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WSTW started out as a boring automated top 40

Actually, when it switched from WDEL-FM to WSTW, it was an automated beautiful music station. A bit more upbeat than WJBR. Then came the switch to the syndicated Top 40 format.
 
The automated top 40 format was called Stereo Rock. Late 70s and early 80s as I recall. It was also on WRFY in Reading and WMGM in Atlantic City.

Tom McNally, who is a frequent contributor on the New Jersey board, seems to know a lot about it.

At one time, it seemed that much of the FM band that I remember (though coming from closer to Philadelphia, I'm somewhat out of market for this board), was so-called beautiful music. WJBR seemed to be one hang on to that format way longer than most other stations before it finally Bright-ened.
 
observer2 said:
At one time, it seemed that much of the FM band that I remember (though coming from closer to Philadelphia, I'm somewhat out of market for this board), was so-called beautiful music. WJBR seemed to be one hang on to that format way longer than most other stations before it finally Bright-ened.
Click to expand...

Until early 1985 IIRC.

I grew up in Boothwyn, PA, which is between Philly and Wilmington.

This was the situation around 1969 (I turned 8 in the month of Woodstock so my memories may be vague):
Boothwyn/Linwood/Marcus Hook/Trainer/Chester was in the B/EZ crossfire between 'JBR, 'STW, 'DVR, WPBS (by '76 it'd become WUSL "US1"), 'CAU-FM (before its first fling with oldies), and 'FIL-FM (before it became WIOQ "W-102"). Don't know if South Jersey had any B/EZ's on FM receivable in far southern Delco in that day.

ixnay
 
To the Philly list, add 106.1. Calls WQAL, then WWSH. And 102.9, WPEN-FM. PEN was the boringish B/Ez I ever heard (and I still like the format). My main memory of that station is that the engineer had just changed the tapes for the night, then dropped dead. I'll resist the urge to say the music was so bad he was bored to death! Oh, wait, I did say it!

One of the best B/Ez stations I ever heard in Delaware came from Baltimore. WLIF. Great blend. I would even listen to their Holiday music over WJBR.

And for many years approx. 5-percent of the Wilmington radio market was listening to B/Ez on AM. WTUX, 1290, a station I worked at from 1969 to 1976, when it was sold to WJBR.
 
OK, so getting back to the original topic, WSTW brought FM top 40 to Wilmington. Why WSTW? Is it because WJBR was entrenched in the beautiful music format and more successful, and others such as WAMS had no way to transition to FM in the late 70's? Or was the WAMS "brand" too associated with 60's top 40? I do remember WJKS as WNNN operating as maybe an AC or top 40 in the late 70's. Or am I mistaken? Winner 101.7 perhaps? WKQV (now WVLT) from Vineland had a decent signal, but didn't cover all the market. 92.9 in Smyrna hadn't existed yet.
 
WNNN 101.7 was a Contemporary Christian station. Our studios were in Salem along with sister AM station WJIC 1510 that played Country. WJIC,today's WFAI, tower is in Salem where as WNNN, today's WJKS, tower is in Canton, NJ.

Yes, one of our liners was, Win 101.7 piercing the darkness for you. Sometimes we were to add a city, such as Win 101.7 piercing the darkness for you New Castle (We'd insert city names from both Delaware, NJ, and lesser times PA). As I recall that liner was used around the :20 minute mark on the format clock. Around :40 or :50 our liner was Moving higher and higher Win 101.7.
 
Uh, WSTW is a Hot AC. CHR stations don't play Aerosmith or Bon Jovi.

Station is still good though.
 
Why WSTW? Why not? It was number 2 in the B/Ez contest, with a a large segment of that audience also going to the Philly stations in addition to WJBR. If it was to grow, it needed to go with something new. So why not Top 40. AM Top 40 was a dead issue by that time.
 
I thought WSTW had Steve Michaels and Al Egnoir LIVE in the afternoon and evening when they started the Top 40 format? That had to be the late 70's/early 80's. I know Steve left WCHE West Chester to go to WSTW shortly after the Top 40 format started there, I was the engineer for WCHE.
 
I seem to remember that they were on the automation 24/7 for awhile until they moved talent in for the drive times.
 
When did WSTW not lean towards Hot AC? As in - time it was a full CHR, not playing "90's, 2k and Today" just like WISX in Philly? It seems to be another (WISX) Mix 106.1... But it plays more older songs then WISX, and leans more Hot AC then Mix (WISX). WSTW won't play songs like "International Love" that gets played on Kiss 101.7, Q102, Wired 96.5 Mix 106. (The CHR's in my mind are those four, of course PST is counted out there)

Any reason for it's Hot AC lean and when did it start?
 
WSTW was full on automation in 1981 listening to airchecks of it on youtube.

I dont know how anyone could have listened to it over Hot hits WCAU
 
'STW has always been an "adult leaning" CHR. That's why you'll never hear rap, etc, but you will hear Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, etc. They've always had a bit more gold in their mix, yet remaining CHR.

They moved to automated CHR because they already had the machine in place ("rocky", iirc) and TM's Stereo Rock had just been developed and was on fire in the couple of markets they played so far. It was a quick and easy way for them to switch. 'JBR was killing them in B/EZ at the time, and their AM (A-C/MOR WDEL) while remaining strong in the market, was showing a few cracks here and there as AM listening continued declining. (Fun fact: all the Stereo Rock stations were branded as "Rock (rounded frequency)". Ex: WMGM 103.7 in AC was "Rock104", while while WRFY 102.5 in Reading was "Rock 102". At this point in time, mentioning exact FM frequencies was not yet standard practice. So, 'STW became "Rock 94 ". That lasted about 2 weeks before WYSP leaned on them to knock it off. Oops. WSTW then became "Rock 93-7". They wound up having to have all the jingles, Johnny borders' liners, etc recut.)

After a year or so of automation, 'STW started a really gradual transition to live programming with joe Dawson running a live-assist version of the format for morning drive. Eventually more live jocks were added, still live-assist, with some (like john Wilson and steve Michaels) moving over from WDEL. They slowly became "Wilmington's Own 93-7 FM, WSTW.

I had the chance to work there in the mid-80's as the first overnighter after they did away with that last automated shift. By that time, john Wilson did morning, Katey hill was midday, steve (Michaels) berstler did afternoon drive/PD, al engberg was early evening, and Brenda (Nicole) miller did late evening/MD.

I don't know about now, but back then, it was a great place to be and learn (I was still a snot-nosed young 'un, and acted like it, unfortunately, getting tossed out on my butt after a couple of years), and I still use a lot of what I learned there, 25 years later, in my work elsewhere.
 
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