WSBA MYTHS AND LEGENDS

[bossjock 56]

Was Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" ever played on WSBA back in '67.  I don't recall hearing it as a current on WLAN either.  Did WFEC play it?  Couldn't pick them up at the time.  The lyrics may have been a little too much for back then, but it sure does get enough airplay these days.  Also...it seems to me that at one time in the early 60's, WCMB 1460 (now the ticket) played Top 40.  Maybe it was more of a chicken rocker.....but I do recall somewhat of a contemporary format that lasted until about '65 or '66.  I remember Red McCarthy playing "Sherry" by the Four Seasons.  Anybody?

[John-Summers]

I remember "Brown Eyed Girl" getting played on WFEC.  I don't know if they played the radio edit with the sex removed or not.  Funny WSBA and WLAN didn't play that that version.

WCMB was Top 40 but never the station of choice once WSBA, then WFEC appeared.  They would play one pop tune, then a schmaltzy adult tune, then a pop tune, and so on, to try and please everybody.  At night they would have a younger guy on for about 3 hours doing straight Top 40.  Some of their personalities, like Pete Wambach and Red McCarthy, were a bit long in the tooth to have any connection with the teen listeners.  They always seemed like an apologetic Top 40 station geared toward people in the 30s or 40s.  The finally gave it up for straight MOR around 1966 or 67.

Right now on e-bay there's an old WCMB music survey from 1965, just like other Top 40 stations published.  I don't know who's selling it.  Not me.  One of the "Fabulous 14" hits was "I'm a Man" by the Yardbirds.  I can't imagine Pete and Red playing that one!

Red had the Four Seasons on his show and Herman's Hermits too.  Both appeared at Hershey Park and he had a longtime association with Hershey.

For anyone interested in some early WFEC history, go to books.google.com and search Billboard, WFEC.  There is an interesting article about the station's debut and success, and a later article refuting the previous one, quoting Pete Wambach.

[TODDMAYOR]

for the fun of hearing red mccarthy do a youtube search and put the name in and bill kauffman has an aircheck from 197? it is a freaking scream.  hiya folks need to secure your future with a secure loan...go to harris savings and loans.  folks you want a great meal...my friend at the embers in carlisle can make the meal of meals...even his wife helps in the kitchen.   i admire a woman who stands behind her man.  ya gotta love red...he was a scream...and what i can imagine never knowing him a good and wholesome man.  what's that in 2009???

[bossjock 56]

Thanks for that Billboard info, John!  Don Clifton was the guy who did straight top 40 at night on WCMB.  He was listed in the article as part of the original WFEC line up....hired away form WCMB.  In the Wambach article, Pete told Billboard that WCMB was number one, followed by WHP in 2nd, WFEC in 3rd and tied for 4th was WKBO and WSBA (and sometimes WHYL).  When did WSBA power up to 5KW?  Seems to me that it wasn't until '62 0r '63.  Did they go directional at that time?  Seems Harrisburg city was always in a bit of a null.  Great signal in some of the suburbs like Middletown and Highspire.  Main lobe went toward Lancaster.  Anyone have any info on that?

[John-Summers]

Al Wolfe was mentioned earlier in this thread.  I just heard from a friend that Al has cancer and is not doing well, and undergoing hospice care.  Al was the morning host on WSBA in the late 1960s - not sure of the time frame - with a quick wit and loopy sense of humor.  He was as reserved off the air as he was crazy on the air.  Al had transitioned to Sales and Creative Services when I worked at WSBA, and was always friendly to me.  Al also has the distinction of being one of the local DJs who were called upon to guest-host "American Bandstand" in Philadelphia when Dick Clark was on vacation.  Al was at WFBG in Altoona at the time.  I hope his remaining time is peaceful.       

