Rockin' In the Hall of Fame City: Part 2

To paraphrase an old Conway Twitty song, "Hello friends. Nice to see you. It's been a long time." This blog has been sadly neglected by yours truly due to a combination of real world responsibilities, laziness and a lack of new content. My apologies.

With that mea culpa out of the way, it's time to step into the WayBack Machine and revisit Canton, the onetime home of WQIO/1060, best known as "Q-10". When the station switched to a Top 40 format in late 1976, it came during a period of transition for the radio industry; The rise of music formats on FM was gradually siphoning off listeners from their AM counterparts. However, WQIO managed to rise above its longtime status as an also-ran in the market and limitations as a daytimer to mount a significant challenge its contemporaries in the ratings. In fact, Q-10 gained enough of a foothold in Canton that it arguably helped bring an end to Top 40 on its more-established rival WINW/1520. This success can be attributed to program director Ron Foster, who launched the new format after arriving from Youngstown's WFMJ/1390. In spite of the ratings turnaround, WQIO couldn't escape the problem of losing listeners to FM. By 1981, the writing was on the wall, and the station briefly switched to country before a sale brought a new owner and another programming philosophy.

In this brief aircheck from January 20, 1979, Steve Kelly presents the hits on a Saturday afternoon. Kelly later became a well-known personality on the now-former WJER/101.7 and 1450 in New Philadelphia and, for a time, WSNY/94.7 "Sunny 95" in Columbus. He currently is the program director and morning host on New Philly's WTUZ/99.9.

NEO Airchecks would like to thank longtime reader Bob Papa for providing this aircheck. Keep the contributions coming, folks!

We Interrupt This Broadcast...

It's probably not a stretch to say that November 22, 1963 began like most other days at WHBC/1480 in Canton. On-air staff, salesmen, management figures and other employees likely showed up for work in the morning like they had every day of their career and went about their business. It's also fair to say that they, along with Americans everywhere, couldn't have foreseen the day's events in Dallas, Texas that lead to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Coverage of the unfortunate event interrupted WHBC's "B-Line" program, hosted by longtime personalities Bill Karrenbauer and Bob Krahling. In this unscoped aircheck made by Tom Emmons, Karrenbauer and Krahling are interviewing Hoover-Price Planetarium director Jeanne Emmons. Roughly 25 minutes into the recording, Karrenbauer interrupts the interview, leading in to a news bulletin from ABC Radio at about 1:42 p.m. Eastern Time. (Given the timeline of ABC's coverage, it appears that an earlier bulletin was not aired by WHBC.) After the update, there's a brief return to regular programming. One senses that the news disturbs Krahling, who nevertheless is professional in his brief assessment of the situation. The remaining 20 minutes of the aircheck is ABC's coverage, during which one hears an unconfirmed report that the president is dead.


Special thanks to WHBC chief engineer Dale Lamm and to Jason Stroll for making the aircheck available to NEO Airchecks.

That Dating Show

The northeast Ohio radio community has had its fair share of personalities that have become mainstays of the dial. One of them is Jim Albright, currently the midday host at WHLO/640 in Akron. Prior to manipulating the airwaves at WHLO (and a brief stay as afternoon host at Canton's WHBC/1480), Albright was the host of the popular "Dial-A-Date" program on WNIR/100.1 in Kent. Between 1979 and 2000, he helped the region's lovelorn find happiness while fending off pranksters who were all too happy to sabotage his efforts. In this aircheck from 1996, Jim handles the latter with his usual sense of humor without allowing them to disrupt the show's momentum.



Our thanks to TheGrimm1970 for making this aircheck available.

The Other Guys

For the blog's latest update, we focus on Cleveland's WGCL/98.5. In this aircheck from 1974, Truckin' Lenny and Skip O'Brien are heard presenting some of the day's hits. Based on the Cleveland Indians promotional announcement heard early on, the editor believes this broadcast occurred in late June.
For several years, WGCL was the market's chief competitor to rocker WMMS/100.7. WMMS ultimately won the ratings game for good in the 1980's, while WGCL switched to a retooled rock format and became WNCX in 1986.

Special thanks to TestChannelnumber1 for providing this aircheck.

Bits And Pieces

Update

Thanks to Tim Lones at Cleveland Classic Media, we now know that the WTAM aircheck is that of NBC's "Kraft Music Hall" hosted by Bing Crosby. Our own detective work determined that the broadcast was heard May 8, 1941, and featured Bob Burns, Connee Boswell, Alec Templeton, William Frawley and Walter Pidgeon.

