Songs that were banned from WOKI during the 70s and 80s ...Pre I-100

[Mid West Clubber]

As I recall

Afternoon Delight was banned from WOKI I think,,, this may be because they were rock leaning

Dancing Queen-Abba--- maybe because they were too rock leaning at this time as well,,, never disco-Black-Dance or AC friendly till the late 80s Maybe why i listened to 95.3 TNZ during that time or would DX WKSF Asheville,, which was clear as a bell in Dandridge....... but still kinda rock leaned and conservative

Erotic city-Prince

George Micheal-I want your sex...Banned when it was new... but later Brother Clay Gish added it as a gold

Anymore you can think of.... I think they may have banned Frankie goes to Hollywood-Relax as well, but im not sure.............

 

[thatWguy]

Mike Beverly was MD during the disco years and resisted putting "Dancing Queen" on the air for about a month, but after it hit #1 in about 10 countries, he relented - putting it in "B" rotation - so that no announcer would have to intro it (via the automation). Black disco dance was dayparted from 6AM to 5PM and was in both A and B rotation. "Best Of My Love" by Emotion was an A, as was many Commodores songs. To eliminate all disco-black-dance would've meant nonstop Bee Gees, Eagles (Hotel California) and Fleetwood Mac (Rumors) for the entire 1977 year. I even think "Afternoon Delight" was played in the recurrent rotation - It certainly was played on WOKI AM 1550. The only song that was totally banned from the FM was "Muskrat Love" by the Captain & Tennille. The moog solo in the song absolutely sent the automation bonkers - putting on the air both intro and outro carts, the other carousel machine, and anywhere between 3 to 6 spots on the Instacart. By the start of Mike Beverly's show at 7PM, most of the disco and funk pop was gone - except for the Bee Gees & some KC & the Sunshine Band.

 

[SuperQ]

Cruel irony... because now Beverly plays the snot out of Abba on his weekend shift on the B flashback weekend.

 

[NoWayNoCC]

I didn't think "Erotic City" was really a big top 40 radio hit. If a top 40 station failed to play it, it could have been for that reason, in addition to the more obvious reason.

 

[Radioceo]

Posted by SuperQ on the New Generation Radio - HD Radio forum:


Re: The Day the AM Band Died
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2007, 03:43:15 pm »

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't care about skywave, even though I listen to a lot of clear channel stations at night.

I have 84 watts on 1250. It's enough to do high school sports. What's going to happen to my groundwave signal when every little graveyard station on 1240 fires up the digital. I'll be lucky to cover my own parking lot, much less a school district

I must sell out now before that happens. Thanks Ibiquity for trying to ignore the laws of physics.


Now who do we know that owns a station on 1250 with 84 watts night time authorization and does a lot of high school sports. Could it be WRKQ? Madisonville? Owned by Beverly Broadcasting Company, Inc?

Cut the crap, Mike.

SuperQ = Mike Beverly
Mike Beverly = SuperQ

 

[thatWguy]

Beverly's reluctance to play 'Dancing Queen" on WOKI in 1977 had nothing to do with disliking the group. A group who had the best song in the Eurovision contest two years running is not a feat acheived by a group that puts out crap. It is my opinion that Mike's reluctance to play the song came from his desire to keep the WOKI playlist from sliding into full-fledged and full-time CHR mode - a direction that it had been drifting to since late 1975. The competition from WRJZ was significant on the CHR side, then WKGN went disco - the only real exclusive niche WOKI seem to have left was stereo rock, which provided much better numbers at night with the UT students not in class. The compromise seem to be CHR during the day, and become classic/southern rock at night and overnight when all of the Leif Garrett teenyboppers were in bed. (and yes, "I Was Made For Dancin' " played on WOKI in 1978).

 

[thatWguy]

I didn't think "Erotic City" was really a big top 40 radio hit. If a top 40 station failed to play it, it could have been for that reason, in addition to the more obvious reason.

Sexually explicit music that was popular was always played. #1 record of the year in 1976 was 'Tonight's the Night" - Rod Stewart. As about a transparent a seduction song as it gets - including the "spread your wings" line that was only cut in a few areas of the country. Or how about Sheena Easton's "Sugar Walls" (another Prince song) in 1985? It went Top 10, and was played on stations where I was at.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

So,,, anyway, sorry for kinda turning this into the WOKI board, but you gotta admit, as far as Top 40 or rock goes, there hasnt been anything interesting in Knoxville since... hehe.

So did WOKI ever play Gordon Lightfoot- Wreck of the edmund fitzgerald,,,, or did they ever play Spirit in the Sky,,,,, that song may have been from the late 60s,, not sure. Also, did WOKI play any Pink Floyd back then????

Sorry guys, I'll shut up about WOKi for awhile now, thanks to all the former employees and listeners for helping me out.... Since I wasnt born until 1980, but have vivid memories from 1984 on, my brother and Mom was glued to the station till about 1988 my mom went to Country and AC, and me and my brother remained listeners all through to the 1993 change to country,, my Brother is-was 12 yrs older than me. My Mom listened to a station called U-102,,, which I think is what Star 102.1 is now,, I think it was AC or oldies,, I remember billboards for U-102 that said, make the U-Turn,,, but I dont recall the format,, My Mom and dad also listened to 107.7 back then... And yes,, back in the 80s, my brother and I would often listen to WLS The Big 89 at night during the winter,,, back then I didnt understand why I could only hear WLS at night, I didnt understand the AM skywave thing, i thought WLS went off air during the day. lol

 

[thatWguy]

Well, let's see. Former Goat Farmer Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit In the Sky" (1970) Was the first song on one of the oldies reels that ran in regular rotation from '77 - '79 (there were about 25 oldies reels). Had to keep the volume down on it, otherwise the automation would detect the low notes as the cue tone and step it out. Lightfoot's "Edmund Fitzgerald" (1975) was also on an oldies reel, but I don't know if it saw regular rotation when it was new. At over 6 minutes, it might not have been in "A" rotation.

