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Several questions about WOIC (& WKIX while I'm at it)

R

RobynWattsV2.0

What year did WKIX become WOIC?

Was WOIC an Urban Contemporary station during it's heyday (at least through the 60s on into the late 80s)? I remember the slew of formats it had since then (Urban Oldies, News/Talk geared toward the African-American community, ESPN, etc).

What does WOIC's call sign stand for? I was told back in the 90's that it stood for "W"e "O"riginate "I"n "C"olumbia, but I'm not sure if that was true or not.

Finally, What format did WKIX had when it existed?

Thanks (as always)
Robyn
 
Columbia had a WKIX? Raleigh/Central NC has had those calls letters in some capacity since the 50s or 60s. Interesting they began in SC's capital.

I'm interested in any replies you get to this too... oh how trivia is fun!
 
Yes, WOIC 1320AM was Urban Comtemporary or Soul from the 50s into the 80s. It was quite a phenomenon--a full market 24 hr R&B during a time when other markets had only flea powered, daytime only R&Bs (many cities, maybe most, had none). Even in the early 70s, WCOS and WNOK could not serve even close-in suburbs, but WOIC was there loud and clear. I remember the station had a great line-up of DJs, and a very professional presentation. WOIC must have had a HUGE listenership, though I don't know that it was ever measured accurately.
 
Robyn...

It's been a long time since I've thought about all this stuff, but I think 1320 debuted as WMSC, which is what it was, prior to being sold to Joe Spiedel in 1956 (I think it was '56), when it became WOIC.

WOIC began in Columbia in 1954. 1470 came on the air as WOIC, changing to WQXL (and Top-40) when Speidel sold it to buy WMSC.

If I'm not mistaken, WKIX was a short-lived FM (don't know the frequency). To my knowledge, all that exists to show that there once was a WKIX, is the tower (if it's still standing) that WXRY (93.5) and WZLD (96.7) were sharing. I was at that transmitter site once, and there were some very faded letters painted on the side of the building (it may have been an old, painted sign) that said WKIX. The tower was grounded (not sitting on an insulator), so I doubt there was ever an FM there.

If I am mistaken about that, I'd appreciate being corrected.
 
I remember going to the transmitter site that WXRY and WZLD had at one time with my dad whose company used to work on their two way communications. As I remember it was somewhere behind the Providence Hospital and if I remember correctly, the WKIX call letters were on the building somewhere and were pretty faded at the time and this was in the late 70's when I was in high school.
 
Thanks for the reply on this everyone. I remember Powell and Jay Braswell had both mentioned WMSC on this board sometime ago, but had forgotten about it until now.

Jovialjay: Is it possible that the FM that you were referring to was 100.1 (now WXBT)? I was always told that 100.1 signed on as WSCQ around 75 or 76, but it may had been something else before then. I'd be interested in finding out.

Robyn
 
Al Timiter said:
Here's a pic of the late, great Mackie Quave holding court at WKIX Columbia SC.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. WMSC must've originally been WKIX, but I think it was only a few years. 1320 debuted in 1945 (and was a kilowatt daytimer, so that tower site I mentioned may very well have been the original tower site for 1320) and WOIC (1470) signed on in 1954. I spent one whole Saturday looking through the items they had then (mid-80's). Incredibly, there was nobody on duty, but a wandering security guard opened the door and let me in, telling me to be sure to lock it when I left! As I recall, there were 5 or 6 huge scrapbooks, full of pictures, clippings and memorabilia about Dick Shafto's many years with WIS. Thinking about it, as soon as I have the chance, I'm going for a repeat visit...it's just that good!
 
I have memories as a child of seeing the WOIC tower and studio near the corner of Sunset & N. Main. It was on a little dirt road behind the railroad and you entered from Sunset Dr. I remember seeing the W O I C large neon letters flashing at night on this Eau Claire tower. This was in the late 1950s. Since we lived only about about a mile NW of the site, it overpowered my crystal radio and was the only station heard during the day.

After I received my 6 transistor radio, it seemed that WKIX was the last station on the dial. I really can't be certain of these memories as a child, but maybe these stations had swapped frequencies (or complete transmitter sites) by the early '60s. WOIC was then 1320 and with R&B, and WKIX seemed to have been somewhat top 40 until around 1967 when it changed to "Countrypoliton" WQXL. I remember Mackie "Cactus" Quave and "Chet" Dave Aiken as announcers. I'm sure that I would need to be hypnotically regressed for accuracy
 
Hey emmett, I know what you mean about being hypnotically regressed for accuracy. memories are fading....the only thing i could correct is that it was WQXL at 1470 that was top 40 until 1966. I remember that well. "Q" was a damn fine Top 40 station with Mackie, Dick Anderson, Hal Von Nessen, Jerry Pate, and yes, Dave Aiken was a part timer but I believe he came along after the switch to country in the summer of '66. My friends and I were pissed. "Q" was very innovative with the "Teenage Underground" in afternoon drive, Mackie "Cactus" Quave in AM drive, and special daily editions of the BBC's "Top of the Pops." Those were the days my friend....BTW: the tower and studio property at N Main and Beltline were demolished several months ago. Sigh.
 
Al, (or anyone else) could you answer something for me? How did WQXL fare in it's Top 40 days against WCOS and WNOK? Were both stations Top 40 by the time of WQXL's format change to Country? I know that traditionally daytime-only Top 40s never fared well with the full-time counterparts.

Also, when did WNOK switch over to Top 40? I've had a tape of Joe Pinner from Christmastime, 1959 where he was playing Big Band/Crooner-era music on a show called "Project Pleasant Listening". This was back when Mr Pinner was stationed at Fort Jackson.

