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WKSI... History?

B

babalooey

Guest
Do any of you have some history or stories from the old WKSI (at 98.7 on the dial in Greensboro... now WSMW after call letter change)? I drove past the old studios on Meadowview the other day and realized I know almost nothing about them pre-acquisition by Entercom. I'm Most interested in history of stations that were in that building (Was it just WKSI, or did it have a sister AM?), personnel, etc. Also, didn't they used to have a tower on the property there?
 
221 West Meadowview Road, Greensboro. I spent 13 years in that building. The building was built in the fall of 1971 for WPET 950-AM which was located just behind the old K-Mart near Randelman Road. They purchased WMDE 98.7 from Suburban in 1973 and changed to WPET-FM. In November 1973 the calls changed to WRQK-FM. That was when the upstairs studios were built. A 935 ft. tower was built in 1979 and was cut down about a year ago or longer in hopes of helping sell the property. Calls were changed to WKSI-FM June 23, 1985. Entercom has both 950-WPET and 98.7 WSMW.
 
WMDE was put on the air by a ham radio guy whose call sign was W4MDE (that is where the WMDE came from) back in the 60'a off off of Spring Garden St close to the old Amtrak station on a telephone poll. I was told it was moved to a site at the intersection of MLK Dr and Gorrel St behind a old gas station with a 4 legged self standing tower. Don't know if the ham guy still owned it then or not. The concrete bases were still there, the tower was long gone when I saw them in the late 90's of course, when they started to revitalize the area a few years back. Sounds like an interesting little station back then. Too bad not much more that that is known about it.
 
Memory serves WMDE-FM came on the air late 1950s or 1960. Was owned by Hall Electronics on Asheboro St - with the big tower.
Format started as jazz/mor then Surburban got it. Then country done really cheap.

WPET AM 950 was rock started by Bill Mitchell - THe Greatest Sounds in Dixie (Theme was Dukes of Dixie doing Dixie)
Then Stewart Beatty that had WSSB-Durham, WYPR-Danville, & some station in PA bought it. Still top 40. Cheap too. Had locks
on the "0" on the phones! Btw, Bob Canada (WGH/WORD) got his start in his hometown of Greensboro here. Still have my fan mail letter from Bob at WPET. The Flying Dutchman (WTOB) was also at WPET later as Booby Nash from Charleston WTMA. WPET had a rich history of good people before getting to the "good" stations. Problem was a training daytime only. Ratings were high when Thoms stuck the automation on WCOG in early 60s. Those were the days on West Meadowview. WPET was in a little 2 story brick building with studio on 1st floor and production/storage in basement. It was built on to when WMDE/WQRK/WKSI was there.
 
Actually the two story WEPT building was leveled in the summer of 1974. While on lunch break one day I stopped in a walked thru the building just before. Sam Scott an myself watched the demolition from the new glass FM studio. The building that’s located on the property now was built in the fall of 1971 and the roof studio for WRQK was added on in the summer of 73 just before WRQK came on November 1st. 1973. I grew up in High Point and listened to WEPT with Booby Nash, The Dutchman, Dusty Dunn and others. I followed Dutch to WTOB when he switched, I thin it was 1964?
A lot of good talent passed thru that old building. WGBG was located just down the street near I-40 and I-85 at the Randelman Road intersection. Herman Hall put WMDE on the air off Spring Garden before the tower went up on Asheboro Street We were at the Rolane Factory Outlet one day and someone pointed out the pole with a two-bay antenna on it. The tower on Asheboro Street was moved to Pueblo Colorado in the early 80's. I also remember the automation on 1320.
 
Wow Wes! Good memories! WGBG was the other Lamberth brother. Mama bought one WMFR AM-Fm. The other got WGBG (W're Gonna Bomb Germany). WGBG was a treasure of lps but ancient museum equipment. I remember the wooden Gates console. Block programming. Then moved off Battleground at new tower in a trailer. When Wendover came thru tower moved again. About this time Tom Miller was there with country and jingles. WQTR with Drake's Great American Country killed it. Somewhere I still have WPET PAMS jingles
 
98.7 was straight up R&B for a year or two in the late 60s-early 70s. For the life of me, I can't remember the calls, may have been WMDE. I remeber the station sounding pretty good--I think it was automated.
 
