OK, when WHTT Flipped Back in '86, did you tune into Kiss or Zou instead?

[radiorama1]

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AT THE VERY BEGINNING... Jamn' played:

1) "Too Turned On" by Alisha... I remember Karen Blake coming out of that song one afternoon asking a female listener on the phone what she thought of the new sound/station (reply: "Oh I love it!")... that was the very first day I heard Jamn'... I even remember exactly where I was driving when I heard that... since ZOU used to play this song CONSTANTLY I had no idea the change had happened until The Madam came on... I was like, "Jamn'?? What the heck?"

2) "Cantaloop" by US-3... (I remember JR comin' out of the song telling Chris Zito "Wow what a GREAT record...)

3)"Nasty Girl" by Appolonia

and... believe it or not...

4) ********The REMIX of "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora (the more "Disco-y" version) !!!.... I S*it you not!!! (which I assume they played because it was a heavy current on ZOU right before they flipped... maybe they wanted to try to keep ZOU's audience sticking around... they did drop it after about a month after the flip)... also the song was from one of the TMNT movies, which was real hot at the time also...

I believe it. When Sunny Joe White crossed town and started programming Jam'n, it was all dance. I remember tuning in the day they flipped and heard them play "Independence" by Lulu - nobody else was playing that song and it wasn't very good.

The dance music didn't last for very long... and soon enough, Jam'n was playing hip hop songs that nobody else was playing. Remember that melee downtown when they brought in the College Boyz?

Back to the topic question: In 1986, I was tuned into Kiss, along with RI-104, which played a very cool assortment of music and sounded larger than life.

Sonny Joe came BACK to program Jamn'?

I thought he had moved on to WILD at that point...

 

[radiorama1]

Whoops! I mean "Boston 105" WVBF ("The White Night")

THEN after that it was WILD...

 

[chitchatjf]

I wonder what Mix would have sounded like had they entered the market back in 1986? When they started in the early 90's, they debuted without much fanfare and breaking the mold of what Hot AC should be by playing Rythmic music as well as Michael Bolton.

I remember their positioners being something like "if you've outgrown the rap stations, but are not ready to retire to the sleepy stations, tune into Mix 98.5, More variety without the hard rock or rap!"

Now I know that isn't exactly what they said, however it was something like that anyway.

I remember that cheezy TV commercial that they put on just after they flipped from ROR...

It went something like: ...

With that girl "sometimes I lean towards this" [JON SECADA] (with her ACTUALLY LEANING)

And other times I lean towards THIS [SUPREMES]

And other times I lean towards THIS [MICHAEL BOLTON]

MIX 98.5... "Boston's Best Mix" .... DREADFUL haha

Can you imagine if for ONE hour during, say, afternoon drive they went back to playing what they played back in 91? By the end of the hour, they wouldn't have any listeners left!

VARIETY! What is wrong with that?

 

[manwhore]

Now this is a fun thread. Anyone who says nice stuff about me and Z-94 gets on my Christmas card list. Jim Cutler, the best, funniest Production wizard in the world. Even when Nelson empties the fire extinguisher in your studio.
The Z-94 days on Stuart St. were magical. Great people, like Cutler said. Tom Jeffries, Harry Nelson, Karen Blake ( I love that woman) JJ Mckay, Christian Paul (awesome talent, tragic story), Geoff (Goddammit)St. John.
We had WAY too much fun, did a little great radio and managed to get a sheep served a drink in a bar down the street. Of course he had to wear a tie!
Super hot sales babes too. WHOA. And Ned Flynn, the human tripod. Too many good folks to mention. Ellen, Heidi (passed out in the Blazer), Diane, Bev, Bud.
Aah, good times. Miss you all.

And yes Jim, I am still INCREDIBLE! Though somebody screwed up and put me in management. Pding and mornings in Greensboro NC.

 

[Retro]

When Sunny Jo White left ZOU one year before the flip to Jam'n, Michael Colby came on board as the PD. I could best describe ZOU at that point as a full rounded CHR station, playing everything from Paula Abdul to Peter Cetera.

I heard a rumor that Sunny programmed WILD at one point, but I am not certain about that fact though.

 

[Garrett]

This is a great thread. It just goes to show, once again, what I have been saying: when there is competition, the listener wins, and that was certainly true when there was a Kiss and an HTT or a Kiss and a WZOU (or a non Hip-Hop Jam'n). That is not to knock people who like Hip-Hop, or to say anything is wrong with Mix. But does Mix compete directly with Kiss 108? Not exactly. Same with Jam'n (for obvious reasons, same company). You still have sort of the same players today (Kiss, 94.5 and CBS Radio), but they aren't exactly playing, its all alternative programming, each one with a specific niche and format all to themselves. The Hot AC/Adult Top 40 format that Mix has is kinda like Kiss108's, but kinda not, not in the way that WZOU was. So none of those stations have to worry about the other guy beating them, unless you consider Mix and Kiss or Mix and Mike, but not really.

For Boston anyway, the days of head to head competition are over, at least for now; and I think that's a shame.

 

[BoredModerator]

What happened to Christian Paul?

 

[gnrfxmb07]

What about WXLO 104.5 these days? I know it aint exactly a "Boston" station but its leaning from hot AC to CHR more and more each day. (sorry to get off orig topic btw) I had to throw this in though.

