WZZD Wizzard 100 Philadelphia – Gary Bridges – October 17 1978
Courtesy: Bobby John
In the 1950s & ‘60, 990 WIBG was one of the most listened to radio stations in Philadelphia. It was a top 40 legend! WIBG began to lose steam after a head on attack by WFIL, and as we moved through the 1970s, the migration to FM by listeners took it’s toll on the grand old lady of Philadelphia radio.
In 1977 WIBG management decided that the WIBG image was no longer an asset. After a highly publicized final week of WIBG, featuring many of the personalities from the station’s hey day, the station’s call letters were changed to WZZD. The station was rebranded as “The All New Wizzard 100”, and adopted a heavily researched Adult Top 40 format, with Program Director, Kevin Metheny. Metheney was best known from his days programming WNBC in New York.
The new Wizzard 100 format did not fare well in the ratings, and in late 1978, the format was changed to Disco and R&B, briefly competing with WCAU-FM’s “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” format. The Disco version of Wizzard 100 did better in the ratings, but management decided it was time to sell. In 1980 the station was sold to Christian broadcaster Communicom, which began airing contemporary Christian music and Christian teaching and features similar to sister station, 970 WWDJ in the New York market.
This aircheck features Gary Bridges on air, during the final weeks of WZZD’s Hot AC format, before flipping to all Disco.-Ellis
