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The return of 61 Big WAYS?

V

vchimpanzee

It's not likely. But here's how it could happen.

People here were saying WFNZ would move to FM. So far, that's not happening. But if it did, what owner of big FMs would keep a frequency like 610 AM with all its problems? I never had any, by the way, day or night.

Dave Lingafelt owns "63 Big Ways" in Hickory, real oldies, which uses station IDs from the old 61 Big WAYS, and WNNC, satellite True Oldies. So who do you think would buy 610 AM? And what would he put on it?

He also owns WXRC, which is sort of like oldies but more like early album FM.

Until it happens, there's always Majic 94.1, which has been fighting in court to build a tower closer to Charlotte.
 
Big WAYS (at least the Charlotte incarnation of it) should NEVER be tried on FM. So much of that station's mystique was the way it sounded on an AM radio. Sorry, but FM just can't duplicate it . . . no competent FM engineer would want to try!

Also, no one currently in radio has the schmaltz that Stan Kaplan had to try something that had no research to back it up, no real precedent in the market, and a dogged determination to make "his baby" succeed.

Until someone gets into this business who is willing to eat the bologna sandwiches Stan ate (yes, I know he was Jewish . . . the principle still applies!), spend the $$$ he spent and put the kind of faith in his people that he did . . . .

PLEASE . . . <b>PLEASE</b> . . . don't even attempt to resurrect Big WAYS. You'll only be pouring your $$$ in a hole in the ocean, or casting gold earrings before swine who will neither understand what you're doing or even care what a Big WAYS is.

I hear soooo many people who want to copy Big WAYS. Like any analog product from a bygone day, the copy will NEVER be as good as the original. Bringing Big WAYS back might make people wax nostalgic, but it would never sell enough zit cream and Afro Sheen to pay the morning guy, much less the 24/7 live staff it would take to really bring Big WAYS back.

Finally, allow me to hold up an example to us of someone who has a proper "attitude" about Big WAYS. Larry Sprinkle was one of the prime movers and shakers in that station. He did everything there, commercial production, morning show, music director, program director, sales . . . you name it. When Big WAYS was gone, he moved on. Now successful at WCNC-TV, he seldom mentions Big WAYS any more, except in interviews with Hancock on WBT. If you ask the average Charlottean who Larry Sprinkle is, they'll tell you that he's the ". . . guy from 6 News . . ." or something like that. The average Joe doesn't remember him from Big WAYS (and probably doesn't remember what Big WAYS was in the first place), but they laud him for his present-day accomplishments. I hear that's the way Larry likes it.

End of my Sermon on Big WAYS

Think about it . . . I'll sign this as I do most of my correspondence today:

Blessings,
PastorMatt

Later . . . .
 
Right on, Matt.

The inventive days of radio of the 60s and 70s can never be resurrected. Only fondly remembered. I enjoy listening to 630 when I'm around Hickory, but it is not the same as the real product.

I'm not sure exactly where the inventive spirit of Big WAYS can be duplicated not. Certainly not on am, and not in the present corporate-dominant world of fm. But just maybe, the financial downturn (moving fast toward a depression) will break up the clear channels of the world. And then a mom and pop might be able to pick up a decent fm signal reasonably and work creatively to make a living and make it profitable.

BTW Matt, I have taken a church in Marion. No longer on the road! Hope you are doing well.
 
Matt your post has my vote, well said!

610 AM tried oldies at some point. A halfhearted effort and it hardly was a blip in the ratings.
 
Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
 
vchimpanzee said:
Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Click to expand...

Okay I get it (it took me a sec) and you're right. :D

Soon all radio will be on the bird and everyone will forget what local radio sounded like :mad:
 
Matt;
You hit the nail on the head. The classic AM sound still holds true today, when processed correctly. I have an AM here in Louisiana and one of my sales people asked one day "WHY DO YOUR SPOTS SOUND BETTER ON THE AM than our FM?" He didn't know why, he couldn't even explain what was "better", he just knew it sounded better, warmer, and more "classic" on AM.
 
Because of the growth of Charlotte in the last 25 years the 61 BIG WAYS name is of no significance in 2009....I know it hurts.
 
Matt Smith said:
Big WAYS (at least the Charlotte incarnation of it) should NEVER be tried on FM. So much of that station's mystique was the way it sounded on an AM radio. Sorry, but FM just can't duplicate it . . . no competent FM engineer would want to try!

Also, no one currently in radio has the schmaltz that Stan Kaplan had to try something that had no research to back it up, no real precedent in the market, and a dogged determination to make "his baby" succeed.

Until someone gets into this business who is willing to eat the bologna sandwiches Stan ate (yes, I know he was Jewish . . . the principle still applies!), spend the $$$ he spent and put the kind of faith in his people that he did . . . .

PLEASE . . . <b>PLEASE</b> . . . don't even attempt to resurrect Big WAYS. You'll only be pouring your $$$ in a hole in the ocean, or casting gold earrings before swine who will neither understand what you're doing or even care what a Big WAYS is.

