Radio This Week Back Then: Week Ending March 2
This Week Back Then: WMMS and WENZ Cleveland, WZZU Raleigh, WZYP Huntsville, WKRZ-FM Wilkes-Barre, WQUT Tri-Cities TN/VA, and WACO-AM/FM
What was on the radio this week…back then. If you enjoy these weekly audio rewinds, please do me a favor, subscribe, and share and pass it on. Thank you!
This week:
Face-Off: WMMS 100.7 Vs WENZ 107.9 Cleveland, February 27 1995
WKRZ-FM 98.5 “98.5KRZ” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, February 28 1992
It is the end of another week and time to revisit what was on the radio this week…back then. This week, it is another auditory trip to the 1990s. Before we get rolling, a big thanks to Chris Huff who initially helped me with filling in some gaps of WACO-AM/FM’s history, but then went on to provide a bunch of additional historical information on the other stations in this week.
In this week’s edition, we start with competing modern rockers WMMS “Buzzard Radio” and WENZ “107.9 The End” Cleveland, hear the first day of WZZU “U93.9” Raleigh/Durham, visit long-running CHRs WZYP “104.3ZYP” Huntsville and WKRZ-FM “98.5KRZ” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, then head to the Tri-Cities TN/VA for WQUT, and, finally, we are off to Waco for country WACO-AM/FM (with bonus audio from WACO-FM’s prior format as AC KTKS “Kiss 99”).
Face-Off: WMMS 100.7 “Buzzard Radio” Vs WENZ 107.9 “107.9 The End” Cleveland, February 27 1995
Same date. Same format. One market. Two stations. Let’s Go.
Some weeks I happen to have airchecks from stations in the same market in the same format. Two weeks ago, that allowed a listen at the Atlanta top 40 battle as it was in 2004. This week, it is a face-off featuring the modern rock format rivalry in Cleveland in the mid-1990s between WMMS 100.7 and WENZ 107.9. It’s the end of the Monday afternoon drive shift in Cleveland on February 27 1995 for both airchecks. Have a listen and pick who wins this face-off in the poll that follows.
WMMS 100.7 “100.7 Buzzard Radio WMMS”
Up first is WMMS, the heritage rocker in Cleveland, which moved to modern rock for a couple of years in mid-1990s before shifting to active rock. Lou Santini followed by Jennifer Wylde are your Buzzard jocks.
The Offspring/“Gotta Get Away”
Melissa Etheridge/“If I Wanted To”
PJ Harvey/“Down By The Water”
Green Day/“Welcome To Paradise”
Legal ID: WMMS 100.7 Cleveland
The Black Crowes/“High Head Blues”
Nine Inch Nails/“Head Like A Hole”
Sheryl Crow/“Strong Enough”
Bush/“Everything Zen”
U2/“Two Hearts Beat As One” (Remix)
The Cult/“Star”
WENZ 107.9 “107.9 The End, Cleveland’s Modern Rock”
At the end of the dial was WENZ, which had evolved from top 40/rock to modern rock in 1992. Bull and Ted Kowalski are the DJs for this audio on the same evening.
Matt Watt/“Against The 70s”
The Cure/“A Letter To Elise”
Hootie & The Blowdfish/“Hold My Hand”
Soul Asylum/“Black Gold”
Melissa Etheridge/“If I Wanted To”
Matthew Sweet/“Sick Of Myself”
The Offspring/“Gotta Get Away”
Spin Doctors/“Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong”
Legal ID: WENZ 107.9 Cleveland
Candlebox/“You”
Live/“Lightning Crashes”
Siouxsie & The Banshees/“O Baby”
Presently, WMMS is still rock, while WENZ is now R&B “Z107.9” after it was spun off and sold to Radio One in 1999.
Aircheck: WZZU 93.9 “U93.9” Raleigh/Durham, March 1 1989
History
Originally licensed to Burlington NC, WZZU signed on as WFNS-FM 104.3 in April 23 1947, the new FM sister to the new WFNS 1150, which signed on two months before. It quickly moved to 93.9 in June.
The calls would change to WBAG-FM (“Burlington and Graham”) on May 17 1960, and WABG-FM moved from block programming to MOR in 1963. WBAG-FM increased power from 2.8 kw to 10 kw in June 1968.
In 1977, WBAG-FM split from the AM/FM simulcast for an AC format. It upgraded to 50 kw in 1981. In 1984, it upgraded to 100 kw and in August 1984, it would target Raleigh/Durham as top 40 WZZU “94Z,” going up against the well-established WDCG 105.1 “G105.”
WZZU shifted to the relatively short-lived top 40/rock “U93.9” on March 1 1989, which is the audio further below.
WZZU would flip to classic rock “Rock 93.9” soon after. In August 1996, WZZU changed formats to AC WRSN “Sunny 93.9".
In December 2006, WRSN shifted to rhythmic AC WKSL “93-9 Kiss FM,” evolving to rhythmic top 40 in 2010.
It moved in-market via a city of license change from Burlington to Cary NC in 2008. In November 2013, it changed formats again to country “B93.9,” with the call letters changing to WNCB the following year on July 31 2014; it remains country “B93.9” today.
