Your First Central PA Gig

[Alan Criswell]

We we playing "Body Talk" and "Cool Kids" a lot and something else (?),

Probably "For Shame" and/or "Loco-Emotion." Those first two KIX albums are Pop-Metal classics.

but only at night, because the station was so heavily dayparted.

Ahh, a core artist after the sun goes down.

The arrival of the real CHR format in fall '83 at WHTF (Starview) pushed us and Q-106 into more serious CHR formats. Until then, were were AOR crossover at night (with Maxwell's CHR presentation) and HOT AC during the day. Really odd. When Michael Jackson's "Beat It" came out in early '83, Maxwell vetoed it for the night show and it was considered too hard for daytime. It only got played on overnights until after it peaked at #1 nationally. Bizarre. By the following year, the station was more contemporary in all dayparts.

Sounds like he was keeping it safe for sales during the day.

BTW, remember those hokey FM97 bumper stickers? Just a simple black italic typeface on a yellow background. They were the most uninspired radio station stickers ever, but they were visible all over town.

Also, they had the lightning bolt between the M and 9. Thinking about it, about the only radio stickers I see these days are those 1057 The X static window stickers.

 

[Alan Criswell]

TAKE TWO, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO...

We we playing "Body Talk" and "Cool Kids" a lot and something else (?),

Probably "For Shame" and/or "Loco-Emotion." Those first two KIX albums are Pop-Metal classics.

but only at night, because the station was so heavily dayparted.

Ahh, a core artist after the sun goes down.

The arrival of the real CHR format in fall '83 at WHTF (Starview) pushed us and Q-106 into more serious CHR formats. Until then, were were AOR crossover at night (with Maxwell's CHR presentation) and HOT AC during the day. Really odd. When Michael Jackson's "Beat It" came out in early '83, Maxwell vetoed it for the night show and it was considered too hard for daytime. It only got played on overnights until after it peaked at #1 nationally. Bizarre. By the following year, the station was more contemporary in all dayparts.

Sounds like he was keeping it safe for sales during the day.

BTW, remember those hokey FM97 bumper stickers? Just a simple black italic typeface on a yellow background. They were the most uninspired radio station stickers ever, but they were visible all over town.

Also, they had the lightning bolt between the M and 9. Thinking about it, about the only radio stickers I see these days are those 1057 The X static window stickers.

 

[Tracy from York]

AM 16 WPDC Elizabethtown in 1986. The station then was "40 Years of Favorites". The music played was 40% reel to reel, 40% records, and 20% currents on carts.

 

[BigBob]

1580 WHEX in Columbia, PA when I was 17 years old! (Interesting that I have just finished working for Arbitron for 17 years...which is located in Columbia, Maryland!)

The station was on Poplar Street there...I happen to live on Poplar Court here outside of Dallas, Texas.

(Did I mention that my wife's parents live on "York" Street, in Denison, Texas?)

Boppin Bob Brooks was the PD and nice enough to hire me for news (later for weekends and 6pm-Sunset shift)...he is now in Seattle, Washington in radio there.

Bob Michaels

 

[Alan Criswell]

AM 16 WPDC Elizabethtown in 1986. The station then was "40 Years of Favorites". The music played was 40% reel to reel, 40% records, and 20% currents on carts.

I once worked with a Tracy from York, who was a dude, and the Promotions Director.

 

[DaBear]

WHYL-FM 102 Carlisle, PA 1979 One month after I graduated
@ Temple U. Thank you Lou Rogers!!

 

[posthitter]

I started out as a board op for High School football games on WQXA-AM (Stereo 1250). I got paid in CD's from Hot 105.7, but I didn't care I was 16 at the time and just being in a studio was payment enough. About a month later John St. John, then PD of Hot 105.7 called me and gave me 2 weekend shitfs. He called me on a Thursday and I was on the air Saturday night with no real training of any kind. I went in Friday to "learn" the board, but ended up running errands for the night jock instead. How many of you have done this? I picked my radio name "Johnny Storm" out of the phonebook. Flipped the book open, closed my eyes and put my finger in the middle of the page. Thank you Johnathan Storm....fast forward to my first on-air experience...the engineer was working on the board, had it opened up with wires hanging out of it while I did my first break ever. Did that for about 2 months, then they blew the station up and went Hot AC, stuck around until college and even through a bit of the Edge days as well.

 

[RockofHBG]

When I was a senior in high school, I rode a Trailways bus by myself to Baltimore to take the 3rd class radiotelephone license test (remember those?). Several months later, was hired for weekends at WVLV Lebanon (now WADV), which was one of three stations owned by Art Greiner at the time. WSHP Shippensburg (now WEEO) and WVFC McConnellsburg (now dark, license re-assigned to Valley Forge) were the other two. The station was country at the time. About a month later, I was hired by Top 40 WQVE, QV93 (now WTPA)to run the Sunday morning public affairs/religion tapes. I got the job because you needed that dreaded third class license and anybody with experience didn't want to run 10, that's right 10 hours of the stuff. That was due to the station being a new sign-on and the so-called "comparative renewal" that was the rule of the time. Shortly thereafter I got a weekend on-air shift. Eventually ended up on overnights and 6 to 11 PM. I was let go when the station flipped to AC in August of 1982 as "Magic 93, WKCD". I then hung out part-time at WKBO for about eight months doing weekend/swing. The in May of 1983, I hooked with WIKZ in Chambersburg/Hagerstown (then known as Wick-Sea 95, later Z-95 and now MIX95.1) Still there today.

