Looking for some WJJD-1160 Memories/stories

[radioboy]

For those of you that listened to/worked at/remember WJJD-1160 during its country heydays,
I would like to hear your stories/memories of the station.

I am going to be updating the WJJD tribute site at http://www.wjjd1160country.com and
expanding it to five pages, and I thought some listener memories might make a nice touch.

Such as..

"When I was a little boy growing up, my family owned a farm. We lived close enough to pick
up WJJD "The Home of the Western Gentlemen" and would leave a radio on in the barn for the
cows. It was always tuned to WJJD."
(excerpt from an email I received)

You can send these to me at [email protected] and please let me know if I have permission to
use your story on the site.

Thanks for your input!

 

[cyberdad]

Alan....I think you have a great site. WJJD had an impressive run as a country station and deserves all the respect and preservation you can give it.

Might I humbly suggest, as a "sidebar" you might also acknowledge....however briefly....WJJD's proud, but somewhat forgotten days as a top 40 outlet before going country. Even in those top 40 days, country music was no stranger to the 1160 airwaves, with lots of crossover stuff. Among other things, I have clear memories in the 50s of Marvin Rainwater ("Bluebird"), Stonewall Jackson ("Waterloo"), Ferlin Husky ("Gone") in regular rotation....along with many, many, others.

Then there's the matter of those WJJD weekly surveys.

"So swingin'....WJJD" (A broadcast service of Plough Incorporated)

WJJD was a treasure that deserves to be remembered and honored. Best of luck with your efforts.

 

[Barefootom]

I have great memories of WJJD in its Top 40 days. Ernie Simon (father of NPR's Scott Simon) and Ron Riley are just a couple of the jocks I listened to. 1960-62 or thereabouts. After WLS came on full-time with 50,000 watts, WJJD couldn't compete as a day-timer and evolved into Country. The Top 40 era deserves to be documented, too.

 

[Prais]

Barefoot,

I too, have more memories of 'jjd as top 40. Ernie Simon was really funny and Del Clark was prehistoric Joel Sebastian, wasn't Ron Riley late afternoons? Both formats still carried the Indy 500.

I do remember GREAT jingles, echo on the dj and news mics in both formats, great contests and promotions (including an 81/2 by 11 top 50 sheet page) in rock, lots of country concerts (I saw Buck Owens and it was great), and both formats gave the feeling that the station was very BIG and important.

I remember Coppertone and St. Joseph Asprin commercials.

Radio Chicago, WJJD, A broadcast service of Plough Incorportated.

 

[Barefootom]

Ray VanSteen was on that staff, too. He later went on to be Production Director at WLS and was part of Art Roberts' cast on Peter Fugitive

 

[DanStrassberg]

"When I was a little boy growing up, my family owned a farm. We lived close enough to pick
up WJJD "The Home of the Western Gentlemen" and would leave a radio on in the barn for the
cows. It was always tuned to WJJD."
(excerpt from an email I received)

When I was a kid in the northwest Bronx ~1946, WJJD was one of my first DX catches on the big Stromberg-Carlson console radio/record-changer in the living room of my folks' sixth-floor apartment. Back in those days, WJJD was running 20 kW-L KSL. 50 kW-D had been granted but it was right after the end of World War II and the radio station construction boom had not quite gotten started. I don't know what WJJD programmed earlier in the day. but beginning two hours before sign-off (about an hour before Chicago sunset) WJJD switched to country music with a heavy dose of PI ads. I was fascinated; I had not heard anything like it. Country was not big in New York--even then. The Chicago 1As were all first adjacent to big stations in New York and even WCFL was first-adjacent to WINS (which was then still 10 kW but was directionalized right at me) so WJJD was the only Chicago station I had received at the time. Later, I discovered KXEL and then also ZNS (now ZNS-1) which would come in on 1540 some nights instead of KXEL.

 

[1250wg-al]

Living outside of Chitown I remember JJD with their evening sign off welcoming everyone to tune to the FM side. Later on when I was in the biz went to visit the JJD studios in DesPlaines and was in awwww over their 50kw blow torches. Man looked like a mile long and went on forever. Can't remember the DJs name but was a heavy set guy that wore glasses and smoked cigars on the air....LOL. Also found it funny he was running his own turntables while some of the other stations had board op running everything. Also think I have an old county survey somewhere around the house. If I remember right my old radio bud Freddy Colantonio and I were making a tour of some of the stations in Chicago and burbs. Speaking of Freddy what ever happened to the old boy? Also anyone know where Ted Lauderback is these days. Just doing P/T radio as a baby sitter to 4 fms here in Fla and no longer on the air. What a waste of a sexy voice...LOL.

 

[HadYourPhil]

Didn't WJJD run "The World Tomorrow" in the mid 50's? I remember hearing that on a Chicago station and I think it was WJJD.
Always loved those call letters...

 

[Prais]

Yesw. I believe they ran "The World Tomorrow then. I'm positive WMAQ ran that in the 70's early inn the moring during the "country" format.

 

[thenewageriseth]

That was my first station ever when I was 4 or 5! I remember this Day-Glo yellow and dull pink portable radio I won from elementary school. My first radio ever! I was so bummed when it went off the air.
After it went off the air, a few years later, I started looking for others. My parents wanted me to listen to wholesome music; no rap or hip-hop was allowed. So I had listened to FM-100 (100.3) and LITE-FM around 1994 or 95 or 96, eventually I settled on WNUA 95.5 for the rest of the 90's (cuz apparently Dad hated me listening to rock music too lol) and started back listening to more stations (Rock, Pop, Hip-hop, etc) along with WNUA in the later 90's and into the millennium when I was adolescent and old enough to know stuff.
Good times.

