Month: January 2013
Composite: New York Morning Drive | 1974
Here’s something that will leave you breathless. Starting with the rediculousness of Don Imus, this blows through four different stations. It goes in no particular order, from WNBC to a few breaks of Harry Harrison, back to WNBC, over to 1430 WNJR, to Ron Lundy on WABC and then to WXLO 99X. The largest segments, by far, belong to Imus In the Morning. Rather than try to explain this, just listen for yourself. While the tape has no date, it sounds like it was recorded sometime between Christmas and New Year’s day… December, 1974. The first Imus segment isn’t the best audio quality, but it does improve. Hope you like The Drifters – “White Christmas”. Imus plays it about 5 times before going into the 9AM NBC News.
Rosko (Bill Mercer): A “Trip” Into Progressive Rock – 102.7 WNEW-FM New York | December 16, 1970
What does one do with a tape which has no liner notes, few markings and one typewritten label which says ‘Rosko WNEW-FM 12/16/70’? Well, if you’re me, you post it on Airchexx.com. Trouble is, while this absolutely is Rosko (Bill Mercer), there’s not one mention of the radio station call letters, no mention of time, date… in fact, in playing both sides through to try to master this, there are only a couple of breaks where he talks. Its almost all about the music, except for one break where Rosko does a live spot break including a PSA for UNICEF. I, your webmaster, never heard Rosko live. Not knowing if this was typical of his Progressive Rock shows (he was on the Rock incarnation of WOR-FM prior to it’s Drake Top 40 format in 1967), there’s no way o...
The “Unknown DJ” on 93 KHJ Los Angeles | January 26, 1979
This mysterious aircheck is chock full of similarities and opposites. First off, compare the music playlist to another aircheck we have here from WKBW, from January 28, 1979. Nearly identical, except for the fact that KHJ is REALLY rockin’! Second, August 26, 1977, we have an aircheck of the Unknown DJ on WNBC… That guy was the one and only Jackson Armstrong. Compare that with this one. Now, is the Unknown DJ on KHJ the same guy as the Unknown DJ on WNBC? Compare the voices, because the approach is completely different. Now that we’ve said all that, a few notes about KHJ. 93 KHJ would eventually change formats from Top 40 to Country, a format that would last a few years until it was flipped first, to Smokin’ Oldies, then as a Top 40 / Recurrent format featuring main...
Composite: 92.5 WIFI Philadelphia | January 24, 1977
Courtesy of Big Apple Airchecks… There’s not that many people who remember this AM-Top 40-styled FM hit music station. However, some may look back fondly at the station which has been Country 92.5 WXTU since August 1, 1983. 92.5 in Philadelphia started out as W57PH. The first incarnation of this station was on the old FM band, at 45.7 MHZ. The first broadcast date of this station was October 5, 1942. The station was owned by Westinghouse along with sister station KYW. After FM radio was moved to it’s present 88.1-107.9 band, the station moved to its present 92.5 position and obtained the KYW-FM call letters. Then, inexplicably, the station simply signed off the air on August 18, 1958. With that background, we move forward to 1958. The station re-launched, this time with t...
Big Ron O’Brien, 98.1 WOGL Philadelphia | April 24, 2006
Big Ron O’Brien (October 24, 1951 – April 27, 2008) was well known for his talent, quick wit and warm personality. He is fondly remembered by friends and listeners alike. Recorded just over two years before his passing, here’s Big Ron in a new, scoped aircheck highlighting the voice that listeners became familiar with over the six year period O’Brien was on the air at WOGL. As was his way, Ron O’Brien was upbeat and so easy to listen to. Here he’s playing the best of the 60s and 70s – the Oldies format that so many loved at WOGL and elsewhere, before the format was mostly retired in favor of 70s/80s music. In addition to WOGL, Big Ron O’Brien was on the air all over the United States. He started his career at KUDL Kansas City in 1969. After t...
Tom Anthony, 94.3 KIKF Garden Grove, CA | January 23, 1982
Upon receiving this aircheck from Contributor Jeffrey Holland, I wondered to myself, was there REALLY a Country music station in the Los Angeles area called KIK-FM? Indeed, there was. Not only that, but there’s actually an information page online written by someone who was there. Most stations not considered ‘legendary’, its hard to find any info. This aircheck was scoped by the contributor, although we did made a few edits to the original to fix the spot where the tape ended on side one and continued on side two. Fans of what was, in the 80s, known as ‘New Country’ will note, 1982 was a VERY long time ago! Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Jeff Walker and other 60s & 70s staple artists are getting plenty of airplay. And while it SEEMS older than dirt, c...
