Here’s our very first look at a station which not only was a memorable Top 40 station, but a station with one of the biggest signals on the East Coast.
The mighty 690, situated along the Atlantc coast in Jacksonville, Florida, had a ground wave so big it was heard from North Carolina to South Florida during the day. Coupled with the signal, the talents of Larry Dixon, The Greaseman and even Jay Thomas graced the 50,000 watt blowtorch’s carrier with some of the very best entertainment of that era.
So while we’re talking about talent, listen to this 15 minute scope of WAPE, Larry Dixon, Jay Thomas and others.
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I never lived in Jacksonville but I have heard stories about the Big Ape for years and thanks to sites like this one, I have gotten a chance to enjoy what this station was all about.
What a concept. A high energy top 40 station that had a huge signal with people listening on the beaches and they knew it. No wonder it worked. The music and the talent all fit perfectly into the overall sound of 690 WAPE.
been surting the net looking for an audio of a commerical done on WAPE back in the ’70s it went something like this “now playing at the playtime drive-in 6400 Blanding Blvd”
Big Ape was great…but a Jacksonville station that was sometimes overlooked was “Station 60, WPDQ,” which was the competition…complete with PAMS jingles…a very good sounding station that gave WAPE very good competition…some excellent talent passed through WPDQ as well..
Okay, so missing in this look back at WAPE is what I experienced in the early 90s. Living then in Mt. Pleasant SC (a northern suburb of Charleston), I listened to the ‘Mighty 690″ – but it was OLDIES, and it wasn’t WAPE, it was WPDQ. So, obviously WAPE had moved the format to FM (which I obviously couldn’t get in South Carolina) by this time and WPDQ had moved to 690. Missing is when and why.
I wish I had a recording to share with everyone, but to describe this station as I remember it… lots of reverb, plenty of 60s tunes and slogans like …”Get your news PDQ!”. Sorry don’t remember any of the jocks at the time. Anyone have a tape of WPDQ 690?
BOY….DOES THIS CHECK BRING BACK MEMORIES…MYSELF…GREASE…CLEVELAND WHEELER…LARRY DIXON..SCOTT(YOU’VE JUST BEEN SLAYED)SLADE…BIRDMAN…ETC……WITH BILL BURKETT..JOHN LONG……I DID 2 TOURS (UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME..HA)
1970-1974…1978-1981……..
SPENT THE LAst 21 years with clear channel in south fla… with morning show…but i gotta tell ya..for you listeners…it must have been great…but let me tell ya…to sit in that control room and crank up those monitors with our enormous
“brennon water cooled transmitter…that 500 foot stick……god what a ride that blow torch was……..btw…larry dixon…was as nice a person off the air as he was on the air….i miss him..clev…grease..
even jay…..
thanks for the memories…..
I love this Aircheck. I am a lifetime New Yorker and I’ve never lived In Jacksonville or anywhere near It but I’ve heard many airchecks of “The Big Ape” and this one really rocks. Larry Dixon, Teddy Bear Richards (later of CKLW fame) and Jay Thomas who later joined WXLO/99X in New York are great jocks. What a great station WAPE was. Why can’t radio like this exist today. Jay Thomas Is really a pisser.
The transmiter tower is still visible today on US 17. The studio is long gone with a retiremnet home on the current site. AM readio sure filled a void in those days decades before iPods and television wasn’t really geared toward the teen and early twenty somethings.
I grew up 200 miles east of Jacksonville, in South Carolina. During the late 50’s, 60’s, and in to the 70’s, we practically worshipped the Big APE. Almost all of our musical knowlege and entertainment for that time came from those folks. The DJ’s were great, the music was great, and the times were unforgettable–the beach and the APE were inseparable. Thanks for the memories.
I was with WPDQ 1968-71 when Henderson Belk owned the station. It was an “interesting” time, to say the least. We fought WAPE rather well with limited resources: but heroes like Mike Reinieri, Tom Kenningson and many others kept it very much alive as the AM rockers started their march to oblivion! Even the Greaseman couldn’t put us away! It was kind of like the Army: a great time, but I’d never do it again!
My dad was a radio announcer for WPDQ, and for a time, was the station manager. He was known as Tom Adams. I remember how awesome it felt to have a dad in the music industry, especially since all my school friends listened to WPDQ and WAPE. Both were great stations and those times were memorable. Too bad they are gone forever.
Sue Adams
Time flies when you’re playin’ the hits.
Jay and I had a place together–to save some
bread.(70’s term)
Jay did the cooking I did the cleaning.
I’m still alive….Jay COULD cook…really.
thanks for posting the aircheck, it was great hearing it.
Where’s Jack McCoy now? Probably somewhere in
California. He wanted me to join him in San Diego
in 72, but I headed to the motor city where I am
now after returning this January.
You can check us out on line of course at womc.com
After doing mornings for 23 years, I think I’ve
got afternoon drive figured out.
Have a great summer.
Teddy the truckin Bear…
i LIVED IN THE JAX AREA BETWEEN THE YEARS OF 1976-80 AND THERE WAS A MAN ON THE WAPE MORNING SHOW WHO ALWAYS PORTRAYED HIMSELF AS A FAT SLOB AND ALWAYS HAD A LOT OF NEGATIVE CONTROVERSY ABOUT HIS SHOW. I HEARD HE’D EVENTUALLY GOTTEN BOOTED FROM THE AIRWAVES. I EVEN HEARD A COUPLE OF OUR LOCAL DJ’S HERE IN LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS MENTION HIM ONCE AND SAID HE WAS A DJ IN GUAM (OR SOMEWHERE LIKE THAT)NOW. WHAT WAS HIS NAME AND IS HE A DJ TODAY, AND IF SO WHERE. I LOVED HIS SHOW.
ANYONE KNOW ABOUT HIM? MY EMAIL IS :williamebarlow@gmail.com
It was the Greaseman…but there was nothing like APE in the early to mid 60’s!!!!!
Back in the 70s when the station had to sign off
at midnight, every night they would play the same song. Does anyone remember the name of this song ?
The sign off song every night on WPDQ in the late 60’s into the 70’s was: “a day in the life” by the Beatles. But I can not remember the DJ’s name. He was my favorite… Does any one remember? I believe he was on air from 5:00 til midnight, playing great music, comments and taking request. I was a teen at the time, and wanted to be a DJ just like him.
Well.. having lived in West Palm Beach for 35 years, I can tell you WAPE only drifted in – maybe for a few moments – at sunset and maybe sunrise. But its signal normally peters out around Melbourne, which is about 150 miles from West Palm Beach.
Living in Jacksonville a I do now, I lament that i didn’t live here when WAPE was a real station. All that is left is WAPE-FM with (yeecch) today’s music, but the station does do a decent presentation.
WOKV-AM’s night signal is the same as it was when it was WAPE – lousy. So I listyen to the station on its FM, but truly I am sick of conservative Radio because if what it has become.
WOKV, a conservative talk station, now roosts at 690 AM, and simulcasts on 106,5 FM 24.7.
This is a great aircheck, though… only wish I had been here too hear it, live.
It WAS the greatest there ever was! No kid growing up on the Atlantic seaboard could forget the Ape Call! Most clever and famous monicker ever! Sure miss it…no night signal here in Savannah in those days but we made up for it in the daytime!