Thanks for the additional info. Kinda sad that tapes of WQXL, WNOK, & WCOS in the early days are hard to come by.

Robyn
 
Hey Robynwatts v2.0,

I'll try to answer as many of those as possible:

WNOK was "block" programming in the late 50's and early 60s. Somewhere around 1963, they went full blown top 40. Apparently didn't fare well against WCOS even though they had awesome PAMS jingles, good jocks and an overall good sound. In 1967, they went to the "Now Sound" and hooked up with the CBS net. Their music was....kind of strange. Ratings tanked. By late 1970 they went back to Top 40 and this time did fairly well against WCOS. They faded away sometime in the late 70's.

WQXL, owned at the time by Belk, was Top 40 by the time the Beatles "invasion" began in 1964. WQXL had a more "adult" sound to them but still played all the hits and then some. They had an impressive line-up of DJ's, decent jingles and a very innovative approach. I don't think they fared well against WCOS or even WNOK. Someone told me they didn't even subscribe to Arbitron...I don't know about that one. In the summer of 1966, they switched to "Town and Country" and then "Countrypolitan" with a more "city" approach to Country. They had a decent sound but I don't know what their numbers were like. They gave up after WCOS-FM went Country in the early 70's...and Q went Religious.

WCOS: Unsure exactly when they began Top 40 but I think it was around 1960. However, there were remnants of their previous format around well into the mid 60's with Bob Fulton doing basically an MOR morning show and a live call-in talk show at noon every day with Mike Rast. Maybe because they were the first to jump on top 40 but in spite of all that they were Number Uno most years in the 60's.

Interesting side note:

When Woody Windham mc'ed a concert at the Township in early 1966, he did an off-the-cuff audience participation survey of which radio station they liked best. WCOS got decent applause. WNOK got decent applause. WQXL got thunderous applause. I think Woody was a little embarrassed.

well that's all i know about that.
 
Since 1947, WNOK has had at least some current based popular music programming...from Hit Parade to CHR. It was the only way that, in 1997 for WNOK's 50 anniversary, we were able to promote the fact that we were the "Longest Running Continuous Top 40" station in America. At least that's what we were told...
 
Al Timiter said:
WNOK was "block" programming in the late 50's and early 60s. Somewhere around 1963, they went full blown top 40. They faded away sometime in the late 70's.
Click to expand...

Joe Pinner carried the handle "Joe Pinner, the record spinner", when he was at WNOK.

Anybody remember the disco/urban "experiment"...when WNOK(AM) became WXAP...ZAP 1-2-3?
 
I remember WCOS-AM and WNOK-AM in the 1970s when I spent a lot of time in Columbia (lived there during the summers. I thought WCOS was horrible---very small town sound, still did stuff like Tradeo, etc. They had a jock named Hunter Herring who often did his show from a booth on the roof of an old fashioned drive in on North Main. I don't know where they got their jingles, but they were poor. WNOK, on the other hand was decent--good jocks and jingles, very tight production. They aired CBS news at the top of the hour, which was unusual for a top 40, but I liked that. Needless to say,I listened to WNOK, but there was no doubt that WCOS #1 in top 40---I never understood that. By the early 70s, both stations were already having reception problems in the burbs, so the writing was on the wall.
 
Scott said:
Since 1947, WNOK has had at least some current based popular music programming...from Hit Parade to CHR. It was the only way that, in 1997 for WNOK's 50 anniversary, we were able to promote the fact that we were the "Longest Running Continuous Top 40" station in America. At least that's what we were told
Click to expand...

wellllll.......i think the marketing department took some liberties there. The State used to carry programming schedules for the radio stations and you can find where WNOK-AM carried "various" types of musical programming in the 50's and early 60's. And they were some kind of MOR-AC hybrid from 1967 til 1970. I don't blame 'nok for trying to make that claim...it certainly sounds impressive!
 
Al Timiter said:
Scott said:
Since 1947, WNOK has had at least some current based popular music programming...from Hit Parade to CHR. It was the only way that, in 1997 for WNOK's 50 anniversary, we were able to promote the fact that we were the "Longest Running Continuous Top 40" station in America. At least that's what we were told
Click to expand...

wellllll.......i think the marketing department took some liberties there. The State used to carry programming schedules for the radio stations and you can find where WNOK-AM carried "various" types of musical programming in the 50's and early 60's. And they were some kind of MOR-AC hybrid from 1967 til 1970. I don't blame 'nok for trying to make that claim...it certainly sounds impressive!
Click to expand...

Lol! "The Most Music", "The Best Music", "Less Talk", "Fewest Commercials"...all overblown terms based, at least in part, on fact. Isn't that what marketing departments do? Except, in this case, the marketing department was Jonathon. I know for a fact that he researched the crap out of the 50 Year Anniversary and talked with Joe Pinner, Bill McElveen, Pegram Harrison and God knows who else, but whatever criteria used to determine what constituted "Top 40" credentials in each of WNOK's respective eras since 1947 is known only to JR. But, according to that criteria, after KDKA went talk, no one else (to my knowledge) could prove a longer Top 40 tenure than WNOK. And you're right, it did sound cool. We gave away the house(literally) at the Summit to celebrate. It sure beat cake.
 
Oh what fun,...squeezing "127,000 dollar Squires built home at the Summet" into our TOH speel over that 10 sec jingle. (to which I never heard you step on, Scott)

10 years ago......damn
 
Geek Brian said:
Oh what fun,...squeezing "127,000 dollar Squires built home at the Summet" into our TOH speel over that 10 sec jingle. (to which I never heard you step on, Scott)

10 years ago......damn
Click to expand...

We're getting old as, as, um, well, as old as 'NOK.
 
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