50 Years Ago on WCFL

It was in the April 17, 1965 issue of Billboard Magazine that WCFL GM Tom Haviland confirmed the station was going in a new direction with the hiring of PD Ken Draper and dj Jim Stagg from KYW, Cleveland. Not as a “hard rock” Top 40 against market leader WLS, but appealing to a wider audience that would include listeners from WIND, WMAQ and WGN. What evolved over the next few years was one of the most creative personality stations in the U.S. with a memorable jingle package that is still talked about today. Jim Runyon, Joel Sebastian, Dick Williamson, Jim Stagg, Ron Britain and Barney Pip were the original WCFL VIP’s, with Larry Lujack eventually replacing the all night Jazz program. And who could ever forget the adventures of the Winged Warrior, Chickenman? Draper never intended to dethrone WLS, but figured WCFL would be doing better if they could capture half the audience. 50 years later, Chicago is still a C F L of a town as you’ll hear in this hour long retrospective: http://airchexx.com/2013/08/16/the-ken-draper-wcfl-story/

I remember tuning into WCFL about a week or so after the the flip. I was a junior in high school and had NO idea what they were up to. But by summer there was no doubt. In those first weeks the "VIP's" weren't all in place, so some of jocks were holdovers from the old regime. They certainly must have felt terribly out of place and unhappy. Mike Rapchak (sp?) comes to mind. Longtime Jazz, Big Band, and "Traditional Pop" guy. He later (much later) went public about how it felt. But pro that Mike was, it never came across on the air. Not that he was rockin' and rollin', but he gave a very professional, bright, and engaging performance on the air. Same goes for the holdover news staff, inlcluding such old school reporters like Howie Roberts, who did their best to adapt and fit in. Succeding more often than not.

I'll have to go on ARSA or oldiesloon to see what the playlist was like at first. I would expect from the description, a format that would be described as "Chicken Rock". Chicken Rock...it's everywhere it's everywhere! But I'll have a look. I guess they described it that way so as to not scare off adult advertising.

WCFL had been carrying Dick Biondi's Mutual Network show from New York on weekends. To many people it must have seemed very out of place on "CFL" which in 64 & early 65 was still very MOR. However, Biondi's show in Chicago at least, garnered better ratings than the other shows on WCFL. I'm sure that this helped those in charge make the decision that Rock & Roll was the way to go.

I can't remember when I started listening to WCFL, but I remember listening in 1967 pretty regularly. Dick Williamson was on the air in the afternoon. I remember one day they had a contest. The question was worded like a ballot proposal. The question was something like "The name I use on the air is not my real name". Somebody answered false to the question, after which Dick noticed that the language was confusing and tried to call the contestant back to tell her she was actually correct, that it was his real name.

A check of Google Maps shows the WCFL call letters are still on the transmitter building in Downers Grove. The only reference to ESPN 1000 is a small sign hanging on the chain link fence along 39th Street.

Schroedingers Cat said:

I'll have to go on ARSA or oldiesloon to see what the playlist was like at first. I would expect from the description, a format that would be described as "Chicken Rock". Chicken Rock...it's everywhere it's everywhere! But I'll have a look. I guess they described it that way so as to not scare off adult advertising.

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As always, I stand to be corrected. But my own memory of WCFL's first couple of months was that WCFL was "harder" than Chicken Rockers WIND and WMAQ, but still with a little less of absolutely everything that was getting played on WLS. By that, I mean that they may have had nearly identical playlists. But WCFL was putting a little more emphasis on Herman's Hermits, Lesley Gore, Supremes, etc. But by mid to late summer, there wasn't much difference. And I think it was pretty clear to everyone that WCFL was a serious top-40 operation. Not at all shy about playing the Stones, the Four Tops or anyone else regardless of whatever daypart it was.

Our perceptions change over the years. Small format differences are magnified in our youth. I have a rule of thumb regarding the spectrum of Top 40 to Adult Contemporary formats from that era, and it is probably still true today. If there are three harder rock songs on one station replacing three softer rock songs on the other station in the same market in the same format on contemporaneous charts, that is a substantial difference. Psychometric Scientists talk about "JNDs", or Just Noticeable Differences in measurement of the physical senses. I'd say that to casual listeners (not radio geeks), a three song difference in a 30 song playlist is a JND.

radioman148 said:

WCFL had been carrying Dick Biondi's Mutual Network show from New York on weekends. To many people it must have seemed very out of place on "CFL" which in 64 & early 65 was still very MOR. However, Biondi's show in Chicago at least, garnered better ratings than the other shows on WCFL. I'm sure that this helped those in charge make the decision that Rock & Roll was the way to go.

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...Biondi did his Mutual show from KRLA/1110 Pasadena/Los Angeles, not New York. He did weeknights at KRLA since leaving WLS, and in fact is one of the voices introducing The Beatles at the opening of The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl LP released in '77. Between his Mutual and local shows, Dick Biondi's tenure on WCFL was over twice the length of his WLS years...

Ultimajock said:

...Biondi did his Mutual show from KRLA/1110 Pasadena/Los Angeles, not New York. He did weeknights at KRLA since leaving WLS, and in fact is one of the voices introducing The Beatles at the opening of The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl LP released in '77. Between his Mutual and local shows, Dick Biondi's tenure on WCFL was over twice the length of his WLS years...

