While the audio is perfectly normal for a typical Oldies outlet in the Steel City, there’s some mystique surrounding a radio station which there’s no date printed on the recording. We hear Bumper Morgan once, Lonnie Davis once, and a promo for Bill Worthington, but otherwise this is a rather ho-hum run of the mill Oldies station. The AM side of this aircheck is on 970 and now apparently is doing some other format, the FM is 94.5 and is still doing oldies… well, Classic Hits today.
Definately sounds like it’s recorded off the air from the AM side and since it calls itself the NEW 3WS, it would have to predate 1983. By that time, if memory serves, 3WS was already ensconced in the oldies format. Also note that they were still playing bits of 1950s music. That was long gone from almost every oldies station by the 1990s. Bob Worthington instead of Dick Bartley hosting Solid Gold Saturday Night is one clue to the approximate age. Definately switched to either an off the board or off the FM air tape just before the Bobby Fuller Four.
3WS didn’t play oldies music until 1988, considering the jingles that were used at the time.
I listened to 3WS back in the early to mid ’90s. To my thinking, that was the golden age of 3WS. I don’t much care for its current setup, as they play some stuff from the 80s, and I consider myself a 60s type of guy with some stuff from the 50s. 3WS AM is now WBGG and they’re an all-sports station, point of fact, they’re the flagship for the Steelers. A couple bits of trivia, then I’m going to go. First off, 3WS FM was WPEZ from about 1973-80, and they were top 40, which today is called Contemporary Hit Radio. Secondly, the AM played country from August 1978 until some time in ’79. I don’t know wehn it stopped, but it was country less than a year, and it called itself “Double Country”.
I listened to 3WS a lot back in the 90s.
This features IDs spoken by Charlie Van Dyke, an awesome voiceover if I’m not mistaken. The jingle were the singers go “Pittsburgh weather!” – who did it and when did it come out?
Radio 1 by Tony Griffin Productions
My apologizes … it’s an Otis Conner package!
The jocks are actually Lani Daniels and Ray Walker.
The promo for BOB Worthington is for a syndicated show.
I too recall when music of the 1950s was part of 3Ws. I’d always switch the station when anything 50s came on .. yuck. Still kinda do. I can see why. The tunes just haven’t held up well. Save for Buddy Holly, Elvis and Chuck Berry …