Cadillac Jack is all excited about the New Sound of Kicks-FM, and judging from the amount of reverb (which my wife says gave her a headache), station management is, too!

Here’s a scope of the Kicks Morning Show with Cadillac Jack and Ginger Gregory, apparently without Traffic reports this particular morning ‘because the receiver is down’. A few small technical glitches mar an otherwise fun segment for the morning crew, trying to give away a $100 dollar bill to some lucky listener.

Listening to this, which could be on any CHR station today, you gotta remember that this was done just slightly before everything went to hard drive based audio delivery systems, so most likely the Kicks staff was working with several Denon CD cart machines, a Reel to Reel might still have been next to the board (could have been a minidisk recorder at this point) to record phone calls, and regular ITC tape cartdridges were probably still being used for commercials. With much of that stuff, carts tended to stick, CD players skip, and any number of small glitches could still occur as the era of live, local began to draw to a close. Remember that when Madonna doesn’t start right out of a Kicks-FM jingle and there’s two seconds of dead air…

There is a website out there called “The History of Smith Broadcasting” on which lists a lot of historical information on Chattanooga Radio. Found under the section for 1988 was this historical nugget about WKXJ:

September – A frequency is opened in South Pittsburg, Tennessee (near Chattanooga) and M.D. Smith and Robert “Cactus” Gay apply for it in the name of Smith Broadcasting. Later Cactus becomes the other partner. The Construction Permit (CP) was authorized in October 1989, but the change in Authorization to Marson Broadcasting (the new partnership) did not take place until April 23, 1990. Construction began immediately.

A bit further down, there’s more under 1990…

Summer – No buyer found for WNUE, which has been off the air since fall of 1989. Some equipment is used for the new radio station, WKXJ-FM, a Class C2 station being built in So. Pittsburg/Chattanooga, Tennessee on 97.3 MHz.

So, we know that Kicks-FM was on the air, starting sometime in 1990 or 91, and it’s original format was HotAC. the station apparently didn’t go in a CHR direction until sometime after 1994. Our Facebook friends who worked there will know more, and hopefully will post their comments below.

Cadillac Jack/Ginger Gregory, 97.3 WKXJ “Kicks-FM” Chattanooga | August 19, 1996 is a post from: Airchexx.com

Here’s the final segment of the final day broadcast of 98.7 Kiss-FM.

WRKS began it’s life in June, 1981, the call letters chosen by then-parent company RKO General. They stood for RKO-Station. RKO-General had up till that time, a long history of creating exciting Top 40 (CHR) formats at some of the largest radio stations in the United States, including KHJ Los Angeles, KFRC San Francisco, WRKO Boston, and the format that was on 98.7 New York from October 1972 until June 1981, WXLO, known then as 99X. When WXLO transitioned from Top 40 to Adult Contemporary in 1980, the station’s ratings tanked, and in 1981, RKO General decided to take WXLO in a different direction, this time morphing into a station that played a heavy rotation of Disco and Rhythmic/Dance hits, with little or none of the Rock and Pop music that had been a staple of WXLO for much of its existence. In July, RKO decided a full blown format change, one which would highlight the ratings success of the direction WXLO was going in up to this point was in order. WRKS was born with much fanfare, and featured the then-NEW format, Urban Contemporary.

For 31 years, WRKS, 98.7 KISS-FM would be a format ratings leader, breaking new artists and employing deejays, some of whom would become famous. The station has become known for its community service efforts, and gaining a fiercely loyal audience along the way.

In this segment, we hear the final programs on “Kiss-FM”: The “Hour Of Power” with Rev. Al Sharpton (who is doing his show via telephone from Los Angeles), and then the final “The Week In Review”. Nearly every then-current member of the Kiss-FM airstaff, and many of those who were former on air people appear in this segment, the list of names too long to post here.

This segment ends at approximately 11:35. The final broadcast and format change to ESPN can be heard where it picks back up at around 11:40 PM HERE at our sister site FormatChange.com.

98.7 WRKS “Kiss-FM” New York Says Goodbye, Part 5 | April 29, 2012 is a post from: Airchexx.com

This entire section is the “Champagne & Bubbles” show of love songs – or as it was always referred to as The Sexiest show on the Radio by host Andre Harrell.

This is completely ‘scoped and runs 16:20 in total. But even scoped, listen to the songs played during this show – WOW! Imagine yourself with your significant other listening to this over a candlelight dinner – or elsewhere!

Andre Harrell did a masterful job of maintaining a music format in the final hours of Kiss-FM, and saying goodbye in a classy way without going over the top.

The final minute of this aircheck finds “Champagne and Bubbles” ending, and the beginning of “The Hour Of Power” with Reverend Al Sharpton, who calls his show in live from Los Angeles. Unfortunately, this ends just as Sharpton is about to explain why his is in L.A.. We’ll continue with this, and the final program of 98.7 Kiss-FM in our final segment.

98.7 WRKS “Kiss-FM” New York Says Goodbye, Part 4 | April 29, 2012 is a post from: Airchexx.com

The end of 92/KTU… Here’s a recording made shortly before the station that knocked out WABC was tossed to the dustbin of radio history.

Yes, the logo says “Disco 92″. KTU wasn’t, not at the time of this aircheck, but it was a hot CHR station with a large audience. Not large enough, unfortunately… Creamed in the ratings by then two year old Z-100 (WHTZ), KTU was destined to rock, so it was that on this date in 1985, the station breathed it’s last before returning as WXRK and it’s destiny with Rock and one Howard Stern.

The end of 92 WKTU New York | 1985 Reloaded is a post from: Airchexx.com

Part 3 picks up toward the end of Felix Hernandez’s “Rhythm Review”. Before the conclusion of the final ‘Rhythm’ show on Kiss-FM however, various voices appear to say their goodbyes – and not for the last time on this final broadcast day as some would appear in the final moments before the flip to ESPN (wouldn’t YOU if you were in their shoes?).

Appearing (not in order): Barry Mason, Toya Beasley, Lenny Green, Shayla.

So many good words spoken to pay tribute to a 30 year tradition of serving the community – and constant reminders that the Kiss-FM ‘family’ will live on (in parts) at 107.5 WBLS.

At the conclusion of Rhythm Review, it’s on to Champaign & Bubles with Andre Harell. The former President & CEO of Motown Records does his best to make his last show one to remember.

98.7 WRKS “Kiss-FM” New York Says Goodbye, Part 3 | April 29, 2012 is a post from: Airchexx.com

Courtesy of Big Apple Airchecks, here’s Chuck Leonard (WABC, WQEW)and a reasonably short scope (just a few breaks) of Mr. Leonard and a lot of historically significant advertisements. The imaging isn’t over the top here, but the music was certainly edgy for its time.

If you remember 98.7 Kiss (they DON’T call it Kiss-FM here) from it’s heyday, this aircheck is for you!

Chuck Leonard, WRKS 98.7 Kiss-FM New York | November, 1987 is a post from: Airchexx.com