 

[jimcutler]

What happened to Christian Paul?

Chris, a truly great guy, died several years ago. Foxx and Christian sounded so good in the mornings. So much so that three other Boston radio companies did everything they could to try and get them out of the market. WROR succeeded (as told to me by Lou Josephs). Lorna Ozmon got them out of Boston with an offer to go to DC for a lot more money, and so they bolted. While they were still doing mornings at WZOU the new owner of WZOU at the time (Ardman Broadcasting) got really upset the very first day asking "What's with the "Christian" guy? Why is he "Christian" Paul??!!! Why is he CHRISTIAN???" I remember about 7 people answering in unison, "It's his real NAME."

 

[jimcutler]

Now this is a fun thread. Anyone who says nice stuff about me and Z-94 gets on my Christmas card list. Jim Cutler, the best, funniest Production wizard in the world. Even when Nelson empties the fire extinguisher in your studio.
The Z-94 days on Stuart St. were magical. Great people, like Cutler said. Tom Jeffries, Harry Nelson, Karen Blake ( I love that woman) JJ Mckay, Christian Paul (awesome talent, tragic story), Geoff (Goddammit)St. John.
We had WAY too much fun, did a little great radio and managed to get a sheep served a drink in a bar down the street. Of course he had to wear a tie!
Super hot sales babes too. WHOA. And Ned Flynn, the human tripod. Too many good folks to mention. Ellen, Heidi (passed out in the Blazer), Diane, Bev, Bud.
Aah, good times. Miss you all.

And yes Jim, I am still INCREDIBLE! Though somebody screwed up and put me in management. Pding and mornings in Greensboro NC.

Bob!! Harry put together an outstanding bunch including YOU! Wonder what Ned Flynn is doing? Heidi the intern! She bragged about being with rockstars the mornings after big concerts would come thru town. No one believed her till Mike Love of the Beach Boys walked into WZOU's lobby and his first words were, "Which one's Heidi?"

 

[JJWright]

Hey thanks for the trip down memory lane. "Memory Lane?" Great restaurant (the one near Assembly Square back then).

 

[radiorama1]

Hey thanks for the trip down memory lane. "Memory Lane?" Great restaurant (the one near Assembly Square back then).

When one of the most recognizable--- and greatest--- voices in the history of Boston Radio graces this board, then you KNOW this a great thread.

 

[chrish]

Hi JJ, long time no see, we sure had many good times at Memory Lane back in the
Kiss-108 days, seems like another lifetime, as do the WZOU-Jam'n days

Chris Hall

 

[JJWright]

.... or how about a greasy cheese steak from the "Big S? (now a T-parking lot)" Or better yet, watching the semi-porno flicks across the Parkway from the front steps on the screens of the Meadow Glenn drive-in.

 

[bandman]

This is a great thread! I used to listen to both Kiss and WZOU. It seemed like radio was more exciting back then. The jocks were all kind of crazy (which was great!)

What were the exact years WZOU was on the air?

I thought JR was pretty good in the morning. Does anyone remember "Human Newman" being on 94.5?

I agree with Garrett I also thought Karen Blake (The Madam) was a lot of fun to listen to!

I think it was a great time to be a listener. Competition is or was a good thing.

 

[manwhore]

Jim, I think the reply about Christian was, It's his real F--ing name!
How about the 1 year anniversary party with the Beach Boys and sonny joe got so pissed off when we did the "It's our Party" parody?

Speaking of cool places, I don't guess there's any chance The Channel still exists? I met James Brown there before a show. Great venue. Many burned brain cells.

And as long as folks are mentioning competition. Those were the days when we did stuff like Nelson flying in a copy of the new Michael Jackson record so we could get it on the air before Kiss (I think it was "Bad"). Sending a car to Logan to haul ass back to the station so we could dub it to cart and toss it on the air.

 

[radiorama1]

This is a great thread! I used to listen to both Kiss and WZOU. It seemed like radio was more exciting back then. The jocks were all kind of crazy (which was great!)

What were the exact years WZOU was on the air?

I thought JR was pretty good in the morning. Does anyone remember "Human Newman" being on 94.5?

I agree with Garrett I also thought Karen Blake (The Madam) was a lot of fun to listen to!

I think it was a great time to be a listener. Competition is or was a good thing.

I do remember "Human Newman" on ZOU...

At the top of every hour he would use Billy Joel's "Only Human (Second Wind)" as a bed while telling a joke... then after the punchline he would fire off the ZOU Legal I.D. ...

 

[Retro]

Cool to see radio legend JJ Wright here!

I remember Human Newman and his famous jokes. I remember one on them being if you a tell a joke and he laughs, does milk come out of his nose? He used like to get listeners involved too by asking various questions about songs, etc. Then there was the time that he filled in a Z-100 NYC.

 

[Retro]

What were the exact years WZOU was on the air?

Officially 1984 to May 1993, but they kept most of the staff at least short term during the rest of the year during Jam'n pre Pyramid years.

 

[paul edwards]

Hey thanks for the trip down memory lane. "Memory Lane?" Great restaurant (the one near Assembly Square back then).

What do restaurants have to do with this thread?

What DJ's stayed on after WZOU flipped to Jamn? Does anyone know?