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WLS AM/FM SOLD

If you're in the Chicago area and far enough north or south and you miss your "vintage" music, you might want to check 1290. The flip of Peoria's WIRL back to oldies has already been mentioned.

And now, Milwaukee's 1290 has re-launched as WZTI, "Martini 1290" with a standards format. 5kw fulltime with the major lobe to the north, but a minor lobe to the south, which means you can hear it on a good radio in most of Lake county (although splatter from 1300 could be a problem). They also stream.

They're jockless, and the presentation is a little "disjointed", but I presume they're still getting the bugs out. The music mix is heavy on "Rat Pack" as well as contemporary artists interpreting old standards.
 
Great post Cyberdad. WIRL directional N & S at night, very weak to east at night, I think SW end of Chicago metro area may get it at night. Thanks for Milwaukee post. Can't find that format in LA Orange County area, but Vegas has an FM. KJUL, playing that format. It's easier to find that format in retirement areas.
 
Actually, where I am in the far northwest suburbs, WIRL owns the channel at night....but far too much fading and interference for a casual listener.
 
I'm from that area originally, and would you believe the variables of radio, signal only travels about 25 miles straight east of transmitter in Marquette Heights, IL but it is clear in Springfield, I mean their night directional. Station was 2nd top 40 station in that market, started that format in 1959, eventually overtaking original top 40 station, WPEO, which only had a daytime license. When WPEO raided their #1 disc jockey, Jack Etzel, he lasted 2 wks on WPEO, court order. WPEO is now a religious station. In 1960 WLS captured many listeners in that market, much better reception than WJJD.
 
howardm said:
I'm from that area originally, and would you believe the variables of radio, signal only travels about 25 miles straight east of transmitter in Marquette Heights, IL but it is clear in Springfield, I mean their night directional. Station was 2nd top 40 station in that market, started that format in 1959, eventually overtaking original top 40 station, WPEO, which only had a daytime license. When WPEO raided their #1 disc jockey, Jack Etzel, he lasted 2 wks on WPEO, court order. WPEO is now a religious station. In 1960 WLS captured many listeners in that market, much better reception than WJJD.
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Did WPEO go after Etzel when Harry Harrison left for NY?
 
WPEO went after Etzel after Harry Harrison went to WMCA in NYC but there was a gap there, Harry went to WMCA in late 1959, by then WIRL was giving them competition; original WPEO dj's Tom Dunn & Sam Babcock went to larger markets also by then. Still they had some great newcomers like Boppin Bob Allen, George Murphy & others, but Jack Etzel was the #1 dj by then. I believe it was 1960 when those radio wars brought Etzel to WPEO, it lasted 2 wks, they took him to a supermarket promotion after that and tried to build sympathy for him and his family, I never heard about him after that. WPEO phased out top 40 and by 1964 WIRL had it to itself. WIRL jock VLJ recently passed away in Vegas, former jock Lee Ranson did the weather for years on TV there. Harry is retired from WCBS FM in NYC.
Too bad they didn't check Etzel's contract before they hired him.
Tom Dunn & Sam Babcock are deceased.
 
Radio Man, thanks so much. Grew up on his programs on WPEO. He was morning mayor in Peoria, a term which he retained in NYC at WCBS. His WPEO schedule was 6:30 to 8:30 and he returned for the Noon Whistle Show from 11:30 to 1:30. He actually tooted a whistle and he had some TV work there + emceed record hops. What a career.
 
howardm said:
I'm from that area originally, and would you believe the variables of radio, signal only travels about 25 miles straight east of transmitter in Marquette Heights, IL but it is clear in Springfield
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Apologies for the continuing veer....

Where I was in college in the late '60s WIRL's daytime signal was very reliable and listenable in southeast Iowa. It helped that the adjacent channels were empty. WIRL disappeared at night, however, when they had to adjust the pattern to protect KOIL (Omaha). In those days that I could (and did) listen to only during the day at school....and then only at night at home in the Chicago area. Frankly, I thought if you could have somehow plopped WIRL in the Chicago market, it probably could've held its own with WLS and WCFL. Good jocks, good imaging, and tight production.
 
howardm said:
Radio Man, thanks so much. Grew up on his programs on WPEO. He was morning mayor in Peoria, a term which he retained in NYC at WCBS. His WPEO schedule was 6:30 to 8:30 and he returned for the Noon Whistle Show from 11:30 to 1:30. He actually tooted a whistle and he had some TV work there + emceed record hops. What a career.
Click to expand...

You wouldn't happen to have any airchecks of Harry on WPEO, would you? That would be quite a find.
 
