What Detroit radio stations from yesteryear do you miss?

[new_friends_gr]

I was thinking lately about all the changes that have been made to the FM dial in Detroit in the past, say, 20 years. I'm thinking about what the formats used to sound like. Here are some stations I remember well:

-93.1 WDRQ from the '96-'97 time period
-Q95 from the early to mid '90s (when it was still mainstream AC and was probably my favorite station in, say, '92 and '93)
-96.3 WHYT in the early '90s
-97.1 WJOI (when its format was Beautiful Music)
-Smooth Jazz V98.7 (of course)
-99.5 WDFX (The Fox - especially when that station played the Rick Dees show on weekend evenings)
-102.7 WDMK (when it was an AC station for a brief time in '99 and broadcasted Delilah)
-105.1 WQRS (when it was a classical station)
-105.9 WJZZ (Jazz 106)

It's unfortunate that formats like jazz, classical, and beautiful music have such little demand in the radio market that they have no place in prominent FM frequencies anymore.

What other Detroit stations do other folks miss?

 

[DToTheJ]

Without even hearing a single minute of the station during its existence, I would think that the old rock format on "W4" was pretty bad-ass. At least that's how it was portrayed in the movie "Private Parts." (The only question is, was the changeover to country exactly how it was portrayed in the movie? Signs in the studio reading "THINK COUNTRY" and employees wearing cowboy hats...)

 

[Bob1370]

No-brainer...

The biiiiig 8! CKLW!

 

[Goldilocks94941]

Anybody here remember when 93.1 WDRQ had an all-talk format? Probaby 1968-1970 or so. In the days before the syndicated one-note partisans, it was all local talk hosts with genuine personalities. I was a pre-teen who used to like to listen to Russ Gibb at night. What I faintly recall is eveyone had a warmth and weren't specialists in insulting, polarizing, or hating anyone. It was fun to listen on FM. O don't think talk radio with callers was a fulltime format on any of the big AMs at the time, either. I remember trivia contests on the weekends where you were divided into teams, based on whether or not your phone number ended in an odd or even number, I think. And certain regulars would check in, adding to a sense that you were at a fun party. Maybe they also divided into players with touch tone versus dial phones. It was often fun to listen to, and mildly addictive.

As for music formats, I also miss what were known as "middle of the road" formats from those days. I think AM 1130 (WCAR back then) and 1270 WXYZ had personality-based music formats like that. Toledo's WCWA (1230) did as well. And I think Chatham's 630 CFCO was another one like that. Those were nice soundtracks, without being background music stations, to your weekend. Sounded good along the shores of Lake Erie on a hot summer's day.

Every now and then a song from those days pops into my head - but a lot of the music from the late 1960s and early 1970s seems to have gone out of print before they could be digitized and added to music download sites. Anyone remember folkie Cliff Edwards singing "Carpenter of Wood"? (He was a finalist for a Juno award one of those years, but I can't find any of his music anywhere now). I've been trying to find a download of that, to no avail.

Vanity Faire, Brasil '66, Dusty Springfield, Paul Mauriat, Dionne Warwick, Melanie, etc. are some of the others who were often heard in that format. Hard to find much of them even on satellite radio channels. "MOR" seems to be a format folks have forgotten about. (Lumping all of the 1960s into one channel doesn't really do it, in my opinion.) Maybe some of the music doesn't hold up as well today, but I think a lot of it brings back happy feelings for those of us who heard it, and would probably find new audiences among people looking for something softer, but not as squishy, for a lot of what passes off as "soft rock" from the 1990s and later.

 

[local oscillator]

Ah, the late sixties, when you could find underground rockers WABX, WKNR-FM, and WXYZ-FM back-to-back-to-back on your FM dial (99.5, 100.3, 101.1) -- before digital tuning, a big plus.

 

[ChrisInMI]

A.J., your list of stations you miss is quite similar to mine. Here's what I miss:

