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RADIO HISTORY

T

thebeach33445

Hey guys and gals:

I was wondering if you all can help me with these questions:


1. Does anybody know when WSUN change from country to talk? I am thinking Summer of 92?

2. Does anybody know when WAZE 860 went from Top 40 to Oldies?

3. Does anybody know when 800 WSST went from country to religious?

4. My history of 95.7 is a little fuzzy before WNLT days: Can anybody help me out with this one,

WTAN FM BEAUTIFUL MUSIC FROM 1963 TO ?

WOKF: YEARS ON AIR AND FORMAT?

WCKX: YEARS ON AIR AND WAS IT Top 40?

WMGG: YEARS ON AIR AND WAS IT AC?

5. Can anybody give me a history of 100.7 before the WIQI W-101 days?
This is what I have:

WAVV somewhere around 1975, WDAE rock in 1972, WATL-FM and WJYW Beautiful music till December 1982.

Thank you very much for your help on these questions. You guys and gals rock!!

T.J.
 
I can help with a couple of them.

WSUN began the transition from country to news/talk originally in 1989 with all news in the morning. Then they added NBC's Talknet at night. Then they filled in the rest of the space with repeats of Talknet programming from the previous night. This is when WSUN was still owned by CBS.

Then by June in 1990, they suddenly dropped the news/talk, stunted with all Christmas music for a day, and became "AM 620 WSUN Country Classics." They continued with that until June 1992, when "News/Talk 620 WSUN" debuted with Neil Rogers and the gang.

As for 95.7, I know they were WCKX "96KX" by 1980. I recall them being like an "adult top 40" at first. By late '81 or early '82, they became much more AC. Later in '82 however they went more in the top 40 again direction as WMGG "Magic 96." I remember they were the Tampa Bay affiliate of "American Top 40" during this time, but they were still seen as the adult alternative to Q105. Then during the summer of '85, they went back to AC, becoming WNLT "Lite Rock 95.7"
 
WDAE-FM from the late 60's to March of 1972 was positioned as "the Sound of Music on 100.7" It was adult standards with emphasis on vocals like Andy Williams, Sinatra; Vicki Carr etc. There was a good bit of news and information - Capt Mel Berman, Al Ford doing traffic etc. (WQXM, WFLA and WWBA were beautiful music, but mainly instrumentals) They broadcast from a 390' tower on 101 N Tampa Street with 32,000 watts of monaural power. In March of 1972, they began bradcasting a dual format -- the sound of music from 6:00 a.m. to 3:30 pm. At 3:30 they switched to "The Rock of Tampa Bay FM101" The only personality was Chuck Monroe and he was on the air from 3:30 - 10:00 p.m. each evening. The format was top 40 (again in monaural) From 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m they played top 40 music (1970's version of an IPOD) with no announcers and no commercials. Within a few months they beat the pants off of WLCY-AM and WLCY-FM and began broadcasting FM101 24 hours per day. By mid-1973, they had the #1 rated station in Tampa. The personality lineup included Brother John Moore 6:00am; Jerry Walker (from WTMP fame)' Rob Snowden; Program DIrector; Chie Paylor and Larry Stevens. They never had an overnight personality and would broadcast music with no commercial interruption overnight. The owner, Robert Rounsaville did not invest much in the station (equipment, imaging or transmitter) In December, 1973, Q-105 came on the scene with all of the above - including a 100kw signal in stereo. FM101 quickly lost its edge. It increased power to 54,000 watts and antenna height to 440' in April of 1974; but it was too late. The station tweaked its format to include more album cuts, and even hired Ted Webb to do the evening shift; but it was hard to compete against the slick formatting and the $100 givaways by Q-105. In February 1975, the station changed to WAVV, beautiful music and then later on to WJYW. At that time they increased power to a full 100kw, but still broadcast from downtown Tampa. In 1982, the station was sold to Gannett and re-posiiotned itself as W-101 (WIQI) with hit music. Jerry Walker was the only former FM101 jock to appear on W-101.

David Sharp has several jingles from FM-101; maybe he can send them to you if you are interested.

Hope this helps

Tom S
 
95.7 signed on as WOKF ( I remember listening to their equipment tests in Sarasota-not sure of the year though), then eventually became 96FEVER (disco), then 96KX(WCKX), Magic96(WMGG) and then LiteRock 95.7 (WNLT)

620 WSUN was MOR/Standards back in the 70's, I used to listen to them at night after 930 WKXY signed off at midnight
 
Actually, 95.7 signed on as WTAN-FM. The FM & AM were co-located in a dumpy little building right on the water underneath where the Clearwater Causeway Bridge is. The company known as Metroplex came to town looking to buy in the early 80s and picked up the FM. They moved the studios to Belcher Plaza on Main Street behind the Albertsons on Gulf to Bay. I did some transmitter work at the old site in Largo a couple of years ago and the sign on the gate still said WTAN-FM.
 
Re: RADIO HISTORY to Tom S AND WNCRadiofan

To Tom S and WNCRadiofan:

Thank you very much for your responces!! They helped very much. I have a couple of follow up questions for the both of you:

First Tom S:

Would you know what year WAVV went to WJYW and was the call letters WATL involved with 100.7 at anytime? I saw the WATL calls on a history list of Tampa Bay Call letters. They came on the list after WAVV and before WJYW.

Thanks Tom S.

Now WNCRadiofan:

Would you know what year WOKF signed on and if it had a format before 96 fever. Also would you know year 96 fever went on? I do know WOKF was once called OK 96. Am I correct?

Thanks WNCRadiofan

Thanks again to both of you guys for your help in my research!!

T.J.
 
Thanks Bored Op for your reply. I was wondering would you know any history of WTAN AM AND FM? I know they signed on Aug 19, 1963 and that the FM was Beautiful music at one time in the 60's and early 70's.

Thanks

T.J.
 
Hi...will have to see if I still have those "classic jingles" etc archived somewhere, if so, I will make a post here. Regarding 95.7 FM...when I moved back to Tampa in 1980, it was already WCKX with the moniker "96 Kicks." Want to think Jim "Ed" McMahon did morning drive those days. Now, what really interests me is, when I moved back to Tampa, I was told WCKX's format was new and that just a few months prior the station had billed itself as "96 Fever." When exactly was this format in place and what calls were used?
 
I'm not sure when 96 Fever came on, but they had to be using the WOKF calls since I do remember them calling it "OK96 Fever" for a while. I think I even had a bumper sticker from those days.
 
Re: RADIO HISTORY FM101

In January 1975, I drove from Tampa to Boca Raton, listening to Tedd Webb play "Hand Jive" by Eric Clapton of FM-101 (why I remember this, I'll never know - but it was on I-275 just before the i-4 cut-off)
Anyway, coming back to Tampa in February (I was attending FAU), I recevied the WAVV signal with beautiful music (at around Indian Lake estates) -- So I assume the WATL calls took place during that month -- so it was very brief.

I don't recall when W1Q1 changec call letters. I think it was around the fall of 1983, but am not absolutely sure.

Tom S
 
t.j. sorry I cant be of more help, I do remember that in the tests I heard they were OK96 WOKF Clearwater, but what that may have been was a power upgrade, I remember thinking it was a new station as I had never gotten anything(local) on that dial position before, dont remember the year though.
 
Hi...some more on 95.7. I think this station has had more format changes, than just about any other. There was also a period, under the WNLT calls, the station billed itself as the rather verbose, "W-Lite 95.7 WNLT."
 
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