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Kiss 108 - in the beginning

CTListener said:
Disco was dead, for all intents and purposes, in 1981. CHR playlists were full of soft rock and country crossovers until MTV's influence really started to shake things up the following year. White was doing what needed to be done at the time.
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Exactly, however in peoples minds, the post-disco Rhythmic R&B songs being played at the time, most people would still associate as still being Disco. Even if technically it was post-disco music instead.
 
Retro said:
Exactly, however in peoples minds, the post-disco Rhythmic R&B songs being played at the time, most people would still associate as still being Disco. Even if technically it was post-disco music instead.
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Right. There was a big difference between Donna Summer's disco-boom "Love to Love You, Baby" and her post disco "She Works Hard for the Money." She adjusted, as did the Bee Gees (especially individually) and Earth Wind and Fire. But many major disco acts of the '70s were done as far as radio was concerned in the '80s -- the Village People, Chic, the Ritchie Family, etc. -- and the one-hit wonders of 1977-79 ran out of chances to make lightning strike twice when the public got tired of disco all at once. They had nothing to offer but disco, and became buggy whip makers suddenly dropped into in a world of automobiles.
 
CTListener said:
Right. There was a big difference between Donna Summer's disco-boom "Love to Love You, Baby" and her post disco "She Works Hard for the Money." She adjusted, as did the Bee Gees (especially individually) and Earth Wind and Fire. But many major disco acts of the '70s were done as far as radio was concerned in the '80s -- the Village People, Chic, the Ritchie Family, etc. -- and the one-hit wonders of 1977-79 ran out of chances to make lightning strike twice when the public got tired of disco all at once. They had nothing to offer but disco, and became buggy whip makers suddenly dropped into in a world of automobiles.
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FWIW, Donna Summer's 1982 offering of Finger On The Trigger (Love Is In Control) still very much had that Disco type sound. Ironicaly, her previous Top 10 hit from just 2 years earlier, The Wanderer, sounded much more post-disco than her 1982 Top 10 hit did. I found an article fairly recently, with the writer comparing just how quicky official disco tunes just disapeared entirely from the Hot 100! It was probably much more vast than in 1990, when Hip Hip/Dance sub-planted Hard Rock and Hair/Glam Metal bands also.
 
Retro said:
Yesterday, I caught an aircheck of the launch of WKTU, New York. I was surprised to find out that it began in July 1978.

My question is very simple, did Kiss 108 debut before or after Disco 92 (WKTU), New York did?

BTW, I do remeber it being about the Summer of 1980, when they had flipped to Disco/pop CHR. And despite what other websites have reported, the station twinged quite a bit more pop, disqualifying them of what is, or was considered the Rhythmic CHR format.

Main examples, back in 1981, they played all the top pop hits that Dance/Rhythmic CHR would've never touched with a 10 foot pole! Including Dolly Parton, Juice Newton, Joey Scarbury, and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Lets not forget the new Rock sensation at the time, Billy Squire either. Just wanted to clear that up.
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I think WXKS-FM started on January 1, 1979.
 
Sources are saying Feb 10 1979.I thought it was Jan 15 or so. Via newspapers.com. this from the Boston Evening Globe 1-24-79.Click the OCR link to read it all

www.newspapers.com

The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts

Get this The Boston Globe page for free from Wednesday, January 24, 1979 Boston Evening Globe Wednesday, January 24, 1979 31 Takeover in the night Television Radio 10:00 pm .... Edition of The Boston Globe
www.newspapers.com www.newspapers.com

Boston Evening Globe Wednesday, January 24, 1979 page 31 Takeover in the night By Robert A. McLean Globe Staff "Disco Dawn, what's that station you got on? I can't do the Latin Hustle without shoes. And that's not all amiss. Those call letters spell KISS. What say we switch to Jess or Carl de Suze?" ' '. Old, early-morning WWELWWEL-FM listeners were jolted out of their sleep last week, to rush barefoot to the clock-radio and see if they had tuned the wrong station the night before. WXKS and WXKS-FM had taken over in the night, and instead of low-key wakeup music and news, it was rattling and rolling with a Saturday Night Fever beat, Boston's newest sound, "Cosmopolitan Contemporary," according to general manager Rich Balsbaugh. For the first week there wasn't even a breather for a commercial now and then, because the new management, Heftel Broadcasting Corp., programmed commercial-free until last Monday, to introduce the new format

WCOP/later, WHUE's move from country to (eventually) beautiful music is also mentioned.Disappointed country
listeners wanted the FCC to step in. After becoming WACQ/WTTK for awhile, Plough sold to General Cinema which took it to beautiful
music as WHUE.Plough did buy time on WDLW 1330 to run country and they eventually went CW full time.
 