The editor has also learned that the WFMJ-FM aircheck was recorded on the evening of December 16, 1947. The date seems to be at odds with the Wikipedia history of the frequency, but we'll take the disc's original owner at their word.

The original posting is below.

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Over the course of this blog's existence, the editor has come across many home recording discs featuring airchecks of radio stations. One of those was a recording of NBC Radio's coverage of the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor in 1941, which the blog spotlighted last month. At the same time, much thought has been given to how we should present a group of miscellaneous recordings that have been collected over the past year and a half. The editor decided it would be best to provide some brief selections and leave it at that.

First up is a segment from what appears to be an NBC Red Network program heard on WTAM/1100 in Cleveland. The date of the broadcast is unknown at this time, but an educated guess would place it somewhere between 1943 and 1949. Stick around for the NBC chimes and local identification. Aside from jazz singer Connee Boswell, the other performers heard here are unknown. As always, any assistance in identifying the program is appreciated.

The second selection is a portion of "Melody Roundup", a popular afternoon music program heard on WHKK/640 (now WHLO) in Akron during the late 1940's and well into the 1950's. The program was hosted by Cliff Rodgers, who also hosted a morning show on WHKK during this time period. It's not clear if it's his voice heard during the closing. Based on the music, this broadcast is from roughly 1950.

The final segment is long on music and short on spoken word content, but interesting for one reason: It's an aircheck of an early FM broadcast, as heard over Youngstown's WFMJ/105.1. Dating from about 1950, it's the earliest FM aircheck in the blog's collection. This is undoubtedly a rare recording, since WFMJ-FM's license was cancelled a few years later. A brief history of the frequency in Youngstown can be found here.

Another Auld Lang Syne: Part 2

As we prepare to say farewell to another year, NEO Airchecks ushers in 2013 in its usual fashion. This time, the blog features an aircheck of Youngstown's WHOT/1330 from January 1, 1973. Longtime Youngstown radio personality Boot Bells is heard counting down the top hits of '72. Special thanks to regular contributor Jerry Coleman for submitting this recording for the blog's use.



Be sure to check back with NEO Airchecks in 2013. Some long-awaited features are being prepared for your listening pleasure. Happy New Year!

Radio Goes To War

With Americans observing this week's anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, it's appropriate to feature some airchecks made in the wake of the incident that launched the United States into World War II. The first segment is a partial recording of an NBC news roundup of the events of December 8, 1941, 71 years ago today. An unidentified announcer summarizes the Japanese attack on Manila, President Franklin Roosevelt's address to Congress and the subsequent vote to declare war on Japan. This broadcast, which was captured on a Wilcox-Gay home recording disc and eventually discovered by the editor, appears to have been made in the late afternoon or early evening of December 8th. While it's not clear which NBC affiliate was recorded here, this program was undoubtedly heard in northeast Ohio. WTAM in Cleveland was an affiliate of NBC's Red Network, while WAKR in Akron and WFMJ in Youngstown were affiliates of the Blue Network.

The second aircheck was found on the flip side of the same disc. A different announcer on an unnamed network provides a similar account of December 8th. Any assistance with identifying either announcer or pinning down the time of broadcast would be greatly appreciated by the editor.

Solid Gold For Your Ears

NEO Airchecks wishes its readers a Happy New Year. Better late than never, right?

This time around the blog features Warren, Ohio's WRRO/1440. In this scoped aircheck from circa 1986, Ron Leader is filling in for longtime morning man Ron Fantone. Leader, perhaps best-known to listeners of that era as raucous Saturday night oldies guru "Dr. Rock", presents the same music in a much more relaxed manner here. Midday host Evelyn St. Clair is also heard in commercials for the upcoming Italian-American Heritage Festival.

WRRO began life in 1941 as WRRN/1400 before moving to its current dial position by the 1950's. Helen Hart Hurlburt, longtime publisher of Warren's Tribune-Chronicle newspaper, purchased the station in 1948. The call letters were quickly changed to WHHH, a reflection of her initials. When Hurlburt sold WHHH to Warren Broadcasting in 1981, the WRRO calls were implemented, and would remain there until 1998. By the 1990's, the oldies format heard in this aircheck was phased out in favor of news/talk and later still, sports talk. The station went through a few more changes in ownership and call letters before finding its way into the hands of current owner Salem Communications in 2001. Now known as WHKZ, 1440 primarily is a simulcast of WHKW/1220 in Cleveland.

