WMAL Memories

[AM FM listener]

Interesting thread...

"Had Your Phil" says he was the morning jock on WRQX. Would he be Dude Walker?

Dude was great on that station. He had a splendid repartee with his great newsman Doug Limerick, who went on to ABC Radio from Washington.

I fondly remember listening to Dude & Doug in the mornings at Q-107 (WRQX) then! I also remember that commercial they used to have with a beautiful woman lip-syncing the Q-107 DJ's.

 

[klutch00]

Interesting thread...

"Had Your Phil" says he was the morning jock on WRQX. Would he be Dude Walker?

Dude was great on that station. He had a splendid repartee with his great newsman Doug Limerick, who went on to ABC Radio from Washington.

I fondly remember listening to Dude & Doug in the mornings at Q-107 (WRQX) then! I also remember that commercial they used to have with a beautiful woman lip-syncing the Q-107 DJ's.

That was one of Q107's first commercials in 1979 or '80. As I recall "Dude and Doug" were the first morning team and were there until they were replaced with Jim Elliott and Scott Woodside about 1982 or so. By 1987 or so all hell broke loose with numerous personnel changes happening every several months or so until the format was killed in 1990.

 

[Dusty Dale Brooks]

Klutch00 you referred to the famous "Lips" commercial. That beautiful woman was Kristie Harmon--sister of Mark Harmon, daughter of Tom Harmon--and her likeness appeared in several markets for several stations.

That was one of the better syndicated radio commercials to come down the pike.

WRQX had a tough dial position and I think that commercial got them a lot of awareness, which led to sampling.

 

[HadYourPhil]

I started at WMAL-FM in October of 1977. I was assigned the air name Phil Sunshine, a.k.a. Sunshine In The Morning. A few weeks after I started, ABC bought the letters WRQX from a commercial vessel, so one day it was WMAL-FM and the next day WRQX, Washington's Best Rock. We had to have signs everywhere in the studio to remind us of the new calls and slogan. During that transition period, through the first half of 1978, the people in charge (Rick Sklar and local PD Phil deMarne) could not decide exactly what direction the station was to take. Many memos. One got the idea that there was "programming by committee" going on. I never knew what style they wanted me to be/do. Finally, late in the summer, it was time for my first vacation. I was told not to come back.

The reason I was given as to why I was let go was they thought I sounded "too Top-40". So, what did Q107 flip to before year's end?? Top 40. Oh well... Wish it could've worked out.

By the way, I was replaced by Joe Cipriano, who now makes a nice living doing VO's. And, there was a Q107 reunion several years ago that I attended. I was about the only pre Top-40 guy there.

The rest of the daytime staff was Bill O'connell middays and Pete Larkin afternoons. They got the boot, too.

 

[stevewillett]

The first morning guy on Q107 was Ted Carson. He was also the imaging voice used with the starburst "q-fx". Joe Cipriano was mid-day guy with Don Bishop in afternoons and Dude Walker started out at night. Ted wasn't there long and was replaced by Dude who stayed in mornings until Elliott & Woodside. When Carson left, Don Bishop became the imaging voice.