CC Nashville Cutting Down again for the Holidays

[firepoint525]

Oh Yeah Cindy Lauper's "Time after Time" was played on WKDF FM for awhile. In fact, do you remember a female weekend DJ named Jessie Lang. Not Jessica Lang, but Jessee? She even joked about the song once after she played "Time after Time". She said All of the Ted Nugent fans are now slashing their wrists or something such as that.

And yet, during that same time frame KDF still had those ubiquitous bumblebee "rock" bumper stickers plastered all over every car in middle Tennessee, and even a few down in west Tennessee. I remember seeing some there back at that time. And they continued to promote themselves as "the cutting edge of rock" until just a year or two before their format change. This, together with Swissvol's comments above, are exactly what I mean about KDF coasting on their former glory and reputation for the last 20 years or so of their so-called "rock" existence. They surreptitiously dropped the "of rock" from their slogan during those last couple of years.

Anyone remember their last TV commercial as a "rock" station? All the "man" on the street interviews in that commercial were with women. And everyone knows a true "rock" station skews about 60-40 male.

 

[scottwmro]

"They also cut the WLAC "local sales manager" position. "

Incorrect. Just hired a new one. New sales manager is Tom Tobia .

Bill Buntin was the local sales manager for WLAC up until a month or two ago. I happen to know Bill and his wife very well. Tom must have been brought in to replace Bill.

 

[firepoint525]

Early albums by Genesis was played on "Underground" rock radio. I think you all are talking about the popish mainstream sounding works by Genesis such as "Moma" and that sort. Their Nursery Crymes album and their Selling England by the pound albums were just 2 albums featured on Underground FM rock. I never was a Phil Colins fan anyway. I though his singing voice grated on me.
The WKDF FM we are talking about in the eighties would have never played the early stuff by Genesis since it was considered to be to psychedelic or trippy sounding.

The problem with Genesis was the same malady also suffered by Chicago and the Doobie Brothers. They each let a new lead singer come in and "soften" their sound almost beyond recognition. Chicago, with Peter Cetera at the mike, put out one dreary ballad after another in the '80s. This after their jazzy heyday in the '70s. And the Doobies, with Michael McDonald at the helm, bore no resemblance in the late '70s to their former rockin' selves of the earlier '70s. And it wasn't enough for Michael McDonald to take over and ruin the Doobie Brothers' sound. He had to sing "backing" vocals on almost every major hit of the '70s and '80s! (I put "backing" in quotes because he overwhelmed almost every song he ever sang on! His vocals in particular grated on me.)

But he wasn't the only one who had to be everywhere back then. It seemed like Stevie Nicks also sang on every hit song on the radio there for a while.

 

[junebaby62]

I remember turning on KDF one afternoon right before their switch to country and hearing "Culture Club". I thought, "are you kiddin me", i checked to make sure i wasnt on 107.5 The River, but no, it was KDF. KDF playing Boy George, thats sad.

 

[deltas69]

Bill Buntin was the local sales manager for WLAC up until a month ago Bill is still with CC..he's on the sports side of that thing..that is unless something's changed within the last 24 hours..and with what i read here..anything's possible...

 

[scottwmro]

Chris, IIRC it was 104.5's change from Rockin' Hits/Kicks to Classic Hits. Michael St. John did some on air skit (readoor attempt at drama) with morning jock (Rob Johnson?) before the format change. I think Jackson Daniels was afternoon jock same era. Were you at Kicks/Fox that time or after?

I started weekends at KX-104 in Feb of 1987...MSJ had it back to a tight adult-CHR at this point...
MSJ was gone by summer of 87 to Y95 Phoenix...along with BJ Harris and Jackson Daniels. KX then went to
Classic Hits as WGFX in mid-August 87. Rob Johnson...the morning guy...always did "oldies" at 9a...and on this Friday
morning...he launched into Paul Revere and The Raiders "KICKS". From 6a-9a...there was an occasional ticking clock
SFX..."it's coming in XX hours and XX minutes"...usually around a stopset. At 1:04pm..."The Fox" replaced KX104.
I had no clue about the coming change until I heard it on the air. Began working classic hits the next day...
until I was canned in 1990 for taking an approved vacation. Really.
Worked out...I did a few weekends at WRLT...then was able to move to WSIX.

Speaking of Michael St. John, when he took over as PD of 92Q in 1990, dude, you talking about a "tight change"! One day Jay Dubard was there and, the next day I walk in and Michael St. John was sitting in Jay's chair. There was no warning or signs that Sam Howard had all this in mind!

Well anyway, The Black/Urban audience was accustom to hearing the "Quiet Storm", Sunday thru Thursday Nights.

I was on the air the first Sunday night after MSJ took over, the Quiet Storm was removed, and MSJ was moving us to more of what I call a "White Dance" Format. Gee, the phone calls, even our Music Director, Jasmine Sanders was calling me on the hot line asking me what the hell was going on, where's the Quiet Storm, Scott, what the hell are you doing to the radio station?????