[John-Summers]

Bossjock: I seem to recall WSBA went up to 5kw daytime around 1962 and became "The Mighty 910."  The nighttime power remained 1kw.  Same pattern day and night as they had to protect a Scranton station.  I read about this somewhere and don't recall the exact details but I think when they went to 5kw the pattern had to be pulled in somewhat to the north, losing some of the Harrisburg area but gaining in York and Lancaster.  Living in Harrisburg and listening to WSBA, the station never sounded local, technically speaking.  It always sounded like it was coming from a distance, a little soft, and it also had that 910 harmonic whistle in the background.

Todd mentioned Bill Kauffman and some things he has put on YouTube.  One is an aircheck of Bill on WLAN 1390 from around 1970 or 71.  I couldn't hear WLAN in Harrisburg but based on that aircheck it sounded like a decent medium market Top 40 of the time.  Was WLAN ever really Lancaster's big Top 40 or did they take a back seat to WSBA?  Some good jocks went through that old building on Queen Street, like Tony Montgomery, Fred King and Ronnie G. Scheaffer, all of whom moved up the road to Harrisburg and WFEC.     

[Tardis]

The WSBA directional first went up in 1947. If I remember correctly Non-D day, directional at night.
The same actual towers 1,2, and 4 stood until we rebuilt the site a few years ago.

The 1961-1962 time frame for the 5KW day sounds right. I remember that there was a supporting 1961 full antenna proof in my files.
I'll ask Ray Ensminger or Dave Flenner when I talk to them next.

As an aside....
The day that we ceased operation from the old transmitter building, it was just a few days after the 65th anniversary
of beginning commercial operation. I hated to leave that old building.

[John-Summers]

Was 1947 when the move from 900 kc daytime only to 910 full time took place?  I thought it was later, like the early 1950s, after the original WSBA-FM went dark.

Is it my imagination or are the four top beacons a lot brighter than they used to be?  Seems like this changed in the last couple of years.  At the time I worked there I don't think they were blinking at all, just on steadily, and I'm sure they weren't that bright.

[bossjock 56]

WLAN's Lancaster impact during the 60's was strong.  WLAN also powered up to 5KW about the same time period as WSBA.  During the early stages of WSBA's Top 40 format in the late 50's and early 60's, WSBA pretty much ruled Lancaster County, especially after the power increase.  I'm not sure when WLAN flipped, but it may not have been 'til about '60 or '61.  WLAN took the younger crowd away from WSBA rather fast.  WLAN had a more music concept.....and was a lot hipper.  WLAN did have some oddities.  They charted 60 songs...and had even more extras.  From what I understand, the jocks brought in their own oldies.  I once knew a guy back in the early 70's who got a weekend gig at 'LAN who had to stop at the old Two Guys store on his way to his first on air shift to buy 2 or 3 K-TEL albums.  FM started taking over in the 70's and WLAN finally put the Top 40 on FM in 1979.  Lancaster County was assigned lousy frequencies for it's AM stations.  Most didn't cover the entire county, especially at night.  In western Lancaster County, WSBA was still big right into the early 70's, because WLAN's night signal was so poor in places like Elizabethtown, Marietta, Mt. Joy and Columbia.  WSBA was strong both day and night in these areas.  Starting in the fall of '66....WFIL in Philly made it's famous flip.  Their daytime signal was stong in Lancaster County.  They had more impact on WSBA than WLAN.  There was no nightime signal for 'FIL anywhere near Lancaster.  It all went East.

[Multiplexor]

I did overnights on "The Mighty 910" from 1984 to 1989.  I followed Ed every night and preceded Hal every morning.  Ed was Mister Showbiz and a real character.  I recall one Sunday afternoon I was on and Ed was doing remote drops from a charity hair cut-a-thon.  Thank God his breaks were pre-taped.  As I'm recording and listening to him go on about the event, Ed says "You get your hair cut, and there are girls from York Vo Tech here to give you the blowjobs."  He stopped dead, burst out laughing and said "John!  Whatever you do, don't run that break!"  I was on the floor!  To this day I don't know if he just said it by accident or he did it for my entertainment.

I have that drop on my hard drive. Along with a LOT of other great bloopers and spoof spots from SBA.