Chicago
Ron Riley, 89 WLS Chicago | October 11, 1968
Date of Recording: 10.11.1968 Station: 890 WLS Chicago, Illinois, USA Format: Top 40 Featured Air Personality: Ronald Riley (WLS/WBKB (TV), others) Contributor: Jim Hampton Airchexx Entry: 1,487 …10:31 LS most music time Ron Riley feelin outta sight baby! How ’bout YOU?! Comments: From the era before John Records Landecker & Fred Winston, the Big 89 had the edge in Chicago music radio. Here’s America’s number one Batman fan Ron Riley talking between every record and doing what so many jocks imitated over the years (to their detriment) – ‘puking’… But this is Sir Ronald Riley doing what he was best known for. There are two (incomplete) newscasts featuring WLS News Anchor Jerry Golden. Listen for a story by reporter John Schubeck (sp). New...
Jim Hampton’s Radio Recall Featuring Kris Eric Stevens
Date of Recording: Unknown Station(s): 104.3 WOMC Detroit, Michigan, USA; 890 WLS & 1000 WCFL Chicago, Illinois, USA Format: Oldies Featured Air Personalities: Jim Hampton (WXYZ/WOMC, others); Kris Eric Stevens (WLS/WCFL) Contributor: Jim Hampton Airchexx Entry: 1,486 Comments: Described as perhaps one of the youngest jocks ever on WLS, Kris Eric Stevens is featured in this interview on Jim Hampton’s Radio Recall show. In it, they talk about Stevens’ career at WLS and at WCFL, as he was one of a few jocks who worked both sides of the river in one of America’s closest Top 40 battles in the early 1970s. Radio Recall was a Podcast featured on the Motor City Radio Flashbacks website, which also airs on Classic Hits radio station 104.3 WOMC Detroit. The program has itR...
Scott Childers Presents: The ORIGINAL WLS Music Montage
Submitted for inclusion into the Airchexx Archives is an original piece from wlshistory.com website curator Scott Childers is this ORIGINAL recording. The backstory of how this happened to be on airchexx.com is that several years ago, Contributor Allen Beebe sent in a recording of this montage, which was mostly correct but missing some of the original audio you hear here. What’s really missing is the description of how this montage came into being. Scott Childers, the creator of the WLS Music Montage wrote and graciously donated a copy of the original work. It is an amazing piece of audio candy that anyone who remembers WLS Chicago will certainly love. Here’s the story of The ORIGINAL WLS Music Montage from Scott Childers: The WLS Music Montage was created in 2001 as part of a ...
The Aircheck Factory: Interview & Aircheck of Connie Szerszen from 56 WIND Chicago | September, 1977
Date of Recording: September, 1977 (Exact Date Unknown) Station: 560 WIND Chicago Format: Pop Featured Air Personality: Connie Szerszen (WSDM/WIND/WJMK/WJEZ/WJJD/WUSN) Contributor: Daniel Coulombe Airchexx Entry: 1,466 It’s getting better every minute From Tom Konard’s “Aircheck Factory”, Around The Dial #12, an in-depth look at Chicago personality Connie Szerszen, whose claim to radio fame was her time at Westinghouse Broadcasting, “Group W”‘s 56 WIND. This starts with a description of her career’s start as a receptionist at WCFL and a short aircheck of her on WSDM, then moves on to Szerszen on WIND and an interview of her from that time period.
QuickCheck: John “Records” Landecker, WLS Chicago | August, 1975
Date of Recording: 08.xx.1975 (Exact Date Unknown) Station: 890 WLS Chicago Illinois, USA Featured Air Personality: John Records Landecker (WILS, WIBG, WLS, CFTR, WLUP, WAGO, WPHR, WJMK, WZZN, WLS-FM) Airchexx Entry: 644 (Repost at 1,453) “If anyone asks you what station YOU listen to, tell them W L S!” Comments: Another too short listen to Landecker, finds him reading off the names of people who will be going to eat dinner with the Osmonds and then see them in concert. Hard to believe Donny & Marie were ever a big deal (if today’s oldies stations are any guage), but JRL sure talks it up. Listen for a great promo for the WLS Monster Bonanza as Tommy Edwards produces this piece that shows WLS giving away a Mazda! We have a similar aircheck here most likely from the sa...
Captain Whammo, WMET Chicago | April 1978
Date of Recording: 04.xx.1978 (Exact Date Unknown) Station: 95.5 WMET Chicago, Illinois, USA Featured Air Personality: Jim Channel (“Captain Whammo”) (WDHF, WMET, WCFL, others) “I Feel like a little screamin’ and yellin’ tonight!” Comments: Jim Channel, aka “Capt. Whammo” is heard here on 95 1/2 WMET. Note the disco music and the WCFL-style jingle package in use at the time which kinda sounds out of place considering the year. They sound good at this point, but I’m at a loss as to why WMET had some of the worst jingles ever heard prior to ’78… low budget, maybe? And, in your humble webmaster’s opinion, the imaging voice is and was horrible, but that’s made up for the fact that the format itself slams, and Whammo ...
