WFIR 960 AM in Roanoke Va. Like lawoot, I listened to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
Remember when Mark Ingram was the star receiver for the New York Giants? And whenever he made a nice catch on the highlight reels, Chris Berman would sing, “MAAAAAAARK In-grum”?
People around MY age who grew up in New York city got the joke. Absolutely NOBODY else did. Anyone in Chicago, anyone in Dallas, heck, anyone who grew up in New York more than 10 years later than I did would hear that and wonder “What the heck is he singing about?”
Chris was just using disc jockey Dan Ingram’s theme music from WABC radio.
I used to listen to CKGM-AM when I lived in Montreal in the 70s. It was Top-40 back then. I understand it’s now all sports, but I haven’t lived in Montreal in many years.
WQXI-AM 790 in Atlanta. This was probably Atlanta’s most popular Top 40 station in the 60s, and all the kids at school listened. As this was Top 40, you might hear the Rolling Stones, Buck Owens, Frank Sinatra and James Brown all in the same half hour. Their most popular disk jockey was Skinny Bobby Harper, who served as the inspiration for Doctor Johnny Fever on *WKRP in Cincinnati. *
Hyski O’Rooney McVoughtie O’Zoot!
Boulder, CO in the mid '60s, KIMN out of Denver. Damn, I’ve forgotten the name of the evening DJ, but he was known as “The Nightcrawler”. And I’ll bet I’m probably the only person in the world who still has “The little round white thing with four short prongs.” Even Google has never heard of it. (It was a silly giveaway, similar in usefulness to a pet rock.)
San Jose, CA, early '70s. KOME. “This is the come spot, all over your radio dial.” Best slogan ever, but they had to stop saying it.
I would listen to one, then when they had the news or something, switch over to the other, and spend my day that way, going back and forth. But I agree - I went back to WLS once I thought the commercial was over.
That’s what I used to do but, with me, I’d station surf down the AM and then up the FM dials. Most of the time it was Top 40, MOR, and AOR stations. I wore out at least a couple radios doing that.
Incidentally, this was in Sacramento and Spokane during the late 70s and early 80s. Although, when I lived in Sacramento, I listened to a few Bay Area stations (e.g., KFRC and KNBR). At night, I’d listen to KFI out of LA.
Like Biffy the Elephant Shrew, my childhood station’s jingle is still safely tucked away in my brain, taking up the space that could be used for things like people’s names.
“KMBY, 1240…Mon.terrr.reeeyyyyyy”
They published their own Top 40 every week, on paper, distributed to local record stores. I picked one up every week and saved it – had a stack of a few hundred, spanning the mid-late 60’s. Damn, I still wish I had it.
We moved from suburban Chicago to Green Bay when I was 10 (in 1975).
In Chicago:
WLS
WAIT 820 (well, I didn’t actively choose it; it was the “beautiful music” station which my parents listened to)
In Green Bay:
WGEE 1360 (country; listened to that until I was 12 or so)
WIXX 101 (top 40; it still has that format today, more or less)
As a kid I listened to KFRC 610 AM out of San Francisco. I also used to listen to KDIA out of Oakland, but I could only get that station on my transistor radio at night, by putting the antenna against my bedroom window frame.
I listened to FM radio as a teen; mostly KOME (San Jose) and KSAN (San Francisco). I used to hang out in the KSAN studio while I was going to broadcasting school in SF.
Most of the radio stations we received were out of Philadelphia, but a couple were local Wilmington, DE, stations.
I remember listening to WFIL and WAMS (top 40) on the way to school in the early to mid '70s. WDEL for the Phillies when my brother would tune them in,and also to find out if school was closed on snowy days. I still use their website traffic watch to find out how annoying my commute is going to be.
I didn’t listen to much rock on the radio as a teen through college because I couldn’t stand commercials, but I did listen to Helen Leicht’s Breakfast with the Beatles on WIOQ every Sunday from the late '70s, and occassionally I would listen to WMMR. But for the most part as a kid, I just played my records; I still intensely dislike commercial radio although to stave off loneliness when I was married I listened to a local oldies ('50s and '60s) station in central Virginia almost all day long. I quit on it when they were bought up by some automated conglomco corporation back in the '90s, early 2000/1.
I was talking to someone recently who was surprised that I’ve never listened to the radio while driving (so, the past 31 years of driving) – but I just can’t stand commercials, so I’ve always either carried a little cassette player, or now use the CD player that came with the car. (He’s from the UK, and listens almost exclusively to the BBC radio stations, so he’d forgotten that most of the stuff here in the States is commercial).
In the UK, I like BBC 3 the best, but BBC 4 has interesting programs sometimes, too.
Oh – I meant to add that I also listened to a lot of baseball games from stations as far west as Cleveland (on clear nights, with a lot of help from tin foil and homemade antennae) because my favorite player got traded to the California Angels, and it was one way of trying to keep up with his career in the days long before internet! KDKA in Pittsburgh and the Cleveland station came in the best on those nights; they must have powerful transmitters to reach to the East Coast.
X-Rock 80 out of El Paso/Juarez, mid '70s.
I don’t know how much FM there was. I think Highland Park, IL had a classical station, but I don’t remember anything else.
KACY The Boss of the Beach - AM1520, broadcasting from a lemon orchard in Port Hueneme, California.
That would be KAY ay CEEEEE wy!
Previously mentioned - CKLW, WOWO
WMEE-AM, then FM
WKXE - Doc West is still there, thank heavens.
I moved a bit, but stared with WKBW AM in Buffalo for music, cousin Brucie on WABC AM when tropo skip helped. Later, I got into the funny morning guys - Regis Cordic on KDKA AM (sad that he tanked trying to take over for Bob Crane in LA), then Terry McGovern on KSAN FM and finally, Pat Cashman in Seattle (but I was no longer a kid…).
But hands down the best station ever was KFAT in Gilroy (KPIG is good, but not the same).
WLIR on Long Island (NY) during the late 70’s/early 80’s. Alterrnative, New Wave, punk and general rock. What a great station it was.
WHB out of Kansas City, MO. Oldies when the oldies were current, though they played “oldies” too. When I was 7 my dad bought me a nice radio with a powerful antenna when we moved from the city to a farm and that was my best friend for years. He built a swing hanging from a tall tree in the orchard and during good weather, when there wasn’t a movie or something else on TV (I was also a walking, talking TV Guide), I lived there, reading books and listening to music. I credit listening to Top 40 in the 60’s for my having eclectic tastes today.
Edit to add our farm was about 40 miles north of Kansas City.
Are you me?
Sometimes, very late at night in clear weather when I’d sit out on the roof of my farmhouse, I could pick up WLS in Chicago. It was always a thrill when that happened. There was another station out of Cincinnati I’d get every now and then. A couple of times I got a station out of New Orleans. I still have no idea how that’s even possible.
All of the above. 