WBLI in the Early 1980s

[DavidRJ]

I've had a chance to listen to the WBLI airchecks from the early 80s posted recently at http://liairchecks.50megs.com, as well as one from August 24, 1981, at the earlier version of the Long Island Radio Airchecks website, and I've noticed one thing: No Jingles! No call letter jingles. No "jock shout" jingles. Nothing.In all fairness, I do realize the focus was on Dennis Moore's morning drive news reports, but the lack of jingles was something I couldn't ignore. (Plus, I listened mostly to WLIX during those years.) Was it really true that then-PD Bill Terry didn't have any jingles in rotation at WBLI in the early-1980s? Also, what do you remember about the sound of WBLI during the early-1980s? I've done quite a bit of research into the WBLI of the early-1980s via Billboard's "Singles Radio Action" section and found that quite a few big hits from that era were conspicuously absent from the 'BLI playlists (i.e. "Whip It" by Devo; "Let It Whip" by the Dazz Band; "I Love Rock N Roll" by Joan Jett; "Rock the Casbah" by the Clash; and others). Thanks David

 

[wgliradio]

WBLI was not a full blown Top 40 (CHR) until the mid 1990's. In the early 1980's, they were probably more oldies leaning than anything else... AC in the mid-late 1980's, HOT AC in the early 1990's before going full blown CHR.They were doing things like 70's weekends as late as 1995 IIRC

 

[SPRINGFIELDRAD]

;DI know BLI had jingles from at least 1983 to today. Back in 1983 some of the jingles mention Maximum Music. The station was CHR in 1983. Heavy dayparting. Some AC tunes would pop up in the morning hours.I'm about 90% sure BLI played "I Love Rock n Roll" by Joan Jett.Back around 1998 or 1999 BLI played a few classic jingles from the early '80s during a special weekend promotion.I believe BLI didn't get a weather jingle until the late '80s. BLI going up against Z-100 with a mega jingle budget.

 

[wgliradio]

Check outhttp://liairchecks.50megs.com

 

[lalumia]

WBLI was following the lead of WABC in it's final months as a music channel(remember when they dropped "Jesse's Girl" cos it was "too hard" sounding?)...BLI avoided rock guitar,anything that sounded too heavy or potentially alarming,they were Top 40 'with reservations'(actually A/C in disguise.)...it was that lack of energy, both in music programming, and the qualude sound of the djs,that prevented me from becoming a BLI fan back then, it sounded like a "Stepford" Top 40 station, all the life drained out of it(but a great signal, so it pulled in the numbers,regardless)..

 

[wgliradio]

It was also advertiser friendly. Basically positioned as a station everyone could listen to. As a kid, I often wondered why BLI wouldn't play certain selections heard on KC-101, Z or PLJ. I even wrote a letter to the station asking them why they wouldn't get edgier with their sound, why they stopped for oldies middays and Sunday evenings etc. I told them they should do one or the other (oldies or Top 40). They did have a hard-to-listen to sound, but I loved those "maximum music" jingles

 

[lalumia]

and, by the way, they NEVER played "I Love Rock & Roll" by Joan Jett when it was a huge hit, or anything that sounded like it...when you're not really reflective of 'youth"(as Z 100 continues to be, quite successfully), the 'youth" will never embrace you...and it's the 'youth' that controls the radio, usually,when driving with the family somewhere, I know that was the case when I was a kid, and forced the family to hear MusicRadio 77 WABC non-stop!

 

[adamhadley]

David,I worked at WBLI in the 80's and it is true there were never jingles used. Back then BLI dayparted a lot and was a very different sounding radio station from day to night. During the day it was AC and night CHR. Also a lot of the music they thought might be offensive ie dance or ethnic sounding music was omitted and never played. Adam Knight

 

[lalumia]

cool info, Adam! ...the 'no jingles' thing is a major turnoff to me; a top 40 station without jingles is like a man walking down the street without a head...obviously, others feel that way as well, looking at the ratings roller coaster and how often Z comes out on top on what should be BLI turf..

 

[DavidRJ]

;DI'm about 90% sure BLI played "I Love Rock n Roll" by Joan Jett.

