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Memorial Day - If We Could 'Rewind' Philadelphia Top 40 Radio...

J

John1

I'm enjoying hearing John 'Records' Landecker on WLS tonight, the 1969-1972 Wibbage jock who left Philadelphia for his hometown of Chicago in 1972 and did evenings on WLS (heard in most of America at night) for many years. They abandoned their con-talk format for one day to do a "Big 89 Rewind", with 1970's WLS jocks live today (instead of playing classic airchecks as the WABC Rewind did today) playing 1970's music. Landecker is more uptempo tonight like the old days compared to his current morning show on WLS sister station WZZN which plays 'older oldies' (his show is streamed if you want to hear him in this area).

Too bad WIBG or WFIL can't try the same concept on Memorial Day - but both being Salem stations and 990 no longer being WIBG, I doubt Salem would switch either to rock 'n roll for a whole day. But think of the fun if they had BOTH stations do a rewind on the same day and, like the old days, you had to switch between WIBG and WFIL? (I was a Wibbage person so I know where I'd listen - "I will not be a dial twister or I will get a Wibbage blister" as the Joey Reynolds Royal Order of Night People Pledge stated.)

IF it could happen - would you prefer airchecks ala WABC or live shows ala WLS or a mix of both perhaps?
 
Mix of both... It would, to me, be a tough call as to which station to choose, though. Big fan of both. I'd probably lean towards WIBG at this point, as the 'FIL jocks were so well known across the street at 'CAU-FM / 'OGL through the years. Would love to hear classic "The Rockin' Bird" Joe Niagra, Bill Wright, Sr., Hy Lit, Joey Reynolds, John Landecker, Tom Kent, Don Wade, Don Cannon, Gary Mitchell, Duke Roberts, Jack Roberts, "GG" George Gilbert, Humble Harve Miller, Dean Tyler, Jerry Del Colliano and all the rest.

Wouldn't it, however, to be a dream day to have both 'FIL and WIBBAGE do simultaneous "Rewinds"?

Oh, man... Rockin' In the Cradle of Liberty for sure.
 
There's a great 1971-1972 Philadelphia aircheck of 'FIL and WIBG that shows off how tight and compressed they were. Excellent, and avaliable at www.garyblau.com
He's an old friend with quite a few good airchecks posted.
 
I prefer the old airchecks. Hearing the jocks, the music, the commercials and news in the context we first heard them, helps me to re-live those days better than hearing the jocks, now 30 years older, trying to be young again. How can I feel young when they are sounding as old as I am!
 
John Landecker didn't sound too bad last night for 35 years past WIBG - he was young when he started here (I think WIBG was his first job, I believe he was "Scott Walker" during the 1968-69 WIBG top 30 Drake-style era). I didn't get to hear 'Truckin' Tom 'Cookin' Kent who was to follow him. Also on was Gil Gross doing news (who hosted the last WWDB on FM morning news show). Lots of WIBG folks went through WLS; Don Wade has been there for years doing the morning talk show with his wife.

Their rewind was mostly playing music as opposed to the "radio reunions" WOGL had which was jocks telling stories about the old days.
 
Phil...good post. Thanks for the info - will certainly check it out. Thanks, again. - oaktree

The idea of the mix was the same as what 'ABC and what WLS was doing ... one "live" the other "the archives." Interesting comparing the time span to me.

The ABC archive material was, of course, timeless.

But to hear Lujack and Edwards do today what they did then was really good ... and still relevant today, IMHO. Winston was good, Davis was good and who didn't like the "live" Boogie Check with Landecker? He was so up, and the music fit perfectly. And Truckin' Tom from his basement in Cleveland was just dynamite.

Time is a passing moment. To do what you did 25-35 years ago and still sound as good or even better is "magic."
 
It would nice to have WIBG back -even if it were just for a day ! This september it will be 30 yrs since we lost Wibbage.Do you think there might be any articles in the local papers ?
 
oaktree said:
Time is a passing moment. To do what you did 25-35 years ago and still sound as good or even better is "magic."
Click to expand...

The opportunities for a personality from 25-35 years ago to sound the same or better today are difficult with today's style of radio - either you're a talk show or talk-intensive morning host like Landecker, Don Wade, Joey Reynolds, etc. or a card-reading and/or voice tracked oldies jock. Remember when Harvey Holiday had fun on the air Sunday nights, not just announcing songs and reading contest promos? Love him or hate him on this board, Blavat is one of the few jocks who still does his shows like he did 40 years ago. The attempts to create oldies stations that sound like the old days have failed. What survives are 'just play the music and shut up' FM oldies stations, fast all becoming 'classic hits' stations.

The fun of both 'rewinds' was listening to jocks talk up records - an unacceptable skill today, but so much a part of the pace of top 40 radio years ago. Landecker proved he could still do it with all those '70's songs he played on Wibbage and then WLS.

The closest to getting WIBG back is hylitradio.com - a good sampling of what they were playing in the 1960's with the classic jingles from Wibbage and other stations, too, and available 24/7.
 
I remember once when Landecker, who Lujac says said "Records truly is my middle name every 15 seconds," referred to himself once on WIBG as "John Recordings Lawnmower" during a Boogie Check after a listener called and said that. I still remember him making fun of that all these years later.

The line that came out of that call was ... "You talkin' to me?"
 
XM Radio regularly does "rewinds" of WIBG and WFIL, and other AM top forty stations, Fridays 4pm to 9pm with original jocks and jingles on their Sixties on Six channel. This channel is streamed on line via AOL Radio and Winamp Radio (available for free).

No reason why Salem has to interrupt their brokered religion and religious right talk shows. WOGL could do rewind weekends, again with original jocks and jingles. Many of the original jocks have worked there at one time or another anyway.
 
Now, that's a cool idea. They could be 'CAU-FM, 'FIL & WIBG withinin 24 hours and it would recycle well as many, as you said, worked at one, another or all three... That would be a good 24 hours... Get to hear guys doing more than one station from one place...

Now, you're talkin'...! Great idea! Let's bring it up to someone at 'OGL.
 
Just a slight correction to the 1st post by John1. John Records Landecker does afternoon drive on 94.7 in Chicago. Before being forced at at 104.3 a few years ago, he was in morning drive.

On the LS Rewind it was

6 to 9 Larry (Johnny in Boston) Lujack and Tommy Edwards
9 to 12 Fred Winston
12 to 3 Chris Shebel
3 to 6 Jeff Davis
6 to 10 JRL
10 to 12 Tom Kent
 
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