91.7 WUOM when they still played classical music. Until I moved out to the Ann Arbor area from Macomb County in 1998 and could get good signals from WGTE and WKAR (and after WQRS died), WUOM was my only reliable source for classical music. They are still my most-listened-to station, though, today as NPR news/talk.
93.1 WDRQ when they were "Detroit's Dance Music Station" and played old-school dance classics on "Deja Vu on DRQ" all-request lunches. Also, in their very early days after flipping back to mainstream Top 40 when they started to clean WKQI's clock in the ratings.
93.9 CIDR - the ORIGINAL 93-9 The River when Ann Delisi was there and before they started watering down the format with too much classic rock.
95.5 WKQI from about 1991 to 1998, throughout their period as "Q95" and after they lost Dick Purtan to WOMC, became "Q95-5" and started adding more CHR music to the playlist. In my opinion the station was at its best around 1996-97, especially at night... before DRQ relaunched they were the closest thing Detroit had to a CHR for several months. I especially miss the Sunday-night all-'80s show, where they played not just the big '80s hits but lots of forgotten favorites too.
96.3 WHYT was the station of choice of most of my classmates in my middle school years, and I still remember them hosting after-school dances for us. For a long time I avoided them because they played rap but eventually discovered they played lots of cool dance music and R&B too. From there I progressed to checking out WJLB every once in a while as well. Even after they switched to Alternative in 1994, they were still an interesting listen because they continued to program it like a CHR, with most-requested countdowns and the like, and often threw in some really cool underground dance music (anyone remember "Billy Ray" by Opposite Day?). They lost the edginess after they switched to "Modern Hits of the '80s and '90s" and changed the calls to WPLT, but then came their "Flashback" shows and countdowns and that's when I fell in love with Classic Alternative.
97.1 WJOI - "Everywhere you go, there's easy listening... WJOI, FM 97." As a very young child this was the station I listened to most, particularly at night to help me relax. They were no longer "pure" beautiful music by then but were mixing in lots of AC cuts. Listening to Dial Global's Adult Standards format today is not unlike hearing the old WJOI-FM - and ironically those calls are on a station in Norfolk, VA which programs Dial Global Adult Standards.
97.7 WTGV Sandusky in the late 1990s - I could pick them up frequently from my Macomb County home, and even though they were automated (and poorly automated at that) I enjoyed the mix of AC, standards, smooth jazz and some classic country that reminded me of WJOI (which by then was long gone).
98.7 WVMV - I will never forget the day I came home from midterm exams just before Christmas 1995, turned on 98.7 (then still under the WLLZ calls) and heard a Stevie Wonder song. I wasn't sure what "smooth jazz" was supposed to be but once I found out, I sure did like it.
100.3 WNIC at night during Alan Almond's "Pillow Talk." Also the original "Cars 108 Love Songs" (pre-Delilah) on 107.9 WCRZ Flint.
101.9 WDET's Triple A music during the daytime.
105.1 WQRS - memories of Dick Wallace and Dave Wagner, the early-morning "Sousalarm", "Film Classics" on Wednesday nights, reading up on the lives of the composers whose music the personalities played (especially Tchaikovsky), and their top of the hour ID from 1990: "Stereo 105, WQRS Detroit - celebrating 30 years of classical music broadcasting!"
105.5/1570 AM WWCK Flint in the late 1990s. I could occasionally pick them up from my home in Macomb County and get a taste of REAL CHR, especially during the day when WKQI got too wimpy. They were an incredible station back then and had the ratings to prove it.
107.1 WQKL Ann Arbor after they moved from Oldies to "AC Gold" circa 1998 and started playing more '80s music and less '60s. Now that I see WOMC and other "greatest hits" stations making the same move, I realize Kool 107 was ahead of its time.
580 CKWW as Adult Standards, "580 Memories." They are a kick-@$$ oldies station now, but there are no options for standards lovers on terrestrial radio in Detroit now outside of Toronto's AM 740 at night.
630 CFCO Chatham as "Classic Gold," with a mix of oldies and AC cuts from the '50s through the '90s. Also enjoyed "Sentimental Journey" on Sundays with host Loran Fevens (syndicated out of Nova Scotia).
990 WWCM as a contemporary Christian music station (before going Catholic).
1600 WAAM when they still played Adult Standards on the weekends.

Whew!

 

[gr8oldies]

After the first incarnation of 93.9 as a Big 8 reminiscent CKLW-FM, there was the Urban Gold More 94. How about the station that never got off the ground on 93.9..CFXX (The Fox)?

 

[new_friends_gr]

A.J., your list of stations you miss is quite similar to mine. Here's what I miss:

93.1 WDRQ when they were "Detroit's Dance Music Station" and played old-school dance classics on "Deja Vu on DRQ" all-request lunches.

I absolutely loved loved LOVED WDRQ during this era...especially in the first year or so after 93.1 made the switch from Lite FM to DRQ. I remember how much I even loved hearing the station's jingles at that time.

