1989
Scott Shannon’s Rockin’ America Top 30 Countdown (Year-End 1989)
Recorded from Chicago’s WBBM-FM (B96), this is a very brief snippet of Scott Shannon’s Rockin’ America Countdown, highlighting the Top 4 songs of 1989. Included is a portion of a B96 jingle. Per Wikipedia, this program ran from 1984 through mid-1990 before going through a name and format change.
WFMF (102.5) – Baton Rouge, LA – 12/26/89 – Hollywood
“102.5 WFMF” is one of the more heritage CHR/Top 40 stations in the United States – although, according to Wikipedia, it has strayed away from its format and especially its name multiple times over the years. Like many CHR outlets in that era, WFMF took a high-energy, dance-leaning approach. NOTE: The logo shown above is not necessarily the one used at the time this aircheck was recorded; it is likely from an earlier era.
WHYT (Power 96) – Detroit – 7/21/89 – Electrifying Fogel
This is a sample of Detroit’s Power 96 when it was still a pure Mainstream CHR, and a couple of years before (per Wikipedia) Modern Rock 89X entered in the market and took away a large portion of the teen & young adult audience. IMHO – and I say this as someone who wasn’t living in Detroit at the time and (outside of Wikipedia) is unfamiliar with the competitive landscape there at the time – Power 96’s approach at this time strikes me as being surprisingly conservative considering that it served a large, ethnically diverse market. Many thanks to Rich Marino for contributing this aircheck.
KKFR (Power 92) – Phoenix – 1989
Composite of Power 92 (KKFR 92.3 Glendale/Phoenix) from 1989.
KOY-FM (Y95) – Phoenix – 1988/1989 – Various Personalities
In July 1986, Beautiful Music-formatted KQYT “Quiet 95” flipped to Adult Contemporary as “KOY 95.5 FM”. The station eventually began to call itself “Y95” and evolved to Mainstream CHR. This is an unofficial composite of the station about 2 to 3 years after the initial change. With varying degrees of success, Y95 attempted various permutations of Mainstream CHR until September 2, 1993. On that day, it began stunting in preparation for a format change the following day.
KZZP (104.7) – Phoenix – Winter 1990 – Chet Buchanan
Station composite of KZZP 104.7 FM Phoenix, from early 1990. Features Chet Buchanan’s first night on the air at the station.