Another Auld Lang Syne

In the past, the blog has marked the arrival of each New Year with an aircheck from a previous New Year's Eve. 2012 is no different. NEO Airchecks revisits Youngstown Top 40 rivals WHOT/1330 and WFMJ/1390, as heard forty years ago this week. In the two-part recording provided courtesy of friend Jerry Coleman, K.C. Martin spins the big hits of 1971 on WHOT and takes a call from one listener wishing to burn Donny Osmond at the stake. Just listen, and you'll see what we mean. Martin's approach to his show is much more loose than that of his co-workers heard in airchecks from roughly the same period.

Ted Alexander and Steve "Baby" Michaels are heard doing a similar year-end countdown on WFMJ, and taking repeated shots at WHOT. Later on in the aircheck, personalities from at least one other Youngstown area station pile on, no doubt encouraged by Michaels' poetry concerning WHOT overnight personality "Big Al Knight", otherwise known as longtime PD Dick Thompson. Be sure to listen for cameo appearances by PD Ron Davidson and newsman Gary Gunther.

The New Kid In Town

As NEO Airchecks awaits the entrance of 2012, the humble blog looks back to the end of another year. This time it’s 1976, when a small FM in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania took to the airwaves. WFAR/95.9 was the FM counterpart to WFAR/1470, licensed to Farrell, Pa. Both stations were founded by Sanford Schafitz, doing business as Farrell-Sharon Broadcasting.

In this aircheck, an anonymous announcer presents a commercial-free mixture of mostly lite rock hits of the era. WFAR/95.9 began broadcasting on December 28, 1976. The specific date of this recording is unclear, but it appears to be from the station’s first few days on the air. [Editor’s note: It’s merely my opinion, but WFAR’s format sounds like a sleepy, loosely-executed version of Adult Contemporary.]

After Schafitz’s death in 1979, WFAR/95.9 and 1470 were sold to Broadcast Service Communications. When the new owner couldn’t make either station fly, they were sold to National Communications System in 1982. This buy-sell trend would continue well into the 1990’s, along with a slew of format changes and call letters.

95.9, now sporting the call letters WAKZ, is currently owned by Clear Channel. It broadcasts a rhythmic format branded as “Kiss FM”. 1470 was split from its longtime FM sister in 1999. Vilkie Communications recently announced its plans to purchase the station, now known as WLOA, from Educational Media Foundation.

NEO Airchecks realizes that this article spotlights a Pennsylvania station, but being just across the state line from Youngstown, it is considered part of the Youngstown-Warren market.

Rockin' In the Hall of Fame City

Sometime ago, NEO Airchecks promised an upcoming feature about Canton's onetime Top 40 powerhouse, WINW/1520. The aircheck in question was misplaced and therefore unavailable for posting here. Thankfully, another recording of the station commonly known as "Win-Wonderful" has found its way to the blog's editor. In this aircheck from May 1976, PD Jonathan Holly is at the helm for morning drive. This appears to be an edited version of a tape that was recently posted on Airchexx.com. Special thanks to Wes Boyd of Youngstown, Ohio for this submission.

Despite the restrictions of being a daytimer, WINW was still riding high in the Canton ratings book a little more than a decade after entering the market. Around the same time as this broadcast, Canton's WQIO/1060 switched to its popular "Q-10" Top 40 format. As a result, a significant number of WINW listeners defected to WQIO. While "Win-Wonderful" would soldier on under PD Keith London, WQIO's success would force WINW to leave the format by 1981. WQIO soon fell victim to the limitations of its daytimer status and emerging FM music formats in the market.

Repeated vandalism at the station's transmitter site knocked WINW off the air in September of 2010. Its urban gospel format briefly returned to the local airwaves, but again fell silent within a few months' time. The station's license was deleted by the Federal Communications Commission in March 2011. Owner Pinebrook pushed for reinstatement, and the request was later granted by the FCC. As of November 4, 2011, the station remains silent.

"Smokin' " In the Studio

When NEO Airchecks last visited Youngstown hit music station WHOT/1330, it was December 1971 and Michael C. Richards was at the helm for afternoon drive. This week the humble blog fast forwards to September 1975, where we find "Smokin' Bill" Cannon spinning the hits in the evening. Cannon would prove to be a steady presence at 1330 and WHOT/101.1, remaining there until the early 90's. He moved on to classic rocker WYFM/102.9, better known as "Y-103". Cannon stayed in the afternoon timeslot at Y-103 until budget cuts by owner Cumulus led to his exit from the Mahoning Valley airwaves in 2009.