93.9 CIDR - the ORIGINAL 93-9 The River when Ann Delisi was there and before they started watering down the format with too much classic rock.

What exactly was the format at that time, and what years are you referring to?

95.5 WKQI from about 1991 to 1998, throughout their period as "Q95" and after they lost Dick Purtan to WOMC, became "Q95-5" and started adding more CHR music to the playlist. In my opinion the station was at its best around 1996-97, especially at night... before DRQ relaunched they were the closest thing Detroit had to a CHR for several months.

It was interesting how Q95's evolution in the '90s from mainstream AC to CHR was very steady and gradual... no sudden format change or anything like that. It also blows my mind thinking about how Detroit lacked a CHR station for so long (between the time 96.3 switched from CHR to Alternative and the time that 95.5 finally made it to CHR).

96.3 WHYT was the station of choice of most of my classmates in my middle school years, and I still remember them hosting after-school dances for us. For a long time I avoided them because they played rap but eventually discovered they played lots of cool dance music and R&B too. From there I progressed to checking out WJLB every once in a while as well. Even after they switched to Alternative in 1994, they were still an interesting listen because they continued to program it like a CHR, with most-requested countdowns and the like, and often threw in some really cool underground dance music (anyone remember "Billy Ray" by Opposite Day?). They lost the edginess after they switched to "Modern Hits of the '80s and '90s" and changed the calls to WPLT, but then came their "Flashback" shows and countdowns and that's when I fell in love with Classic Alternative.

Very interesting. I was in junior high from '91 to '94, and like you, I remember that 96.3 was the popular station at the time. I listened to it somewhat but was also very very much into mainstream AC during the early '90s (not typical for a young teen).

97.1 WJOI - "Everywhere you go, there's easy listening... WJOI, FM 97." As a very young child this was the station I listened to most, particularly at night to help me relax. They were no longer "pure" beautiful music by then but were mixing in lots of AC cuts.

I remember that my grandma used to listen to WJOI, and I also remember hearing it playing as the background music at certain family restaurants. However, I don't remember the AC cuts until maybe the early '90s. When I was little (especially in the mid and late '80s), I just remember the Beautiful Music format (all instrumental stuff).

98.7 WVMV - I will never forget the day I came home from midterm exams just before Christmas 1995, turned on 98.7 (then still under the WLLZ calls) and heard a Stevie Wonder song. I wasn't sure what "smooth jazz" was supposed to be but once I found out, I sure did like it.

Oh I did too. I fell in love with it right away. It was such a new format, and I loved how they mixed in artists like Luther Vandross and Anita Baker occasionally with the other jazz artists. This was one of my favorite radio stations in the late '90s.

100.3 WNIC at night during Alan Almond's "Pillow Talk."

I remember in May 1993 when Alan Almond came back to Pillow Talk after his several-year absence from WNIC. Between the years of '93 and '97 or so, I loved listening to Pillow Talk. There was a time when I mailed Alan Almond a paper letter, and he actually read it on the air! I loved it.

105.1 WQRS - memories of Dick Wallace and Dave Wagner, the early-morning "Sousalarm", "Film Classics" on Wednesday nights, reading up on the lives of the composers whose music the personalities played (especially Tchaikovsky), and their top of the hour ID from 1990: "Stereo 105, WQRS Detroit - celebrating 30 years of classical music broadcasting!"

I took piano lessons when I was a kid, and my piano teacher often listened to WQRS. This habit rubbed off on me somewhat (I'd listen to classical music when I was in a certain mood), and I was very sad when I learned that WQRS had to leave the airwaves.

Ah... fond memories. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and listen to these old stations again.

 

[ChrisInMI]

A.J. - the original 93-9 The River was Triple A (Adult Album Alternative). It sounded best from about 1994 (which I believe was when they flipped from Classic Hits) to 1998. In '98, I believe, was when they started calling themselves "Smooth Rock" and flooded the playlist with classic rock tracks from the likes of Elton John and Rod Stewart. After that it sounded like a mix of WCSX and Planet 96.3 and it was never the same. Somewhere in my house there is a Red Wings promotional item that The River issued during its "Smooth Rock" era.

There have been so many formats on 93.9 over the years. I believe "I-94" was the name of the short-lived Urban Oldies format which proceeded the second try at Oldies with the CKLW-FM calls. "More 94" was the oldies format that came before "I-94". If I remember correctly, this is what the parade of formats has been on 93.9 since the early '80s. I am most likely wrong on some of the dates.

