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Best Radio Stations In Kentucky

R

RadioRob

The thread has been used on other boards, so let’s add some life to this board. What is, in your opinion, the best station(s) in Kentucky past or present.

Full Service:
WHAS Louisville (the golden years during the seventies and eighties)
WVJS Owensboro (Up to the switch to AP radio in 1995.)
WVLK Lexington (until consolidation)
WLAP Lexington (throughout the seventies until the short lived beautiful music format, never recovered after that)

Top 40
WAKY and WKLO Louisville (late fifties until late seventies)
96STO Owensboro (until Brill Media destroyed the place in 1998)
WKYX Paducah (Lots of talent did radio there in the seventies before going off to bigger and better things)

Best Local Radio Today:
(Here in my neck of the woods)
WFMW Madisonville
WSON Henderson


<P ID="signature">______________
The radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.</P>
 
> WLAP Lexington (throughout the seventies until the short
> lived beautiful music format, never recovered after that)

I don't remember them ever being beautiful music/easy listening. I do remember in the '80s when the AM was oldies and the FM was top 40. Both the AM and the FM were much better than any oldies or top 40 station today.

Top 40 WLAP-FM was a living legend. Too bad they had to ruin that. They were big on dayparting though. It was like a whole different station depending on the daypart.

> 96STO Owensboro (until Brill Media destroyed the place in
> 1998)

I always thought of WSTO as leaning too much towards hot AC.

WQHY Prestonsburg was a long-running top 40 that still sounded pretty good in 2000. I haven't heard it since then though.
 
Also, I can't believe I forgot this one: tiny little WCLU Covington, when it was top 40 (around 1981-87).

WCLU was in the Cincinnati metro, although its studio and city of license were in Covington.
 
> I don't remember them ever being beautiful music/easy
> listening. I do remember in the '80s when the AM was oldies
> and the FM was top 40. Both the AM and the FM were much
> better than any oldies or top 40 station today.

WLAP-AM became an EZ listening station from about 1980-82. The GSM at the time pushed for the change which failed. By late 1982, WLAP returned to an AC format but the damage was done. The change to oldies happened around 1988 using SMN Pure Gold with a local morning and afternoon show.


> Top 40 WLAP-FM was a living legend. Too bad they had to ruin
> that. They were big on dayparting though. It was like a
> whole different station depending on the daypart.
>
> > 96STO Owensboro (until Brill Media destroyed the place in
> > 1998)
>
> I always thought of WSTO as leaning too much towards hot AC.

Much like WLAP-FM, 96STO was also a dayparted CHR.

>
> WQHY Prestonsburg was a long-running top 40 that still
> sounded pretty good in 2000. I haven't heard it since then
> though.

It's been a while since I've heard them, but they sounded pretty good.
<P ID="signature">______________
The radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.</P>
 
> I would also nominate WKIC Hazard for the fact that it
> remained top 40 on AM into the mid-'90s.
>

Back in the mid-eighties, WKIC-AM and WQXY-AM were stereo while WSGS-FM was mono.

As long as we're talking about the mountains; let me add the first place I actually did radio, WIFX Jenkins. Thanks G.C.. <P ID="signature">______________
The radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.</P>
 
Is WFXY in Middlesboro still top-40 on the AM band? 1490 I think. I worked at WCPM in Cumberland for a while back in the 80's. I hear they sold off the FM to someone in Virginia but still have the AM at 1280.

> > I would also nominate WKIC Hazard for the fact that it
> > remained top 40 on AM into the mid-'90s.
> >
>
> Back in the mid-eighties, WKIC-AM and WQXY-AM were stereo
> while WSGS-FM was mono.
>
> As long as we're talking about the mountains; let me add the
> first place I actually did radio, WIFX Jenkins. Thanks
> G.C..
>
 
> Is WFXY in Middlesboro still top-40 on the AM band? 1490 I
> think. I worked at WCPM in Cumberland for a while back in
> the 80's. I hear they sold off the FM to someone in Virginia
> but still have the AM at 1280.
>
> > > I would also nominate WKIC Hazard for the fact that it
> > > remained top 40 on AM into the mid-'90s.
> > >
> >
> > Back in the mid-eighties, WKIC-AM and WQXY-AM were stereo
> > while WSGS-FM was mono.
> >
> > As long as we're talking about the mountains; let me add
> the
> > first place I actually did radio, WIFX Jenkins. Thanks
> > G.C..
> >
>

The last time I checked WFXY, which was about a year ago, they were satellite hot AC (utilizing Westwood One's Bright AC format) with lots of features in the morning (I never heard a local host...just back-to-back news, ag reports, etc.).

I think it's really strange they're with this format considering on the FM side, there's a competiting station, Mix 96.1 WKKQ out of nearby Barbourville, using the same satellite format...but mainly on nights and weekends. On the other hand, I suppose WFXY was with the format long before WKKQ flipped from Southern Gospel to hot AC.
 