It got so bad with the nasty phone calls I got that I was scared to go near the front door of the station. Michael was there that night and yelled down the hall to me standing outside the control room, "Screw them M***** F*******!"

In his private meeting with me, that night he brought up one of his favorite ole sayings: "White Women in the South love to shake thier a**!"

I was one of his main jocks at WQQK during those days, 7 PM to 12 Mid, and "Scott the Rock" was going to kick Y-107's A**! And yes, I did for that short time in my daypart. Gina Savage came from KDF to do Midday's, and Michael and Jasmine Sanders did mornings together. Well, Michael didn't stay long due to he got a bigger gig in L.A.

The new P.D. came in, removed me from the 7 to 12 mid slot and back to a sorry time slot on the weekend! I think he fired Gina, and I protested to Sam Howard since me and the new PD got in to it because he moved me to a weekend overnight shift, 2 AM to 6 AM, Sunday Night/Monday Morning. I got mad, played a Led Zeppelin song(all of my love) on 92Q and walked out, leaving the station with dead air. That p***** the new PD off. He called me the next day, and want to kick my a**. I just brushed it off, but I was going to press legal charges against him for threating me.

Sam, being he was a family friend of my parents, brought me in for a private meeting in his office, and offered me to come back and do part time shifts and engineering work, helping Clinton Hooper on WVOL. I decided not to do that and I put my total energy on trying to get WMRO on the air. When that PD was fired, Sam hired Magic Jackson as PD and Magic ask me to come back to 92Q. I did, and stayed there until I got WMRO up and running.

Oh well, one of the ole 92Q stories, and I know since that station went on as WHVT, all the way up until today, that station has had it's share of fighting and people with big heads!

Scott

 

[romer979fm]

Oh well, one of the ole 92Q stories, and I know since that station went on as WHVT, all the way up until today, that station has had it's share of fighting and people with big heads!

please do not confuse WBYQ with WQQK...same frequency ONLY.
you had nothing to do with WBYQ...and shouldn't pretend that you did.

 

[SwissVol]

Early albums by Genesis was played on "Underground" rock radio. I think you all are talking about the popish mainstream sounding works by Genesis such as "Moma" and that sort. Their Nursery Crymes album and their Selling England by the pound albums were just 2 albums featured on Underground FM rock. I never was a Phil Colins fan anyway. I though his singing voice grated on me.
The WKDF FM we are talking about in the eighties would have never played the early stuff by Genesis since it was considered to be to psychedelic or trippy sounding.

The problem with Genesis was the same malady also suffered by Chicago and the Doobie Brothers. They each let a new lead singer come in and "soften" their sound almost beyond recognition. Chicago, with Peter Cetera at the mike, put out one dreary ballad after another in the '80s. This after their jazzy heyday in the '70s. And the Doobies, with Michael McDonald at the helm, bore no resemblance in the late '70s to their former rockin' selves of the earlier '70s. And it wasn't enough for Michael McDonald to take over and ruin the Doobie Brothers' sound. He had to sing "backing" vocals on almost every major hit of the '70s and '80s! (I put "backing" in quotes because he overwhelmed almost every song he ever sang on! His vocals in particular grated on me.)



The Chicago example is a good one indeed. The First album by them was called: Chicago Transit Authority. That was one fine album indeed!! Poem 58 from that masterpiece is by far my favorite track. Not to tork off Star 106 people, but you're correct. The later works by Peter Cetera would have fit in nicely on that sort of station. Poem 58 was progressive!

By the eighties, I guess KDF was so caught up in ratings, bean counting and corporate radio, they were never going to change what they were doing. From a buisness standpoint it just made good sense. Back in the old days, the kids had an expression for that: It was called: "Selling out:

 

[courier37027]

Oh well, one of the ole 92Q stories, and I know since that station went on as WHVT, all the way up until today, that station has had it's share of fighting and people with big heads!

please do not confuse WBYQ with WQQK...same frequency ONLY.
you had nothing to do with WBYQ...and shouldn't pretend that you did.

With all the quotes flying around please let me clarify. I never worked at 92Q.

 

[junebaby62]

Scott, thats a funny story about playing Zeppelin on 92Q, seems i read another story similar to that about a Jock that knew he was gonna be let go by 92Q, so before he left, he played 3 or 4 rock songs(Zeppelin,Beatles) before his shift was over. Is this the same story or a different Jock?

 

[firepoint525]

Scott, thats a funny story about playing Zeppelin on 92Q, seems i read another story similar to that about a Jock that knew he was gonna be let go by 92Q, so before he left, he played 3 or 4 rock songs(Zeppelin,Beatles) before his shift was over. Is this the same story or a different Jock?

I seem to recall that story, too, but I don't know who that was. Maybe it was Scott? And there seems to have been more than one 92Q in Nashville radio history. I have only lived here since 1992, so I only remember the current 92Q (WQQK).