CKJY - Adult Standards/Jazz/Big Band
CFXX - "The Fox" Top 40/Rock on a CRTC "experimental" license basis, but the rest of the station remained Big Band - this lasted only a few months in 1984
CKEZ - Beautiful Music (1984-86)
CKLW-FM - Oldies "Big 8" style (1986-88?)
CKMR - Oldies "More 94" (c. 1988-90?)
CKMR - Urban Oldies "I-94"
CKLW-FM - Oldies "Big 8" style version 2.0 (1991-93?)
CKLW-FM - "All Rock & Roll Oldies" Classic Hits ("Arrow" style) (1993-94) - I have an aircheck of the station from this format and it actually didn't sound too bad, but with no promotion and WCSX essentially playing the same music minus Trooper, Chilliwack and the other Cancon acts 93.9 played, it was doomed.
CIDR - Adult Alternative "93-9 The River" (1994-00)
CIDR - AC and then Hot AC "Lite Rock 93-9 FM" and then "Today's Best Music" (2000-09/01/2006)
CIDR - Adult Alternative "93-9 The River" (09/01/06 to present)

The Detroit Radio Flashbacks website used to have an aircheck of 93.9 as "The Fox" from 1984 (will probably be reposted once the site is reconstructed fully) and all I can say is WOW. That station was hot... an even mix of AOR, Pop and Urban that sounded like the classic Big 8 formula updated for the '80s. If it had been a full-time format and if it had been given the right promotion I think it could have really given WHYT a run for its money, but the CRTC wasn't about to allow a full-time Top 40 format on FM at that time.

A.J., you must be the same age as me (or close to it)... I'm 30, and 96.3 made the switch from 96.3 Jamz to Alternative right around the time I started high school in August 1994. Not long ago I read a newspaper article that quoted the PD at the time, Rick Gillette, as saying that he still considered it a contemporary-hits radio station, only that they were focusing on the hottest music of the time which happened to be Alternative. Z100 in New York made a similar move around that time, but they eventually returned to true CHR; 96.3 did not (although they now sound the closest to true CHR than they've sounded in almost 20 years).

I also recall one holiday weekend - I want to say it was Memorial Day weekend 1997 but I'm not sure - when 93.1, 95.5 and 96.3 ALL had greatest-hits-of-all-time countdowns going on. I was going crazy trying to catch snippets of all three countdowns! 96.3 had a "396 Coolest Flashbacks" countdown, DRQ was counting down the top 500 dance songs of all time, and Q95-5's was a regular top 500 pop hits chart. (WOMC may have been doing an oldies countdown too but they usually waited until the 4th of July weekend for the Firecracker 500.) If anyone wrote down or saved copies of these lists PLEASE PM ME!

 

[ChrisInMI]

Some other things I remember:

WJZZ Jazz 106, Detroit's ORIGINAL "smooth jazz" station, though they never called it "smooth jazz" on the air. They were good for listening at night to relax.

WOMC when they still played actual "Oldies" Oldies.

WKSG, Solid Gold Kiss 102.7. Licensed to Mount Clemens, and we were living in Macomb County at the time so the signal was often strong enough to overpower everything else on an analog radio. This was my mom's favorite station and I can recall dancing to a tape of "Poison Ivy" by the Coasters made off of Kiss.

WDFX I didn't listen to as much. I remember my school-bus driver in seventh grade would usually play 96.3 on her radio in the morning hours and 99.5 The Fox driving home. By then (1992, just before the switch to Wow-FM and then WYCD), WDFX seemed like it was more adult-sounding and played more AC/pop hits than urban ones. It was a step up from Q95 in terms of music hipness but not nearly as "hot" as 96.3. I don't recall any of my classmates saying they listened to the Fox though. Once 99.5 became WYCD, I stopped listening completely, being very anti-country at the time except for those country artists such as Restless Heart ("When She Cries," "Tell Me What You Dream"), Wynonna ("No One Else On Earth"), Little Texas ("What Might Have Been") and Mary-Chapin Carpenter ("Passionate Kisses") that crossed genre lines to get played on Q95. I've very much relaxed the anti-country stance still... but I digress.

Not a "favorite station" memory, but picking up CJRT 91.1 from Toronto on my little clock radio one morning while trying to tune in WUOM. I think CJRT was a mix of classical and jazz at the time (it's all-jazz now).

 

[new_friends_gr]

There have been so many formats on 93.9 over the years.