To Radioman, no, and he mentioned to me he had none either. Hard to find airchecks pre-1960. I have 2 WPEO surveys without pix of the disc jockeys and a DVD, but much of that covered by DVD's from your site. Studio was on 2nd floor of torn down building on Main St., across from Pere Marquette Hotel. Spent time up there watching them broadcast, quite a thrill for me at time. Pre-grooving of 1 45 while the other played on other turntable. Did you grow up in that radio market?
 
howardm said:
To Radioman, no, and he mentioned to me he had none either. Hard to find airchecks pre-1960. I have 2 WPEO surveys without pix of the disc jockeys and a DVD, but much of that covered by DVD's from your site. Studio was on 2nd floor of torn down building on Main St., across from Pere Marquette Hotel. Spent time up there watching them broadcast, quite a thrill for me at time. Pre-grooving of 1 45 while the other played on other turntable. Did you grow up in that radio market?
Click to expand...

No Howardm, I did not grow up in Peoria, but I'm familiar with Harry. As I'm sure you know he is from Chicago. Worked at WBEZ & WCFL as part time before Peoria. There must be a few airchecks of him from Peoria because on his farewell NYC broadcast in 2003 they played a little bit of his stuff from WPEO, although very brief.
 
What's up with all the sports on WLS AM? They moved the Top Five at Five to Sweet Lou and 30 minutes of sport's talk. Now the Top Four is at 4:30 PM. They also brought in Steve Stone to talk about sports! With The Score, ESPN Sports AM 1000 and WGN do we need more Sports Talk?
 
Dr Wayne said:
What's up with all the sports on WLS AM? They moved the Top Five at Five to Sweet Lou and 30 minutes of sport's talk. Now the Top Four is at 4:30 PM. They also brought in Steve Stone to talk about sports! With The Score, ESPN Sports AM 1000 and WGN do we need more Sports Talk?
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Ahhh, sports radio.
What we need is moremusicmoremusicmoremusic.... seriously...I guess if the "market" thinks there's a need for more sports coverage,
there IS a need, or someone perceives a need, and they are in a decision-making position.

While I have been very fond of WLS since the mid 60s, I find more to my taste these days on WGN.
I WILL listen to a Cubs game and enjoy the reparte between announcers, but I can't find ANYTHING to actually
listen to on 670 or 1000. These are what I tend to think of as "sports yap".
This is what used to happen in barber shops, bowling alleys, saloons, etc.
Also it's why the guys sound like they're animated and loud, like they're speaking in a loud environment like New Jersey.

I'm not a sports fan, and the "sports" I'm good at are not spectator sports as seen on TV.
Windsurfing I can get excited about but I doubt the word has ever been mentioned on ANY US sports radio.
Now that Garry's over on WGN, I find I still appreciate his particular practical view on reality/insanity/humor, and gosh that now must go
back to his earliest days on WLUP.

WLS still has everyone else on the AM dial beat for the most beautiful audio. Problem is, most of the program material
can't take advantage of it.

Sports fans need weigh in on this one.
I like vintage drag racing, windsurfing, biking, surfing, canoeing, and running a pt 15 AM station.
None in the list are of any use to capitalized, high dollar, competetive league sports covered in mass media.
Guess I'd rather have sports mixed in as WGN does, because to listen to purely sports stations, you have to care a lot about what they're
serving up. Many teams, and lots of discussion about every step of all the competition nation wide.
That's a lot different from being a fan of a local team and requires a certain listener.

I still think the market needs moremusicmoremusicmoremusic.
It would be wonderful to hear music on WLS AM again, if they could make music sound enormous like they used to.
When I'm tweaking the sound of my pt 15 AM, I'm trying to keep it sounding like WLS circa '68-'78.
 
Dr Wayne said:
WLS 890 celebrates 89 years this Friday. Can listen in from 6-8 PM on 890.
Click to expand...
...in 89 years, WLS goes from a station that crusaded for the interests of working class Americans to a mismanaged corporatist propaganda machine. Burridge Butler weeps in a corner of Heaven...
 
Dr Wayne said:
WLS 890 celebrates 89 years this Friday. Can listen in from 6-8 PM on 890.
Click to expand...

Hopefully, they'll archive this on their website. I'm not sure I'll be able to listen live. I can only imagine some of the voices we'll hopefully hear.....

Herb Morrison, Martha Crane, Paul Harvey, Patsy Montana, Charles Homer Bill, Don MacNeill, Alex Drier, "The Original 7" top 40 jocks, Weber, Lujack, Landecker, Sirott, Lyle Dean, Don & Roma, Rush, to name just a very few.
 
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