Murray The K, 102.3 WHFS Bethesda MD | 1971

Murray The K, 102.3 WHFS Bethesda MD | 1971

Murray the K (Kaufman) at WINS New York

In one of the best FM recordings in terms of quality we’ve ever received from 1971, here’s morning man Murray Kaufman (aka Murray the K) on the old WHFS 102.3. Interesting thing about this station, it was the first station to broadcast in quadrophonic in the Washington DC area. Quad didn’t really catch on until the mid-70s, and even then, it never became very popular due to the scarce nature of receivers.
UPDATE: Visitor Jay Schlossberg left an interesting reply in the comments (below) which sheds some new light on this unique radio station Reposting it here for information as follows:

“There are a few factual inaccuracies here but the biggest one is that ‘HFS was never quadraphonic. The truth is that when it was launched as a mostly classical station (with a smattering of jazz) in November 1961 it was the first High Fidelity Stereo FM radio station in the DC market hence: H-F-S.”

The format here is described as middle-of-the-road, but included a lot of then progressive rock. As you might expect, there are few commercials on this station, even though its morning drive. But there is one, toward the very end of this recording, urging people to write to their representatives to stop the war in Vietnam! Very telling of the times, you really have to hear it!

Kaufman, of course, got his start in New York on 1010 WINS when it was still a Top 40 station. He passed away of cancer in 1982. Hard to believe it’s been that long. As for WHFS, the station eventually moved completely into Progressive Rock, and sometime in 1983 changed frequencies to it’s wildly popular presence on 99.1. At the time of this recording, WHFS was running only about 3,000 watts, but the move to 99.1 (in Annapolis) allowed for a power increase to 50,000 watts, giving the station a coverage area spanning the Eastern Shore of MD up to Baltimore and down to Washington DC. 99.1 changed formats and call letters on October 1, 2008. At that time, the WHFS calls went to 1580 AM Lanham, MD (the old WPGC (AM) radio station).

The WHFS call letters are currently in use in Seffner, FL. WHFS is currently broadcasting on 1010 AM. Information courtesy of FCCinfo.com. The current FCC listing for WHFS is available via this link (as of 8/1/2016)