Looking for Q-100/WQQQ information.

[Bandscanner]

> > > Whatever happened to some of the djs from Q100/ Hot 99.9
>
> > >
> > > Uncle BoB
> > > Troy N Thomas
> > > Jack Da Wack
> > > Jamie Summers
> > > Barbara O'Reilly
> > > Woody Wood
> > > Joe Geronimo
> > > Mark Stephen Clifford
> > >
> > > who else??
> > >
> >
> > JJ The Hitman, The Hotshot, Maniac, Big John, Scooter,
> Eric
> > Stryker, Mick Ryder, Joey Mitchell (he's dead) and I think
>
> > you mean Brian Geronimo.
>
> geoff freeman, johnny "lou white" walker, mike walsh,
> dennis ? sam milkman,
> chris bond, preston walsh, todd mayor...oh...thats me i live
> in camp hill pa and worked in phila dc and baltimore after
> q.
> > actually some of the names are scrambled. THe 1st Q-100 morning man was Preston Thompson. He was followed by JJ Christian in mid-days (now does contract engineering for Sage or whatever its called these days) Followed by Geoff Freeman in afternoon drive, Jim Walsh nights & Johnny Walker overnights.
In the 1st big shakeup...with the Express Times looking to unload it...Preston Thompson was out & Jim Walsh moved to mornings...Dave Dillon went on to mid-days...JJ Christian moved to nights (briefly) Then JJ left and replaced by Johnny Walker. Geoff Freeman left and was replaced by Brian Geronimo. After Wilks Schwartz took over Jim Walsh was out replaced by Uncle Bob & Johnny Walker was out replaced by Troy N. Thomas. Dave Dillon left soon after & Brian Geronimo took over as PD.

 

[Bandscanner]

> Here's the original Q100 lineup from spring of 1983:
>
> Mornings: Preston Thompson
> Middays: Big John Andrews
> PM Drive: Geoff Freeman
> Nights: Jim Walsh
> Overnights: J.J. Christian

Hey Jim. I had forgotten Big John did mid-days originally and JJ started on overnights. Big John was working there for an incredible # of years...going back to like the mid 60's. He left full time airwork in the 80's & I believe was doing Traffic.......commercial log traffic & I think he did some traffic reporting as well. Some of us came from the old WEEX-1230 like Big John, Geoff, JJ, & Dave Dillon
>

 

[stosh]

> The last I heard (a fews year ago) Uncle Bob was in Los
> Angeles working at Universal Studios.
> some of my favorite memories on q 100
1. every hour how the legal id was 'buried' and muffled
2. larry holmes live on the air asking for the temptations on a top 40 format
3. the 'zitbuster' outfit at the q 100 halloween party at dukes
4. all of the live q 100 broadcasts from dukes pub sounded great with joey mitchell
5. bryan geronimo swearing over dead air the one day a cart screwed up

 

[travis]

> The guy that owned WQQQ (Q100) also owned WQXA (Q106) in
> York, PA. It was Spring '89 that they BOTH flipped from
> Mainstream CHR to a Dance Top 40. Q100 became "Hot 99.9,"
> and Q106 became "Hot 105.7." Bob is right. These 2
> stations were near clones of Q102/Philly - which had debuted
> in February that year.
>

Ah yes, Hal Fulmer... who still owns WMGH/WLSH in Tamaqua/Lansford. I remember seeing mugs in the GM's office at WMGH with Hot 105.7 and WEEX logos on them.

> Hot 99.9 only spent a year doing Dance Top 40 before hiring
> Clarke Ingram to flip it back to Mainstream CHR, still using
> the name "Hot 99.9." They stopped using Mark Driscoll
> sweepers, and bought a slew of JAM jingles - many of which
> had been used on Q100! Hot 99.9 changed to "Oldies 99"
> Summer of '91. I have the flip on tape. Nothing special.

Any idea which package the top-of-the-hour ID from '91 was from?