Smokin’ Joe Dawson on B-96 WBBM-FM Chicago | September 2, 1986
Labor Day weekend 1986… not particularly memorable except perhaps if you were lamenting the fact that Summer vacation was over. Smokin’ Joe Dawson sent this in himself and explains that at this period in time, B-96 had no jingles! This was about a month before I left to go to Seattle to burn off a no compete before coming back to Chicago at WFYR. The powers that be had B96 sounding like a cross between ‘GCI and Q101 in their Hot AC days. More original audio from the site that brings radio back to LIFE!
Format Change in Chicago: WCFL AM 1000 Becomes WLUP | April 29, 1987
Date of Recording: April 28-29, 1987 Station(s): WCFL AM 1000, WLUP/WLUP-FM 97.9 Chicago, Illinois Featured Air Talent: Steve Dahl, Gary Meier, Jonathan Brandmeir, Patty Hayes, Various others Contributor: Frank Davis Aircheck Entry: 1,423 Comments: “WCFL – Nothing has changed but the religion…” At the stroke of midnight, 4.29.87, The legendary WCFL call letters disappeared forever from AM 1000. So, too, did the unique religious programming. In a final half hour in which the station hosts said goodbye, a farewell show worthy of a great Top 40 station, the staff takes the time to say goodbye to dozens of callers… then goes out with a prayer. The next hour of this hour and a half aircheck is all the new WLUP (AM) in the minutes following the midnight flip, then l...
Big Ron O’Brien, 1000 AM WCFL Chicago | October, 1973
The heated battle between WCFL and WLS never was hotter than this… in 1973, ‘CFL actually BEAT WLS in the ratings – it happened only once. But what a year and what a sound the Voice of Labor had. Having ‘stolen’ Larry Lujack from WLS, and the addition of some great talent, including Big Ron O’Brien (who went on to bigger fame at WXLO 99X New York), WCFL really cooked during this time period. Restored by your humble webmaster in honor of O’Brien, who passed away on April 27, 2008, here’s a 22 minute high quality aircheck recorded just after WCFL came off the number one rating book, the best book it would ever get. One listen to the fast pace of this station and you’ll know why they knocked the Rock of Chicago off its pedistal – eve...
Big Ron O’Brien, 1000 AM WCFL | 1976
1976 – The final year that WCFL played Top 40. Before flaming out, this was an incredible station – fast paced, screamin’ jocks, and a harder edge to the music than even crosstown WLS, which billed itself as the “Rock of Chicago”. Unfortunately for all of us who loved the format, the American Federation of Labor Union that owned the station was pretty much finished with playing radio, and WCFL was just about done with Rock music in general. That story we’ll tell at another time. By 1976, WCFL had fallen substantially in the ratings race, due to increased visibility and promotion by both WLS, and the emergence of FM Rock stations which were gaining prominence. You’d never notice if you were a listener to the Voice of Labor though, as you’ll he...
Pat Reynolds, 96.3 WBBM-FM Chicago | July, 1990
Date of Recording: July, 1990 (Exact date unknown) Station: WBBM-FM 96.3 Chicago Featured Air Talent: Pat Reynolds Contributor: Robyn Watts Aircheck Entry: 1,405 Comments: Its been quite a while since we posted something from the absolutely fabulous Robyn Watts collection but lets just say this was worth the wait! WBBM-FM’s nickname at this point in time was “The Killer Bee”, and B96 was really smokin’ here! The pace is lightning fast. There’s a couple of promotional spots in there which shows off the station’s killer production talents and creativity. The jingles were ultra modern – but we have no idea what package it might be from. Somebody knows. This is the first aircheck of Pat Reynolds. Don’t know who he is or what other stations he wor...
Jay Johnson, WVON Chicago | 1972
Date of Recording: 1972 (Exact date unknown) Contributor: Leo Knott Station: 1450 WVON Berwyn, Illinois (Chicago) Featured Air Talent: Jay Johnson Comments: Contributor Leo Knot writes: “One of my favorite jocks of all-time. I don’t know all the stations he worked at but he did work the San Antonio market at one time. I heard Jay on Chicago’s WGRT (Later to be WJPC)… he was Orange Juice Jay in the morning. He was wooed away to WVON – the urban music giant at the time. WVON had great personalities from Joe Cobb (the voice of Soul Train… at least at the beginning, Herb Kent “The Cool Gent”, Bill “Butterball” Crane, E. Rodney Jones, Cecil Hale, Richard Pegue, Pervis Spahn and others. After WVON, he ventured to WTLC in Indianapolis to...
