Now that 2009 is coming to an end next week, but we are nearly close to the end of the decade, but I will give you a look back in what was going on in Hudson Valley radio for the last 10 years from 2000 to 2009.
1. WBPM's original "Rhythm 94.3" was a good station playing nothing but "Jammin' Oldies" as well as the "Jammin' Party" with Al Bandiero every Saturday night. Great station with CJ and the "Morning Rhythm Show", Russ Hanson and Downtown Lou Brown are the best. Sadly, the station flipped to oldies back in late 2001 as "Cool 94.3" until Cumulus took over from CC back in 2003 for a few months until it went country under the new call letters WKXP as "Kicks 94.3" and then "The Wolf". "The Wolf" is a great station than WRWD.
2. The then WRKW which has been a rock format since 1999 under "Quality Rock" flipped to an active rock format in 2002 as "92.9 Rock" when a loop of Eminem's "Without Me" played over and over again. That lasted for two years until the station flipped to oldies as "Cool 92.9" with the call letters WBPM in 2004, and it was a good oldies station with Rick McCaffery, Rick Knight, Tony Flash and a few others playing nothing but 50's and 60's music and the home of the "Solid Gold Jukebox" every Friday night including my favorite, the "Doo-Wop Cruise". After 4 years as a oldies station, the station flipped to a Classic Hits/Classic Rock format in 2007 as "Classic Hits 92.9" with Randy Turnip in the wings as PD and it was an okay station, but the station had some minor tweaks around that time including the "Music Blimp", the "Rockin' 80's" and Kid Kelly's "Backtrax USA". Sadly it went to a more classic rock approach and add a few 90's music, but WBPM has been "Classic Hits" playing nothing but 60's, 70's and 80's music, but they took the station in a different direction toward rock listeners that harkens back to the WRKW days in 1999 when it was "Quality Rock", but they added 90's music in the mix. I've seen that playlist on WBPM's website that Aerosmith "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" was a hit back in 1997 and it was from the movie "Armeggedon" I hope the 90's music will be on WBPM for a long time. I've been ranting about WBPM on past threads and posts, but now it is going to suck big time! As we always saying, change with the times.
3. 96.1 was WCTJ's "The Cat" when it was simulcast on 98.5 as a hot AC format went to a rhythmic CHR and hip-hop format known as "Kiss-FM" with the calls WPKF in 2001 and continued there, but this station sounds a lot like "Hot 97" and "Power 105" and so does "92.3 Now-FM". The stationed sounded more urban than ever. In the past, "Kiss-FM" had the "Playhouse" with CJ, DJ Shrek and a few others along with middays like an hour of "Throwback Lunch", "Freestyle 4 at 4" where they play 80's and early 90's freestyle music from the days of "Hot 103" and "Hot 97" in the late 80's and early 90's. But things have change until 2009 where they add Elvis Duran from Z-100 and "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest to middays. These are the changes at "Kiss-FM". Since the station flipped, it was simulcast on 99.3 as WFKP until it went to "Lite-FM" in 2005 for two years and went to a WRWD simulcast as WRWC until 2009 when it flipped to a talk format known as "News/Talk 99.3" back in October as WKIP-FM when it was usually at 96.9 back in the 90's before it became WRRV.
4. The "Lite-FM" wars which are an okay approach. First 99.3 went to an AC "Lite-FM" in 2005 after the stunting of "Cupid 99.3" and it continued until 2007, and then a few months later, WCTW also went "lite" as "Lite-FM" until 2009 where it goes back to a Hot AC format as "The Cat" with "Bob & Sheri", my favorite show is still in mornings. These are the "Lite-FM" wars where they ended up with three stations that are "Lite-FM". 92.1, 99.3 and 98.5. Strange.
5. WRWD left Tommy Lee Walker where he has been on this station for years during the 2000's, but I hope Tommy Lee will be ended up on "The Wolf" and it would be a great fit.
6. The AM stations that carried the syndicated music format known as the "Music of Your Life" on these stations like WGHQ, WKIP, WELV and WHUC which has been running adult standards since 2001 until 2006 where they go to something else.
7. WEOK has been with adult standards back in the early part of 2000 when it flipped to ESPN Radio until 2003 and then to a failed spanish format known as "El Ritmo" for a year until it went to "Radio Disney".
8. WKNY has been broadcasting Yankees baseball forever until 2004 when it moved to the FM spot carrying the Yankee games from WCBS during the regular and playoff season and mostly carrying Yankees from ESPN Radio in the World Series.
9. WCKL went off the air for good after it was a standards format, but when the Black United Fund took over, the station went silent for good. WCKL has been going nuts for a few years. It went to a simulcast of "Cool 92.9" as "560 Rock" in the top of the hour during the middle of the song, and then it went dark at night. And then another simulcast of "Cruisin' 93.5" from 2006 and then went dark again and then by 2009, it went to a rock music loop. Strange.
These are all my thoughts on reflecting back on Hudson Valley radio in the last 10 years, and I hope thing would change in the next decade or so, so tell us what you think about Hudson Valley radio during the last 10 years.
