*Featured Jocks
Airchexx Presents: The WLS Big 89 Rewind 2007B – Fred Winston
Fred Winston doesn’t skip a beat and he sounds like he just picked up where he left off during the MusicRadio years at WLS! Following Larry Lujack and Tommy Edwards, Winston is just as funny as the first time! He weaves all the original WLS show elements together masterfully… but really, this is just Fred Winston being himself! You won’t be disappointed! Big thanks to WLS PD Kipper McGee for providing ALL the audio for Big 89 Rewind 2007 and 2008!
Bob Shannon with Freddie “Boom Boom” Cannon, 101.1 WCBS-FM New York | February 4, 1995
From a cassette tape played with Dolby II (R) Noise Reduction ON (by mistake, I had intended to play back without NR as usual because I reduce noise digitally to keep the audio range as good as possible), here’s Bob Shannon’s weekend show on CBS-FM, and he certainly does not disappoint! Doing a special edition of his famous “Behind The Hits” segment, Shannon plays host, via telephone, to Freddie “Boom Boom” Cannon, who was one of the pre-psychedelic 1960s artists who rose to prominence along such artists as the Beach Boys, and so on. Without giving it away, you really must listen to this, as Bob Shannon (Don Bombard) and Cannon talk as if they are best friends… and they very well may be! This is a wonderful recording, a gift to us from Contributor ...
“Exciting” Mike Adams, 68 WRKO Boston | August, 1976
“How ’bout some concert tickets, eh… Caller number NINE...” You’ll love this rather short, but high-energy aircheck of Mike Adams on WRKO during Boston’s Bicentennail celebration in the Summer of 1976! One can’t help but be swept up in the excitement heard on the air on RKO during this time period. For comparison, or perhaps, to illustrate where the entire broadcast chain was during this time, Co-Owned stations WXLO (98.7) New York, 800 CKLW Windsor, Ontario, 560 WHBQ Memphis, 610 KFRC San Francisco and 93 (930) KHJ Los Angeles all had nearly identical formats during this time and really were the industry leaders. All of these RKO stations were in very good shape in 1976, but it would only be a year or two before FM began to seriously impact these ...
Airchexx Presents: WLS Big 89 Rewind 2007A – Larry Lujack & Tommy Edwards
All files associated with the Big 89 Rewind were donated by former Mgr Kipper McGee, whose idea it was to do a reunion of the old 1970s airstaff in the first place! As Kipper and I exchanged emails regarding this event, he mentioned possibly asking other WLS personalities who were there if they would like to write a few words about their experience. As of this writing, we haven’t heard from any of them. Sadly, Larry Lujack is no longer with us to share his memories. Superjock passed away on December 18, 2013 at his home in New Mexico. Tommy Edwards is still around and perhaps we will hear from Little Tommy very soon. The way this is presented is by year, in scoped out sections. Here in section 1A, you’ll hear Ol’ Uncle Lar and Li’l Tommy’s three hour show, condense...
Airchexx Presents: The WLS Big 89 Rewind 2007 & 2008 – Looking Back at the MusicRadio Years, Part 2
“Here’s a Dropbox link to the WLS REWIND stuff. Feel free to use any part(s) of it which may service your purposes…. THANK YOU for all the hard work and sharing your curation with us fellow radio geeks! Here at Airchexx, it’s Memorial Day EVERY DAY! We look back and present to you radio exactly how it was as it was originally broadcast. Our esteemed Contributor naturally kept all the masters from the WLS Big 89 Rewind from both years that it aired. In upcoming presentations, you are going to hear the entire program – every hour – as it originally aired in both 2007 and 2008! You will also be treated to some of the comments of those who were there in person! Here in part 2, this is the second segment of “WLS, the Music Radio years” narrated by...
Airchexx Presents: The WLS Big 89 Rewind 2007 & 2008 – Looking Back at the MusicRadio Years, Part 1
This series is lovingly presented thanks to the generocity of Contributor Kipper McGee, whose idea it was to host these Memorial Day specials for both 2007 and 2008. In coming segments, you will get to read how this came to be, and what it felt like to be there, in the presence of such legendary personalities such as John Records Landecker, Fred Winston, and so many others who made WLS Music Radio 89 the legendary powerhouse that influenced others to become air talent and programmers all over North America! Now, on with the show! This, and Part 2, comprise what I’d call the Prologue of this entire series. Called “WLS – The MusicRadio Years”, each 30 minute segment is an overview of the evolution of WLS from its humble beginnings in 1960 to it’s transition to T...