WKQQ

You have to include WKQQ, Lexington on that list. QQ had two really great "eras" - the first being in the mid 80's, Kruser and the station were both at the top of the ratings pile. QQ drifted off a bit for a while in the early 90's, but truly did an amazing job of revitalizing the place - even in the face of a frequency switch and wattage decrease. All of the staff members from QQ have gone on to great jobs in much larger markets.
 
Re: WKQQ

> You have to include WKQQ, Lexington on that list. QQ had
> two really great "eras" - the first being in the mid 80's,
> Kruser and the station were both at the top of the ratings
> pile. QQ drifted off a bit for a while in the early 90's,
> but truly did an amazing job of revitalizing the place -
> even in the face of a frequency switch and wattage decrease.
> All of the staff members from QQ have gone on to great jobs
> in much larger markets.
>

i will have to agree. double Q was one my favorite radio stations back in the late 80's through the later part of the 90's. in 1995, they seem to take a different direction, getting a little rowdier on the air than they were in the early 90's.. a mix of classic rock, and newer rock at the time (seven mary three, metallica, creed, drain sth, STP, alice in chains, ect) was the perfect mix.. the dj's at the time was great. cousin deke, lee cruise, rick van ice. were some of my favorites during the mid to late 90's. I got a lot of recorded cassettes from that era. some have commercials, dj'ing and all, but most have commercials and dj'ing edited out.
 
>>
> WLAP-AM became an EZ listening station from about 1980-82.
> The GSM at the time pushed for the change which failed. By
> late 1982, WLAP returned to an AC format but the damage was
> done. The change to oldies happened around 1988 using SMN
> Pure Gold with a local morning and afternoon show.
>
>
> That's when WFMI became the dominant Top 40 station in Lexington. Too bad it was short lived.
 
> That's when WFMI became the dominant Top 40 station in
> Lexington. Too bad it was short lived.

I'm told that after they became FOX 100, they lost about 80% of their listeners.

Later it switched back to Top 40, but then Trumper (which owned 94.5) made it part of a duopoly. Trumper managed to ruin 2 Top 40's in the same city within a few months of each other. First they ruined Power 94.5, and then they took over 100.1 and switched it to easy listening (I think) before it went young country.

Someone over at Trumper must have been smoking something.
 
> > That's when WFMI became the dominant Top 40 station in
> > Lexington. Too bad it was short lived.
>
> I'm told that after they became FOX 100, they lost about 80%
> of their listeners.

A question for someone outside of the market, when did 100FM flip to AC?

> Later it switched back to Top 40, but then Trumper (which
> owned 94.5) made it part of a duopoly. Trumper managed to
> ruin 2 Top 40's in the same city within a few months of each
> other. First they ruined Power 94.5, and then they took over
> 100.1 and switched it to easy listening (I think) before it
> went young country.
>
> Someone over at Trumper must have been smoking something.
>

Indeed, X-100 was a pretty decent CHR in the 15 months that it was on the air. They weren't afraid to take chances when it comes to music (unlike Power 94.5). The only thing that they've lacked was money.

After X-100 was killed, how long did it take before someone took a chance at putting another CHR in the market? When did 104.5 The Cat sign on?

Robyn


<P ID="signature">______________
"They say you better listen to the voice of reason. But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think it's treason." Elvis Costello "Radio Radio"</P>
 
> The thread has been used on other boards, so let’s add some
> life to this board. What is, in your opinion, the best
> station(s) in Kentucky past or present.
>
> Full Service:
> WHAS Louisville (the golden years during the seventies and
> eighties)
> WVJS Owensboro (Up to the switch to AP radio in 1995.)
> WVLK Lexington (until consolidation)
> WLAP Lexington (throughout the seventies until the short
> lived beautiful music format, never recovered after that)

Have to agree about the above choices. WHAS, in particular, was very good sounding. They even ran "American Top 40" on the weekends, which was surprising to me since they didn't play 50% of the songs from the countdown in regular rotation.

>
> Top 40
> WAKY and WKLO Louisville (late fifties until late seventies)
>
> 96STO Owensboro (until Brill Media destroyed the place in
> 1998)
> WKYX Paducah (Lots of talent did radio there in the
> seventies before going off to bigger and better things)

I have to add WDJX/Louisville as well from the late 80's/early 90's (particular during the Chris Shebel years).

Robyn
<P ID="signature">______________
"They say you better listen to the voice of reason. But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think it's treason." Elvis Costello "Radio Radio"</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by RobynWatts on 12/14/05 02:54 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> A question for someone outside of the market, when did 100FM
> flip to AC?

