I know that previously-unknown Steve McCoy replaced Ross & Wilson--because R&W got a deal in NYC, and NOT because of the fictitious "Another One Bites The Dust" incident, which is strictly an urban legend in ATL radio. I don't know why Steve McCoy left, although my guess was more money. A lot of the personalities from Z-93's golden years made the rounds on ATL radio for a while (Steve McCoy, Dale O'Brien, Randy Reeves, et al.), showing that they had a lot of talent and market currency well after they left Z-93.RoddyFreeman said:
Didn't PD John Young leave in the mid-80s? Was he the mastermind behind Z-93's success?
Or, was Z-93 really the last gasp of traditional Top 40 (as opposed to modern CHR) radio? That is, a one-size-fits-all hits station? While Z-93 didn't play country crossovers (as some Top 40s did, especially in smaller markets) or minor AOR hits, they did play a significant amount of AC (especially Dale O'Brien in PM drive). Power 99 wouldn't have been caught dead playing, say, Ambrosia or Air Supply.
Z-93 also was late to the game in terms of playing what would now be called "classic alternative", that is, what was in heavy rotation on MTV at the time if not on the charts. They might have been afraid of getting burned by it as 96 Rock did at the time, resulting in the "Pure Rock & Roll" classic-rock backlash around 1984-1985. That kind of music (proto-alternative) came naturally to Power 99. Power 99 also was more aggressive at picking out and breaking new hits, instead of waiting to see what everyone else was playing, as Z-93 did. That resulted in Power 99 having a "fresher" and less repetitive sound than Z-93. Maybe MTV made people expect more from a CHR station, and Power 99 delivered, and Z-93 didn't.