> Hot 105.7, however, continued with the format until 1993.
> Then, they phased into an AUTOMATED Hot AC (as I recall,
> they were actually using the old reel-to-reel automation
> from the early 70's!), and eventually brought back the Q106
> name. That lasted about 2 years until they went Alternative
> as "105.7 The Edge." Their alternative (active rock) format
> remains to this day as "105.7 The X," and they scored VERY
> respectable #'s for a long time in York. Been slipping the
> last 2 years in Harrisburg, though.

Hot 105.7 had a huge signal pointed north... I remember getting it on I-81 as far north as Minersville. They were dance/40 til sometime in the summer of '92, because they were mainstream in September 92. They dropped Driscoll and the 'Real Radio' moniker (as well as the Wink 104 bashing). The next summer, they were 'the best of the 80s and today' and sounded way too low key, almost a clone of 98YCR.

 

[wrathchild]

> > The last I heard (a fews year ago) Uncle Bob was in Los
> > Angeles working at Universal Studios.
> > some of my favorite memories on q 100
> 1. every hour how the legal id was 'buried' and muffled
> 2. larry holmes live on the air asking for the temptations
> on a top 40 format
> 3. the 'zitbuster' outfit at the q 100 halloween party at
> dukes
> 4. all of the live q 100 broadcasts from dukes pub sounded
> great with joey mitchell
> 5. bryan geronimo swearing over dead air the one day a cart
> screwed up
>

Yeah, the Q100 live broadcast on Friday nights always sounded good. Too bad they Sound like S**t today, coming from the same building. What do they use today? a tin can and wire?? That's what it sounds like.
<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by wrathchild on 12/22/05 01:18 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[Jeffrey_T_Mason]

> > Hot 99.9 only spent a year doing Dance Top 40 before
> hiring
> > Clarke Ingram to flip it back to Mainstream CHR, still
> using
> > the name "Hot 99.9." They stopped using Mark Driscoll
> > sweepers, and bought a slew of JAM jingles - many of which
>
> > had been used on Q100! Hot 99.9 changed to "Oldies 99"
> > Summer of '91. I have the flip on tape. Nothing special.
>
>
> Any idea which package the top-of-the-hour ID from '91 was
> from?

The top hour on Hot 99.9 was from JAM's "XYRock." Oldies 99 debuted with the top hour from JAM's "Q Cuts." Anything else jingles you wanna know? hehe

 

[rlewisphilly]

> > > Hot 99.9 only spent a year doing Dance Top 40 before
> > hiring
> > > Clarke Ingram to flip it back to Mainstream CHR, still
> > using
> > > the name "Hot 99.9." They stopped using Mark Driscoll
> > > sweepers, and bought a slew of JAM jingles - many of
> which
> >
> > > had been used on Q100! Hot 99.9 changed to "Oldies 99"
> > > Summer of '91. I have the flip on tape. Nothing
> special.
> >
> >
your info is not accurate. Roth communications owned 99.9, Fulmer never did. Roth sold 99.9 to Nassau. Hot 99.9 launched in 1989 and Hot 105.7 launched about 6 months later under the ownership of Fulmer.

 

[troynthomas]

Troy N Thomas TNT former FT night jock 7 - MID has airchecks GALORE circa 1984-89 containing various jingle pkgs etc..Contact him: [email protected]


