With all these format flips, I thought I'd take a look back at how the Boston radio dial was 20 years ago. It seemed like for awhile, there were literally no format flips in Boston at all, and now all of a sudden, we've had a whole bunch. Here's how the Boston radio dial looked 20 years ago:
Also, I'm not going to mention NPR/public radio stations, just the commercial ones.
WLYT "Lite" 92.5: I didn't listen to it much, but it seemed like just yet another competitor to Magic and WSSH, would become "The River" in 1995, and has been successful and the same ever since.
WBOS 92.9: They used to be heavy on The Indigo Girls, Little River Band, k.d. lang, but then in 1996 or so they sort of leaned Top 40, and eventually became Triple AAA that it is today.
WCGY 93.7: Now this station HAS seen a lot of flips over the years. It became Eagle 93.7 in 1994, and then Star 93.7 in 1999, then Mike FM in 2005, and now the simulcast of WEEI.
WZOU 94.5: Long-time competitor to Kiss 108, though not as much hip-hop and rhythmic. I'm assuming it wasn't doing well, since it flipped to Jam'n shortly, in 1993.
WCDJ 96.9: Had been WJIB for a long time, but flipped to smooth jazz WCDJ in 1990 (I think), but shortly became Country WBCS which lasted for 3 years, and then became WKLB. After just a year, it became smooth jazz again as WSJZ, and then the long time WTKK, and just yesterday, flipped to the new Hot 96.9
WCAV 97.7: Another country station on the dial, but not many listeners in the greater Boston area. It became WBOT in 1999 which only lasted a few years, and then the short lived WILD 97.7, which lasted about a year, and in 2006 became the current simulcast of WAAF.
WBMX "Mix" 98.5: This was pretty much the only station I listened to most of the time. This was in the early days of the Hot AC format, where it almost resembled mainstream AC, since they never played rap or hard rock, and still a fair amount of music from the 70s, and even some from the 60s. They did away with the 70s in 1995, and then really leaned toward the "hotter" AC in 1996 or so, and played almost no music from the 80s at all, though the format would stay pretty much the same until 2009 when it moved to 104.1, and this became WBZ-FM "The Sports Hub."
WPLM "Variety" 99.1: This was a very short-lived format that I think only lasted for, like a year. It was meant to be a competitor to Mix, but I always thought they had much more variety, and liked it better once I discovered it. In June of 1995, they flipped to another Smooth Jazz station, and then in 1999 became the "Easy 99.1" that it is today, though it was mostly standards from the 40s and 50s. It seemed like they slowly added more modern music, and eventually became soft AC, and then the current AC that it is today. It seemed like this little station in Plymouth has always tried to compete with other stations in the area.
WSSH 99.5: This was the long-time soft AC station in Boston, that nobody ever thought would disappear, though in about 1993, I think they started getting more upbeat, and even had a commercial where they said "It's not elevator music anymore," but then it just became too close to Magic, and flipped to Smooth Jazz "The Oasis," competing with 99.1. This would last a few years, and then in 1997, it changed positions with WKLB which lasted until 2006, and then that changed places with WCRB where it is today. Eventually the station was sold to WGBH, and is now public broadcasting.
WZLX 100.7: Has changed very little since I can remember, and is still successful to this day. I don't think I have to say much here.
WFNX 101.7: Boston's only independent rock station for many years, which was pretty much the same up until last year when it was sold to Clear Channel and became The Harbor, and now The Evolution.
WCRB 102.5: This is another station that I never thought would change. It had been on the air since 1948, and had no changes at all until 2006 when it was sold to Greater Media, and flipped places with WKLB.
WODS "Oldies 103" 103.3: Boston's only true oldies station, playing hits of the 50s and 60s. Started to add in music from the 70s toward the late 90s, and then finally dropped all 50s music, and even most 60s. Added 80s music toward the end, and shockingly flipped to Amp Radio after 25 years.
WBCN 104.1: "The Rock of Boston." Another legend that we lost only a few years ago in favor of "The Sports Hub" on 98.5, and the WBMX format and callsign would move here.
WVBF 105.7: I think this was a close competitor to Magic, maybe a little more upbeat. Would very shortly flip to country WCLB "Boston's Country Club," making 2 country stations in the Boston market. It would flip to WKLB in 1995 to reduce confusion with other stations, and then in 1996, WKLB ended up on 96.9, and this would become WROR, which had been on 98.5 for many years until 1991 when it became WBMX. WROR has been there ever since, but has flipped to mostly classic rock.
WMJX "Magic 106.7": The oldest AC station in the country, and has even had a lot of the same personalities since then, such as Nancy Quill and David Allen Boucher. The station just celebrated its 31st anniversary on the air. I have a tape of Magic from 1998, and a lot of the songs on that tape are still played on the station today, and they even use a lot of the same jingles. However, in recent years, this station, too, has become a lot more upbeat and has added a lot of rhythmic Top 40 hits.
WAAF 107.3: "The Only Station That Really Rocks!" This used to be the station that all the cool boys listened to, and is never ever going off the air, as the kids stated back then. It's still on 107.3, and I know there's been talk about it moving, but I doubt that will happen.
WXKS 107.9 "Kiss 108": This is the other station that has been around since 1979. Still the same basic format, but the on-air talent has changed greatly, aside from Matty. Now owned by Clear Channel, the station has very little local content.
So overall, it seemed like back in the early 90s, there were a lot of competitors in the market. It seems like the Boston radio dial is back to the way it was, mainly because we now have 4 stations on the dial playing hip-hop/CHR: Kiss 108, Amp 103.3, Jam'n 94.5, and now Hot 96.9. It seems like hip-hop has really dominated the radio dial in a lot of areas, where it was brand-new in 1993 when Jam'n first signed on the air. It seemed like the main formats in the 80s and early 90s were country, AC, and Pop.
