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Eastern Franklin County Massachusetts, 1980

C

classicradionut

Guest
Radio here was great! We had the best of the best, and in some cases, worst of the worst when it came to local reception. New England ground conductivity being poor at best, still didn't interfere much with my listening habits. This is what I could actually hear from my hometown of Orange, MA - some 75 miles west of Boston.

AM

580 WTAG Worcester - AC
630 WPRO Providence - MOR
660 WNBC New York - AC-ish
680 WRKO Boston (very weak) - Top 40. Went AC later in the year
710 WOR New York
730 WACE Chicopee - Religious (Catholic)
770 WABC New York - Top 40. To AC in the Fall of '80
810 WGY Schenectedy NY - Full Service AC
850 WHDH Boston (barely) - MOR
880 WCBS New York - News
900 WOTW Nashua //106 FM - Top 40. Went Religious sometime after 1980 not sure of year
1000 WLMS Leominster - AC. Changed calls later to WCMX and format to Country
1010 WINS New York - News
1030 WBZ Boston - Full Service AC
1050 WHN New York - Country. At times obscured by WRPT Peterboro NH
1080 WTIC Hartford - Full Service AC
1110 WHIM Warwick RI - Country
1200 WKOX Framingham (barely) - Full Service
1220 WKBK Keene NH - Local Talk (way ahead of the times)
1230 WNEB Worcester - Big Band/Standards
1240 WHAI//98.3 FM Greenfield - AC
1250 WARE Ware - AC
1280 WEIM Fitchburg - Top 40
1290 WKNE Keene NH - Full Service AC
1310 WORC Worcester - Top 40
1340 WGAW Gardner - AC
1390 WCAT Orange - AC. Flipped to Oldies/Standards mix on 9/80
1430 WTTT Amherst - College Radio/NPR
1490 WKVT//92.7 FM Brattleboro - AC
1520 WPOE Greenfield - AC Signed on 6/80 daytime only.
1540 WPTR Albany - Top 40
1600 WIXY Springfield - Country

88.5 WFCR Amherst - NPR
89.7 WGBH-FM Boston - NPR
90.3 WAMC Albany - NPR
92.1 WSLE Peterboro NH - eclectic/AAA
92.3 WFLY Troy NY - Top 40 OR WPRO-FM Providence - Top 40 (depending on wx)
92.5 WHAV-FM Haverhill - Beautiful Music OR WWYZ Waterbury CT - AC
92.7 WKVT-FM//1490 AM Brattleboro - AC
92.9 WBOS Boston - Disco to AC. to AOR 1/1/81.
93.1 WHYN-FM Springfield - Beautiful Music
93.3 WSNE Taunton - AC
93.7 WCGY Lawrence - Partly automated Top 40. Oldies later 1980
94.1 WHJY? Providence - AC. To AOR in 81 or 82
94.5 WCOZ Boston - AOR
94.7 WMAS-FM Springfield - Disco. To AC in the Fall of 80.
94.9 WHOM-FM Mt. Washington - Beautiful Music
96.1 WSRS Worcester - Beautiful Music
96.7 WMMJ-FM Brattleboro - Beautiful Music
96.9 WJIB Boston - Beautiful Music
98.1 WMYS New Bedford/Fall River - AC
98.3 WHAI//1240 AM Greenfield - AC
98.5 WROR Boston - AC (1/1/80)
99.1 WPLM Plymouth - Nostalgia (30s/40s Ragtime/Big Band), OR WPLR New Haven CT - AOR
99.3 WHMP-FM Northampton - Automated AC
99.5 WSSH Lowell - Beautiful Music
100.5 WRCH Hartford - Beautiful Music
100.7 WHUE Boston - Beautiful Music
101.1 WGIR-FM Manchester NH - Soft AC (Natural 101). To AOR in 1981.
101.3 WKCI Hamden/New Haven CT - Top 40
102.1 WAQY Springfield - Top 40
102.5 WCRB Waltham - Classical
102.9 WDRC-FM Hartford - Top 40
103.3 WEEI-FM Boston - Soft Rock
103.7 WNBX-FM Keene - Beautiful Music
104.1 WBCN Boston - AOR
104.5 WFMP Fitchburg - AC (Format and stereo 1/80). Was country prior to 1980.
105.1 WPJB-FM Providence - Top 40 "JB 105"
105.7 WVBF Framingham - Top 40 "F-105"
105.9 WHCN Hartford - AOR
106.5 WPYX Albany - AOR
106.7 WBZ-FM Boston - Automated AOR, simulcast WBZ AM 1030 6-10AM.
107.3 WAAF Worcester - AOR
107.9 WXKS-FM//1450 AM Boston - Disco