> > I'm looking for info on the old Q-100 (WQQQ) and was
> hoping
> > that somebody might be able to fill in the blanks on the
> > history of the station.
>
> I may be able to answer a few of your questions as I was
> the PD who, along with our GM Tom Wolfe, convinced Hal
> Neitzel and the board at the Easton Express to flip WQQQ to
> CHR.
> >
> > 1): I understand that the station signed on April 4th,
> 1983
> > when B/EZ WQQQ traded formats with their sister AM WEEX.
> Was
> > WEEX still Top 40 or were they AC at the time of the
> > changeover? Also, was this the market's first FM Top 40
> > outlet?
>
> 1.--Your date is probably right, sorry I don't remember it
> exactly. When we flipped 99.9 to Q100, we put the B/EZ on
> 1230 AM along with the morning info program the WEEX Morning
> Journal which we initiated in 1982. Shortly after that we
> flipped WEEX to country as "Double E Country Lovin'" (don't
> ask!). When I arrived in 1982, WEEX had already made a
> transition to AC, the AM program was a modification to that
> format. Ironically, the markets first FM Top 40 was on
> 99.9. In the early 70s, before the B/EZ craze, WEEX AM and
> FM 1230 and 99.9, simulcast their top 40 format. It was an
> excellent station programmed by Dave Marino, and it was FM
> mono too.
> >
> > 2): What was the ratings like before Lazer 104.1 (WAEB-FM)
>
> > signed on in January, 1987? What were they like after?
> >
> 2.--Can't say, sorry.
>
> > 3): A few years ago, I've traded e-mails with Clarke
> Ingram,
> > who had worked in the market at one time. He told me that
> > Q-100's morning man, Uncle Bob, was a very controversial
> air
> > talent and part of the reason why the station had to
> change
> > it's image to Hot 99.9 in 1989. I dare to ask what did he
> do
> > that was so bad?
>
> 3.--I was also the PD who hired Uncle Bob. Clarke can speak
> to the change to Hot 99.9. We hired Bob because he was so
> very different and unusual compared with the other morning
> shows. Bob had a sort of social conscience that often went
> wild or skewered people, places, etc. But he was a good
> sort of lightening rod that caused publicity for us. This
> was after the Express sold the stations to Wilks-Schwartz.
> Jim Shea was the GM and he was 100% supportive of Bob and
> his antics during my tenure with that company. What
> happened after I left in late 1984, I couldn't speculate.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Robyn
> >
><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by troynthomas on 12/30/05 08:47 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[harmstrong]

Q100 was orginally launched as an AC station, but when new owners came in, led by Jim Shea, of June of 1984 they re-launched it as a Top 40 after KRZ FM the station they use to own in Wilkes Barre. Dave Dillon was there for the launch, but he left shortly after for a bigger market. He was replaced by Brian Giranimo as PD. Uncle Bob turned the market upside down. You either loved him or hated him and you never knew what was real or what was fake on the show.His side Kick, Scooter, is now WNEW TV anchor person Linda Schimdt. Uncle Bob faught Sal Balomo on Super Sunday in Downtown Allentown, He had a School teacher and Mickey Kelley's Bar sue him, Got in fight with Mornton Downey on stage of the State theatre, but you never knew what you were going to get. The Q van would show up at School closing time and cause riots as they gave away free stuff. Every DJ was unique and friendly. TNT Troy N Thomas had a very unusual delivery that Exploded on the air. Barbara O'relly was onon Lehigh Valley radio for years on B104 and the Country station. Jamie Wilson is an attorney living in Dallas, BIg John Still works at the stationas traffic manager, Brian G is inthe Record promotion business. Jack Da WAK and Mark Stepphen Clifford were working together in Maryland in radio, and Ted Obrian did promotion for CBS-FM in New York. Rock Station WZZO was Q100's Nemisis as they named it Zit 95. They blew out the phone lines in the market for 45 minutes when they gave away $5,000 when you heard "Twist and Shout" by the Beatles in its entirety. The Station was fun and inovative and was number one 12 to 34 from '84 to '88. In the summer of '88 the station lost full power for close to two weeks with a burnt out line. That Gave the new LAZOR 104 a chance to steel a lot of their audience. To that point, for over year and half before, LAZOR tried to beat Q100 and failed. Q100 was sold in 1989 for a tremendous profit and the new owners launched it as HOT. Lazor quickly faded and in couple of years was replace by B104, interestingly enough lannched by Jim Shea. The same Jim Shea who was the architect of KRZ and Q100.