The first thing that struck the editor about this aircheck is the utter lack of jingles. None. Nadda. Compare this recording with the aforementioned 'check of Richards, and you'll see what we mean. The cheery jingle packages that had been heard in previous years had clearly fallen out of favor, no doubt a response to the growing power of the more modern FM music formats of the era.

Speaking of FM, you'll probably notice mention of the simulcast of Cannon's show on sister station WHOT/101.1, previously known as WRED and a longtime home to a country format. (NEO Airchecks will have more on that incarnation at another time. )
By this time, FM was seeing a growing number of listeners, though overall listenership in the U.S. wouldn't overtake AM until a few years later. Notice, too, the promotion of Jerry Starr's overnight progressive rock program on 101.1, while the stalwart "Big Al Knight" (otherwise known as PD Dick Thompson) continued to present his brand of Top 40 on 1330.

Special thanks to Brian Gartland of Columbus, Ohio for making this aircheck available to the blog.

Your Leader in Cleveland

After visiting the modern rock genre in our most recent feature, NEO Airchecks turns back the hands of time to the golden age of Top 40. The focus is Cleveland's WKYC/1100 (now WTAM). Heard in this brief aircheck from 1967 is Jack Armstrong, a.k.a. "Big Jack". Based on WKYC music surveys from the era, this broadcast appears to be from early March.

WKYC had lured Armstrong away from market-leading WIXY/1260 in January, even though he was still under contract with WIXY. Despite his success in the evening timeslot, WKYC failed to obtain better overall ratings, and was therefore unable to dethrone its rival. A major stumbling block for its format was the fact that the station was owned and operated by NBC, meaning that it was required to air NBC newscasts and other network programming.

Armstrong ultimately moved on to other radio giants of the era, including WMEX/1510 in Boston and KFI/640 in Los Angeles. His last stop on the airwaves occurred in 2006 on Buffalo's WWKB/1520, over which he had been heard during its Top 40 heyday. Armstrong (born John Larsh) passed away in 2008.




Special thanks to NEO Airchecks friend Jeff Goodridge for providing this aircheck.

Happy Belated Birthday

The editor wishes to use the humble blog's precious bandwidth to mention its birthday. This past Wednesday marked one year since NEO Airchecks debuted with a feature about Youngstown's WFMJ/1390. Yeah, we know...we're a little late, but we get it done in the end. That said, the editor also wishes to pass along word that he'll accept any and all belated checks and other gifts. Send 'em to NEO Airchecks HQ. ;-)

The blog will continue to archive airchecks of northeast Ohio radio stations of the past, no matter the market or the format. As always, drop us a line if you have a tape you'd like to submit for our consideration. We can be reached by e-mail at neoairchecks@mail.com.

Time Runs Out for The End

By the time of spring's arrival in 1999, the longrunning alternative/modern rock format heard on Cleveland's WENZ/107.9 "The End" was on its last legs. The station had been purchased by Radio One in January of that year, and a flip to an Urban format was on the horizon.

It's in this environment that we find WENZ evening personality Number One Son hosting his final edition of "Cleveland After Dark". Not long before this broadcast, he and the rest of "The End" staff had been informed that Radio One would not be needing their services. As a result, Number One Son decides to spice up the music mix a bit prior to bidding his listeners farewell. Radio One officially took over the station at midnight, just minutes after the conclusion of this aircheck.

Two weeks later, the station was relaunched as "Kiss 107.9", prompting a legal skirmish with Clear Channel over the use of the "Kiss" branding. To avoid any further issues, WENZ switched to the moniker "Z 107.9". The Urban format remains on the air to this day.

Return to the Hot Spot

This week the humble blog comes full circle, as it again spotlights WHOT/1330 (now WGFT) in Youngstown. In this aircheck from 1971, energetic afternoon personality Michael C. Richards keeps the music coming, with headlines provided by newsman Al DeJulio. To avoid any legal hassles, the editor has cut most of the music from this unscoped aircheck. The commercials and newscasts are intact.

At the time of this recording, Richards had recently departed rival WNIO/1540. He was just the latest in a string of personalities and reporters who left WNIO for 1330 in the early 70's, thereby shortcircuiting 1540's attempts to dethrone WHOT as the market's leading music station. Richards would later work at WFAH/1310 and WDJQ/92.5 in Alliance.

As the station i.d's indicate, WHOT was frequently simulcast on its sister station, WRED/101.1. This practice would continue into the mid-70's, when WRED took on the 'HOT call letters before switching to WSRD. WSRD's popular AOR format was broadcast until 1984, when 1330's longrunning Top 40 format migrated to FM and dispatched "The Wizard" from the Mahoning Valley's airwaves. WHOT is now owned by Cumulus Broadcasting. WGFT is owned by Bernard Group.