The irony is that "I Love Rock N Roll" did make it onto the 1985 edition of WBLI's listener-voted "All-Time, All-Request Top 300," despite not being on the playlist when it was a hit in 1982, meaning that the 1985 "All-Time, All-Request" countdown was probably the first time 'BLI ever played the record. Plus, 'BLI's playlist seemed to perk up considerably by 1985, possibly because of the MTV Factor.David

 

[DavidRJ]

WBLI was following the lead of WABC in it's final months as a music channel (remember when they dropped "Jesse's Girl" cos it was "too hard" sounding?)...BLI avoided rock guitar,anything that sounded too heavy or potentially alarming,they were Top 40 'with reservations' (actually A/C in disguise.)...it was that lack of energy, both in music programming, and the qualude sound of the djs,that prevented me from becoming a BLI fan back then, it sounded like a "Stepford" Top 40 station, all the life drained out of it (but a great signal, so it pulled in the numbers,regardless)..

I've also thought about the WABC Factor with WBLI a number of times. It's not all that surprising that WBLI in the 1970s and early-1980s took after WABC to some extent, since 'BLI's founding program director, Jay Mitchell, worked under Rick Sklar at WABC and learned some of his programming philosophies (i.e. tight playlists and the "You Don't Get Hurt By What You Don't Play" theory). But in the early-1980s, WBLI seemed a little too keen on mimicking WABC's pre-talk AC sound, but there were limits.From my research, here's a list of WABC top fourteen hits, from late-1980 through May 1982 that were either never played on WBLI when current, or didn't make it into WBLI's top ten:

• "Magic Man"--Robert Winters & the Fall (as high as #9 on WABC)
• "Shaddup You Face"--Joe Dolce (#2 on WABC)
• "Silly"--Deniece Williams (Top Five on WABC, once the station belatedly added it in October 1981, after it had dropped off the Billboard charts!)
• "Don't Stop the Music"--Yarbrough & Peoples (#7 on WABC)
• "If It Ain't One Thing...It's Another"--Richard "Dimples" Fields (#7 on the final WABC survey)
• "Whip It"--Devo (as high as #4 on WABC)
• "Let Me Be Your Angel"--Stacy Lattisaw (as high as #7 on WABC)
• "Two Hearts"--Stephanie Mills featuring Teddy Pendergrass (as high as #9 on WABC)
• "She's A Bad Mama Jama"--Carl Carlton (#2 on WABC)
• "Never Too Much"--Luther Vandross (#4 on WABC)

Also during that stretch, Rick Springfield's "I've Done Everything For You," Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," the Go-Gos' "We Got the Beat" and several early Pat Benatar hits were conspicuously absent from 'BLI.If anyone has access to old WBLI surveys from those years or to the Billboard Information Network (BIN) backfiles and can prove me wrong about some of these songs, please let me know.WBLI actually sounded more like a true CHR in the summer of 1976, when one could hear "The Boys Are Back In Town" by Thin Lizzy and "Save Your Kisses For Me" by the Brotherhood of Man in the same stop set. Furthermore, Long Island's last AM Top 40, WGBB, changed formats soon after Susquehanna sold the station in 1981, leaving WBLI as the closest thing Long Island had to a CHR. It's something of a mystery why 'BLI didn't play more of the big early-1980s hits.David[email protected]

 

[lalumia]

you are correct; I'm a long time Motown buff, I was a teen in the late 60s ,early 70s, and when BLI first signed on,I was outraged that they wouldn't play national/New York Top Ten hits from The Supremes(after Diana Ross left) like the amazing "Up The Laddrer To The Roof",the follow up "Everybody's Got The Right To Love", and then "Stoned Love", all of which were national and New York area smashes, MusicRadio 77WABC played these records to death....BLI has always been very zany in that way...they also avoided great glam era NY hit singles like "School's Out" by Alice Cooper, "Space Oddity(Ground Control To Major Tom) by David Bowie, "Bang A Gong" by T.Rex,"Little Willie" by The Sweet, and "All The Young Dudes" by Mott The Hoople(which,in all fairness,WABC wouldn't play the Mott record, despite it's Top 30 status, but WABC did play all the other records I mentioned....BLI stuck to Debbie Boone and the Doobie Brothers(YAWN!)