JimA said:
Wow Wes! Good memories! WGBG was the other Lamberth brother. Mama bought one WMFR AM-Fm. The other got WGBG (W're Gonna Bomb Germany). WGBG was a treasure of lps but ancient museum equipment. I remember the wooden Gates console. Block programming. Then moved off Battleground at new tower in a trailer. When Wendover came thru tower moved again. About this time Tom Miller was there with country and jingles. WQTR with Drake's Great American Country killed it. Somewhere I still have WPET PAMS jingles
Click to expand...

Roy Lambeth had a cabin on Highj rock Lake next to a good friend's cabin and always walked around with 6 guns strapped to his side..Poor ole fellow was alway's scared of something..Maye "Greeley Hilton"!
 
The original 98.7 allotment to Greensboro signed on briefly as WCTP from 1948-49.

WMDE signed on 1/9/1958 at 98.5, but moved to 98.7 by 1960. The format was originally all classical music, but light MOR fare and jazz were added to the playlist during the early 60s. The country format was put in place around 1966. I've never seen anything about 98.7 carrying an R&B format, but in the late 60s when not many people were paying attention to FM, anything was possible!

As Wes mentioned, it became WPET-FM in early '73 with a Southern gospel format. Then it became the legendary top 40 WRQK on 11/1/1973. Known as K99 throughout the rest of the decade, the K99 moniker was dropped in 1983. Became "Kiss" WKSI on 6/23/85.
 
No one has mentioned "Rock 'n' Gold". I remember seeing that slogan somewhere. And I don't think K-99 was used until the mid-80s, but I could be wrong. At that time the station was adult contemporary.

About WPET: I remember hearing that they quit playing Amy Grant because she was too contemporary. They decided to stick with REAL Southern gospel. I was going to say it was because she and Vince Gill both divorced their spouses and married each other, but that's another format.
 
Does anyone remember a George Quesinberry (probably used George Berry on-air) who was at WMDE in the days when Suburban owned it? How about Charlie Hicks (Charlie Bee on-air)?

Later....
Matt Smith
WGSR-TV
 
I'd always heard that the "99" reference was to aid book confusion with Roanoke's Q-99 that was making some serious in-roads into Tom Armshaw's audience.
 
Cool Man! Check out Wes Jones and Willie Edwards (Skinny) in that UTube Clip..Awesome!!
 
Wes and Willie look the same today. I don't see much change at all.
 
Actually, WMDE was always at 98.7. When my father originally applied for the license, he applied for 98.5 because the 3 kw transmitter he'd bought from a station in West Virginia was already tuned to that frequency and he was hoping to save a few bucks and not have to buy a crystal for another frequency. When that license application was declined, he reapplied for 98.7 and the license was granted. The station was never owned by "Hall Electronics". Herman C. Hall was the owner of license and the station was located in the building at 903 Howard Street that also housed Hall Television, the television repair business my father had operated since leaving WCOG as an engineer. As Wes has said, the antennae was a two bays located on a ninety foot telephone pole with a height above average terrain of about 150 feet. The ERP in those days was 5,800 watts. In 1967 my father moved the station to an old house on Asheboro Street with a 350 foot four legged self supporting tower purchased from a station located in North Agusta, SC and increased the power to 100,000 watts using a new Visual transmitter. It was at that time that Suburban bought the station.
 
Just would like to attempt to correct a few errors.

I've always heard that WPET 950 was built by Wayne Nelson. Bill Mitchell was the GM there in the early days.

WGBG was the station owned by Ralph Lambeth (the other Lambeth brother)

I think when someone mentioned that WMDE was owned by Hall Electronics they are confusing the fact that the Asheboro Street tower was located behind Guilford Electronics and Herman Hall was the founder of the station.

I've never heard anything about Rigdon Dees ever appearing on Kiss FM when he was in town visiting his mother. Of course I could be wrong, but this sounds like an urban legend.

As I remember, WRQK was using "99" from the very early days. Armshaw provided tacky denim jackets to the air staff with "Rocket 99" on the back in an ugly yellow color which I assume was suppose to represent gold. And again if I can trust my memory, Sam Scott received a "Ronco Rhinestone Kit" for Christmas and decorated his coat with rhinestones which made it look even tackier.

This has been very interesting reading and it's brought back a lot of memories.
 
I know Rick Dees fairly well and I can't recall him ever dropping in at the station mentioned while visiting his mother, however I will ask him. Also what happened to the UTUBE Video of Wes and Willie?
[glow=red,2,300]BIGAPE]
 
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