San Diego's Channel 9-3-3 - SO GOOD when it was new!

[justthenumbers]

I just uploaded an aircheck of KHTS/San Diego "Channel 9-3-3" from November 1996:
http://www.imeem.com/people/XDqCnsc/music/JojBbmhu/khtssan_diego_channel_933_november_1996/

The station had signed on just a few months prior, and as you will hear, dance absolutely dominated the playlist. It was very mainstream dance, but that's to be expected when talking about a station owned by a major company (Jacor - now Clear Channel) in one of the larger markets.

Besides the music, the imaging was superb. With on-air statements like "All new...All Dance" and "The best dance music of all time", they genuinely seemed to want to position themselves as a DANCE station. And I enjoyed the promo, following the legal ID, that took shots at the station's competitors.

The on-air personality on this aircheck is excellent - I LOVED when she said "let us take you away...let us make you feel good"...that just seems very "dance-like", for lack of a more creative term on my part.

At this time, there were quite a few stations that were trying to clone KTU for their market - Channel 9-3-3 seemed to be one of them. (Two others that come to mind are 93.1 DRQ in Detroit and 106.1 Kiss-FM in Seattle...yes, that station was a Rhythmic AC when it signed on! Does anyone else remember that?) When news of either KTU's sign-on or their "worst to first" ratings was posted on All-Access Net News, I actually remember something in the news item warning other radio operators/markets to not try to mimic KTU, because the sound was "very New York", or something along those lines.

Unfortunately for dance fans, that statement held true - none of these stations found success with that formula. Channel 9-3-3 moved away from this sound within a few months. Airchecks I have of the station from early 1997 indicate that they were playing a lot of remixes of R&B hits at the time (which is cool, but they were definitely taking the place of genuine dance hits.)

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Your right..KBKS was kinda like Adult Dance at first,,, not quite like a Movin station, but really more how a Rhythmic AC should and could sound.... I remember two trips to Detroit,, and Not only was DRQ doing a Dance friendly CHR Rhythmic format,,,, not really like KTU at the time,, but also their modern rocker at the time, 105.1 The Edge was very dance friendly and had an awesome mixshow I caught... The next trip to Detroit a year later, DRQ was almost all Hip Hop,, I only heard one Dance Song... Whitney houston-its not right, but its okay... A few years later we went up there in the dead of winter and drove through the tunnel to Canada under water,,, and DRQ was a full blown mainstream CHR by then,,, but actually Channel 95.5 had just changed from the hot AC format and they were the more Dance Friendly of the two,,, Channel 95.5 used to be a really good Dance Friendly station,,, they aired Open House Party, and had live mixshows,, but at the time they would also still play Rock as well......Not any more......

DRQ was really a good station,,, I liked them both as a Dance station, and as a CHR.....

 

[justthenumbers]

Channel 95.5 used to be a really good Dance Friendly station,,, they aired Open House Party, and had live mixshows,, but at the time they would also still play Rock as well......Not any more......

I went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for one year (1995-96) and I used to listen to Open House Party on what was then "Q95-5". I have a tape of myself making an on-air request on Open House Party...haha

 

[Mid West Clubber]

lol I been on OHP so many times its not funny,, surprised I didnt end up on Johnnys Christmas list....LOL I was on the first time in 1991 from the Former I-100 WOKI Knoxville,,, and also from 92 on WDJX Louisville, and later on in 92 on Hot 96 WHHH Indianapolis when they used to be a Dance/Chr....

 

[only1moore]

Funny that you mentioned "Channel 933." When this station debuted it was a breath of fresh air with its Dance-heavy playlist, energentic DJs, and those "Move To It" adds.

At the same time it sure sent a message to XHTZ (Z-90), which also had a Dance-leaning playlist, along with the liners "San Diego's Official Dance Station". Funny how by 1998 XHTZ went Hip-Hop and KHTS went CHR after the demise of KKLQ.

