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WQLT and WLSQ

S

soundblast

I was Cliff Clark at @107 WQLT in Muscle Shoals 1975. We were the only FM top 40 with 2 other top 40 stations in the area. We were number 1 in all demographics below 55. While I have worked bigger markets I have never worked any. The management has a unique way of motivating us. It was totally positive and fun. I left the station in 1977. I am not sure what happened but it is my understanding that WVNA which at the time was beautifully music went adult conterminous, I heard John Lund became the stations consultant and took the station adult contemporary also. This was a surprise to me because the station made a lot of money as a top 40 stat8ion and was number 1 in all the important.

Ou night jock and PD Ron Wallace (Your Buddy Ron) could not have transistorized to an adult conterminous. Now the station is an unusual type oldies station.

I said all that to ask if anyone knows what happened to Q107, What was the history from 1976 when this station was top 40. All I have been able to do is share my speculation on what happened to the station so I want someone who knows what really happened to the station and its job was s from 1976 to now it would be appreciated.

I was at WLSQ in Montgomery was WRMA am 95. It took on WHHY in the same city in 1977 but left later that year. That station went AOR even thought it is on am but II don't know for sure. I do know the station had a .8 and by the next book had an 8 with WHHY still in the lead with a 14.
To me if they did go album rock it was premature because of the increase they had. The way things were going they could have tied or beat WHHY in another year. I would like details on what happed to that station also.
 
I can't shed much light on 'QLT, except to say I've heard it in bits and pieces over the years. Late '70s/early '80s it struck me as a first-class FM top-40.

As for WLSQ, I believe the station flipped from top-40 to AOR in 1980 ... in a way still taking on WHHY, as Y-102 leaned AOR at the time. 'LSQ called itself "95 ROCK", and was a well-programmed album rocker, if low-budget and with subpar audio (even by AM standards).
The station died March 18, 1987 .... at which point the calls were changed to WREZ-AM, and it began simulcasting sister WREZ 103.3's B/EZ format. I have the format change on tape, and it's a thing of beauty. Only a station ID and weather separates Hendrix' "Star-Spangled Banner" and a Zamfir panflute piece.

--Russell
 
95 Rock was probably one of the last AM rockers. Only other one I can recall lasting longer was AM 1000 in Huntsville "TAK". For what it's worth. I have some 95-Rock bumper stickers. I was really into collecting them during that time. Long Live Rock!
 
ALRocker said:
95 Rock was probably one of the last AM rockers. Only other one I can recall lasting longer was AM 1000 in Huntsville "TAK". For what it's worth. I have some 95-Rock bumper stickers. I was really into collecting them during that time. Long Live Rock!
Click to expand...

There were two other AOR stations on the AM band in Alabama during that time period: WOOF-AM 560 "Rockin' 56" in Dothan ... circa 1984 through 1988. Plus, WPYK 1010 in Dora (NW of Birmingham) tried AOR for about 20 minutes early in '87, calling themselves "K-Rock."

'TAK was a weird one. AOR on an AM daytimer? Yet, it worked. And the station was very well-engineered, going back to day one in 1968 when it signed on as top-40 WVOV. The audio processing was fantastic -- songs like Deep Purple's "Space Truckin'" took on a magic all their own (the opening bass line, especially).

--Russell
 
I forgot about K-Rock. I went there when they were selling all the albums and cds. It had Walker county rockin like you said, about 20 minutes. 1010 is silent now.
 
ALRocker said:
I forgot about K-Rock. I went there when they were selling all the albums and cds. It had Walker county rockin like you said, about 20 minutes. 1010 is silent now.
Click to expand...

And if they don't get WCOC 1010 on this Monday (12/1) they're going to be in deep doodie
 
ALRocker said:
I forgot about K-Rock. I went there when they were selling all the albums and cds. It had Walker county rockin like you said, about 20 minutes. 1010 is silent now.
Click to expand...

I remember that short-lived K-Rock format and the station's next "format of the week", country WDLE, trying to market the station to Gardendale (hence the "DLE" calls). Seems as though they filed some type of applicaton back then to increase WDLE's power and/or move the xmtr closer to Birmingham which was never approved. I researched the call letter changes for the station on the FCC website today, the WDLE calls and format lasted all of 5 months before the station went back to WPYK. ;)

Y'all have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!!


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WRMA couldn't beat WHHY even when the original Thin Man, Joe Cook, Kris O' Kelly and Robert Charles walked out on Larry Stevens in 1975 or '76 and went to, as Robert called it, "WRMA Island." He called it that because the station was in a trailor off of the Lower Wetumpka Road and when it rained, beavers would build a damn that would flood the dirt road that led to the station. I doubt if WRMA would have beat them on full power 24/7. WHHY was just too strong.
 
1010 WCOC

As far as I know, WCOC has been off air for probally a year and a half. I passed by the station on what used to be hwy 78 last month, and I believe the building was for sale, or one near it was. The ''yard'' was overgrown, and the old faded "Que Buana" Astro Van was parked outside and was beginning to look rough. I doubt the station will renew its license. :-\

Travis
 
I remember WLSQ near the end... I got a chance to work some part time at the station... this was when it was on High Street! LOL AOR... when I worked there, Randy Culpepper was the P.D.
I walked into the studio (remember this was back in the day) and asked Randy, "Hey were are the clocks? When do we stop down for breaks?" He hands me a legal pad and says... it's an All Request Month! Play what you want... just make sure WREZ doesn't go off the air.... and there I was playing Slowride by Foghat on the AM and Elevator Music on the FM. I still have a scar on my left hand from one of the reels at WREZ.... the hub came loose during a rewind..... anyone... hands... anyone...Bueller?
 