I hear soooo many people who want to copy Big WAYS. Like any analog product from a bygone day, the copy will NEVER be as good as the original. Bringing Big WAYS back might make people wax nostalgic, but it would never sell enough zit cream and Afro Sheen to pay the morning guy, much less the 24/7 live staff it would take to really bring Big WAYS back.

Finally, allow me to hold up an example to us of someone who has a proper "attitude" about Big WAYS. Larry Sprinkle was one of the prime movers and shakers in that station. He did everything there, commercial production, morning show, music director, program director, sales . . . you name it. When Big WAYS was gone, he moved on. Now successful at WCNC-TV, he seldom mentions Big WAYS any more, except in interviews with Hancock on WBT. If you ask the average Charlottean who Larry Sprinkle is, they'll tell you that he's the ". . . guy from 6 News . . ." or something like that. The average Joe doesn't remember him from Big WAYS (and probably doesn't remember what Big WAYS was in the first place), but they laud him for his present-day accomplishments. I hear that's the way Larry likes it.

End of my Sermon on Big WAYS

Think about it . . . I'll sign this as I do most of my correspondence today:

Blessings,
PastorMatt

Later . . . .
Click to expand...


Don't want to talk about BIG WAYS..Let's talk BIG APE..and I liked Stan's Bolonga Sammichs!
 
Worth noting that in the early days of Magic 96 in Charlotte Don Strawn recreated some of the WAYS sound for them....while I agree on the cool sound of those stations on AM, he did a pretty good job of making Magic sound like the old Big Ways.

Don was a processing genius.
 
eyewitness news said:
Worth noting that in the early days of Magic 96 in Charlotte Don Strawn recreated some of the WAYS sound for them....while I agree on the cool sound of those stations on AM, he did a pretty good job of making Magic sound like the old Big Ways.

Don was a processing genius.
Click to expand...

Nah! Never will agree to that.. Never was or will be that sound of WAYS or APE, especially that homemade 50,000 watter kicking Ass from Orange Park!
 
Don Strawn was a friend of mine. He never worked at Magic 96.
 
BTW, did anyone hear Jay Thomas today on Larson's show on WBT? He mentioned WAYS, Stan and Sis, Larry Sprinkle, Boo Baron, etc, etc numerous times, took a boatload of calls from old WAYS listeners (tons of 'em still around- Diana), and brought back some great memories.
 
LaidBackJack said:
Don Strawn was a friend of mine. He never worked at Magic 96.
Click to expand...

Folks may not know this: Don Strawn worked at EZ-102.9 WEZC until the station was purchased by Trumper and we moved in next to WTDR.

Don had some great "Sprinkle Stories".
 
LaidBackJack said:
BTW, did anyone hear Jay Thomas today on Larson's show on WBT? He mentioned WAYS, Stan and Sis, Larry Sprinkle, Boo Baron, etc, etc numerous times, took a boatload of calls from old WAYS listeners (tons of 'em still around- Diana), and brought back some great memories.
Click to expand...
Wish I had! Don't happen to have a chex of it do ya?
 
Reelradio has the PD digest interview with Stan Kaplin, if you have a subscription it is worth a listen. The man got it. Radio needs that mentality instead of a VP's desire for an end of year bonus for out of the box thinking.

The biggest issue with doing music on AM is the delivery system, the modern day receiver. Back in the day a car radio could produce a good sound on AM. But most car radios today have the bandwidth of a telephone call (I'm looking at you Delco stock radio). Even the best processing would be lost in translation. Then of course are all of those part 15 monsters and population growth beyond the coverage area. Recent attempts to bring back WSAI and KB radio failed. Big WAYS is best kept as a good memory.
 
Also, you can hear pieces of the Stan Kaplan interview on the Big Ways tribute page at Thatwasradio.com.

http://www.thatwasradio.com/ways.html

As mentioned on this board sometime ago, Stan Kaplan had wanted to bring back Big Ways on FM when WROQ first switched to Top 40 in 1984, but the idea was nixed for some reason and the WAYS call letters were released shortly afterwards.
 
Mike Sheridan said:
vchimpanzee said:
Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Ba-ba-ba bird, bird, bird! The bird is the word!
Click to expand...

Okay I get it (it took me a sec) and you're right. :D

Soon all radio will be on the bird and everyone will forget what local radio sounded like :mad:
Click to expand...
Wrong.

Tell me whether WOLS even played the song.

Or Majic 94.1. Or anyone.

Some good news: according to a thread on the South Carolina board, a proposed station licensed to Fort Mill at 91.3 is owned by the same people who own the one oldies station now reaching south Charlotte.
 
BIG APE said:
Don't want to talk about BIG WAYS..Let's talk BIG APE..and I liked Stan's Bolonga Sammichs!
Click to expand...
I'll tell you who has good bologna sandwiches.

There was a place in McAdenville. I went to church with one of the people who ran it about 30 years ago. I don't know if it's still around.

But the place I go now is on 109 north of Thomasville, just beyond where the four-lane highway stops for now. Kelly's Marathon.
 
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