> I'm looking for info on the old Q-100 (WQQQ) and was hoping
> that somebody might be able to fill in the blanks on the
> history of the station.
>
> 1): I understand that the station signed on April 4th, 1983
> when B/EZ WQQQ traded formats with their sister AM WEEX. Was
> WEEX still Top 40 or were they AC at the time of the
> changeover? Also, was this the market's first FM Top 40
> outlet?
>
> 2): What was the ratings like before Lazer 104.1 (WAEB-FM)
> signed on in January, 1987? What were they like after?
>
> 3): A few years ago, I've traded e-mails with Clarke Ingram,
> who had worked in the market at one time. He told me that
> Q-100's morning man, Uncle Bob, was a very controversial air
> talent and part of the reason why the station had to change
> it's image to Hot 99.9 in 1989. I dare to ask what did he do
> that was so bad?
>
> Thanks,
> Robyn
>

 

[harmstrong]

You can find Uncle Bob at crankymediaguy.com

> Q100 was orginally launched as an AC station, but when new
> owners came in, led by Jim Shea, of June of 1984 they
> re-launched it as a Top 40 after KRZ FM the station they use
> to own in Wilkes Barre. Dave Dillon was there for the
> launch, but he left shortly after for a bigger market. He
> was replaced by Brian Giranimo as PD. Uncle Bob turned the
> market upside down. You either loved him or hated him and
> you never knew what was real or what was fake on the
> show.His side Kick, Scooter, is now WNEW TV anchor person
> Linda Schimdt. Uncle Bob faught Sal Balomo on Super Sunday
> in Downtown Allentown, He had a School teacher and Mickey
> Kelley's Bar sue him, Got in fight with Mornton Downey on
> stage of the State theatre, but you never knew what you were
> going to get. The Q van would show up at School closing time
> and cause riots as they gave away free stuff. Every DJ was
> unique and friendly. TNT Troy N Thomas had a very unusual
> delivery that Exploded on the air. Barbara O'relly was onon
> Lehigh Valley radio for years on B104 and the Country
> station. Jamie Wilson is an attorney living in Dallas, BIg
> John Still works at the stationas traffic manager, Brian G
> is inthe Record promotion business. Jack Da WAK and Mark
> Stepphen Clifford were working together in Maryland in
> radio, and Ted Obrian did promotion for CBS-FM in New York.
> Rock Station WZZO was Q100's Nemisis as they named it Zit
> 95. They blew out the phone lines in the market for 45
> minutes when they gave away $5,000 when you heard "Twist and
> Shout" by the Beatles in its entirety. The Station was fun
> and inovative and was number one 12 to 34 from '84 to '88.
> In the summer of '88 the station lost full power for close
> to two weeks with a burnt out line. That Gave the new LAZOR
> 104 a chance to steel a lot of their audience. To that
> point, for over year and half before, LAZOR tried to beat
> Q100 and failed. Q100 was sold in 1989 for a tremendous
> profit and the new owners launched it as HOT. Lazor quickly
> faded and in couple of years was replace by B104,
> interestingly enough lannched by Jim Shea. The same Jim Shea
> who was the architect of KRZ and Q100.
>
> > I'm looking for info on the old Q-100 (WQQQ) and was
> hoping
> > that somebody might be able to fill in the blanks on the
> > history of the station.
> >
> > 1): I understand that the station signed on April 4th,
> 1983
> > when B/EZ WQQQ traded formats with their sister AM WEEX.
> Was
> > WEEX still Top 40 or were they AC at the time of the
> > changeover? Also, was this the market's first FM Top 40
> > outlet?
> >
> > 2): What was the ratings like before Lazer 104.1 (WAEB-FM)
>
> > signed on in January, 1987? What were they like after?
> >
> > 3): A few years ago, I've traded e-mails with Clarke
> Ingram,
> > who had worked in the market at one time. He told me that
> > Q-100's morning man, Uncle Bob, was a very controversial
> air
> > talent and part of the reason why the station had to
> change
> > it's image to Hot 99.9 in 1989. I dare to ask what did he
> do
> > that was so bad?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Robyn
> >
>

 

[harmstrong]

jj the Hitman is an engineer inthe market. Mat the Maniac owns the am Spanish station

> > Whatever happened to some of the djs from Q100/ Hot 99.9
> >
> > Uncle BoB
> > Troy N Thomas
> > Jack Da Wack
> > Jamie Summers
> > Barbara O'Reilly
> > Woody Wood
> > Joe Geronimo
> > Mark Stephen Clifford
> >
> > who else??
> >
>
> JJ The Hitman, The Hotshot, Maniac, Big John, Scooter, Eric
> Stryker, Mick Ryder, Joey Mitchell (he's dead) and I think
> you mean Brian Geronimo.
>

