Station: 560 WQAM Miami, Florida, USA
Format: Popular Music
Featured Air Personality: Gene Weed (WQAM/KFWB)
Contributor: Anonymous (per his request)
Airchexx Entry: 1,483
…WQAM…First in Hooper, first in Pulse and first in Trendex
One of the oldest recordings on this website, you’ll notice a few things right off the bat that may bust any misconceptions you might have about radio stations playing popular music in the mid-1950s. Sure, 1957 is considered by many to be the somewhat ‘official’ start of the Rock & Roll era, but you wouldn’t know it by listening to WQAM. Tommy Dorsey, Patti Page, and then a few early rockabilly songs slide in during this recording but they seem to be more of the exception rather than the rule.
This was Todd Storz Miami station, and WQAM was just testing out it’s new show “Top 40 Time” which aired from 4 till 7 pm each afternoon. Lots of commercials intact here with some very early jingles (both station jingles and commercial jingles). These are fun to listen to! Oh, and cover your kids’ ears. There’s TWO cigarette commercials from a time when seemingly everyone smoked and tobacco companies still had all the tools of the advertising trade at their disposal. If we only knew then what we know now…
One last point here. We endeavor to post original recordings that haven’t been posted elsewhere, but we received three brand new and very well maintained “Aircheck Factory” tapes with some really GREAT, early Top 40 era recordings. These really must all be posted… after all, there’s plenty more on the way later from our newest, anonymous, Contributor!
just wondering if WFUN, WAME, or WINZ was competing with them yet? I’m amazed that it would be almost another decade until someone like Bill Drake would appear and lay down the law to “shut up and play the music”.
Thanks! I was 5 years old at that time and gotta admit I don’t remember this. I started taping aircks on my little 5 inch reel to reel in 1963. I like the way he was “Bob” Kaye at the Sports desk, BUT “Robert” Kaye on the news in later years.
WINZ only did top 40 at night. WAME was still WMMA, and played country music. WFUN was still about 4 years away. 800 was still WMBM.
And later of course, Robert Kaye (who was a lawyer) became first an assistant Dade County State Attorney and even later had a long career as a Dade County Circuit Court Judge. Judge Kay presided over the famous trial against Big Tobacco, in which he decided a $145 billion verdict the cigarette industry. Quite a man and QUITE a series of careers!