Throwbacks To When They Weren't Throwbacks
Listening to WJHM "102 Jamz" Orlando and WPOW "Power 96" Miami's First Runs
Last Thursday (1 August 2024), Audacy flipped Orlando market modern rock WQMP 101.9 “Alt 101-9” to rhythmic throwbacks “102 Jamz.” The “102 Jamz” brand dates back to its 1998-2014 branding under the WJHM call letters. The call letters are coming back as well as the FCC has approved the call sign change from WQMP to WJHM effective later this week on 8 August.
This is the second “throwbacks” flip they have made in the Sunshine State this summer. In May, CHR WPOW 96.5 Miami “Power 96” shifted to “Miami’s New Home Throwbacks,” maintaining its longtime heritage “Power 96” branding. Both stations are now featuring R&B and hip hop tracks from the 1990s and 2000s.
So, let’s take a listen at WJHM and WPOW’s previous runs. I have four airchecks from WPOW’s original CHR run and one from WJHM’s earlier days for your listening pleasure. From listening this afternoon, one noticeable difference with the new throwbacks format is the lack of some of the dance and dance-friendly pop product both had incorporated at points in their run as heard on the airchecks below.
The original “102 Jamz” began 27 March 1988, flipping from classic rock WORZ “Z102.” Industry trade Billboard’s report on the flip from its 9 April 1988 edition…
In Orlando, Fla., Duffy Broadcasting has brought in a new team and changed the album rock format of WORZ "Z -102" to urban contemporary "102 - JAMZ." The new sound hit the airwaves on March 27, marking the arrival of the first FM urban contemporary in Orlando, the third-largest market in Florida. Duffy hopes to get approval for a call-letter change to WJMZ in the near future.
Duffy has brought in Dave Donahue from WPOW Miami as station manager. Former WQHT "Hot 105" Miami PD Duff Lindsey is in as 102 -JAMZ's PD. He describes the station as "a very hit-oriented urban."
As for the lineup: Former KPWR "Power 106" Los Angeles afternoon man Joe Nasty surfaces as 102 - JAMZ's morning man; Cedric Hollywood follows Lindsey over from Hot 105 in his previous role as APD /MD; "Good Time" Eric Scott comes in from KROY Sacramento, Calif., to handle the 4 -8 p.m. shift; Eric Ward comes from WPOW "Power 96" Miami to take evenings; and Yolanda Neeley moves over from WEDR Miami to do overnights.
Local paper The Orlando Sentinel covered the flip in their 2 April 1988 edition…
Plans for a format switch at WORZ — the worst-kept secret in Central Floria radio circles for months now — reached fruition when “classic rock” gave way to a hot mix of dance hits and soulful ballads at the station. […]
Now promoting itself as 102 Jam [sic], WORZ is the first FM station in Central Florida to boast an urban contemporary format. Nationally, the format draws heavily from the tunes on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart. WORZ’s initial playlist this week stayed closer to mainstream pop charts — despite a savvy, left-field pick of the rap track “Jam On It” to herald its new sound.
Both described the station as urban contemporary, but, as noted, it was “hit-oriented” and playing a mix of dance. WJHM would end up being considered “churban” (in the vernacular of the day) — a R&B/dance/CHR hybrid.
13 August 1990 Aircheck
This is an August 1990 aircheck from morning drive with the aforementioned Joe Nasty above. In the song log, aside from where each title was charting in that week’s Billboard Hot 100, I added where that song was charting on Billboard’s then Top 40/Dance radio chart that week, as well as where the song peaked on the Hot 100 pop singles chart and the “Hot Black” chart (as they still called it back then). Back then, Billboard had a weekly Top 40/Dance chart and Top 40/Rock radio chart reflecting some of the fragmenting of the format then. At this time, among larger markets, WQHT 97.1 “Hot 97” New York, WBBM-FM 96.3 “B96” Chicago, KPWR 105.9 “Power 106” Los Angeles, WIOQ 102.1 “Q102” Philadelphia, and KMEL 106.1 San Francisco were stations included in the Top 40/Dance chart and KQLZ 100.3 “Pirate Radio” Los Angeles and KEGL 97.1 “the Eagle” Dallas/Fort Worth were in their Top 40/Rock chart.
(Note: DJ Joe Nasty seems to make a slip of the tongue and references the date as “the 13th of June”, but this is indeed from the 13th of August. For one, it’s referenced a few times that is a Monday, and 13 June 1990 was a Wednesday. The PGA Championship and scores in the sports report refer to sports events from the weekend of 11-12 August 1990, the WOMX “Mix 105.1” free gas event referenced a few times from the previous Friday was covered in The Orlando Sentinel on 11 August 1990, and, of course, the Middle East Gulf War also began in August 1990.)
“Throwback Version” Music Log From Today
From its live feed, here is how the “throwback” version of “102 Jamz” sounded this afternoon.
Station Profile
The WPOW calls date back to 23 June 1986, when CHR WCJX “Power Hits 96X” picked up the WPOW call letters. In the 5 July 1986 edition of Billboard, then-new WPOW programmer Bill Tanner said…
“There’s no one really competing with Y-100 [WHYI] and Hot 105 [WHQT],” he says, so he’s aiming WPOW at that slot with a “CHR sound that will lean very heavily on Miami-oriented music.” With the market’s changes, Tanner says Miami’s 45% Latin population can be better served.
The name change from “96X” to “Power 96” happened on Monday, 4 August 1986, making “Power 96” 38 years old this week.1 Until the recent flip, WPOW had always had some sort of dance and rhythmic component — whether it leaned closer to the pop side or closer to the R&B side over the years.
A few airchecks from the past…
20 October 1986 Aircheck
Up first, this aircheck is from Monday, 20 October 1986 with DJ Dan Cox, a couple of months after the “Power 96” brand launched. This aircheck came to me already scoped and edited down…
3 July 2004 Aircheck
During this era, WPOW was more R&B-driven.
18 October 2015 Aircheck
In 2015, WPOW shifted back towards the pop side of the rhythmic spectrum. The playlist is now pulling more songs from the dance charts than the R&B charts. As well, it picks up the “Miami’s Party Station” slogan.
22 February 2019 Aircheck
At this point, WPOW is still tilted towards pop and dance. On this aircheck, they also tossed in one from the reggaeton genre in "Te Boté," which barely crack the top 40 on the Hot 100 chart and not at all on the R&B singles list.
“Throwback Version” Music Log From Today
From its live feed, here is how the “throwback” version of “Power 96” sounded this afternoon.
Station Profile
As always, the logos and other intellectual property belong to the stations. The recordings were made from over the air broadcasts.
“Two Stations Get A Boost,” The Miami Herald, 30 July 1986.