That's it all from memory. I remember clear as day, in fact had this list printed in a notebook years ago. Course, after all these years there *might* be an error or two. For instance, WBOS 92.9 had four distinct format changes in as many years. Disco at the beginning of 1980, then to AC, then to AOR, then back to AC, then another version of AOR (1/1/83) then COUNTRY on 9/83. Maybe I added an AOR... the first one... but I think not. Also, I can't quite remember what was on 94.1, WHJY Providence's current frequency. WHJY was definitely on the air as AOR by 1983, but I don't know what came before it.

My listening habits, of course were NOT typical of average. But what I recorded I could most definitely pick up and I remembered the call letters. Kept a log back in those days. Nice hobby for a teenager.. kept me out of trouble :)

Now I'm back in the same hometown. So I should publish a comparison log of what's on the air NOW?<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
> 93.7 WCGY Lawrence - Partly automated Top 40. Oldies later
> 1980

Curt Gowdy's station. A very good oldies format until 1984 when they tightened theirl playlist. They had Cub Koda Friday nights too.


> 98.3 WHAI//1240 AM Greenfield - AC

Aaron Mintz was on Sunday's. An excellent themed oldies show which played the obscure as well as the hits.


<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
 
>> 1220 WKBK Keene NH - Local Talk (way ahead of the times)

Are you sure about that? I remember them playing music at least until the mid-ish 80s, though there may have been some local talk shows.

> 1310 WORC Worcester - Top 40
> 1540 WPTR Albany - Top 40

I thought these 2 had gone country by 1980.


> 101.1 WGIR-FM Manchester NH - Soft AC (Natural 101). To AOR
> in 1981.

Not sure exactly when they switched to AOR, but I think they'd already made the switch in 1980.


> 106.7 WBZ-FM Boston - Automated AOR, simulcast WBZ AM 1030
> 6-10AM.

I'd call WBZ-FM more of a Hot AC/lite Top 40. Definitely not AOR.

>
> Now I'm back in the same hometown. So I should publish a
> comparison log of what's on the air NOW?
>

Might be interesting to compare old vs new on each frequency.
 
> > 98.3 WHAI//1240 AM Greenfield - AC
>
> Aaron Mintz was on Sunday's. An excellent themed oldies
> show which played the obscure as well as the hits.
>
You remember Aaron Mintz? He was an old guy when I knew him about 7 years ago. And, he did a damn good job with a very deep playlist. The PD let him do whatever he wanted on his show. That was before Ann Banash sold out. God, was it that long ago? I did weekends on WAHI (second time around) from early 1997 till January 2000 and did a shift turnover with Aaron every Saturday.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
> >> 1220 WKBK Keene NH - Local Talk (way ahead of the times)
>
> Are you sure about that? I remember them playing music at
> least until the mid-ish 80s, though there may have been some
> local talk shows.

WKBK definitely did talk, at least during middays in 1983. I remember, I went job hunting in Keene that year. And, I really had to do a double take when I moved back because now, WKBK is on 1290, and WKNE moved from 1290 to 1220 and now runs MOYL. Outside of 1220 being a daytimer to protect Cleveland, I can't see why the call letter flip.

>
> > 1310 WORC Worcester - Top 40
> > 1540 WPTR Albany - Top 40
>
> I thought these had gone Country by 1980

Well, I KNOW WORC was Top 40. As late as 1983 they were number ONE in the market. The night jock ALWAYS closed out his show at 11:53PM with Stairway to Heaven. By the time I got out of the Navy the first time in 1988, WORC was in AM Stereo and definitely in the middle of their "Worcester Country" format. IMHO, they had one of the best processed AM Stereo signals in the country at that time (I had one of those Delco AM stereos in my car back then), second only to WBZ in audio quality. WPTR, by 1988 definitly playing Country, was ALSO in AM stereo and THEY had a wonderful signal too.
>
>
> > 101.1 WGIR-FM Manchester NH - Soft AC (Natural 101). To
> AOR
> > in 1981.
>
> Not sure exactly when they switched to AOR, but I think
> they'd already made the switch in 1980.

