Your favorite era, and station that influenced you...

[vchimpanzee]

I've never had the passion for an individual radio station, or any radio personality, that those who have posted here have.

My earliest memories of radio were WFRC and WREV in Reidsville, NC. Both these stations at some point employed Earl Burton as a meteorologist. He went on and on Saturdays around noon. So much detail! WFRC played the hits like "Knock Three Times" by Tony Orlando and Dawn and WREV was country. I don't know what WDVA in Danville did but I liked the lights on their towers and one night we went in search of those lights. It was really something to see those towers up close. I also remember "High Hopes" by Frank Sinatra and "Popcorn" by Hot Butter.

We moved a lot and I lived in Belmont where WCGC was a pretty good station. I listened to WSOC and liked their easygoing sound and some of the early disco. WSOC went all-news and I had to switch to WBT. It had some good music but also some loud music. But I liked H. A. Thompson. While I was there they went big band and I really liked that music. We also got our first FM radio and my father liked EZ-104 and WBT-FM. Well, so did I. I had heard the stations for years in doctors' offices and dentists' offices.

We went to the beach once a year and the cable system added WXTC "Ecstasy" from Charleston. Great station. A few years later it was replaced by Joy 92. Shortly after EZ-104 went soft rock, I was at the beach and Joy 92 sounded SO GOOD. I also enjoyed AM 93 WSOC, "The music that never goes out of style".

I got a clock radio to wake me up in college, and I figured WBT would be too loud, so I tried WSOC-FM with Bill Dollar. Sounded good.

A few years later there was a new easy listening station called Love 97. Okay, this is just soft rock. What happened? It was good. I decided EZ-104 sounded good, too, and they got this great new morning DJ named Chuck Boozer. There was another DJ I liked on one of the stations named John David Wells.

Who was the guy with the two nursing home patients from Mayonnaise, Georgia? One of which said "You know I don't SEE!" over and over. No, wait, Mayonnaise, Georgia was W. W. Laidback. But I don't know who did him either.

We moved again and I liked WSPA, but I had a hard time hearing it because of interference from WRQK. And then there was a REAL beautiful music station--WMUU! A lot of its music was classical, and a lot of it religious, and there were always church services. And this country station called I-95 was always messing it up ... wait a minute, Classy 94.5. Not all instrumental by any means, but not bad. Another good station was Lite 102, which had the same announcers as Joy 100 (interesting phenomenon when I visited my grandparents--one button on 96.1, one on 100.3, one on 102.9--same music!). And WGLD was a real beautiful music station. Too bad it didn't last until I actually lived in the area.

My favorite radio personalities these days are Click and Clack, the Car Talk guys. I don't listen to the whole show but I like what I hear.

Around that time I discovered Dr. Demento. Great show! Too bad I lost him when that station moved to Charlotte, but it was Relax 102.9. Great station!

We moved again, and Max Meeks on WMFR was there, and Classy became My 94.5. There was one man I liked on WKEW in the afternoons.

In the mountains there was WLOS, but then that was replaced with an iffy signal from either WSPA or WKPT-FM. But never mind that! WISE came along with something like I hadn't heard in years!

Then I moved where I live now. EZ-102.9 was mostly soft rock but sort of good. WGLD had a great new satellite format. It was interesting the day I heard Judy Garland sing "Over the Rainbow" on Big WAYS. They did it first. WKIX did the same thing and I could pick it up a lot of places. WJXY in the Myrtle Beach area even did it after those other two gave it up. The former WHCC near Asheville picked it up too. WISE was going downhill, adding talk.

Joy 92 went south but a few ears later Easy 105.9 came along. Wow, what good music! Now it too is heading in the wrong direction.

Click and Clack are supposed to be down here. Don't know what happened.