94.7 New York Spins The Wheel Of Formats
Following Harold Camping’s failed end of the world prediction, Family Stations began to sell off its commercial band FM stations to stay afloat. First Maryland, then Philadelphia, leaving only New York remaining. Finally in October 2012, 94.7 WFME was sold to Cumulus for $45 Million. On Friday, January 11, 2013 WFME signed-off and quickly gave way to a simulcast of new sister station 95.5 WPLJ. That would last for a week as the stations began a social media campaign to build awareness for the new acquisition by asking listeners to submit their suggestions for a new format. That finally led to this stunt loop running into the launch of the permanent format on Monday, January 21. The stunt loop features WPLJ morning hosts Scott Shannon and Todd Pettengill introducing the temporary prog...
Liz Kiley, 92.5 WIFI Philadelphia | November 24, 1981
Big Apple Airchecks sent the original of this mono, but high-fidelity (and we refuse to say ‘HD’) recording of the Adult Contemporary version of WIFI 92! By this time, WIFI had morphed into a more Adult station, but was by no means a sleepy AC. You’ll even hear Eddie Money’s “Baby Hold On” about halfway through this, but this is SOLID AC, starting with the first song, Barry Manilow’s “The Old Songs”, and continuing with scoped portions of songs from Sheena Easton, Air Supply and Darryl Hall & John Oates. Man, there was some really GOOD music in 1981! Remember Joey Scarbury’s “Believe It Or Not”? Aka, theme from the TV show “The Greatest American Hero” – where the ‘hero’ puts on a red s...
Airchexx Presents: The WLS Jingle Montage
Courtesy of Contributor and Featured Jock Allen Beebe… Jingle freaks, this is as close to heaven as one can get! Starting with the first Top 40 jingle package, An Anita Kerr package, if I recall correctly, this blows through many of the major jingles heard on WLS from 1960 through the talkradio years! Whether you liked the old “Eight-Nine-Oh, Chicago” melody, “The Rock Of Chicago” or just “89 WLS”, you’ll hear all melodies represented here. These somehow came right from the original reels, all are in ultra-high quality, and some even from the 70s are in STEREO! But beware, this moves along really fast, and while it runs about 7 and a half minutes, it isn’t all-inclusive, as WLS, like it’s sister station WABC, aired hundreds of jin...
Boss Radio Birthday Bash; 93 KHJ Los Angeles
Contributor Allen Beebe (WNBC/KNFX/KODE/KGBC/KNOE/KMJC) sent this in on the occasion of the passing of legendary KHJ Los Angeles producer Bill Mouzis, who passed away on January 12, 2013 at the age of 90. The L.A. Observed posted a wonderful obituary for Mouzis which you can read HERE. Sometimes the road to Airchexx is long and twisted. The originator of this file was Sam Harrell, who sent it to Scott Seagraves (WCFL), who, in turn, sent it to our Contributor. Allen Beebe is a site friend who asked that it be shared here, on Airchexx. This starts with a STEREO KHJ jingle, then a Beach Boys cover about BOSS RADIO IN L.A. KHJ called “The New KHJ. It featured all the KHJ jocks, and I believe, the Beach Boys themselves singing the actual song. Listen for Batman & Robin – was a ...
Bill Rock, 103.5 WYNY New York
Bill Rock was well known in New York prior to the Country version of WYNY, having been part of WNBC for many years. Here’s Bill on Y103.5 in its country incarnation. We might call it the fourth incarnation of WYNY, counting in the 70s “All News” format, AC as “New York 97” on 97.1, Country 97 and then the frequency switch to 103.5. There’s a lot of history here, in this two plus minutes of Country Radio gold, recorded sometime around 1993 or 94. There’s really not enough here to pinpoint an actual date, so let the listener make his or her own best guess. Courtesy of Big Apple Airchecks. Click HERE for more audio from WYNY. Click HERE for more from Big Apple Airchecks.
Chris Anderson, 690 XETRA Tijuana, Mexico | 1984
Contributor Chris Anderson sent in this short scope of himself at the legendary “Mighty 690”. Marketed back in the music days to Los Angeles (and San Diego), this super-powered AM station was in the last days of it’s Top 40 format and would flip to Oldies as ’69 Extra Gold’ later in 1984. I’m guessing July or August, as I was attending the U.S. Navy’s Radioman “A” School in San Diego at the time and remember the flip, which happened over a weekend. Chris sounds great here on 690. He was probably overjoyed at knowing that some 10 million people could listen in if they all tuned to 690 at once. But just imagine living in Tijuana close to the transmitter – the deejays voices probably could be heard on people’s kitchen appliance...