About This Aircheck
This aircheck comes from the first day of the new top 40/rock format under the “U93.9” brand.
Roy Orbison/“You Got It”
The Cars/“Tonight She Comes”
REM/“Stand”
Cinderella/“The Last Mile”
Glenn Frey/“You Belong To The City”
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts/“I Hate Myself For Loving You”
Robert Palmer/“Simply Irresistible”
The Bangles/“Eternal Flame”
Human League/“Human”
Roxette/“The Look”
Genesis/“Land Of Confusion”
Rod Stewart/“My Heart Can’t Tell Me No”
Aircheck: WZYP 104.3 “104.3ZYP” Huntsville, February 28 1990
History
WZYP dates back to signing on the air as WJOF in October 1958. Like many FMs of the era, the initial wattage was small and upgraded over time; it moved to 50 kw in the mid-1960s. In September 1978, it flipped from easy listening/beautiful music during the day and country at night to top 40. The call letter change from WJOF to WZYP occurred on December 10 1978. It upgraded to 100 kw and moved to Capshaw Mountain, just outside Huntsville, in 1982. It was the dominant top 40 in Huntsville during the 1980s — #1 in every ratings book from 1981 through 1988.
About This Aircheck
This is audio from a Wednesday evening shift back in 1990.
Joan Jett/“Dirty Deeds”
Calloway/“I Wanna Be Rich”
Madonna/“Keep It Together”
Def Leppard/“Armageddon It”
Michael Damian/“Rock On”
Lou Gramm/“True Blue Love”
D-Mob Featuring Cathy Dennis/“C’Mon And Get My Love”
Roxette/“Dangerous”
Belinda Carlisle/“Summer Rain”
The Rolling Stones/“Almost Hear Your Sigh”
Legal ID: WZYP 104.3 Athens-Decatur-Huntsville
Richard Marx/“Too Late To Say Goodbye”
Warrant/“Sometimes She Cries”
Cutting Crew/“(I Just) Died In Your Arms”
Elton John/“Sacrifice”
Midnight Oil/“Blue Sky Mine”
Janet Jackson/“Escapade”
INXS/“Never Tear Us Apart”
Cheap Trick/“The Flame”
The Smithereens/“A Girl Like You”
The B52s/“Roam”
Milli Vanilli/“All Or Nothing”
Aircheck: WKRZ-FM 98.5 “98.5KRZ” Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, February 28 1992
History
As the offspring of WBRE 1340 Wilkes-Barre, WKRZ-FM began as WBRE-FM in 1947.
WBRE-TV channel 28 would sign on January 1 1953. On November 10 1975, WBRE-AM/FM flipped from MOR to an all-news format, using NBC’s new NBC News & Information Service.
With the radio properties spun off from WBRE-TV, on October 22 1980, WBRE-FM flipped to top 40 WKRZ “98 1/2 KRZ.” The new KRZ was an enormous hit from the start — #1 in 66 of 70 books from Fall 1980 through 2000.
WKRZ remains top 40 today.
About This Aircheck
This aircheck is from the Friday evening PM drive…”the Drive At 5” with DJ Jumpin’ Jeff Walker featuring party songs for the weekend kick-off. The aircheck was recorded some distance away so the signal isn’t crisp, but this one is worth it. Medium sized market CHR at its best with local DJs, wheels-off contesting, non-national playlist, and bonus points for a traffic reporter named “Rusty Fender.”
Clarence Carter/“Strokin’”
ZZ Top/“Legs”
Heart/“Barracuda”
Roxette/“Church Of Your Heart”
C+C Music Factory/“Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”
Def Leppard/“Pour Some Sugar On Me”
The KLF With Tammy Wynette/“Justified & Ancient”
Mr. Big/“To Be With You”
Aircheck: WQUT 101.5 Tri-Cities TN/VA, February 27 1992
History
Celebrating its birthday this week, WQUT originally signed on March 1 1948 on 100.7 as WJHL-FM, the FM offshoot of WJHL 910.
WJHL-TV 11 would sign on in 1953. The radio properties were sold off in 1960 from the TV station, resulting in call letter changes for the AM and FM to WJCW and WJCW-FM on May 27 1960.
WJCW-FM would move from 100.7 to the present day 101.5 spot on the dial in January 1963.
WJCW-FM would take on the WQUT calls on December 15 1970. It increased to a full 100 kw in February 1972.
It moved from album rock to top 40/rock in 1981 and shifted to top 40 in March 1982.
It would go on to be #1 in 17 of 21 ratings surveys from 1982 to 1991. WQUT evolved to a very rock-leaning top 40 in the early 1990s before flipping back to rock in the mid-1990s. Presently, it is classic rock.
WQUT is one of only three full class C FM signals in market — certainly an advantage given the terrain.