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WRONG! Biondi worked at KRLA two different times. First time, July thru Oct 63. When he started the Mutual Network show he did it from NYC from early 64 until spring of 65. Then he went back to KRLA from June 65 thru Aug of 67. In Oct 67 he came back to Chicago on WCFL.
It is true that when he returned to KRLA in 65 he helped introduce the Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl in a concert promoted by Bob Eubanks & KRLA.

...standing corrected, thanks. Never heard that Dick went to New York during '64-'65 -- did he do the show from the studios of WOR?...

I'm not sure if it was WOR or if Mutual had their own facility. There is a photo somewhere on the internet of Dick Behind the Mutual microphone.
I remember he had many guests on such as the Rolling Stones & others that came thru NY at that time.
He has spoken over the years many times about his Mutual show from NYC and the stories behind it.

I used to love listening to Chickenman, and thought it was so clever.
I tried listening to old episodes recently, and thought "how did I ever find this funny?" it sounded lame & drawn out.
Funny how our tastes change.

I have fond memories of the late 60s "Voice of Labor." They even made Mutual News sound cool. It is IMHO THE greatest AM top 40 station of the era. Everything worked. Jingles (by Johnny Mann). Stunts. Contests. Community promotions. Local news. Plus stand-out personalities combined with tight production and a consistent sound. I was about 200 miles away listening through static on a Zenith radio and I loved it.

I think WCFL was better than WLS in some ways. I listened to both, though adjacent channel local interference made it difficult to hear WLS both day and night in my area. "The Tooth Fairy", syndicated from WLS on the Larry Lujack show, was edgier and had more adult double entendre themes, some of which would be considered offensive today. But then again, the use of the word "plucker" used on "Chickenman" on WCFL one day caused many to do a double take.

CFL went downhill when Draper left and the new suits brought in Prairie Farmer retreads like Biondi and Lujack. Super CFL sucked.

Draper was the antidote to Drake, who destroyed top 40 radio.

The weekly WLS surveys were published in Radio&Records and I always thought that the WLS playlist was the mostest stalest of all the big top-40 stations in the mid-1970s when the 40-song playlist began shrinking. In 1974-75 there were many weeks when WLS was playing only 20 to 25 currents. WLS often would not add a song until it had become a big hit and had started moving downward at other stations. WLS issued its first chart in October of 1960. Paul Chaplain's Shortnin' Bread, which peaked at #82 nationally, was number one! Playlists from 1960 through 1982 are at http://www.oldiesloon.com/il/wlsyear.htm

In the 1960s, WLS actually BROKE some new records, such as "Crimson and Clover". By the late 1970s, they were being programmed centrally by Rick Sklar with the other O & Os such as WABC. It then became the "World's Last Station" to add hits by unproven artists or comeback artists from the 1960s with new material. Some stories claimed that if he had added certain songs, he would have become embroiled in payola claims. So he had a serious case of "stiff phobia".

Look at songs on the ARSA site that were regional hits that never were added at WABC and/or WLS, and you will see that Rick Sklar's refusal to add certain songs became a self fulfilling prophecy-they became stiffs because they were never added at stations such as WABC and WLS. Look at the week to week chart performance in Whitburn's Top Pop Singles on for #1s by unproven and "oldies" artists, and see that they often languished, almost losing bullets or sometimes losing them, until added by WLS and/or WABC.

DavidEduardo said:

No, Draper was a contrarian to the WLS formula which had gotten a bit stale when 'CFL went Top 40.

I really disagree with the portrayal of Drake having "destroyed" top 40.

In '65 KFWB and KRLA had become tiring, with too much talk, long jingles, and playlists that were out of focus.

Drake and his West Coast crew of Ron Jacobs and Tom Rounds tightened up the format and put fun, excitement and energy back into Top 40. KYA, KEWB, KFWB and KRLA paid the consequences of losing those qualities.

When KHJ went on the air, I soon read about it and flew up to LA to see if there were elements that I should consider for the Top 40 station I owned in a somewhat smaller market (about 1 million population). I was amazed at the production values that made the station flow. Short jingles, great staging, very concise but very personable and entertaining jocks, clever and well presented contests and terrific audio processing.

I took extensive notes and employed, to the degree I could, as much of the feel of KHJ as I could on my own station, which was not even a year old at the time. It made a difference and our already good ratings increased significantly.

My previous models were WQAM, WABC, WLS and WHK. What Drake did was a lot harder because it involved tightening while improving the content and delivery. The nearest comparison is in promo writing: it's fairly easy to do a 60'" promo. It is harder to do a 30" one that tells and sells, and it is very hard to put everything in a 15" time, and it requires great writing and stunning production. But the super 15" promo will work best and not bore or fatigue your listeners. That's what Drake did: he condensed and tightened without sacrificing the content.- Most of the imitators did not get the full story and simply clamped down on talk and edited the long jingles. That was not Drake and it was not very good, either.

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I know Drake has his fans. I was nowhere near KHJ. My view of Drake is shaped by CKLW. Outside of its signal, there was no comparison to Keener or 'CFL. Yes, the Prairie Farmer station was the weakest and stodgiest of the ABC-owned Top 40 stations (although by the mid-60s, Wixie was pushing hard for the cellar position).

In all fairness, Draper did not invent full service top 40. Group W had been using it on all their stations (until they acquired 1010 WINS) since they pulled the plug on the NBC Radio Network in 1955. But Draper arguably did it better in Cleveland and had better talent working for him.