 

[skywatchbob]

My parents have always listened to country music, so as a kid I heard a lot of this station.
One of the funniest moments I can recall was when the station did a spoof of the Salerno butter cookie commercial.
If you can remember the radio commercial, imagine the spoof going like this:
Mommy
What is it dear?
I want a butter cookie.
Mommy
What is it dear?
Skip the cookie and gimme a beer.

For those of you that listened to/worked at/remember WJJD-1160 during its country heydays,
I would like to hear your stories/memories of the station.

I am going to be updating the WJJD tribute site at http://www.wjjd1160country.com and
expanding it to five pages, and I thought some listener memories might make a nice touch.

Such as..

"When I was a little boy growing up, my family owned a farm. We lived close enough to pick
up WJJD "The Home of the Western Gentlemen" and would leave a radio on in the barn for the
cows. It was always tuned to WJJD."
(excerpt from an email I received)

You can send these to me at [email protected] and please let me know if I have permission to
use your story on the site.

Thanks for your input!

 

[radioman148]

>>What is it dear?
I want a butter cookie.
Mommy
What is it dear?
Skip the cookie and gimme a beer.>>

That's great I never heard that ;D

 

[KeithE4]

Going waaaaaay back, WJJD was the daytime home of White Sox baseball from 1945 to 1951. Night games were farmed out to other stations. They also carried the Sox along with other stations (notably WGN and WCFL) from 1937-43.

The overabundance of disco music on the so-called Top-40 stations (and the demise of WCFL) drove me to try country music in the mid '70s. I preferred WJJD to WMAQ - I liked the jocks better plus there was more "classsic country" than on 'MAQ.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

Can't remember the DJs name but was a heavy set guy that wore glasses and smoked cigars on the air....LOL. Also found it funny he was running his own turntables while some of the other stations had board op running everything.

A number of the Chi-town stations had an AFM member operating the turntables
(Petrillo had his hand in everything), in addition to the "regular" union engineer
running the board.

 

[radioman148]

Going waaaaaay back, WJJD was the daytime home of White Sox baseball from 1945 to 1951. Night games were farmed out to other stations. They also carried the Sox along with other stations (notably WGN and WCFL) from 1937-43.

The overabundance of disco music on the so-called Top-40 stations (and the demise of WCFL) drove me to try country music in the mid '70s. I preferred WJJD to WMAQ - I liked the jocks better plus there was more "classsic country" than on 'MAQ.

WJJD was the first station to play Rock & Roll in Chicago. Starting in 1956 they published a weekly survey until 1960.

 

[Prais]

Radioman said; WJJD was the first station to play Rock & Roll in Chicago. Starting in 1956 they published a weekly survey until 1960.

Not so. WIND (though not fulltime format as WJJD) played the Billboard top 40 hosted by Jim Lounsbury (also did this on WGN) and Howard Miller, earlier in the 50's when WJJD was "hillbilly" music prior to their switch to "rock and roll."

 

[radioman148]

Radioman said; WJJD was the first station to play Rock & Roll in Chicago. Starting in 1956 they published a weekly survey until 1960.

Not so. WIND (though not fulltime format as WJJD) played the Billboard top 40 hosted by Jim Lounsbury (also did this on WGN) and Howard Miller, earlier in the 50's when WJJD was "hillbilly" music prior to their switch to "rock and roll."

I guess what I should've said was that WJJD was the first station to play Rock & Roll during their full time hours. (I know they signed off at Salt Lake City sunset). I remember Howard Miller playing the Top hits, but then WIND as I remember it reverted back to their regular programming which was mostly MOR for the rest of the day.

 

[Icangelp]

Barefoot,

I too, have more memories of 'jjd as top 40. Ernie Simon was really funny and Del Clark was prehistoric Joel Sebastian, wasn't Ron Riley late afternoons? Both formats still carried the Indy 500.

I do remember GREAT jingles, echo on the dj and news mics in both formats, great contests and promotions (including an 81/2 by 11 top 50 sheet page) in rock, lots of country concerts (I saw Buck Owens and it was great), and both formats gave the feeling that the station was very BIG and important.

I remember Coppertone and St. Joseph Asprin commercials.

Radio Chicago, WJJD, A broadcast service of Plough Incorportated.

Mel Hall.
And do not forget the one and only, Stan Majors, evenings until signoff.

 

[Prais]

Allan,
Here is one I forgot about. It was near the end of their rock days. I think WLS was kicking their butt and WJJD wanted to "show their stuff.'

"Herman Gingfingdingler day" It was in April or May (not sure of the year.) You were to write Herman Gingfingdingler on the blackboard in your class, then call the station to report your class and school.

 

[radioman148]

Barefoot,

I too, have more memories of 'jjd as top 40. Ernie Simon was really funny and Del Clark was prehistoric Joel Sebastian, wasn't Ron Riley late afternoons? Both formats still carried the Indy 500.

I do remember GREAT jingles, echo on the dj and news mics in both formats, great contests and promotions (including an 81/2 by 11 top 50 sheet page) in rock, lots of country concerts (I saw Buck Owens and it was great), and both formats gave the feeling that the station was very BIG and important.

I remember Coppertone and St. Joseph Asprin commercials.

Radio Chicago, WJJD, A broadcast service of Plough Incorportated.

Mel Hall.
And do not forget the one and only, Stan Majors, evenings until signoff.

I remember Stan Majors very well. Didn't they have another Stan ie Stan Scott?