About This Aircheck
This aircheck comes from a Thursday evening in late February 1992 with DJs John Patrick and Scott O. As noted above, WQUT was between top 40 and rock circa 1991-1993 in the dozen of airchecks I have of them from this period…a lot of rock with a pop song or two sprinkled in. If you listened to the 90 minute cassette this audio came off of, you would have categorized it as AOR based on the first 88 minutes…but alas Pam Tillis and her pop-country single comes along…
Firehouse/“All She Wrote”
The Law/“Laying Down The Law”
L.A. Guns/“It’s Over Now”
Legal ID: WQUT 101.5 Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol
Def Leppard/“Foolin’”
Eric Clapton/“Tears In Heaven”
Bryan Adams/“Thought I’d Died And Gone To Heaven”
David Hallyday/“Ooh La La”
Dire Straits/“Heavy Fuel”
Webb Wilder/“Tough It Out”
Mr. Big/“To Be With You”
Joe Walsh/“Rocky Mountain Way”
Bad English/“The Time Alone With You”
Lita Ford/“Shot Of Poison”
John Mellencamp/“Small Town”
Legal ID: WQUT 101.5 Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol
Tommy Tutone/“867-5309/Jenny”
Ozzy Osbourne/“Mama, I’m Coming Home”
Rush/“Ghost Of A Chance”
After The Fire/“Der Kommissar”
U2/“Mysterious Ways”
Pam Tillis/“Maybe It Was Memphis”
Aircheck: WACO-AM/FM 1460/99.9 “FM100, Texas #1 Country” Waco, February 25 1991
History
The AM was first licensed in 1922 under the original call letters WJAD with all of 15 watts of power. Not uncommon in the US for the AM stations around during the 1920s and 1930s, WJAD would hop around the dial: from 833 kHz to 850 and then to 900 in 1927, sharing time with KFQB Fort Worth.
It moved to 1240 in 1928 and took the WACO calls in February 1930. In May 1933, it moved up to 1420 on the dial, and WACO moved to its final home at 1460 in November 1945.
WACO-FM signed on the air in June 1960, originally simulcasting WACO and then later moving to easy listening. On July 20 1973, WACO-FM flipped to country KHOO.
On September 1 1979, KHOO flipped to AC and the country format went to WACO.
In October 1987, AC KHOO changed calls back to WACO-FM, relaunching as a brighter AC than before. The AM moved from country to talk in November 1988 and then to to blocks of country and talk the following year.
In February 1989, AC WACO-FM rebranded again as KTKS “Kiss 99” — using the call letters and original jingle package used up I35 in Dallas/Fort Worth on 106.1 during its first run as top 40 “Kiss 106” during the mid-1980s. I only ever captured a short amount of audio from 99.9’s KTKS days…so here is how it sounded in the summer of 1989:
In February 1990, 99.9 took the WACO-FM calls again for the 3rd time and the AM and FM became “FM100, Texas #1 Country,” simulcasting originally all hours except morning drive where WACO kept its local morning drive talk show. With the flip, three of the four full powered FMs in Waco were now country-formatted: KNFO 95.5, WACO-FM, and KJNE 102.5 (with the other, KWTX-FM 97.5, being a CHR). Today, the four stations are under common ownership and only WACO-FM retains the country format. WACO-AM/FM would change the branding from “FM100” to “Waco 100” in 1991.
After being sold off, the AM changed calls to KKTK in 1996. It would become oldies and then to regional Mexican “La Z” in 2000. KKTK would then simulcast co-owned regional Mexican-Tejano KWOW 104.1 Clifton-Waco in 2002 and later in the year become KTFW, simulcasting classic country KTFW-FM 92.1 Glen Rose. In 2005, it was relocated to Fort Worth suburb Burleson as Fox Sports affiliate KHFX. In September 2008, it swapped calls with KCLE 1120 Cleburne ahead of a run as classic country and then to ESPN sports in 2013 before going dark in 2016. KCLE returned to the air in 2017 running Vietnamese-language programming, which it remains today.
Fun fact: There are only a handful of stations in the US where their calls letters match their city of license. Besides WACO-FM Waco, there is WARE 1250 Ware MA and WISE-FM 90.5 Wise VA today.
About This Aircheck
This aircheck is from a Monday night with DJ Paul Edwards in late February 1991, a year after the return of country to WACO-FM. It is still branded as “FM100” as the “Waco 100” handle would come later in 1991.
Asleep At The Wheel/“Dance With Who Brung You”
Kenny Rogers/“You Decorated My Life”
Patty Loveless/“I’m That Kind Of Girl”
Shenandoah/“Next To You, Next To Me”
Ray Kennedy/“What A Way To Go”
Rosanne Cash/“The Way We Make A Broken Heart”
Randy Travis/“Heroes And Friends”
Eddie Rabbitt/“Two Dollars In The Jukebox”
Mark Chestnutt/“Brother Jukebox”
Anne Murray/“Lucky Me”
Dolly Parton/“Don’t Call It Love”
The Oak Ridge Boys/“An American Family”
Legal ID: WACO-AM/FM 1460/99.9 Waco
Restless Heart/“Long Lost Friend”
Johnny Lee/“One In A Million”
As always, the logos and other intellectual property belong to the stations. The recordings were made from over the air broadcasts.