 

[junebaby62]

Firepoint, 92Q has been around since the late 70's, it was my favorite station back then, they had like a top 40 format, they changed formats a couple of times but have always gone by "92Q", as far as i no. I think they switched to urban/soul music in the early to mid 80's and thats when i stopped listening. Ex 92Q DJ, Chris Romer has given the 411 on the history of 92Q on several threads on this message board, over the last year or so. If your interested in stuff like that, it's very good reading.

 

[Tibbs4]

CR --- have you talked to Steve McCoy in the last few weeks? I need to call him.

(FYI = Steve was 92-Q morning man in the late 70's through early 80's, along with
Mary Glenn Lassiter. He was at Atlanta's Z-93, then Star 94 from the mid-80's (give
or take a brief stop in Dallas) until last month, when he was let go when co-host Vicki Locke semi-retired for health issues.) Steve's big league and a great guy all around. How awesome to get him back in Nastyville, Tennishoe? Even if he did the show from
Atlanta. If 92-Q resurfaced, updated, with a few key other players, aka Chris Romer,
with energy and style (vs. the canned Cumulus versions) --- even on 97.1--- it
could be a contender up against a couple of the top stations.

Funny that the Top 40 version of 92-Q still gets talked about even though the
signal was smaller than 96 Kiss, Kicks 104 or Y-107. Ah, the power of radio.

--- Forgive me for going deep into the vault for this --- I think only Chris and Scott will
remember this stuff ---

Another 92-Q flashback that makes a few people still smile on here...maybe we can
get Preacher Dan the Healin' Man to exorcise McCoy back to Music City. Highly
improbable, really impossible, but what fun it would be. Preacher Dan was one of the funnier McCoy characters that aired right after 6 AM every morning to get the show off
on a positive and uplifting note. It made fun of an old TV preacher named Ernest Angley,
who was a classic con artist. It had the hallalujeah (sp) chorus and a constantly
ringing cash register as Preacher Dan evolved into his web of cons, goofy schemes, etc. LMAO just thinking about it. Right arm out and country ham --- that, virtually no one will get...unless you heard the bit for three years! Amen.

 

[romer979fm]

CR --- have you talked to Steve McCoy in the last few weeks?

yes...about a week ago. e-mail me.
off the subject (what?)...McCoy considered a Nashville return many years ago before the KVIL adventure...
106 made a nice offer after Bridgewater left...but the deal went south when a certain individual picked up
McCoy at the airport. as for 92Q being successful...a LOT of that had to do with all those van stops with
t-shirt giveaways: we gabe out top-quality shirts...and halter tops! lots of stories there...but we did three stops
every weeknight...many more on the weekend...and without extra pay. pulled an 8.0 12+ summer '77...(?)
were involved in the Eagles "Hotel California" Nashville show... then along came KX104 and our move into
the WMAK studios on Division...tic tic tic McCoy to Z...simulcasts...sale of WBYQ... game over.

 

[romer979fm]

--- Forgive me for going deep into the vault for this --- I think only Chris and Scott will
remember this stuff ---

and Scott wasn't even there ???

 

[CommoChief]

(as for 92Q being successful...a LOT of that had to do with all those van stops with
t-shirt giveaways)

I stopped at one of those give aways once. Mary Glen Lassiter and Jim Sparks were in the van. I don't know if I looked gullable or whether it was standard operating procedures... but, MGL told me I couldn't have a T-shirt until she put a decal in my window (which she did).

 

[Tibbs4]

I was just adding the Scott part for you, Chris. I know when he came along to take it all to the next level. :

 

[romer979fm]

(as for 92Q being successful...a LOT of that had to do with all those van stops with
t-shirt giveaways)

I stopped at one of those give aways once. Mary Glen Lassiter and Jim Sparks were in the van. I don't know if I looked gullable or whether it was standard operating procedures... but, MGL told me I couldn't have a T-shirt until she put a decal in my window (which she did).

that was standard procedure...
a. remove the KDF decal
b. replace with the blue and yellow 92Q decal

 

[scottwmro]

Oh well, one of the ole 92Q stories, and I know since that station went on as WHVT, all the way up until today, that station has had it's share of fighting and people with big heads!

please do not confuse WBYQ with WQQK...same frequency ONLY.
you had nothing to do with WBYQ...and shouldn't pretend that you did.

With all the quotes flying around please let me clarify. I never worked at 92Q.

To Chris Romer:

What you're saying IS NOT the way the FCC sees it. WHVT, WBYQ, WMAK-FM, and WQQK are all the same station, the same license, same allocation, a frequency licensed to Hendersonville. It doesn't matter where the studio was located at the time, but the allocation and the transmitter site HAS ALWAYS been at the same location.
The commission doesn't care what is programed on it, but the license is still the same, not matter IF the calls are changed. It's just like people refer to my station as the old WAMG, and that's incorrect, it's the old WWGM. I just modified the license and the allocation.
No, had nothing to do when the station was using the calls WBYQ.

 

[romer979fm]

FCC? who mentioned the FCC? Oh...you did.

The FCC is concerned with the station licensed to Hendersonville operating on 92.1...
and isn't concerned with formats or slogans...or which group used 92Q first.
Why do you drag them into this?

BTW, I never worked for the FCC