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WKSC History

S

ScottBurns

A couple of quick questions about WKSC. Thanks in advance:
1. I know that Kiss used to have different call letters, perhaps as recently as 2004. What were those calls?
2. When did WKSC adopt the Kiss/CHR format?

Thanks again...
 
In brief...

1950s-1971 WKFM classical and beautiful music blend
1971-1991 WFYR "Fire" MOR/AC
1991-1994 WWBZ "The Blaze" hard/active rock with a little metal
1994-1998 WRCX "Rock 103-5" active rock
1998-2001 WUBT "103.5 The Beat" Jammin' Oldies
2001-present WKSC-FM "103.5 Kiss-FM" CHR

In depth...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WKSC
 
Philip J. Smith said:
In brief...

1950s-1971 WKFM classical and beautiful music blend
1971-1991 WFYR "Fire" MOR/AC
Click to expand...

For the sake of accuracy, WFYR (Chicago's "Fire" - get it?) started after RKO's acquisition of WKFM (a very classy beautiful music station) as an automated oldies station). It eventually evolved to a live AC/Hot AC station with tremendous talent - including Fred Winston and newsman Lyle Dean in the morning. It wound up being sold after RKO was declared unfit to be an FCC licensee due to misdeeds by its parent corporation - General Tire & Rubber.
 
Thanks for the info, guys. If I am not mistaken, didn't 103.5 carry over the WUBT calls until a little after they became "Kiss"?
 
ScottBurns asked:
Thanks for the info, guys. If I am not mistaken, didn't 103.5 carry over the WUBT calls until a little after they became "Kiss"?


Yes, Scott. The change to the KISS-FM format was very sudden, so it took a while for the new call letters to be
adopted. I recall the end of WUBT being on a weekday after I listened to Larry Lujack's Saturday show hours before
on WUBT, with no idea it would be his last one. I'm sure he would have snuck a Merle Haggard tune on there if he
knew it would be his last show.

It took a few weeks before AM 1690 brought Larry back to the airwaves.

WFYR brings back some memories, too. They took over from WGLD-FM (now WVAZ) as Chicago's FM oldies station, during
the time we had WIND as "Chicago's Number One Music" on AM. It was automated for a while, and brought us weekend
programming such as Tony Rogerro (sp?) "at the FYR Station" from the McCormick Place hotel, and a Saturday night
personality who was none other than Dick Bartel playing the oldies, which was the roots of his syndicated show.

Winston and Dean were the morning team around '75-'76, after both had left WLS, by then competing with the likes of
Bob Sirott on "BBM-FM" and Steve Campbell on WDHF for the "FM hits" audience.

Later, WFYR brought us the British accent of Bob Barnes-Watts, who set a world record for number of times saying "103 and a half W F Y R" during the course of any hour I would listen.
 
Also, it's a little-known fact that WKSC-FM in Chicago had to get permission from WKSC AM 1300 in Kershaw, South Carolina for the use of their call letters.
 
Wow....Bob Barnes-Watts!! There's a name I hadn't heard in some time. What I great guy! He also came back to 103.5 during it's WRCX days. ;)
 
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