WLPL Memories

In the late 1960's, WSID-FM changed call letters to WLPL and dropping the Top 40 Soul format went straight Top 40. Does anyone besides me have memories of that station? Where I lived at the time (in Delaware) my house favored Baltimore stations over Philadelphia. In those days, there was usually a Baltimore/Philly adjacency (sp) on every FM frequency. WLPL was next to WIFI, so my radios got WLPL better.

92 WLPL Baltimore was one of 2 stations I listened to on my first 'real' stereo. This was about 1976 and I was about 12 so I don't recall any jock names except for a "Johnny" I believe. I do know that between 92 'LPL and 105 WKTK I had the neighbors banging on the wall.

Studios were in old movie theater near Park Circle. Ask any ex-employee about the GM's "availability light".

WSID-FM did not go right from Soul to Top 40. In early 1969, the station went rock, meaning album rock. The call letters were still WSID-FM. Top 40 and the call letter change to WLPL came about a year later, with LPL standing for "Land of Pleasant Listening."

Grew up listening to the liks of Jerry St. James, Kris-earl Phillips, and of course,...The Smoooooooker!

If anyone is interested, the WLPL calls were on an FM in Walpole, NH (on the NH/VT border) for quite a while in the late 90's/early 00's.

I eas just remembering WLPL yesterday when I heard the song Jackie Blue on a TV commercial. Wow - 1975 just flooded back to me, listening to the DJ Joe Pachino. Talk about a blast from the past!

I remember in The summer of 1981, WLPL did a 60's and 70s weekend, which was probably a pre-curser to the flip in the fall of 1981 to WYST 92 Star and the AC format.

Go here for WLPL memories--

http://www.reelradio.com/je/index.html#smwlpl1271

My good friend at the time, who I've lost touch with, was a DJ at both WLPL and WKTK circa 1979 to 1981. He was the Big Banana, later Chuck Montana at KTK-105 and Chuck Weaver at WLPL. I'm always on the lookout for recordings of that time period.

Anyone remember Scott Dugan?

Michael

radiowaves.us writes: My good friend at the time, who I've lost touch with, was a DJ at both WLPL and WKTK circa 1979 to 1981. He was the Big Banana, later Chuck Montana at KTK-105 and Chuck Weaver at WLPL.

Chuck 'Weaver' Begin is, I believe, the owner of WRMO in Millbridge, Maine -- and owns a business unrelated to broadcasting in the D.C. area. I worked with Chuck, too, briefly in the summer of '81 at WLPL. (And yes, that was the summer we ran a rather incongruous 60s & 70s weekend -- though we soon realized it was a test for the flip to AC as '92 Star'.)

Oh yes! I have fond memories of WLPL 92 ROCK! It was my favorite station to listen to for many years until they changed their format. I read the Wiki regarding WLPL and it says that WLPL stopped playing rock in 1981, but my memory is that they were 92 ROCK well into 1982. I say that because I built a new house in 1982 and the first thing I did was put up an FM antenna so I could receive WLPL on my Yamaha CR2020 receiver. I can also remember calling one of the evening DJs and requesting songs. Her name was Karen Collins (Aylor). She sent me about ten "92 ROCK - WLPL" bumper stickers in the mail. She was actually a DJ there when they stopped playing rock. She gave me a heads up about the change in the letter she sent with the bumper stickers. I still have most of the bumper stickers today. Hmmm... wonder if they are worth anything.

Kim Taylor said:

Oh yes! I have fond memories of WLPL 92 ROCK! It was my favorite station to listen to for many years until they changed their format. I read the Wiki regarding WLPL and it says that WLPL stopped playing rock in 1981, but my memory is that they were 92 ROCK well into 1982. I say that because I built a new house in 1982 and the first thing I did was put up an FM antenna so I could receive WLPL on my Yamaha CR2020 receiver. I can also remember calling one of the evening DJs and requesting songs. Her name was Karen Collins (Aylor). She sent me about ten "92 ROCK - WLPL" bumper stickers in the mail. She was actually a DJ there when they stopped playing rock. She gave me a heads up about the change in the letter she sent with the bumper stickers. I still have most of the bumper stickers today. Hmmm... wonder if they are worth anything.

Click to expand...

I remember Karen Aylor when she was on "The Underground, 103.1" from 1991-3.

WLPL flipped in October of 1981 to WYST 92-Star and at the time they played alot of Ray Price, Bread, America and soft rock of the 60's and 70's and i mean really soft rock...Carpenters style and the station stayed that way until i believe 1991 when radio One bought the station and the rest is history but for my taste not for the better.

More WLPL memories:

http://www.reelradio.com/comment/co...L-FM+Baltimore+1970+Part+One~../je/index.html

I was from Philly at the time but one weekend we went to Chesapeake Bay and tuned into WLPL on the dock on the shore at night. It was quite a change from WFIL and WIBG at the time and the only top 40 on FM at the time as I remember

In the early to mid-60's was there a WLPL-AM, not sure of dial position, format sort of a lite top-40? My brain could be out of order on this, sucks getting older! I lived in the Washington D.C. area from 1962 to 1972.

I was chief engineer of WLPL (FM) and WSID (AM) in 1976 and 1977 befor United Broadcasting moved me to WOOK-FM and WFAN-AM (Washington DC) in January of 1978.
WLPL's primary competitior was WCAO-AM which was located near Reisterstown Road and the Beltway. AM was still king of the hill in most markets so WLPL was the #2 rocker in Baltimore. 98 Rock (formerly WBAL-FM) was in existance. Denese Oliver was the afternoon drive DJ there. She was followed later by Kelly Saunders (Linda Saunders), who I knew when we we both at WEAM Arlington VA in 1975.

The DJ line up for most of my time there was
Brother Lou Kreiger - Morning Drive & Program Director
Michael St John (John Moen) - Morning Drive & Program Director
KC Jones - Midday
Chris Earl Phillips - Afternoon Drive
The Smoker (Scott Howitt) - Evenings
Hal Martin - Overnight
David Tate - Weekends, other shifts, and program director in 1978.
Tony Marquis (Al Haynes) - Ocassional weekend shifts

The studios of WLPLand WSID were in the "Uniroyal" building across from Reisterstown Road Plaza.
The WLPL transmitter was in the rear of an old theater on Park Heights Avenue, jst south of Cold Spring Road. The studios were once there along with the original Channel 24.
The AM transmitter was in the Inner Harbor and in front of the sewage pumping plant. This transmitter site is long gone.

The party often started at midnight a few days a week. Sometimes it was some WLPL people of us, the Merson Person, and others eating salads at the Ho Jo's at Reisterstown Road and the Beltway. On Thursday's Chris Earl would try to organize a trip to "The Block". Most of us would only go on this outing on ocassion. Smoker and I would go to Roger's Tap Room in Reisterstown a few times a week for a few late night beers.