I'm not completely sure of the year. It was either Summer 1980 or early '81. You may be correct on the year.
>
> > 106.7 WBZ-FM Boston - Automated AOR, simulcast WBZ AM 1030
>
> > 6-10AM.
>
> I'd call WBZ-FM more of a Hot AC/lite Top 40. Definitely
> not AOR.

WBZ-FM was NOT HotAC in 1980. Just before then owner Westinghouse Broadcasting sold the frequency to Greater Media (or their predecessor, not sure which), 106.7 was definitely playing hard rock. There were, as I recall, some top 40 cuts thrown in but I remember hearing Boston, J. Geils and Aerosmith (okay, all Boston bands, haha). The station was voiced by WBZ (AM) personality Dave Maynard. Remember? And it was totally automated right up till the end, which I think was January 1981.

> > Now I'm back in the same hometown. So I should publish a
> > comparison log of what's on the air NOW?
> >
>
> Might be interesting to compare old vs new on each
> frequency.
>
That's a good idea. Now I have to sit down and write every station - even more tedious a task now that there's a dozen new stations on the air and a dozen more which moved since I left the area the first time in 1984.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
>
> WKBK definitely did talk, at least during middays in 1983.
> I remember, I went job hunting in Keene that year. And, I
> really had to do a double take when I moved back because
> now, WKBK is on 1290, and WKNE moved from 1290 to 1220 and
> now runs MOYL. Outside of 1220 being a daytimer to protect
> Cleveland, I can't see why the call letter flip.
>

The way I heard it, the WKBK calls were associated with talk radio (even though 1290 was doing talk also), so they decided to move them (and the format) to 1290. I thought 1220 got new calls, and WKNE exists only on 103.7.

> > I'd call WBZ-FM more of a Hot AC/lite Top 40. Definitely
> > not AOR.
>
> WBZ-FM was NOT HotAC in 1980. Just before then owner
> Westinghouse Broadcasting sold the frequency to Greater
> Media (or their predecessor, not sure which), 106.7 was
> definitely playing hard rock. There were, as I recall, some
> top 40 cuts thrown in but I remember hearing Boston, J.
> Geils and Aerosmith (okay, all Boston bands, haha). The
> station was voiced by WBZ (AM) personality Dave Maynard.
> Remember? And it was totally automated right up till the
> end, which I think was January 1981.


But those artists all crossed over to Top 40 back then. I have a tape somewhere of a tribute WBZ did on John Lennon after his death...I taped it off the FM, and when they went back to music, the first song was "I'm Not Lisa" by Jessie Colter...hardly an AOR track! WBZ-FM lasted a year longer than you thought...Westinghouse sold it at the end of '81. The Phoenix article I used for my 1982 Boston retro stated that WMJX had just debuted.
 
> The way I heard it, the WKBK calls were associated with talk
> radio (even though 1290 was doing talk also), so they
> decided to move them (and the format) to 1290. I thought
> 1220 got new calls, and WKNE exists only on 103.7.

The calls for 1220 are now WZBK.<P ID="signature">______________
It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.
-- Samuel Langhorne Clemens
</P>
 
Steve,


I have two boxes of airchecks of Aaron Mintz. Probably about 150 shows. From start to finish.

There is a great aircheck collector in that town. I think you know who it is.



> > > 98.3 WHAI//1240 AM Greenfield - AC
> >
> > Aaron Mintz was on Sunday's. An excellent themed oldies
> > show which played the obscure as well as the hits.
> >
> You remember Aaron Mintz? He was an old guy when I knew him
> about 7 years ago. And, he did a damn good job with a very
> deep playlist. The PD let him do whatever he wanted on his
> show. That was before Ann Banash sold out. God, was it
> that long ago? I did weekends on WAHI (second time around)
> from early 1997 till January 2000 and did a shift turnover
> with Aaron every Saturday.
>
<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected]</P>
 
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