The Detroit Radio Flashbacks website used to have an aircheck of 93.9 as "The Fox" from 1984 (will probably be reposted once the site is reconstructed fully) and all I can say is WOW. That station was hot... an even mix of AOR, Pop and Urban that sounded like the classic Big 8 formula updated for the '80s. If it had been a full-time format and if it had been given the right promotion I think it could have really given WHYT a run for its money, but the CRTC wasn't about to allow a full-time Top 40 format on FM at that time.

A.J., you must be the same age as me (or close to it)... I'm 30, and 96.3 made the switch from 96.3 Jamz to Alternative right around the time I started high school in August 1994.

You're right. I am 30 (I'll be turning 31 in a few days). I started high school in '94 and graduated in '97.

Not long ago I read a newspaper article that quoted the PD at the time, Rick Gillette, as saying that he still considered it a contemporary-hits radio station, only that they were focusing on the hottest music of the time which happened to be Alternative. Z100 in New York made a similar move around that time, but they eventually returned to true CHR; 96.3 did not (although they now sound the closest to true CHR than they've sounded in almost 20 years).

Good analysis of 96.3. I was never into alternative music and didn't like when they switched to The Planet right when I was starting high school. And you're right...96.3 does sound a lot more like CHR than it's sounded in a very long time.

I also recall one holiday weekend - I want to say it was Memorial Day weekend 1997 but I'm not sure - when 93.1, 95.5 and 96.3 ALL had greatest-hits-of-all-time countdowns going on. I was going crazy trying to catch snippets of all three countdowns! 96.3 had a "396 Coolest Flashbacks" countdown, DRQ was counting down the top 500 dance songs of all time, and Q95-5's was a regular top 500 pop hits chart.

Very interesting! I actually do not remember this. Cool!

 

[new_friends_gr]

There have been so many formats on 93.9 over the years.

My favorite would have definitely been the AC format it carried in the early '00s.

The Detroit Radio Flashbacks website used to have an aircheck of 93.9 as "The Fox" from 1984 (will probably be reposted once the site is reconstructed fully) and all I can say is WOW. That station was hot... an even mix of AOR, Pop and Urban that sounded like the classic Big 8 formula updated for the '80s. If it had been a full-time format and if it had been given the right promotion I think it could have really given WHYT a run for its money, but the CRTC wasn't about to allow a full-time Top 40 format on FM at that time.

I love the Detroit Radio Flashbacks website. It brings back some fun memories.

 

[new_friends_gr]

WJZZ Jazz 106, Detroit's ORIGINAL "smooth jazz" station, though they never called it "smooth jazz" on the air. They were good for listening at night to relax.

Yep... I enjoyed listening to Jazz 106 at night as well.

WKSG, Solid Gold Kiss 102.7. Licensed to Mount Clemens, and we were living in Macomb County at the time so the signal was often strong enough to overpower everything else on an analog radio. This was my mom's favorite station and I can recall dancing to a tape of "Poison Ivy" by the Coasters made off of Kiss.

I grew up in Macomb County too. Until the late '80s, my mom listened mostly to WLTI 93.1 and WNIC 100.3. (My dad was mostly listening to classic rock on 94.7.) By the late '80s, though, my parents were both really into country.

WDFX I didn't listen to as much. I remember my school-bus driver in seventh grade would usually play 96.3 on her radio in the morning hours and 99.5 The Fox driving home.

My school bus drivers in the early '90s typically played 96.3 and 99.5, but I do remember one bus driver in 8th grade whose favorite song was Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", so she probably played any of the AC stations that song would have been on. I distinctly remember 96.3 almost every morning on the bus. Afternoons were probably mostly 96.3 as well.

By then (1992, just before the switch to Wow-FM and then WYCD), WDFX seemed like it was more adult-sounding and played more AC/pop hits than urban ones. It was a step up from Q95 in terms of music hipness but not nearly as "hot" as 96.3. I don't recall any of my classmates saying they listened to the Fox though.

I remember this as well. 99.5 had definitely lost popularity among the kids our age. It was almost like kids who listened to 99.5 were teased or something. And haha... I remember the short-lived "Wow FM". So funny! I remember in January-ish of '93 when it was first introduced as an FM news/talk station and the DJs were saying something to the listeners along the lines of, "This is a different format for us. In 6 months, you'll be used to it and will love us!" Haha...that didn't last long before Young Country took over.

I was exactly the same way. I hated country but didn't mind those crossover hits either. I especially remember a pop-sounding version of "No One Else on Earth" that Q95 played that I really enjoyed.