I was at Q 107 Muscle shoals and was offered a job at WLSQ. I turned the job down because the station was in a swamp in a trailer. Then they promised to move the station downtown in a couple of months so I too the job. They did move the sales staff to downtown Montgomery and left the jock in the trailer. The road was muddy and they promised to trade out car repairs if the road hurt our cars.

Well my car had to have a break job thanks to the road. When I asked for the trade out to get my car fixed Management told me they never said that., I learned a lot at that station about how program for quarter hour maintenance and improved my sound a lot but learned that when offered a job to only believe what ever is happening then not later is the way it will most likely be. After that if a station offered me a job and I did not like something that was going on at the time it should not be considered as a worthwhile station.
 
Skipper! said:
I remember WLSQ near the end... I got a chance to work some part time at the station... this was when it was on High Street! LOL AOR... when I worked there, Randy Culpepper was the P.D.
I walked into the studio (remember this was back in the day) and asked Randy, "Hey were are the clocks? When do we stop down for breaks?" He hands me a legal pad and says... it's an All Request Month! Play what you want... just make sure WREZ doesn't go off the air.... and there I was playing Slowride by Foghat on the AM and Elevator Music on the FM. I still have a scar on my left hand from one of the reels at WREZ.... the hub came loose during a rewind..... anyone... hands... anyone...Bueller?
Click to expand...

Hey Skip...great memory! The funny thing about that all the request month...it lasted for about 6 months! Funny...I bare a scar from the revolving monster as well. Had about 11 seconds before Mutual news ended and got my finger caught in one of the reels trying to speed cue it. Nothing was worse in life than having to program commercials for that freaking thing for the next day. I did have some revenge though my last night there when I erases that sucker and shut her down!

High street...too funny. I pulled into the parking lot of the Martin Building about 3 months ago with my wife and kids. A lot of great memories from that place. It seems just like yesterday.

One of the funniest memories of that building...before you came on board, Alex Love and I are outside right where the stairs go down and into the building when Randy pulls up in his truck and the drummer and bassist of Vandenburg are in the back of it. He had gone and picked them up for an interview. From Limo's to JR's truck...now that's the bigtime!

BTW...haven't gotten a lost classic in a while? I actually enjoyed those.

Merry Christmas my friend.

The REAL O'NEAL
 
WOW... I remember Alex.... he was on the board the first day I worked at WLSQ... I also remember the little room between the production room and the control room... it was more like a small hallway... but both doors had locks on them... if you were in that little "box" hallway and the production room and control room was locked.. you were locked inside. Like being in a small box. with no way out.... and one night Alex went to the production room and locked the control room... then walked out of the production room and locked it.... and was TRAPPED!.... most of the album he had on in the Q studio played before he broke out of his cell... lol he finally just kicked the door to the control room open with his foot! Nothing else he could do. Alex was a wild man. Always something going on...
 
rwells2265 said:
I can't shed much light on 'QLT, except to say I've heard it in bits and pieces over the years. Late '70s/early '80s it struck me as a first-class FM top-40.

As for WLSQ, I believe the station flipped from top-40 to AOR in 1980 ... in a way still taking on WHHY, as Y-102 leaned AOR at the time. 'LSQ called itself "95 ROCK", and was a well-programmed album rocker, if low-budget and with subpar audio (even by AM standards).
The station died March 18, 1987 .... at which point the calls were changed to WREZ-AM, and it began simulcasting sister WREZ 103.3's B/EZ format. I have the format change on tape, and it's a thing of beauty. Only a station ID and weather separates Hendrix' "Star-Spangled Banner" and a Zamfir panflute piece.

--Russell
Click to expand...

Wow...I started reading these posts and realized this was from forever ago, lol. I see I commented on this post back in '08, but I must have missed a lot of these posts because many of them don't "ring a bell". Russell...do you still have that aircheck you mentioned of WLSQ became WREZ-AM? I would absolutely LOVE to have it! Yeah...I'm kinda weird like that (wanting an aircheck of an EZ/BM station), but we all have our little idiosyncracies, right? lolol. I used to listen to WREZ-FM and remember WREZ-AM, too, although living on Shades Mtn in Birmingham at the time, I couldn't hear WREZ-AM most of the time because of WERC being on the adjacent frequency. A couple friends and I looking for someone to do a locally-based, not-for-profit online version of WREZ for Montgomery, since we have online EZ/BM stations in three of the four major cities in AL thus far (WQEZ in Birmingham, WRSA in Huntsville, and most recently WLPR in Mobile)...we just need someone to take on the station for Montgomery to "complete the set". btw, for all of those of you who remember WREZ (either fondly or otherwise, lol), here is my aircheck of WREZ-FM from the late 80's (1986 or '87 possibly) I recently uploaded to youtube. I'm not too savvy with making the youtube videos as you can tell, but at least give me an "A" for effort, anyway. ;) Anyhow, if you still have that aircheck and would be willing to share it with me, please contact me via the email at my website below. Thanks! Here's the youtube video of WREZ-FM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlmzxIOEo_A
 
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