 

[justthenumbers]

Funny that you mentioned "Channel 933." When this station debuted it was a breath of fresh air with its Dance-heavy playlist, energentic DJs, and those "Move To It" adds.

At the same time it sure sent a message to XHTZ (Z-90), which also had a Dance-leaning playlist, along with the liners "San Diego's Official Dance Station". Funny how by 1998 XHTZ went Hip-Hop and KHTS went CHR after the demise of KKLQ.

Were the call letters already KHTS when Jacor bought the station, or did Jacor choose those calls? If it's the latter, it certainly seems like they did it with the intention of going after Z-90, since their calls are XHTZ. That was a very "Jacor-like" tactic (and I loved it.)

Channel 933 was much more focused on currents than KTU, presumably because disco/freestyle wasn't as big in San Diego (as far as I know) as it was in New York. At the time, I would have chosen Channel 933 over KTU, but it's the reverse now.

 

[only1moore]

Were the call letters already KHTS when Jacor bought the station, or did Jacor choose those calls? If it's the latter, it certainly seems like they did it with the intention of going after Z-90, since their calls are XHTZ. That was a very "Jacor-like" tactic (and I loved it.)

The KHTS calls debuted in 1995, the year Jacor bought the former KECR-FM from Family Radio, so from the way you look at it, this must've been a Jacor production. If you were in San Diego at the time you wouldn't be surprised if they attacked Z90 with "We won't make you go through this...(Rap song in the background)....To hear this (segue to Dance song on KHTS). BTW the two sure were trying to out-Dance each other when it came to adding tracks from the genre.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Yeah i was gonna say,,, Z-90 was a dance leaning station too,,,but played lots of Rap as well,,, similar to how B-96 Chicago, and Power 96 Miami, or Hot 96 indianapolis, and WYHT 96.3 Detroit were doing it... I guess both Channel 93.3 San Diego, as well as DRQ in Detroit were both more Current dance intensive than KTU during this time.

But DRQ included more POP-Rock,,, and i think once an hour would play a Disco, or Early 80s song... I remember their Sweepers before a flashback.... DE DE DE DE JA VU.... On DRQ,,, and I remember Rick james-Give it to me baby was played alot at that time... as well as the god awfull,, gag me with a spoon-Its raining Men from The Weather Girls.... Still be great to see Detroit and Chicago with either Pure Dance or Dance friendly stations again... Considering Dance music was invented in those cities.... Detroit would have to play some POP/Rock or Hip Hop as well to succeed... but I think Chicago is the best US market for Dance,, they could probably support two dance stations in fact,,, one that leans on house, and one that leans on Euro-and trance......

 

[hipman2]

In the fall of 1996, Channel 933 attacked three stations on one of their spots. They were funny, except that they mentioned a station, B100, that was defunct two years earlier, suggesting that Jacor's researchers weren't too updated that it was Star 100.7 at the time. Something was fishy, though the mix sounded second only to Groove Radio 103.1 up in L.A.

In 1997, Jacor bought Q106 and it ran both 933 and Q106 plus too many others. In 1998, Q106 was sold and it went Spanish. Dance in San Diego seemed to vanish.

Meanwhile, this little thing called Internet radio? Where I have been listening to various dance stations for about 10 years now. Nah. Listeners wouldn't flock over to the net, would they?

 

[ChrisInMI]

Ahh... the memories. I was in high school when 93-1 DRQ launched (summer of 1996, between sophomore and junior year) and DRQ along with Q95-5 and WHYT/WPLT Planet 96.3 was a big part of the soundtrack of my last two years of high school. The original WDRQ (after a beginning as News/Talk in 1971) was a soul-leaning Top 40 and then Disco station during the '70s, and then a very successful Urban/Rhythmic CHR during the early '80s. But in the spring of '85 WDRQ changed and became laid-back Soft AC/Easy Listening station WLTI (Lite FM), which lasted until the summer of '96 when WDRQ was reborn. I remember tuning in one day and being surprised to hear a song by CeCe Peniston, and then the imaging voice announcing... "93-1... The NEW DRQ."