My gosh...it sounds like you and I must have been kindred spirits or something like that. Our radio-listening interests when we were growing up in metro Detroit were very similar!

 

[CaptBob92]

An earlier poster is right DRQ did begin with a talk format. I remember a neat thing they did as they came up to the top of the hour and that was a ticking clock was brought up on the air and then the ID straight up.

CKLW used to be Top 40 days and Country night with the flip at 6am/pm. They went all top forty with the " Drake " format about 1967 first with an Anita Kerr singers jingle package then the harder edged accapellas later. When they made the switch to Drake they widened the sound of the station which already had magnificent bass, so that it had some hot sidebands too. Later they added a reverb.

WXYZ was the first big station I listend to as a kid. In the early 60's the FM band wasn't crowded like now and they similcast on FM and I could hear it all the way down in Ohio 25 miles South of the lake. But, they signed the FM off midnight to 6am so I missed the Daddy Z show overnights unless they forgot to shut down the transmitter. Joel Sabastian was the "KIDS" dj in the afternoon ( every top 40 had a good looking guy for afternoons who appealed to young listeners ) and then after a God awfull news block that ran one hour and ten minutes ( Paul harvey, Alex Dryer, local news guys-sports etc ) Lee Allen came on at 7:10 pm and rocked until around 10 or 11 maybe it was midnight. Great remotes on Wxyz. Allen would go out to Walledlake Casino or the Light Guard Armory and broadcast just off the stage. He'd be talking and all of a sudden he'd say: " just a minute I've got to introduce the next act,,,,and then off mike you'd hear him yell something like " that was Stevie Wonder!!!" and the crowd would go wild then he would intro the next act and come back on mike and tell you,,,,folks Lue Christy just came on stage,,you should be out here come on out right now. I never met Allen but I had the pleasure of knowing Joel Sabastian when he was in Chicago.

Ofcourse Keenr 13 burned those guys up with Dick Purtin, Bob Green, Gary Stevens, Mort Crawly, Robin Seamore and I'm sure I'm missing some more. Dick Buller and Frank Kinsman were among the newsmen there

There were some little rockers around Detroit in the early 60's. Yipsalanti had a daytimer, WYSI at 1480 and they had Boots Bell who rocked afternoons and could be heard in West and North Detroit all they way to Mt Clemens. Believe it or not WEXL rocked for a short time in the early 60's and some stations had special shows like 92.3 calling themselves Downriver radio. I believe they were either jazz or beautifull music in the early sixties but Ed Bush was givin a show Sunday nights from 10 to midnight and he rocked. I could hear him in Ohio because 92.5 in Toledo signed off early Sundays. Later, cheer radio 710/730 came on in Lemington and put a good daytime signal into Detroit they also did top forty.

102.7 WBRB FM had a call in request show in the sixites at night so did a little FM station licensed to rodchester I believe. 560 in Monroe which was WQTE also rocked for awhile when some former WXYZ/WJBK jocks took it over. JBK was a biggie too but didn't have a very good night signal.

If you wanted Soul you had JLB with Martha Jean the queen and WCHB 1440 .

Which ones do I miss? I miss em all.

 

[JimmyJames]

I miss DET as a more music NPR outlet. They had some of the best DJs in Detroit. Especially enjoyed the Chuck Horn Program.

 

[stevations]

I am not from Detroit but someone sent me an aircheck of Honey Radio 560 oldies in the 70s which sounded cool. Of course most people on the eastern half of the US loved CKLW. Also, on the Philly board there is a 35 years ago posting about Magic 102.9 in Philly and mentions Detroit had a Magic station. Could anyone give me info on the frequency and what the station sounded like? The Magic station in Philly was awesome!

 

[gr8oldies]

Think that would have been WMJC which I think was on 94.7. I didn't live in the metro so only heard it a couple of times.

 

[tylertv]

You are correct! WMJC was Magic 95 (and then Magic 94.7) before it switched to classic rock WCSX in the mid '80s. The funny thing is that the current Magic 105.1, WMGC, was started by the same owner, Greater Media, just a few years ago.

 

[stevations]

Does anyone remember DJ Dave Dixon? He was from Detroit but I saw him on Ch 51 Ft Lauderdale FL in the late 70s, early 80s as host of Sci Fi and Thriller movies. He was a character. Here is his picture:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/izi8zg

What stations was he working? What kind of music? What kind of DJ was he?

 

[Mac Daddy]

He worked at WABX (now WYCD) in the 70s.