 

[harmstrong]

Harold Fulmer never owned Q100 or that frequency... thank God! Rich Lewis was the orginal GM for HOT 99.9 fm and later for QXA, where he launched another HOT like format.
> > The guy that owned WQQQ (Q100) also owned WQXA (Q106) in
> > York, PA. It was Spring '89 that they BOTH flipped from
> > Mainstream CHR to a Dance Top 40. Q100 became "Hot 99.9,"
>
> > and Q106 became "Hot 105.7." Bob is right. These 2
> > stations were near clones of Q102/Philly - which had
> debuted
> > in February that year.
> >
>
> Ah yes, Hal Fulmer... who still owns WMGH/WLSH in
> Tamaqua/Lansford. I remember seeing mugs in the GM's office
> at WMGH with Hot 105.7 and WEEX logos on them.
>
> > Hot 99.9 only spent a year doing Dance Top 40 before
> hiring
> > Clarke Ingram to flip it back to Mainstream CHR, still
> using
> > the name "Hot 99.9." They stopped using Mark Driscoll
> > sweepers, and bought a slew of JAM jingles - many of which
>
> > had been used on Q100! Hot 99.9 changed to "Oldies 99"
> > Summer of '91. I have the flip on tape. Nothing special.
>
>
> Any idea which package the top-of-the-hour ID from '91 was
> from?
>
> > Hot 105.7, however, continued with the format until 1993.
>
> > Then, they phased into an AUTOMATED Hot AC (as I recall,
> > they were actually using the old reel-to-reel automation
> > from the early 70's!), and eventually brought back the
> Q106
> > name. That lasted about 2 years until they went
> Alternative
> > as "105.7 The Edge." Their alternative (active rock)
> format
> > remains to this day as "105.7 The X," and they scored VERY
>
> > respectable #'s for a long time in York. Been slipping
> the
> > last 2 years in Harrisburg, though.
>
> Hot 105.7 had a huge signal pointed north... I remember
> getting it on I-81 as far north as Minersville. They were
> dance/40 til sometime in the summer of '92, because they
> were mainstream in September 92. They dropped Driscoll and
> the 'Real Radio' moniker (as well as the Wink 104 bashing).
> The next summer, they were 'the best of the 80s and today'
> and sounded way too low key, almost a clone of 98YCR.
>

 

[Bandscanner]

>
> > Q100 was orginally launched as an AC station, but when new
>
> > owners came in, led by Jim Shea, of June of 1984 they
> > re-launched it as a Top 40 after KRZ FM > >

Q-100 at it's inception was NEVER an AC station. They were a bit dayparted & Dave Dillon did come from an AC background. I don't think you would consider a station that played Def Leppard, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister & Newcleus anything even close to an AC.

 

[troynthomas]

Original Nighttime talent (TNT) "Troy N. Thomas here...SOMEwhere in the move there are STILL Xerox copies of Arbitron ratings from '88, '89, or '90 floatin' around - if still interested concerning LaS (not Z) er 104.1 WAEB-FM - reply to : [email protected] and I'll see if I can did 'em up

 

[Rockin Rob]

Something to keep an eye out for....

wynoradio.com and its owner, former WQQQ staffer Mick Ryder, comes q100radio.net . This site, while not fully developed, features pictures from his days at WQQQ/WEEX/WODE/WHXT and appears to have a "throwback" webcast. (similar to sister site tributes to WIFI92 and WTMR). I had problems with the stream, so I do not know what it sounds like, but I would imagine it would feature cuts from the Q100 library as well as jingles. Also, the site features "the Q100 story" as he recounts Q100's heyday from a personal perspective. I can't wait to see this site full blown. Lots of great reads.