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The specific song was "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. Sunny added that to shatter the perception that Kiss 108 only played Disco. Then went on to trailblaze one of the most adventurous and progressive mixes of any Top 40 in the USA.
 
New said:
The specific song was "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. Sunny added that to shatter the perception that Kiss 108 only played Disco. Then went on to trailblaze one of the most adventurous and progressive mixes of any Top 40 in the USA.
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Why would he play that? To add to a new perception that they are/were playing old rock from 1969?

Even though they added more pop/Top 40...it was always a rhythmic mix of newer songs.
 
Wimmmex said:
Hootie and Allanis..........are not Led Zeppelin of Dolly Parton.
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Remember, Dale Dorman got suspended for playing The Rolling Stones twice in a row. Considering how the station hyped that fact, makes me wonder if was actually a publicity stunt instead.
 
Retro said:
So, do I really need to post a link to a news article from Radio & Records back in 1981, where Sunny Joe White proudly problems that you can hear rock songs on Kiss 108?
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I think the problem (not "problem" as in "proclaim," as you mistyped above, but as an actual problem) is your memory of "Whole Lotta Love" being played in 1981 on Kiss 108. "Miss You" makes sense, as would "Waiting on a Friend." In the Led Zeppelin hit catalog, perhaps "D'Yer Maker." but not "Whole Lotta Love," which would make about as much sense on a disco/rhythmic CHR/rock hybrid as "Cat Scratch Fever" would.
 
CTListener said:
I think the problem (not "problem" as in "proclaim," as you mistyped above, but as an actual problem) is your memory of "Whole Lotta Love" being played in 1981 on Kiss 108. "Miss You" makes sense, as would "Waiting on a Friend." In the Led Zeppelin hit catalog, perhaps "D'Yer Maker." but not "Whole Lotta Love," which would make about as much sense on a disco/rhythmic CHR/rock hybrid as "Cat Scratch Fever" would.
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Retro said:
So, do I really need to post a link to a news article from Radio & Records back in 1981, where Sunny Joe White proudly problems that you can hear rock songs on Kiss 108?
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You don't need to do anything. However, if you want to...a playlist would be more convincing.

(I still didn't see the article that mentions Joey Scarbury and Dolly Parton.)
 
CTListener said:
I think the problem (not "problem" as in "proclaim," as you mistyped above, but as an actual problem) is your memory of "Whole Lotta Love" being played in 1981 on Kiss 108. "Miss You" makes sense, as would "Waiting on a Friend." In the Led Zeppelin hit catalog, perhaps "D'Yer Maker." but not "Whole Lotta Love," which would make about as much sense on a disco/rhythmic CHR/rock hybrid as "Cat Scratch Fever" would.
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Ditto.
 
Wimmmex said:
Ditto.
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Wimmmex said:
You don't need to do anything. However, if you want to...a playlist would be more convincing.

(I still didn't see the article that mentions Joey Scarbury and Dolly Parton.)
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You missed the point. Anyway, here is an aircheck from March 1981. Conistant with the stations sound, you will here a mostly R&B leaning Pop sound (e.g. Sheena Easton, Frankie & The Knokouts, & Styx.)

 
Retro said:
You missed the point. Anyway, here is an aircheck from March 1981. Conistant with the stations sound, you will here a mostly R&B leaning Pop sound (e.g. Sheena Easton, Frankie & The Knokouts, & Styx.)

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The point was: "Even though they added more pop/Top 40...it was always a rhythmic mix of newer songs."

So, no memory here of "Whole Lotta Love", Joey Scarbury or Dolly Parton.

But, it's OK, Your memory could be better than mine...and I don't really care that much. ;-)
 
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