About the only group JL Meyers liked as much as the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, it was Pink Floyd. I had never even heard of Pink Floyd until I became a regular listener (and recorder) of JL's show in 1975. JL had his own special "oldies reels" for his overnight show that had several cuts from both DSOTM and "Wish You Were Here". He would also play some stuff from PF's early years on occasion. Music that few other stations had probably ever heard of. JL's show was the quintessential 70's AOR show seasoned with Beatles oldies.

Don't apologize for your fixation on the classic days of WOKI. I think it's a hoot that recently we've had threads on WOKI, Pirkle, Mike Beverly, the I100 jocks, and even Buster! ;D Any day now, I expect to see WOKI threads on Scott Sams, The Brothers, Mark McKinney, and maybe even Sheila Wilshire - the traffic girl at the station. WOKI was indeed "The Only One"

 

[radio30]

Hey all. I for one am enjoying this being turned into a WOKI Thread. I came out of a nearly 30 year career in radio at the end of 2005. During the late 70's and early 80's, I was working in Southeast Kentucky and listened regularly back in the days of Mike Beverly, Brother John, The Brothers and solo Brother, Attorney Gary Adkins (not an attorney in those days) in the 10 am to noon slot if I remember right. Small world and strange how things happen. I now live just outside of Oak Ridge and work in the in the city's central services complex and drive by 114 Tulsa nearly everyday. Listening to That station was such a huge part of my younger days and having been in radio myself, I pass there and just wonder what it would have been like to have worked there during "The Glory Days". A now seemingly abandoned building the site of some great radio and I'm sure even greater stories.I saw reference in one of the earlier posts about Buster Sutton. They don't come any better than that guy and you will not find a better RF man anywhere. Ernie built and I think still maintains the last station that I worked at in Monticello, Ky.
By any chance, Would anyone have pictures of the old studio or any related pictures? I've always wondered what the "inner workings" looked like. Heck, I wouldn't mind even seeing the buildings interior the way it is now. Loved WOKI back in the day.
Thanks Much, Radio 30.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Back before the Fm dial got so crowded you could still pick up WOKI almost to Louisville and Cincinatti,, but today it makes it to about Richmond Kentucky just south of Lexington before Lexingtons 100.1 starts hammering it out.

 

[supermonkey1964]

I too remember the glory days of WOKI and live in Clinton, TN. The old building on Tulsa Road was abandoned for quite a while but then COAL CREEK ARMORY took it over I believe?...anyway while it was still an abandoned building i stopped there, snuck around back through the high grass one day and peeked through the glass, saw the old letters W-O-K-I from the old sign just lying there in the dust. Such a shame. Would have loved to see the interior of the old building too. Miss the old days.

 

[supermonkey1964]

I too remember the glory days of WOKI and live in Clinton, TN. The old building on Tulsa Road was abandoned for quite a while but then COAL CREEK ARMORY took it over I believe?...anyway while it was still an abandoned building i stopped there, snuck around back through the high grass one day and peeked through the glass, saw the old letters W-O-K-I from the old sign just lying there in the dust. Such a shame. Would have loved to see the interior of the old building too. Miss the old days.

 

[boogiecheck]

I read recently in the Oak Ridge newspaper that the old WOKI building was just sold and was going to become a Holiday Inn or something. I know that Pirkle jr. owns Coal Creek Armory. I saw him out there getting some tshirts out of the building last month.

 

[knoxbob]

I think it suppose to be a Holiday Inn Select or Express not really for sure. The old WORI tower out back is going to stay because WATO is currently using it.

 

[boogiecheck]

I think it suppose to be a Holiday Inn Select or Express not really for sure. The old WORI tower out back is going to stay because WATO is currently using it.

I went back and read the story again. You're correct. It's going to be a Holiday Inn Express. And yes, the tower will stay as it is no longer the WORI tower. It is now the WATO tower.

 

[thatWguy]

I think it suppose to be a Holiday Inn Select or Express not really for sure.

Truely ironic. There were times in the late 70's on the midnight shift when I thought the 2nd Floor of the WOKI building was the local Holiday Inn Express.

 

[firepoint525]

Cruel irony... because now Beverly plays the snot out of Abba on his weekend shift on the B flashback weekend.

When 106.7 here in Nashville was an R&B oldies station back around 1999, they added Abba, Paul McCartney & Wings, and even Elton John to their playlist, but that was right before they changed formats.

 

[firepoint525]

I didn't think "Erotic City" was really a big top 40 radio hit. If a top 40 station failed to play it, it could have been for that reason, in addition to the more obvious reason.

"Erotic City" never made the top 40. I looked it up.

And on another topic, it was the soft intro on "Bridge Over Troubled Water" that caused the automation at a station in which I once worked, to skip it and move on to something else. I edited out the soft passage, and it played fine after that.

 

[Mid West Clubber]

I cant imagine WOKI playing either of those songs, but I wasnt born until 1980, so my pre 1986 memories are pretty much deleted...... I remember Fm 100,, straight ahead chr,,,, and 1988 began I 100,,,, rock leaned chr,,,, 91-93... still I 100 but opened more up to black and Dance-Rhythmic music.....still leaning rock though..........