Steve Bleecker, WJBQ (98 JBQ) Portland, ME | July 1983

97.9 Portland ME WJBQ




“Bleecker in your Speaker”

Description by Steve Bleecker:

Harry Nelson had recently come from KFRC, and I got the call to “get my ass” (his words) to JBQ to do mornings! Almost as soon as I arrived… he left for Fargo, N.D. and JBQ’s FORMER PD, Brian Phoenix was called back to JBQ, to resume as PD! In between Nelson and Phoenix – we all had the best fun! The fun stopped as soon as Phoenix got back – he ‘let me go’ in early Jan ’84, and it wasn’t pretty! I was on a medical leave of absence – hepatitis – when

he came to my apt. – to fire me – as I was so sick, already! That’s when I got completely out of radio!



Curator’s Notes:
Radio is often a cruel business and while one programmer may love what a particular jock brings to a station, another may feel entirely different. That’s the way the radio business has always been. My advice to anyone wanting to join this rather unstable career field is that he or she should understand that each programmer has his or her own preferences as to voice intonation, personality, etc. It’s not entirely arbitrary and it’s not always fair, regardless of government employment rules.



This is a great aircheck. This is from the early 80s. It was a time when FM Top 40, by then called ‘contemporary hit radio’ (CHR) as opposed to ‘Top 40’, was just beginning to mature. 98 JBQ was typical of the BIG sounding hit FM stations at the time, spinning an image as a station bigger than life, this at a time when all CHRs had their own unique sound and personality. Steve has a unique personality, shown here in a music-intensive morning show as the sound of the 80s really started to ramp-up.