 

[bl40modulimiter2]

Yes, and Papa Dino's chain went down shortly after you left town. Couldn't make it without you!

 

[bl40modulimiter2]

'Twas summer of '79 and started running religious tapes and jocking Gospel on WGCB AM/FM in Red Lion. Moved from there to PT news/board op at 1250 WNOW.

 

[jlou04]

Here goes, in order (as best I can remember):

Middays - 106.7 CoolPop
Afternoon drive - 106.7 CoolPop
Afternoon drive - Mix 106.7
"Promotions Director" - Mix 106.7
Middays - Mix 106.7
Afternoon drive - Mix 106.7

In addition, scheduled music for a little while on Mix and did a little of everything for the PD.

 

[89birddawg]

WHYL-AM Carlisle doing the Country thang...before the existence of any country FMers... Continuously telling the powers-that-be
to flip the country to the FM...and for a year and a half, they said to me, "You'll never hear stinkin' country
on the FM band, ever". I was always ahead of my time. Management was stuck in their own
little world, wearing horse blinders, not being able to see past their nose. Yep, those were the days.

 

[masterdarke]

I moved from Ohio to Central PA for a full-time gig at County 92 WCMN in Lock Haven. That was back in the Fall of 1983 and, if memory serves, they paid me about $112 a week, before taxes. My apartment was a dump and I lived on Ramen noodles.

I quit that job and went to work for WSQV in Jersey Shore, PA, until I got sick of playing Madonna and moved back to Ohio.

In 1988 WCNM had become Zoo 92, a rock station. I came back and worked there until I couldn't stand working for Mark Schlessinger anymore and quit to move back to Ohio.

 

[gmax2640]

To Alan Roberts and "oldnumber7".... The radio days of the late 70's and early 80's were the best. thank you both for, still in 2009, remembering this old "on-air" talent.

Gary Maxwell - FM97

 

[Pastywhitethighs]

I listened to ya Gary! You'd rock out at night!

 

[SteelRocker]

To Alan Roberts and "oldnumber7".... The radio days of the late 70's and early 80's were the best. thank you both for, still in 2009, remembering this old "on-air" talent.

Gary Maxwell - FM97

I agree with Pastywhitethighs....you did rock at FM97.

 

[jlync1]

'81-'82 Q106 part-timer. Back in the days of Dan Steele, Kevin Troy, Slim Jim Buchanan and Casey Summers. Later worked full-time at WTPA under Jammin' Jeff Kauffman in '87-'88.

 

[jlync1]

Oh, and also worked in Albuquerque, NM back in the mid 80s when Central PA-er Johnny Ringo showed up in the Land of Enchantment. What ever happened to him anyway? A guy I teach with who worked in radio here just mentioned him the other day.....

 

[boppinvinnieb]

Wow, what great memories! I started my radio career at WHVR-AM in early '85, hired by Joe Edwards as a weekend part-timer. I'm not sure if my experience doing rip-and-read news at my 10-watt college station (WJHU) was any help, but at least I knew the basics! After 2 or 3 months the evening guy left so I was "promoted" to evenings babysitting Orioles games. After midnight sign off, though, I'd cross the hall to the 98YCR studios where Keith Allen did 8P-2A. There I did my best Wolfman Jack impersonation, and became "The Wolf Creature", howling and making snide comments in the background. Hey, the powers that be were all asleep by then, so who cared? It was fun! (Those were also the days when YCR signed off the air at 2AM, "to give the competition a break.") I also spent lots of Friday nights sleeping on the couch in the front office. Since I signed off at midnight and had to sign back on at 6AM Saturday, why bother going home?

After a brief stint at a small AM in Baltimore I landed the afternoon (later evening) shift at WGET-AM. That was probably the best time I ever had in radio! Especially Saturday nights, when I did a free-form oldies show called the "Saturday Night Sock Hop." I had a couple of cases full of old 45s (thank goodness AM is forgiving when it comes to scratches and cue burn!) and played what I wanted for 5 hours. What a blast!

After SC PA I worked at a few stations in Florida and East Tennessee. Even had the opportunity to run my own station (successfully, I might add, until the owner sold it out from under me.) Been out of the biz since '99, though. Not that I haven't tried to get a gig. But the business has changed so drastically in the past decade, it doesn't even resemble what it once did. Que sera sera...

I wish I had discovered this site before now. Love the nostalgia trip! I'll definitely have to check in more often.

 

[FirstDraft]

Oh, and also worked in Albuquerque, NM back in the mid 80s when Central PA-er Johnny Ringo showed up in the Land of Enchantment. What ever happened to him anyway? A guy I teach with who worked in radio here just mentioned him the other day.....

My understanding is that Johnny Ringo is a pilot in Birmingham, Alabama. I'm sorry I missed seeing him at the Q106 reunion recently. Q106 alumnus Bob Michaels told me he was going to be there. Johnny is truly an original and a talented guy who was manic on the air and totally controlled in the air. (I flew with him once.) The "Q" circa 1980 or so was an incredible station with amazingly-talented people and some legendary moments on and off the air.

I started at WI00 in 1972, became news director, then moved to WEEO, Starview 92 and Q106 before leaving the market and heading to Florida. I've been in the Los Angeles area since 1995 and am now working as an editor and writer at KNX.

Anyone know how the Q reunion went?