 

[dn751]

As a member of the WBLI air staff in the late 70's thru the mid 80's I have a different view then some of the opinions expressed on this board. We certainly did have jingles, as a matter of fact i have many airchecks to show just how many jingles we played. We also had a weather jingle that was played at :36 minutes after the hour ( 106 Weather)... What we did not have back then were jock shouts. None of the jocks had any jingles for themselves (ala Dan Ingram) but we certainly had many great jingles.I left the air staff in August of 1985 so I can't comment on what happened after that.Bill Terry was the PD at the time (remember Mr. Bill?) and he was very aware of the sound of the ststion. As many will recall for quite a few years WBLI was the #1 most listened to station on LI. As for the music that wasn't played?? well they must have been doing something rightthere were songs that were not played at the time, but i am very convinced that I Love Rock N Roll and Whip It were played. They might have been played after 7PM weekdays but i am certain that they were in the rotation.I realize that as you get older (and god knows I am getting older!) your memory can fade, but I have enough old airchecks that bring me back to the Great days of Stereo 106!Thanks for remembering anfd keep up the great posts!Don Nelson

 

[dn751]

How could I forget...A big hello to Adam KnightAdam it has been years hope all is wellDon Nelson

 

[jimcutler]

I was a kid doing weekends and overnights at BLI from 79 to 81. My college roommate Chris Tyler and I were the two WBLI part timers during those years. They pulled the jingles just as I got there and there weren't any jingles at BLI till after I left. Radio was going through it's top40 identity crisis and until Z100 came along, jingles weren't cool to use at the time. Everything cycles. I remember being bummed thinking here was my first chance to play a jingle and wham, they took them out. Mike Scalzi was the PD, they game me the name Jerry St. James (they like to give names of Suffolk towns, just like did for Wayne Scott). Bill Terry followed as PD and did not add jingles during my time there. Someone mentioned the lack of Motown, Bill was a HUGE Motown fan. Chris went on to to Afternoon drive there. I was a little kid.Someone mentioned that they didn't play Rock the Casbah, but they did play the Clash's Train in Vain. It had a Black Dot on the single, which meant it could only be rarely played or something like that.

 

[SPRINGFIELDRAD]

Yes...Chris Tyler. Last time we heard him on the radio was at 540AM WLIX. Playing Christian music and using his real name.The Black Dots? I believe it was for hard rock tunes that could be played from 9pm to 1am only.

 

[lalumia]

so the biggest hits in the land could only be heard while everyone was watching tv or going to sleep(in the early MTV era, most of the biggest hit singles clashed(if you'll pardon the pun) with BLI 's 'wimp songs only" format, and that's why they were so painful to listen to..although that powerful signal did deliver numbers, by default, for people who couldn't pick up a decent signal on anything else

 

[DavidRJ]

Someone mentioned the lack of Motown, Bill was a HUGE Motown fan.

An article about WBLI that appeared in Billboard in September 1981 mentioned that the Motown release "Give It To Me Baby" by Rick James was a personal favorite of Bill Terry's, but it was never played on WBLI because it didn't generate strong enough sales in the NYC/Long Island area. (It peaked at #40 in Billboard and spent only two non-consecutive weeks on the WABC Countdown Survey, peaking at #15. See the WABC survey for the week beginning June 9, 1981, at http://musicradio.computer.net/Surveys/1981/surveyjun981.html. From what I understand, "Give It To Me Baby" was played only on WABC's Sunday survey countdown shows.) To Adam Knight, Jim Cutler, Don Nelson, Springfieldrad and othersid you keep any copies of WBLI surveys from between 1976 and 1983? I've been trying to start up a Long Island Radio Surveys page, but I haven't had much luck finding Long Island radio surveys other than the WGLIs that were in the Babylon Beacon between February 1968 and January 1973. If you can help me, please e-mail me.Thank you.David[email protected]

 

[SPRINGFIELDRAD]

Sorry, during a move years ago I trashed all my music surveys (stupid) and memos. I used to like the year end surveys.Remember the WBLI/Record World Top 30 Countdown? Harp did an excellent job with that show. I believe Scott Taylor hosted that show prior to Harp doing it.I could not stand those famous BLI Block Weekends during Mem Day, 4th of July & Labor Day. It would go something like this....4pm ELO, 5pm Steve Miller Band, 6pm Elton John. Never a fan of that format style.Soap Opera Updates with Sandy Soap! Bruce Michaels, if ya ask me, was the best jock I ever heard on a Long Island station. He was made for CBS-FM. What a voice.

​

 

[dn751]

I think that Harp also did the Top whatever ( I think it was Top 10) on Suffolk Cablevision on Channel 6 for quite awhile. It was produced over in Islip at the Suffolk Cablevision studios by Barry Romanski.It was quite a good show and I think that the songs lined up with the top songs on WBLI. It was in the early video era. It would be nice if anyone had a copy of one of those shows.