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za-rex
Guest
Apparently it's B101's 20th birthday. Not sure what month but kinda like "what if they gave a party and nobody came". Does anybody remember what the first on-air lineup was when they signed on?
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za-rex said:
Only thing I remember from that station is that they used to air Imus. Sorry that I'm not more knowlegable about them. It's difficult to know what's going on when you only tune them in once every 5 years. I also can't bring myself to wish them a Happy Birthday. Who exactly would I be wishing Happy Birthday to? Would it be the transmitter or would it be the console in the main studio? Maybe the antenna outside. I always found it silly when people would wish a radio station Happy Birthday. I don't even think the employees care. None of them were there from day one. So it's not going to make a difference to them. It definitely won't make a difference to the listeners unless the station has some big giveaway planned or a neat celebration in the works. Maybe I should throw a surprise party for my HDTV that turns two years old next month. That would be just as silly as wishing a radio station Happy Birthday. The only station where I cared about their Birthday was Pro-Fm because they would always throw a neat bash every year.
I remember it well..that's when B101 used to be fun and listen-able. Before they dumped 3/4 of their playlist and started to fire air staff members who knew what they were talking about and were fun to listen to..all in exchange for card-readers and regional or national syndication (which is little more than a transmitter baby-sitter).
The station signed on the day after Christmas in 1989 with Dick McDonough & Carol Salisbury in the morning, Norm Thibeault in middays, John Morgan afternoons, Daria Bruno evenings and Dave somebody-or-other overnights. The first change came when the overnighter was let go 3 weeks later and replaced with Bruce Palmer. Note-worthy changes that I recall over the first couple years included Daria replacing Salisbury in the morning with Cruisin Bruce moved into evenings by spring of 1990 (bringing Roger LeTendre into overnights)..Paul Perry replacing Dick McDonough around the station's first birthday..and somewhere in '91, John Morgan came off the air which brought Palmer into afternoon drive and the addition of Vinnie Lewis in the evenings..who would eventually be replaced by Randy Saxx.
Big John Bina, Dr. Don Spencer and Michele with one L all came by the mid-90s when the station was (in my opinion) at its most-listenable peak. B101 started to disintegrate around the time Clear Channel and AMFM inc merged around 2000-2001.
I, for one, miss fun, local, personality-driven radio !
(thanks, Clear Channel et al)
The station signed on the day after Christmas in 1989 with Dick McDonough & Carol Salisbury in the morning, Norm Thibeault in middays, John Morgan afternoons, Daria Bruno evenings and Dave somebody-or-other overnights. The first change came when the overnighter was let go 3 weeks later and replaced with Bruce Palmer. Note-worthy changes that I recall over the first couple years included Daria replacing Salisbury in the morning with Cruisin Bruce moved into evenings by spring of 1990 (bringing Roger LeTendre into overnights)..Paul Perry replacing Dick McDonough around the station's first birthday..and somewhere in '91, John Morgan came off the air which brought Palmer into afternoon drive and the addition of Vinnie Lewis in the evenings..who would eventually be replaced by Randy Saxx.
Big John Bina, Dr. Don Spencer and Michele with one L all came by the mid-90s when the station was (in my opinion) at its most-listenable peak. B101 started to disintegrate around the time Clear Channel and AMFM inc merged around 2000-2001.
I, for one, miss fun, local, personality-driven radio !
(thanks, Clear Channel et al)
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FRACK100
Guest
As usual, no one mentions that I was there from day one until CC decided to do their own traffic. "sob"
Sheridan
Sheridan
B101 was a good station, but in my opinion, never as good as Oldies 103.3 (now 103.3 WODS). I had listened to 103.3 proir to B101 as it was the only FM oldies station in the area. I am sure many others also did the same in RI. Sure there was AM 550 WICE which I also liked, and even if you did not mind the AM at that time, the 1000 watt signal in Cumberland, RI did not go very far beyond Route 295 loop and nearby towns in Massachustts. When B101 came on, I checked it out, but still listened to 103.3 at the same time. I always liked the DJs on 103.3 and the music variety better than B101. Even after oldies stations "modernized" after dropping the pre mid 60's music, 103.3 still continued to sound great in music variety, while B101 kept playing more 70's and 80's pop rock and some classic rock, especially after 103.7 WRX changed to sports. 103.3 kept the music balanced with a mix of 60's, 70's, and 80's pop rock, soul, disco, and dance music. B101's emphasis has become 70's and 80's pop rock. It sounds like B101 is competing with 105.7 WROR, which also is mainly 60's, 70's, and 80's pop rock. I am sure 103.3 WODS still has many listeners in RI, as its signal covers much of the state down to Newport and Exeter. B101 is still a preset on my car radio, but I rarely listen to it.
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necrat123
Guest
That the same Dick McDonough who was (or still is) on WMAS-FM in Springfield, MA?
One and the same.
A nicer guy you'll never meet..though sometimes I'm not sure he was cast correctly to do mornings.
For my taste, he is the perfect midday guy.
A nicer guy you'll never meet..though sometimes I'm not sure he was cast correctly to do mornings.
For my taste, he is the perfect midday guy.
jeffryan said:
That was accurately put. Unfortunately I think the same can be said for more than one station in this market. Things are just plain Stale! Boring! Mundane! etc... I believe there is a right time for change just for the sake of change. Now would be that time. Actually three years ago would have been that time. But I can see that nobody is in a hurry to do much.
Skynet74 said:
Nothing makes this point louder and clearer than the fact that the most-viewed, most-posted-about topic on this board for the last FOUR MONTHS has been about the goings-on and shady shenanigans at a run-down dilapidated "de-facto daytimer" AM station, with little or no hope of ever becoming a significant player in this market.
Another bad sign is that...when I do turn on the radio...I find myself doing a whole lot more out-of-market listening than in-market. No...I'm not a DX-er......It's just that I can't find much of anything in-market to hold my attention.
If they ever did a movie about radio around here, they would have to call it: "Dead Market Walking".
I agree with what others have said, but I would add that this applies to other markets; the best word to describe the state of New England radio is, indeed, "stale." Flip around -- same formats -- even going out-of-market, I find that a song that played on 105. shows up on 96.1 several minutes later, or vice-versa. The homogenization of radio has taken the fun out of it. 630 can be compelling, if the topic is, but 920 offers NOTHING in the form of a compelling challenge -- same people, same schtick. With the market as it is, there's very little hope for change or improvement, sadly.
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