I'm guessing it was around February 1989 when they became Fox 100. Fox 100 really was hot AC from then until late '89/early '90, since at the time they didn't play anything that wasn't also CHR. But after late '89/early '90, Fox 100 was a regular old wimpy AC.

> Indeed, X-100 was a pretty decent CHR in the 15 months that
> it was on the air. They weren't afraid to take chances when
> it comes to music (unlike Power 94.5).

94.5 was pretty good up until maybe August 1991 or so. After that, they were just sad. They were basically hot AC for months before they became Mix 94.5. X-100 was destroying them, music-wise.

> After X-100 was killed, how long did it take before someone
> took a chance at putting another CHR in the market? When did
> 104.5 The Cat sign on?

Lexington didn't have another CHR until about 1996, when 104.5 came along. Yes, 1996! Is that ridiculous or what? The ratings for 94.5 had tumbled spectacularly, yet they didn't have the sense to return to CHR (although I bet they would have, if 104.5 hadn't beat them to it).

I believe some of the other formats in Lexington (R&B, modern rock, etc.) tried leaning more CHR by the mid-'90s though.
 
A little history on 100.1

It started out in the early seventies as WKDJ. Most of the early years were country and the Cincinnati Reds in mono. Bud Walters bought the frequency around 1980 and changed the calls to WFMI and moved the tower as close to Lexington as he was allowed. The initial format was AC but evolved to CHR by 1983.

For what it's worth, 100FM was Lexington's first fulltime attempt at CHR. Keep in mind through the seventies WVLK-AM and WLAP-AM were only full CHR at night and WLAP FM was automated TM's "Stereo Rock". Despite a poor signal over Lexington, 100FM did well among the bigger signals.

It was around 1987 WLAP-FM went live as "Power 94 1/2" and 100 FM's days were numbered. Bud sold WFMI about a year later to a New York Company who turned it into "Fox 100" with "Grinn and Barrett In the Morning". All was ready to upgrade the signal when the money ran out and the company went into receivership. The station evolved into a light rock station by 1991.

Bud purchased the station back for next to nothing and "X100" was born and a brief return to CHR. Bud later sold the station to Trumper during the first stage of consolidation and the upgrade took place and "Young Country" was born.

Despite a bigger signal, 25kw on WLAP's tower, "Young Country" made a small dent into heritage K-93. Then as consolidation went wild, Trumper sold to Jacor which became Clear Channel and somewhere in the confusion a frequency swap happen between WKQQ and Young Country (now 98.1 The Bull).

<P ID="signature">______________
The radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.</P>
 
Why did it take so long for Lexington to get a major CHR back in the early '80s? I thought every city in America had at least 2 CHR's back then.

Also, why did it take so long for WLAP-FM to go live and local? This had to have been about the last TM Stereo Rock station in the whole country. (I had thought TM Stereo Rock was out of business by 1982 or 1983. I honestly can't remember anything about WLAP-FM before 1987 or 1988, because they weren't that popular until then.)

Last but not least, why oh why did it take so long for Lexington to get a replacement CHR after WLAP-FM and WLFX were ruined in 1992?
 
> Why did it take so long for Lexington to get a major CHR
> back in the early '80s? I thought every city in America had
> at least 2 CHR's back then.

Part of the reason was WAKY Louisville dominance during the sixties and early seventies. WAKY's daytime signal was very strong over Lexington and was able to not only compete but was, during some dayparts, number one. Once pattern change happened, WAKY disappeared. WVLK and WLAP were MOR during the day since both couldn't compete with WAKY and played the harder stuff at night when WAKY wasn't a factor. By the late seventies FM was a factor with WKQQ and 94 1/2. WVLK-AM dropped night CHR by 1982 and WLAP was finding their way after the Beautiful Music disaster.

On a different note, who here remembers WVLK-AM doing urban at night and overnights from 1984 to 1988?


> Also, why did it take so long for WLAP-FM to go live and
> local? This had to have been about the last TM Stereo Rock
> station in the whole country. (I had thought TM Stereo Rock
> was out of business by 1982 or 1983. I honestly can't
> remember anything about WLAP-FM before 1987 or 1988, because
> they weren't that popular until then.)

Because WLAP-FM was making money with "TM Stereo Rock" and did well with ratings; it was 100FM arrival and the sale to Trumper caused the change to "Power" and actual live disc jockeys. By the way, the Harris System 90 automation was moved to AM when the change to satellite oldies happened in 1988. Keep in mind WVLK-FM and WLAP-FM was totally automated outside of morning drive through the mid eighties. Both stations were cash flow machines with no operating cost and ratings to back up the rates.


>
> Last but not least, why oh why did it take so long for
> Lexington to get a replacement CHR after WLAP-FM and WLFX
> were ruined in 1992?


That's Lexington radio.
<P ID="signature">______________
The radio business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.</P>
 
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