WXMX / Citadel Memphis

[stfu]

Whats the rundown on this station, morning show, jocks,history,managementetc?

 

[littlebigradio]

You really don't want to know.

 

[FMSales]

Whats the rundown on this station, morning show, jocks,history,managementetc?

Market vets Drake and Zeke in the morning, came there from Rock 103. I am not sure they are making the splash in morning radio they expected. I always liked them in the afternoons when they were at Rock.

I am not sure the entire story on their last PD, which came and went pretty quickly. I just never heard the story why.

It seems like some assumed the station could become a player on the scene last year using Drake/Zeke and a bit of nostalgia, by using Charlie Kendall on their imaging (who did Rock 103 years ago). It hasn't worked. Unlike some here, I like Megan and think she has improved since coming to Memphis. Her bits with Randi were ok, although Randi is leaving.

As for the history of the station (before they were The Max), man that's a long story.

 

[BookerT]

C'mon, everyone loves the story of the station with the bad signal.

 

[briancraig]

Brief history:

Station signed on in 1960 as the FM of KOSE in Osceola, AR.

They ran an automated southern gospel format voiced by two of the KOSE djs. Call letters were KHFO.

Pollack purchased the station and switched it to a CHR format called O-98. In January of 1986, they went AOR. Rock 103 had switched to CHR in 1985.

I remember lots of rock fans, upset by the 103 switch, doing everything they could to pull in 98.1. Eventually, they moved to a bigger tower in Frenchman's Bayou, AR and could be picked up in Memphis on a good car radio.

When 103 went back to AOR on May 2, 1986, instead of Rock 103 they were called The Eagle. So 98.1 became the Lion and switched calls to KWLN. 103 during this era played what they called "quality rock" lots of Dire Straits, Suzanne Vega, David + David etc. 98 became the "hair metal" station, especially on the evening shift hosted by Malcolm Ryker.

On July 11, 1988 the station went CHR as Z 98.1. During the Labor Day weekend of 1990, they played Louie Louie for 3 days to kick off the new oldies format. Around 1993, they went to a classic hits format. They tried all kinds of variation of classic hits (Target 98, The Cat etc.) before becoming the Max last year. They also switched the city of license from Osceola to Millington and to a Memphis tower site.

 

[robgrayson]

98 went to the Lion thing while 103 was still CHR. 103's call letter change and the "Eagle" imaging came about because then GM Craig Scott had aspirations of switching from CHR to country. But, as they say, "due to popular demand..."

 

[Gregg Rivers]

I was going to broadcast school in Memphis during the Lion days in 86. One of the students had just been hired as a part timer on Z103. Needless to say I was hoping to land a gig in Memphis too, but I ended up in Ripley, MS instead! HA! I always liked the Malcolm Ryker show. He was up beat, promoted local bands and he rocked! When Z103 went back to Rock I listened to them because of the better signal. I was living in Collierville at the time. What ever happened to ole Malcolm anyway?

 

[spaceman]

Ryker does production/voicework for CC. Does a syndicated show called "Scratch and Sniff".

 

[FMSales]

98.1 used a lion roar that you would hear all the time. It would appear out of nowhere. I've been told stories about how quite a battle brewed between the Eagle and the Lion, before Pollack sold it. Man, I bet that was fun! When they switched formats they gave away the music library in front of the station, right?

 

[robgrayson]

I know when rock103 went CHR, they gave away the album library. So, two years later when they wanted to go back to AOR, they had to build the library from scratch. I was gone (in exile to WMC-79) when the giveaway happened, but was back on hand in time to help with the rebuild, first with Art Wander then with Howie Castle. A number of items were simply gone forever, like the "Memphis, you're my home" version of "Dirty Water", and years of concert albums, which had been painstakingly cataloged by Dave the intern. Gary Condrey, the chief engineer, had wisely stashed a collection of carted material at the transmitter... things like the acoustic version of Crystal Ball that Redbeard recorded while interviewing Tommy Shaw in the 1385 Lamar studio.