BUT, I was a team player who just had his nitch & hopefully a known local name by not trying to be someone I wasn't, but just by being myself and sharing the fun with a few million people over the years. Years I wouldn't trade for anything in the world!

 

[The-Major]

At Y-100, it was just a difference of opinion between PD and Announcer. With all due respect to my last PD, one week it was "You sound too much like a 70's jock", the next week it was "You don't sound enough like....". My reply was "If you're not sure what you want as a sound, how do you expect me to to know" Plus the fact that at that point of the ride, it was more read the liners & less on being a personality. I was in the business to be an entertainer.

As an aside whenever I put on my deep barritone radio voice (YES I have one of those too) I also sound like a '70s jock'. I've been told that I'd be perfect as a late-night / early-morning dude on the radio - if it was 1978 ! If anyone out there in Radio-Info land has the powers to hire a cool-sounding voiceover artist then I may be interested !

OK ... Back to our originally-scheduled programme here:

As I recall PD Rob Roberts returned to Y-100 in January 1996 and pretty much shook the station up - talent-wise and also music-wise. As a fan of Y-100 I was all for the much-needed and long-overdue change in music style because it had evolved into pretty much a low-risk HOT-A.C. station (not by name but how it sounded) during the 1990s. Rob Roberts brought in the rock and (most importantly to me) the imported European dance music from across the sea. Here I go again as I state that I believe that Y-100's modern glory years occurred during the entire second-half of the 1990s when 'Two-Bob' was in charge again.

I've always said, I may not have been to the caliber or had the fame of a Cox or Banana Joe or Kid Curry...BUT, I was a team player who just had his nitch & hopefully a known local name by not trying to be someone I wasn't, but just by being myself and sharing the fun with a few million people over the years. Years I wouldn't trade for anything in the world!

On the other hand I recall that shortly after Rob Roberts shook things up you were gone from the line-up. Here it is 10 to 15 years later, and I (as well as others on here) still remember listening to you on the radio. I remember some of the wacky things that you did real early in the morning. The UFO stunt that carried into the 'Bobby & Footy' show and got milked for all that it was worth comes to mind. If you made that much of an impression to us, and we still remember you to this day then you must have been doing a good job at what you did on the radio.

THE MAJOR