 

[Bob Farrow]

Just an extra tidbit of information..... WEEX/WQQQ-wise... WEEX was an FM-only radio station in the Lehigh Vallley, starting, I think, in about 1956. When the AM came along, the stations simulcasted and did well in the ratings. Back in about 1971 (The memory grows dim for the date), the stations split formats, and the FM boosted from 13KW to 50KW. The first time the engineer threw the switch on the new transmitter, it sounded like it was nothing more than 2 big paper cups with some string. (Engineer back then was Craig "Buzzy" Kingcaid, aka Craig "I just fixed that" Kingcaid, who went to work for Bill Rust). Enter WQQQ, 99.9 FM. Beautiful music for the Lehigh Valley. It was automated (we named the computer "Marvin"), and I did the "Newsnotes" for some years.

It was a pretty unsophisticated automation... but there was one neat field enhancement. If there was more than about 15 seconds of dead air (beautiful music format, remember!), the ceiling lights in the station turned RED flashed, and a VERY loud buzzer went off! Then-engineer Steve Boyer devised the system, and named it the FFCS-1. You'll have to ask me later what that stood for!

It's fun reminiscing on here! Thanks for the forum!

 

[TODDMAYOR]

Just an extra tidbit of information..... WEEX/WQQQ-wise... WEEX was an FM-only radio station in the Lehigh Vallley, starting, I think, in about 1956. When the AM came along, the stations simulcasted and did well in the ratings. Back in about 1971 (The memory grows dim for the date), the stations split formats, and the FM boosted from 13KW to 50KW. The first time the engineer threw the switch on the new transmitter, it sounded like it was nothing more than 2 big paper cups with some string. (Engineer back then was Craig "Buzzy" Kingcaid, aka Craig "I just fixed that" Kingcaid, who went to work for Bill Rust). Enter WQQQ, 99.9 FM. Beautiful music for the Lehigh Valley. It was automated (we named the computer "Marvin"), and I did the "Newsnotes" for some years.

It was a pretty unsophisticated automation... but there was one neat field enhancement. If there was more than about 15 seconds of dead air (beautiful music format, remember!), the ceiling lights in the station turned RED flashed, and a VERY loud buzzer went off! Then-engineer Steve Boyer devised the system, and named it the FFCS-1. You'll have to ask me later what that stood for!

It's fun reminiscing on here! Thanks for the forum!

is this the same bob pharo from the garden center. i lived in edgeboro manor not far from where the shop used to be. i thought you were one of the better news guys in the lv. do you remember ed last name??? went to lehigh worked at weex in the late 70's.

 

[Bob Farrow]

Yep...it's the same Bob Pharo. The garden center used to belong to a not-too-close cousin. I think the person you're thinking of is Ed Fiedler, who went to Lehigh, worked with me at WEEX, did some time at 1320 WJAP while I went to WAEB, and is now, I do believe a successful computer consultant and Al Gore impersonator here in the Lehigh Valley.

Thanks for the compliment, too. I enjoyed the news for the 10 yrs I did it. If the business paid any money and had slightly more family-friendly hours, I might still be doing it. I did the Old-Timers weekend on WQQQ back in 1999, and had a ball. I'd love to know if anyone has any tape of that, as I don't have any tape of myself on the air from any of those 10 yrs.

 

[Bob Farrow]

Make that 1320 WKAP!

 

[TODDMAYOR]

Yep...it's the same Bob Pharo. The garden center used to belong to a not-too-close cousin. I think the person you're thinking of is Ed Fiedler, who went to Lehigh, worked with me at WEEX, did some time at 1320 WJAP while I went to WAEB, and is now, I do believe a successful computer consultant and Al Gore impersonator here in the Lehigh Valley.

Thanks for the compliment, too. I enjoyed the news for the 10 yrs I did it. If the business paid any money and had slightly more family-friendly hours, I might still be doing it. I did the Old-Timers weekend on WQQQ back in 1999, and had a ball. I'd love to know if anyone has any tape of that, as I don't have any tape of myself on the air from any of those 10 yrs.

that's it ed fiedler!!! my sister was a friend of his and he inspired me to get in to the business. He is a super nice funny guy. I'd love to see his al gore inpersonation. He was good at impersonations back in the early 70's when I knew him as a kid.