Ohio 60s/70s Top 40 roll call

[nightfly61]

I know there wasn't such a "titled" thing yet, but wasn't WBEA("B-107")(107.3) in Elyria a light hits/local full service format before they flipped to "WCZR, Z-Rock" around '85, then finally WNWV "The Wave" around 1987?   

[gr8oldies]

Seems all I remember about WBEA was beautiful music

[NoWayNoCC]

Who else remembers when WPFB-FM in Middletown was top 40? This was around 1984.

[kirkiefan]

WPFB-FM was then  WPBF "Mellow 106"

It tried southern gospel in 1986 before moving to country.

[NoWayNoCC]

WPFB-FM was then  WPBF "Mellow 106"

It tried southern gospel in 1986 before moving to country.

It was top 40 between AC and gospel.

They seemed to be inordinately fixated on Howard Jones.

[gr8oldies]

Slight nitpicky correction..they had the WPFB-FM calls and dual city ID with Kettering by the time they were Mellow 106

[redneckriviera]

1520/WTTO, Toledo, was Top 40 in the early seventies and did okay--decent shares--but was overshadowed by The Big 8, one of the truly great radio stations of any era (Gary Burbank, Byron McGregor, Brother Bill Gable, Super Max Kinkel, et al). WTTO had one of the weirdest transmitter set-ups in the U.S., with two separate 6-tower directional rigs--one down around Perrysburg and one up in Michigan (years later the FCC gave the okay to ditch one of those sites). Could hear both of them in a four-block area downtown, but nowhere else. Sold and flipped to Country in late '73 or early '74 and changed the calls to WTUU ("15-2") thinking that their fulltime signal could beat WTOD's daytimer on 1560. Bad call. Sold again a year or two later and stayed afloat as an urban/black format until FM made all Toledo AMs aside from Speedy museum pieces...

[FRR]

The greatest was WUBE in Cincinnati when Drake programmed the station from 66-69. Not very successful commercially, but was GREAT to listen. Nothing like it, before or after.

[johnbasalla]

WBEA 107.3 FM in Elyria Ohio was "Beautiful Music" for "ages".  Then in the early-mid 1980s went "Top 40/CHR".  They were definitely doing it in late 1986 because I have a distinct memory of them playing "Walks Like An Egyptian" by The Bangles which became a big hit in late 1986 and into 1987.  Then they went to the syndicated "Z-Rock" hard rock format for "a long weekend" before changing over to the first version of "Smooth Jazz", which is where they are now.  I had heard that they went to Z-Rock because the Dallas Texas company who marketed Z-Rock wanted very badly to get into the Cleveland market, and gave them the equipment they needed for free.  Then after leaving it on what could be considered a reasonable amount of time, they changed.  I remember as Z-Rock they had PSA's covering some of the time meant for commercial inventory, but they kept playing the same :60 PSA's over and over to a very annoying degree.

[nightfly61]

Another early 80's was 88.7 FM, CHOM("Ohm Radio")...came in crystal clear in Northern Ohio but tower is in Windsor. Before they flipped to 89X(what they are now) they claimed to be the first all digital c.d playing station. I remember them around '87 playing lots of George Michael, the Bangles, B-52's & the Joshua Tree.
I remember Z-Rock 107.3 struggling in sales. Someone who board-oped there told me they had to flip because all they could sell on Z-Rock was Oxy & Bubble Yum.