A Certain Ethnic Radio Station

Forgive NEO Airchecks if its editor chooses to open this post with a reference to a series of comedy sketches that appeared on the late, great Big Chuck and Little John television program. Perhaps it's fitting, given that the humble blog this time around features WXEN/106.5 (now WHLK), a longtime on-air provider of ethnic music and programming heard in Cleveland during the 1960's and 70's.

This submission comes to us courtesy of Salvation Army. No, really. The reel-to-reel tapes that contain the following recordings were recently found at the aforementioned thrift store. Recordings of programs heard on WCLV/95.5 (now found at 104.9) were also retrieved and are being edited for a future post.

What you'll hear here is a representation of WXEN as it was heard during the spring and summer of 1970. Included are portions of two separate programs hosted by Archie Rothman, the first of which is an encore tribute to singer/actress Judy Garland. Also heard are the odd commercial, public service announcement and snippets of ethnic music programs that aired immediately prior to Rothman's shows.

For more details concerning the history of WXEN, go here.

...And We're Back.

No doubt you've noticed a recent dearth of airchecks or any news whatsoever from the humble blog. As it happens from time to time, RealLife has made free time for such pursuits scarce, indeed. That said, the editor would like to inform readers that new features are in the works. Upcoming submissions will include some rare audio of Cleveland stations WXEN/106.5 and WCLV/95.5.
Stay tuned...

Spotlight On Sports

Anybody who has spent time in northeast Ohio knows how seriously folks in the region take their sports, be it professional or high school level action. With that in mind, NEO Airchecks this week spotlights a pair of Youngstown-Warren area play-by-play veterans, Larry Miklas and Tim Continenza.

At the start of this composite aircheck of Warren's WRBP/1440, Continenza, the host of "Valley Sportsline", addresses the impending departure of then-Cleveland Browns head coach Chris Palmer. Next up is a a pre-game segment from a 2001 high school boys basketball broadcast, followed by the opening minutes of the same game featuring Warren Harding and Youngstown-Ursuline.

Larry Miklas started his radio career in the 1970's as an on-air personality at Sharon, Pennsylvania's WPIC/790. He moved on to WGRP/940 in nearby Greenville before eventually returning to the Ohio airwaves at WTCL/1570 in Warren. During the 1980's the former steelworker was on-air at WRRO/1440 in Warren, using the name "Larry Summers". Miklas went on to call thousands of high school football and basketball games, primarily for WBBW/1240, WRTK/1390 and WASN/1330. (At the time of this week's featured aircheck, WRBP/1440 was the sister station of WASN, which was owned by Otter Communications.) Along the way, he would also call a season of games on WHK/1420 for the Cleveland Thunderbolts, the city's first arena football team. Following a brief illness, Larry Miklas passed away in July 2010.

Tim Continenza is no stranger to sports fans in the Mahoning Valley, having spent time as a play-by-play man and host at WRRO/1440 during its sport talk format of the mid/late 1990's. Continenza reappeared at 1440 during its ownership by Otter Comunications. After the station was sold to current owner Salem Communications in 2001, he was occasionally heard calling high school games for the station, then sporting the call letters WHKW. Continenza now fills the same role for the Meadville, Pennsylvania-based Allegheny news/talk sports network, which is heard on WMGW/1490, WTIV/1230 and WFRA/1450.

The Sound of Tiger Town

Recession, a major oil spill, high gas prices and unrest in the Middle East. These topics could all be ripped from recent headlines, but not in this case. NEO Airchecks invites you to revisit the Carter era via this week's aircheck, which focuses on dimunitive WTIG/990 in Massillon. This recording comes to us courtesy of friend Ron Leader of Warren, Ohio. In this aircheck from 1979, he's handling morning drive while keeping the mood light with his own brand of one-liners and stories. Listen for his jab at the economic downturn while discussing the trend in media towards nostalgia.

WTIG first took to the local airwaves in 1957 as a 250-watt daytimer, but was eventually granted a modest nighttime signal. For a large portion of of its history, the station had a Top 40 format that was commonly known as "Tiger Radio". It currently airs a sports talk format using the positioner "ESPN 990", a nod to its status as an ESPN affiliate. Also heard is a local morning show hosted by owner Ray Jeske, Massillon Tigers football and Cincinnati Reds baseball. Jeske purchased WTIG in the 1980's and later moved its studios from downtown's Massillon Building to the transmitter site in nearby Newman.