[CrazeeCarroll1]

Hey Bill I am doing good...... Hope you are still active on on the airways and Ham bands... Wish I could be more active in Ham radio, but just don't have anything set up to really do good HF!!! As for the good days radio back then was special,... There was that bond the the Jocks shared with the listeners even if you did not know Bill from Joe or Joe from Bill... That was the reason I wanted to get into radio... I actually wanted to teach, but was talked out of it by a teacher since he knew I had to much passion for what I wanted to teach and that was History... Today there is no bonding with your favorite station as Joe who wants you to think he is in charlotte or Asheville is somewhere in Flordia... Dereg has really killed that passion for most people which is why I started my own net station... Sure it cost me an arm and a leg each month, but the friends I have made out of it are priceless... Sure I don't have any fancy jingles, but I get to play the music that is too good to be forgot on regular radio... There are a few on here who have got the chance to hear my Oldies show on my net station... If you ask kids today unlike us who thought radio was magic to those kids today it is MP3's and I-PODS!!!!! CC1

[brotherbill]

Hey CC1...good hearing from you. A little hamming going on. Not as much as a few years back. Glad you are doing well. Yeah, I have a net station too. About the only real enjoyment in the field anymore. Take care.

Bro

[lizluke]

I grew up outside of Cleveland...when I was 7, I received a small AM transitor radio for Christmas...the station? CKLW from the Motor City/Windsor!  I remember hearing "Me and Mrs Jones" by Billy Paul and to this day, it's an all time favorite of mine...I used to love the old sketches where the jox would dummy up a newsbreak and have clips of songs inserted as the answer to a question being asked...I tried to make them myself, using a portable tape recorder and holding the mic near the radio when certain songs would be playing...I guess it kind of started my love affair with the technology.
As I got older, I listened to G98 and of course, WMMS...I worked at 92Q and Power 108 in the late 80's..my first radio gig in Cleveland was at the flagship of the Browns, Cavs, and Indians, WWWE! Very influential on my early broadcast days

[Mike Sheridan]

To vchimpanzee..... Wow nice overview of some of your favorite stations.  Thanks for including a couple that I worked for! 

I came to Charlotte to work at AM93 WSOC.  Yes the music that never goes out of style!  That was 1981-1985, then they pulled the plug on it. Also worked at EZ-102.9.  Don Bell was the Program Director for both of those stations.  Don was quite a character!

Those of us who toil behind the board are often surprised when people remember.

To Liz Luke.....Wow 3-W-E  (WWWE) that's a 50,000 watt flamethrower.  I used to pick them up all the time. 

[lizluke]

Yup...WWWE was very cool to get started in the business! Some interesting personalities were there when I was--Gary Dee, the first "shock jock", now deceased, most notably...talk about baptism by fire for a 23 year old eager to make a mark!  I also got to work with John "Records" Landecker of WLS fame--he did the morning show at Power 108 in Cleveland for about 12 months before they did him way dirty...he was just not the right fit for a CHR in 1989 but was welconmed back to Chicagi with open arms...Charlotte's definately been my favorite place, though...been here since '91...I think the only places I haven't worked are Jeff Pilot and 'FAE! I think I'd actually love to do NPR, though...not so much drama!

[Mike Sheridan]

Mike, when Moon Martin started the station (AM 1520) in 1984, they said he picked the call letters to stand for World's Greatest Music Always...
(Totally off topic, but I read on Medialine one time that at station WDBL, the staff used to say it stood for We'll Do Better Later... can't remember if it was radio or tv...)

The WGMA I remember the call letters stood for Greater Miami Area.

[Mike Sheridan]

Liz don't be so sure about there not being drama at NPR.  I made a serious run at WFAE.  I started talking to the CE about helping him in engineering and maybe doing some on air too.  They had me come in and do an audition but when I asked the PD never seemed to have time to hear what I had recorded.  I took the hint, it wasn't going to happen.  Guess they didn't want to come out and say that though, bad for PR.

[Matt Smith]

Mike, join the club.  Paul Stribling, in 25+ years in the PD chair of WFAE, has only put one voice with any Charlotte market experience behind his microphones, that being Mike Collins.

I auditioned with him when they were still on the UNCC campus, and had three years of volunteer on-air experience with public radio at WUNC in Chapel Hill, plus commercial experience at WEZC and WAME in Charlotte.  Two days later he sent me a "thanks, but no thanks" letter.

Life goes on...

Matt

[The danimal]

Oh, public radio (and TV) has its own drama, different from commercial media, but drama still the same.  I got to hear all about it when I freelanced or volunteered at various stations.  Commercial radio at least had a bottom line to worry about to keep some people in check...lol.