Oldest and Continous TOP-40 station as of today.

[davideduardo]

I think WHOT AM/FM-Youngstown has KDWB beat by 4 years. According to this history (http://www.nrcdxas.org/articles/whot.txt), WHOT was Top 40 as early as 1955, on a daytime facility at 1570 (later 1330, and 101.1 FM). That would put Myron Jones near the front of the pack, along with Todd Storz and Gordon McLendon as pioneers in Top 40 radio.

It's still around, 51 years later, with a direct lineage back. In fact, Jones owned the stations until the mid-90s.

Storz was three years earlier with his conversion of KOWH... http://www.davidgleason.com/KOWH_Birth_of_Top-40.htm shows an ad for KOWH in the year after it became the first of its type. Storz' PD, Bill Stewart, went on to help McLendon convert KLIF.

 

[pqgeorge]

I would have to say WPRO-FM (92.3, Providence, RI) would easily be a good runner-up as one of the longest running Top-40 CHR stations in America. 'PRO-FM switched from Beautiful Music to Top-40 in the Summer of 1974. They left the Top-40 realm for about 3 years as an a Gold based/AC in 1979 and then returned to Top-40 in 1982 and has been that way, ever since. All in all, 'PRO-FM has been running Top-40 (CHR) for nearly thirty years. Not too shabby and they see no end in sight.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

Q94 in Richmond. 1972 to now without a flip

 

[Jay F]

Earlier in this thread I mentioned KLUC/Las Vegas. Well, I recently found out they have been in the format even longer than I thought they were. I was at an aircheck site and one of the listings was KLUC-FM/Las Vegas from 1969. The format was listed as automated Top 40. That's 40 years of top 40, a long time for Las Vegas, a town that's known for imploding anything that get's old.

 

[TenInARow]

There should be an asterisk next to the WHOT call letters when it comes to consecutive years as a CHR.

In 1991-1992, the station actually flipped to Classic Rock as "HOT 101 - THE WIZARD" - a throwback to the 101.1 FM frequency's days as Active Rock WSRD "The Wizard" (when 'HOT was still an AM station only at 1330 AM) This was at a time when CHR was dying as a format nationwide.

By '93, HOT dumped Classic Rock and returned to the pop format as more of a Hot AC...and slowly evolving back to full blown CHR by the mid/late 1990's.

 

[NoWayNoCC]

In 1991-1992, the station actually flipped to Classic Rock as "HOT 101 - THE WIZARD" - a throwback to the 101.1 FM frequency's days as Active Rock WSRD "The Wizard" (when 'HOT was still an AM station only at 1330 AM) This was at a time when CHR was dying as a format nationwide.

I thought that was more of a rock 40.

 

[TenInARow]

In 1991-1992, the station actually flipped to Classic Rock as "HOT 101 - THE WIZARD" - a throwback to the 101.1 FM frequency's days as Active Rock WSRD "The Wizard" (when 'HOT was still an AM station only at 1330 AM) This was at a time when CHR was dying as a format nationwide.

I thought that was more of a rock 40.

There were no currents whatsoever that I can recall. "Fear The Reaper" and "Stairway To Heaven" were staples on the station. It was full blown Classic Rock.

 

[radiorob2.0]

WJET Erie was CHR on AM since the mid fifties until the mid eighties and migrated to FM. The station changed format in the late nineties. For almost all of that time they had the same morning man, Frank Martin.

 

[Poledo]

WABB/Mobile, AL (Started on AM in the late 50's, then went to FM in 1981)

I know that WABB-AM was a legendary Top-40 back in the 50's and 60's, but I'm pretty sure that WABB-FM was playing AOR in the early '80s. During that time WKRG-99.9FM (G-100) was the big Top-40 station for the area. I wasn't in range of WABB-AM, so it's possible they weren't simulcasting and the AM was still Top-40 while the FM was AOR but I doubt it. I assume that WABB-FM was a simulcast of WABB-AM from the day they signed on.

 

[JimmyJames]

are there any CHRs now that actually play 40 currents? or even more of the hot 100?