Also, I'm not going to mention NPR/public radio stations, just the commercial ones.
WLYT "Lite" 92.5: I didn't listen to it much, but it seemed like just yet another competitor to Magic and WSSH, would become "The River" in 1995, and has been successful and the same ever since.
WBOS 92.9: They used to be heavy on The Indigo Girls, Little River Band, k.d. lang, but then in 1996 or so they sort of leaned Top 40, and eventually became Triple AAA that it is today.
WCGY 93.7: Now this station HAS seen a lot of flips over the years. It became Eagle 93.7 in 1994, and then Star 93.7 in 1999, then Mike FM in 2005, and now the simulcast of WEEI.
WZOU 94.5: Long-time competitor to Kiss 108, though not as much hip-hop and rhythmic. I'm assuming it wasn't doing well, since it flipped to Jam'n shortly, in 1993.
WCDJ 96.9: Had been WJIB for a long time, but flipped to smooth jazz WCDJ in 1990 (I think), but shortly became Country WBCS which lasted for 3 years, and then became WKLB. After just a year, it became smooth jazz again as WSJZ, and then the long time WTKK, and just yesterday, flipped to the new Hot 96.9
WCAV 97.7: Another country station on the dial, but not many listeners in the greater Boston area. It became WBOT in 1999 which only lasted a few years, and then the short lived WILD 97.7, which lasted about a year, and in 2006 became the current simulcast of WAAF.
WBMX "Mix" 98.5: This was pretty much the only station I listened to most of the time. This was in the early days of the Hot AC format, where it almost resembled mainstream AC, since they never played rap or hard rock, and still a fair amount of music from the 70s, and even some from the 60s. They did away with the 70s in 1995, and then really leaned toward the "hotter" AC in 1996 or so, and played almost no music from the 80s at all, though the format would stay pretty much the same until 2009 when it moved to 104.1, and this became WBZ-FM "The Sports Hub."
WPLM "Variety" 99.1: This was a very short-lived format that I think only lasted for, like a year. It was meant to be a competitor to Mix, but I always thought they had much more variety, and liked it better once I discovered it. In June of 1995, they flipped to another Smooth Jazz station, and then in 1999 became the "Easy 99.1" that it is today, though it was mostly standards from the 40s and 50s. It seemed like they slowly added more modern music, and eventually became soft AC, and then the current AC that it is today. It seemed like this little station in Plymouth has always tried to compete with other stations in the area.
WSSH 99.5: This was the long-time soft AC station in Boston, that nobody ever thought would disappear, though in about 1993, I think they started getting more upbeat, and even had a commercial where they said "It's not elevator music anymore," but then it just became too close to Magic, and flipped to Smooth Jazz "The Oasis," competing with 99.1. This would last a few years, and then in 1997, it changed positions with WKLB which lasted until 2006, and then that changed places with WCRB where it is today. Eventually the station was sold to WGBH, and is now public broadcasting.
WZLX 100.7: Has changed very little since I can remember, and is still successful to this day. I don't think I have to say much here.
WFNX 101.7: Boston's only independent rock station for many years, which was pretty much the same up until last year when it was sold to Clear Channel and became The Harbor, and now The Evolution.
WCRB 102.5: This is another station that I never thought would change. It had been on the air since 1948, and had no changes at all until 2006 when it was sold to Greater Media, and flipped places with WKLB.
WODS "Oldies 103" 103.3: Boston's only true oldies station, playing hits of the 50s and 60s. Started to add in music from the 70s toward the late 90s, and then finally dropped all 50s music, and even most 60s. Added 80s music toward the end, and shockingly flipped to Amp Radio after 25 years.
WBCN 104.1: "The Rock of Boston." Another legend that we lost only a few years ago in favor of "The Sports Hub" on 98.5, and the WBMX format and callsign would move here.
WVBF 105.7: I think this was a close competitor to Magic, maybe a little more upbeat. Would very shortly flip to country WCLB "Boston's Country Club," making 2 country stations in the Boston market. It would flip to WKLB in 1995 to reduce confusion with other stations, and then in 1996, WKLB ended up on 96.9, and this would become WROR, which had been on 98.5 for many years until 1991 when it became WBMX. WROR has been there ever since, but has flipped to mostly classic rock.
WMJX "Magic 106.7": The oldest AC station in the country, and has even had a lot of the same personalities since then, such as Nancy Quill and David Allen Boucher. The station just celebrated its 31st anniversary on the air. I have a tape of Magic from 1998, and a lot of the songs on that tape are still played on the station today, and they even use a lot of the same jingles. However, in recent years, this station, too, has become a lot more upbeat and has added a lot of rhythmic Top 40 hits.
WAAF 107.3: "The Only Station That Really Rocks!" This used to be the station that all the cool boys listened to, and is never ever going off the air, as the kids stated back then. It's still on 107.3, and I know there's been talk about it moving, but I doubt that will happen.
WXKS 107.9 "Kiss 108": This is the other station that has been around since 1979. Still the same basic format, but the on-air talent has changed greatly, aside from Matty. Now owned by Clear Channel, the station has very little local content.
So overall, it seemed like back in the early 90s, there were a lot of competitors in the market. It seems like the Boston radio dial is back to the way it was, mainly because we now have 4 stations on the dial playing hip-hop/CHR: Kiss 108, Amp 103.3, Jam'n 94.5, and now Hot 96.9. It seems like hip-hop has really dominated the radio dial in a lot of areas, where it was brand-new in 1993 when Jam'n first signed on the air. It seemed like the main formats in the 80s and early 90s were country, AC, and Pop.