DRQ did indeed take some time to get on its feet. During the first couple of weeks when the station was still automated, you would still hear AC artists like Celine Dion and Tracy Chapman(!) played alongside the current rhythmic-pop hits and the disco/old school classics. Their first morning show host included a drag queen (Trixie DeLuxxe - wonder whatever happened to her?). And their early promos took a lot of jabs at the Hot AC days/CHR nights sound of WKQI, which was then Q95-5. One I remember: "This is Detroit's new 'Q.'" (played: "Can't Smile Without You" by Barry Manilow, even though the old WLTI would have been more likely to play that song than Q95) "This is Detroit's Original DRQ!" (played "I Will Survive"). The first morning show failed to catch on, and the music mix was adjusted to include more pop/rock to go up against Q95-5 plus some of the harder hip-hop that Q95-5 did not touch. (Q95-5, for its part, did play a fair amount of dance product - I remember them airing the rapless edits of Real McCoy "Another Night," La Bouche "Be My Lover" and "Sweet Dreams," and 2 Unlimited "Get Ready For This" in addition to "Situation" by Yaz(oo) and dance mixes of Toni Braxton "Unbreak My Heart" and Celine Dion "It's All Coming Back To Me Now"). In 1997 DRQ branded itself as "Detroit's Dance Music Station" but played "I Don't Want To Wait" by Paula Cole and "The Mummers' Dance" by Loreena McKennitt. Eventually they changed the positioning to "Today's Best Music" (which was later copied by WKQI) and then "Today's HIT Music" and "Detroit's #1 Hit Music Station" (which by then they were, having finally beaten WKQI thanks in part to embracing the then-hot teen pop/boy band movement, which Q95-5 was slower to recognize).

Even after they went mainstream, DRQ still played dance songs most other CHRs did not touch, such as Ian Van Dahl "Castles In The Sky," DJ Encore "I See Right Through To You," Bette Midler "I'm Beautiful," Rockell "In A Dream," and 4 Strings "Take Me Away (Into The Night)." Some of those songs were also added by WKQI as they raced to catch up. DRQ was also the first station on which I heard Cher's "Believe," and oddly it was the "Xenomania" mix (which I feel is superior to the album version) that was added.

In the late '90s DRQ did a full hour of the "Deja Vu on DRQ" stuff during lunch hours. The playlist was mainly disco songs and old-school urban hits that would have been played on the original DRQ during its early-'80s glory days. "Deja Vu on DRQ" was scrapped shortly after the station went more mainstream CHR, but the station still occasionally rolled out the "Deja Vu"-type songs for holiday weekends and such.

Another somewhat dance-friendly station at the time was 98.3 WTWR (Tower 98) when it was still locally owned and based in Monroe. Some of the songs I remember on Tower's playlist included Amber "Colour Of Love," Pure Sugar "Delicious" (both also played on DRQ of course), and the dance mix of Celine Dion "To Love You More."

Q95-5 also for a few months in 1996 had a Saturday night mixshow hosted by "Lisa Lisa" (Lisa Orlando) called "Club 95-5," which featured a mix of disco classics and current dance. IIRC it ended once Lisa Lisa (a veteran of 96.3 WHYT, which was itself legendary for playing a lot of dance in the late '80s/early '90s) went to DRQ. "Club 95-5" moved to Sunday nights and became an all-'80s show, which while it wasn't a mixshow was still cool because they played lots of "forgotten favorites." Saturday nights were taken over by Open House Party. Lisa Lisa stayed at DRQ until she was blown out with the format change to Doug-FM in '05 and now hosts the disco/'80s-based "Saturday Night Dance Party" on Oldies 104.3 WOMC.