1. WBPM's original "Rhythm 94.3" was a good station playing nothing but "Jammin' Oldies" as well as the "Jammin' Party" with Al Bandiero every Saturday night. Great station with CJ and the "Morning Rhythm Show", Russ Hanson and Downtown Lou Brown are the best. Sadly, the station flipped to oldies back in late 2001 as "Cool 94.3" until Cumulus took over from CC back in 2003 for a few months until it went country under the new call letters WKXP as "Kicks 94.3" and then "The Wolf". "The Wolf" is a great station than WRWD.
2. The then WRKW which has been a rock format since 1999 under "Quality Rock" flipped to an active rock format in 2002 as "92.9 Rock" when a loop of Eminem's "Without Me" played over and over again. That lasted for two years until the station flipped to oldies as "Cool 92.9" with the call letters WBPM in 2004, and it was a good oldies station with Rick McCaffery, Rick Knight, Tony Flash and a few others playing nothing but 50's and 60's music and the home of the "Solid Gold Jukebox" every Friday night including my favorite, the "Doo-Wop Cruise". After 4 years as a oldies station, the station flipped to a Classic Hits/Classic Rock format in 2007 as "Classic Hits 92.9" with Randy Turnip in the wings as PD and it was an okay station, but the station had some minor tweaks around that time including the "Music Blimp", the "Rockin' 80's" and Kid Kelly's "Backtrax USA". Sadly it went to a more classic rock approach and add a few 90's music, but WBPM has been "Classic Hits" playing nothing but 60's, 70's and 80's music, but they took the station in a different direction toward rock listeners that harkens back to the WRKW days in 1999 when it was "Quality Rock", but they added 90's music in the mix. I've seen that playlist on WBPM's website that Aerosmith "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" was a hit back in 1997 and it was from the movie "Armeggedon" I hope the 90's music will be on WBPM for a long time. I've been ranting about WBPM on past threads and posts, but now it is going to suck big time! As we always saying, change with the times.
3. 96.1 was WCTJ's "The Cat" when it was simulcast on 98.5 as a hot AC format went to a rhythmic CHR and hip-hop format known as "Kiss-FM" with the calls WPKF in 2001 and continued there, but this station sounds a lot like "Hot 97" and "Power 105" and so does "92.3 Now-FM". The stationed sounded more urban than ever. In the past, "Kiss-FM" had the "Playhouse" with CJ, DJ Shrek and a few others along with middays like an hour of "Throwback Lunch", "Freestyle 4 at 4" where they play 80's and early 90's freestyle music from the days of "Hot 103" and "Hot 97" in the late 80's and early 90's. But things have change until 2009 where they add Elvis Duran from Z-100 and "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest to middays. These are the changes at "Kiss-FM". Since the station flipped, it was simulcast on 99.3 as WFKP until it went to "Lite-FM" in 2005 for two years and went to a WRWD simulcast as WRWC until 2009 when it flipped to a talk format known as "News/Talk 99.3" back in October as WKIP-FM when it was usually at 96.9 back in the 90's before it became WRRV.
4. The "Lite-FM" wars which are an okay approach. First 99.3 went to an AC "Lite-FM" in 2005 after the stunting of "Cupid 99.3" and it continued until 2007, and then a few months later, WCTW also went "lite" as "Lite-FM" until 2009 where it goes back to a Hot AC format as "The Cat" with "Bob & Sheri", my favorite show is still in mornings. These are the "Lite-FM" wars where they ended up with three stations that are "Lite-FM". 92.1, 99.3 and 98.5. Strange.
5. WRWD left Tommy Lee Walker where he has been on this station for years during the 2000's, but I hope Tommy Lee will be ended up on "The Wolf" and it would be a great fit.
6. The AM stations that carried the syndicated music format known as the "Music of Your Life" on these stations like WGHQ, WKIP, WELV and WHUC which has been running adult standards since 2001 until 2006 where they go to something else.
7. WEOK has been with adult standards back in the early part of 2000 when it flipped to ESPN Radio until 2003 and then to a failed spanish format known as "El Ritmo" for a year until it went to "Radio Disney".
8. WKNY has been broadcasting Yankees baseball forever until 2004 when it moved to the FM spot carrying the Yankee games from WCBS during the regular and playoff season and mostly carrying Yankees from ESPN Radio in the World Series.
9. WCKL went off the air for good after it was a standards format, but when the Black United Fund took over, the station went silent for good. WCKL has been going nuts for a few years. It went to a simulcast of "Cool 92.9" as "560 Rock" in the top of the hour during the middle of the song, and then it went dark at night. And then another simulcast of "Cruisin' 93.5" from 2006 and then went dark again and then by 2009, it went to a rock music loop. Strange.
These are all my thoughts on reflecting back on Hudson Valley radio in the last 10 years, and I hope thing would change in the next decade or so, so tell us what you think about Hudson Valley radio during the last 10 years.