FM
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.
WZEE (Z104) – Madison, WI – 12/31/98 – Tommy BoDean
From New Year’s Eve 1998, this is a montage of Madison’s long-running hit music station. This station was (and presumably still is) the textbook definition of pure Midwestern Mainstream CHR. Many thanks to Blaine Thompson of Indianaradio.net for contributing this aircheck!
WMEE (Mix 97.3) – Fort Wayne, IN – 2/23/96 – Charly Butcher
Recorded on a foggy morning in late February 1996, this is a sample of the morning show (hosted by the late Charly Butcher) on Fort Wayne’s longtime Hot AC outlet. NOTE: The logo shown was taken from an archive of WMEE’s website dated December 1996. It does not reflect the “Mix 97.3” branding heard on the montage. Many thanks to Scott Fybush of Fybush.com for contributing this aircheck!
WTWR (Tower 98) – Monroe, MI – 12/23/95 – Jim Shafer
Per Wikipedia, Tower 98 (eventually known as Tower 98.3 – the logo shown is taken from the latter era) had a life spanning nearly three decades, launching with an Adult Contemporary format in 1982 and ending as a Mainstream CHR in 2010. This montage of the station from the mid-90’s represents a hybrid of the two aforementioned formats: Adult CHR. Many thanks to Scott Fybush of Fybush.com for contributing this aircheck!
WIOQ (Q102) – Philadelphia – 3/17/96 – Bob Burke
From St. Patrick’s Day 1996, this is a sample of WIOQ during its Dance-leaning CHR days. The station was a favorite among U.S. dance radio enthusiasts (such as yours truly) at this time. Voiced by the late Keith Eubanks.
WRZE (96.3 The Rose) – Cape Cod, MA – 4/14/96 – OD
96.3 the Rose was a fun, upbeat station offering a well-rounded playlist and excellent imaging. Per Wikipedia, it debuted with a Mainstream CHR format in January 1993 – a time when the format was disappearing in many markets nationally – and survived until late March 2009, when it became a simulcast of Sports-formatted WEEI in Boston. Many thanks to Scott Fybush of Fybush.com for contributing this aircheck!
WDJB 106.3 (The Killer Bee, B-106) – Fort Wayne, IN – 2/23/96 – Scotty-T and Susan Morning Show
Per Wikipedia and YouTube, B-106 launched in September 1990 and enjoyed a 6.5+ year run as a largely successful CHR/Top 40 competitor to heritage WMEE 97.3. As heard on this aircheck, the station still sounded awesome, just a little over a year before its demise in April 1997. Many thanks to Scott Fybush of Fybush.com for contributing this aircheck!
KYOT (95.5) – Phoenix – Sep ’93 (stunting: Amer. Radio Museum)
At Noon on September 2, 1993, following a sale from Edens Broadcasting to Sundance Broadcasting, CHR “Y95” ceased to exist on KOY 95.5 FM in Phoenix. For the next 24 hours, a stunt known as “American Radio Museum” would air on the frequency. According to Wikipedia, the stunt featured “loops of quotes from famous people and figures from American pop culture and history.” This aircheck contains two sweepers from that stunt, along with one of the “special Arizona exhibits”. On September 3, 1993, “95.5 the Coyote” debuted with a format known as “Rhythm and Rock”. This aircheck also contains a promo that aired during the early days of “The Coyote”, featuring feedback from the station’s listeners. (Six...
WZJM (Jammin’ 92) – Cleveland – Summer 1995
WZJM offered a pure Mainstream CHR format through most of 1995, as demonstrated on this montage. Towards the end of the year, the playlist began leaning in a Dance/Rhythmic direction (as heard on THIS compilation of the station from June 1997) – it would remain that way until the station became a victim of the “Jammin Oldies” fad in March 1999. Many thanks to Mark Pfeifer for contributing this aircheck!
WQGN (Q105) – New London, CT – 2/17/96 – Alf
From the early days of the mid-90’s Mainstream CHR revival in the United States, this is a composite of a station that executed the format to perfection. Many thanks to Scott Fybush of Fybush.com for contributing this aircheck!
KAJM (Mega 104.3/99.3) – Payson/Phoenix, AZ – 8/23/02 – Alicia Torres, Alex Santa Maria (FREESTYLE FRIDAY)
For over two decades, 104.3 FM in Payson (now Camp Verde), AZ has targeted the Phoenix market with various formats that attempt to fill the void for Rhythmic Oldies. In its earliest days, the station called itself “Arizona Jamz” with a playlist and presentation that was excessively broad and overproduced. In April 2001, KAJM relaunched as “Mega 104.3 & 99.3” with a sharper focus and execution. This is a sample of Mega about 16 months later, during a period when Fridays featured a larger than normal dose of music from the Freestyle genre. Please visit this page on Wikipedia for more information on the history of the station.
KXME (Xtreme Radio @ 104.3) – Honolulu – 2/13/98 – Jamie Hyatt
Jerry Clifton’s New Planet Radio launched 104.3 FM as a new signal in the Honolulu market on October 23, 1997. Per Wikipedia, its initial approach was a variation of the Mainstream CHR format — focused on hip-hop and modern rock — unofficially known as “Extreme CHR”. As heard on this aircheck, the station began emphasizing hip-hop over modern rock, and eventually became a full-blown Rhythmic CHR. The format employed by Xtreme Radio in its early days was brought to sister station KPTY Phoenix in June 1998, as heard here.