Midwest Clubber is correct that Detroit's alternative stations did play a healthy amount of dance material in the late '90s. I don't remember it on 105.1 The Edge as much as on DRQ's sister station Planet 96.3, where Olive's "You're Not Alone" was in heavy rotation in 1997 (also played on DRQ). Earlier in the mid-'90s when DRQ was still Lite FM and after evolving from Churban into Alternative, Planet played a lot of alternative-leaning dance music ("Billy Ray" by Opposite Day, NIN, Scatman, Vanessa Daou, and even KMFDM) and some CHR dance (Madonna, Ace of Base, Real McCoy, 2 Unlimited) alongside Nirvana, Soundgarden, Cranberries etc. Later after they evolved to Modern AC, Planet also had "Saturday Night Flashbacks," a mixshow of classic alternative songs (including some awesome extended mixes), and on Sunday nights, "Big Sonic Heaven," which delved a bit into the "electronica"/"chill" side of dance, lots of Depeche Mode, Sneaker Pimps and the like (WQKL 107-1 in Ann Arbor, a Triple A, now has a similar show called "Sonic Bliss" also on Sunday nights).

Sorry for such a long post but the late 1990s were a great time for dance music on Detroit radio and it's way cool to reminisce. I think today's Channel 955 could benefit by playing more dance (there are times when I can't tell them apart from Urban sister WJLB), but what do I know.

 

[justthenumbers]

Another somewhat dance-friendly station at the time was 98.3 WTWR (Tower 98) when it was still locally owned and based in Monroe. Some of the songs I remember on Tower's playlist included Amber "Colour Of Love," Pure Sugar "Delicious" (both also played on DRQ of course), and the dance mix of Celine Dion "To Love You More."

I attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for one year (August 1995-April 1996) and I loved Tower 98! I remember the station playing "Do What's Good for Me" by 2 Unlimited in regular rotation (along with Weird Al's "Amish Paradise"...LOL). It was a great alternative to the much more vanilla WVKS "92.5 Kiss-FM" out of Toledo.

With so much love for DRQ in this thread...I couldn't help but post a couple of 90+ minute DRQ airchecks from 1997 on my imeem account. Enjoy!

WDRQ - 1-28-97
http://www.imeem.com/people/XDqCnsc/music/cjuAjGbO/wdrqdetroit_931_drq_12897/

WDRQ - 3-24-97
http://www.imeem.com/people/XDqCnsc/music/W20NzNPP/wdrqdetroit_931_drq_32497/

 

[Mid West Clubber]

I think its awsome,,, but DRQ didnt stay Dance very long... Notice how must the playlist is older Well Tested songs from two to 4 years before the tape was recorded.... I think its funny how some of the stations that position themselves as All Dance will still play a big ROCK-Hip Hop Song.

 

[ChrisInMI]

Justthenumbers, Thank You for the DRQ airchecks! That brings back some memories.

Tower 98 sure was an awesome CHR back in the days before Cumulus came in and spoiled the party. I used to look forward to going house-hunting with my family in the Ann Arbor area when we were looking to move out there just to hear Tower 98, and sometimes I could get Tower all the way out to Romeo (30 miles or so north of Detroit) because there were no other stations around on that frequency. Another dance song I remember hearing first on Tower was "Gimme Some Love," Gina G's now-long-forgotten (but still great) follow-up to "Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit." Now that Tower is a Cumulus station it has taken on the typical Cumulus vanilla sound, and there is also a Contemporary Christian translator not far away on the same frequency that makes reception more difficult since Tower moved its tower south into Ohio. Yet now that they've been unable to win the CHR battle with WVKS, they've gone back to trying to be a Monroe station, which is really a laugh.

92.5 Kiss-FM was good in the personality department but had a more limited playlist, and the reception wasn't as good with Detroit's 92.3 right next door. The only time I really made an effort to listen to Kiss-FM was on Sunday mornings when they ran Casey's Top 40.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

You guys remember tower 98 better than I do,, but whenever I went through there I heard what sounded like Satelite Hot AC,,, but this was always the middle of the night... I dont know how they where trying to be a Toledo station,,, the signal was very weak there along the towe road... You could get DRQ and Planet 96.3 along the Towe Road quite before you get to Toledo,,, but 95.5 wouldnt come in till much farther north.