Brian Bannon, 92.1 WLNG Sag Harbor – Part 1 | August 24, 2018
Steve West and if I’m gonna be airchecked… Lemme dig this one out of the library. Mark Denning – Top forty, News Weather and Sports on your Airchexx! Curator’s Notes: WLNG prides itself in being the first Oldies station in the nation, and it appears that it may end up being the LAST oldies station of its kind as well, if trends continue. Listen for all the great 1960s era Top 40 formatics, PAMS jingles, reverb – essentially everything left the way Paul Sidney started it. The music is certainly a nostalgic attraction on a station that really, out on the end of Long Island with the loyal local businesses and community all listening in, could NOT change formats and survive. You’ll notice the enormous number of spots that run in between every song, and every...
Bill Bailey, 95.7 WLHT Grand Rapids | July 17, 2008
“Soaking up the coffee like a sponge… *Aircheck donated by Bill Bailey’s widow, Sandy Bailey* Personal note In researching Mr. Bailey’s total radio career and attempting to discover why he passed, I noticed that Bill Bailey, of WLHT, WDRQ, WWDJ and WLS has ONE mention on mlive.com, and it took 5 pages of google searching to find something that resembled an obituary. I feel that this terrific radio talent has not been properly honored and so, I’m putting out this call to anyone who knew Bill Bailey, to write a proper tribute. In my opinion, Bill Bailey was an integral part of the glory days of radio, a trailblazer, being the first black man on the airstaff of WLS Chicago, and a truly great radio talent whose contributuions to the art of broadcasti...
Alison Steele, “The New Groove” – 102.7 WNEW-FM New York | February 11, 1969
“You need a nice, hot, cup of coffee Curator’s Notes: Perhaps the only thing that would make this absolutely perfect, as airchecks go, would be if it was unscoped. Technically, I could probably get away with that, since songs recorded before 1972 don’t require royalty payments. One day I’ll investigate that. Meantime, listen to the jock known affectionately as “The Night Bird”. Alison Steele is on the air on a cold Winter night where the mayor has issued a state of emergency because of a Winter storm that blew through. What you will NOT hear in this recording is anything that remotely resembles a hit song, or even a song you’d hear on a Classic Rock station. Much of her music selection is Jazz, Jazz-Rock Fusion and some album tracks w...
John Lanagan, 1220 WGAR Cleveland | February 4, 1977
“What a pain in your assets!” Curator’s Notes: Every time I hear an aircheck of WGAR from the late seventies, it’s always tight, the jocks funny and the music is right on the mark. One would expect no less from the flagship station of Nationwide Communications – you know, the insurance company.. Now, for this one, we squeeze about 12 and a half minutes out of. The quality is so-so. This has a lot of white noise, which, despite my best efforts, I decided to keep in, instead of take the white noise out and have a recording that sounds like digital artifacts. So, its there. And realistically, one could be listening from Toledo and hear the same white noise. So it’s a throwback to yesteryear in many respects.
Melody Meadows, (99.7) WMC-FM 100 Memphis | November, 1997
Please remember to support your favorite aircheck site! With a dozen new airchecks every week, its a great value for your money! And the site is FREE! Curator’s Notes: Its been 21 years since this was recorded and to me, it seems like just yesterday! This is short – just over 4 minutes long… but you really get the feel for FM 100 and the pace of the station in an era where HotAC included a lot of Rock… not so much middle of the road pop. It was an interesting time, to be sure! Going through some tapes I had laying around the studio about 7 years ago, I ran across this unmarked C-90 that I apparently picked up while living in Millington, TN. This is Melody Meadows who had already moved on to 1070 WDIA, by the time I arrived to work at FM 100 in 2005. Today, Mel is ...
Mike Grohman (Ron O’Brien), WRNC Raleigh | 1974
Please consider a generous donation to this website for site support. You won’t find many things available for free on the web these days, so take the time to support your favorite website! Use the Donate button below Note: This ‘check is of Ron O’Brien, although this is obviously not *BIG* Ron O’Brien from WCFL & WOGL. Interesting name for this jock to take… Contributor Stanley B writes: WRNC Raleigh, NC. Mike Grohman left 1340 WGNI to do Mid-Days at WRNC in 1974. WRNC was of course up against the giant WKIX. KIX had more power and was a legend by that time. Here is a RARE aircheck from the ’74 Top 40 Radio Battle in Raleigh. Mike passed away a few years ago, after leaving radio and moving home to work for Corning Fiber Optics. He is missed!
