WASH History Question

What year did WASH FM officially make the transition to the AC format? I know it was sometime in the '70s, but couldn't find which year specifically. Didn't they also try a brief stint as top-40 at some point in the '80s? Any help is greatly appreciated.

radioguru said:

What year did WASH FM officially make the transition to the AC format? I know it was sometime in the '70s, but couldn't find which year specifically. Didn't they also try a brief stint as top-40 at some point in the '80s? Any help is greatly appreciated.

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PD Bill Tanner evolved WASH from AC toward CHR during late '83 (probably close to what would be Hot AC today)

http://www.americanradiohistory.com.../RR-1984-01-27-OCR-Page-0048.pdf#search="wash chr%22

Soon after Tanner's resignation in January 1985 the station steered back to AC.

Much thanks for the info, Huff. I appreciate it. Do you recall which year WASH started their adult contemporary format the first time around?

radioguru said:

Much thanks for the info, Huff. I appreciate it. Do you recall which year WASH started their adult contemporary format the first time around?

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I'll be surprised if you can find any exact date for formats for WASH-FM, it's a station that generally evolved over the years but was always airing some form of an adult-oriented format. In the 50s it was airing "popular-type music and programs" which included everything from classical, semi-classical, opera, folk, jazz and "good music"; by the mid 60s, the eclectic portions of the programming had given way to what was listed as a "conservative music" format in Billboard magazine, and by the 70s it was typically labeled as an "MOR" or "Pop/Adult", which at the time were practically interchangeable with what we would now call "AC".

Very interesting. Thanks for the info!

The AC format began when Metromedia took over, which was around 1968. I started at the U of MD that fall, and our WMUC station manager, John Dowling, did a shift on WASH Sunday nights, and the AC format was in full force. John had started at WASH when Everett Dillard still owned the station.

Huff said:

PD Bill Tanner evolved WASH from AC toward CHR during late '83 (probably close to what would be Hot AC today)

http://www.americanradiohistory.com.../RR-1984-01-27-OCR-Page-0048.pdf#search="wash chr%22

Soon after Tanner's resignation in January 1985 the station steered back to AC.

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Wonder why the guy from Q107 in the article would even mention WPGC ?? I am pretty sure WPGC, at least 95.5 anyway had become WCLY "Classy 95" sometime in 1982, maybe early 1983 sporting a very light AC format which DC would end up having three of those at one point between WASH, WCLY and 94.7 WLTT.

The only thing I can remember WASH in their top 40 days as brief as they were those TV commercials with Joan Rivers screaming "TANNER IN THE MORNING !! TANNER IN THE MORNING !!" I can remember the next DC station to try CHR much better...106.7 WBMW "B106"...and they were brief as well doing that format.

hamster said:

Wonder why the guy from Q107 in the article would even mention WPGC ?? I am pretty sure WPGC, at least 95.5 anyway had become WCLY "Classy 95" sometime in 1982, maybe early 1983 sporting a very light AC format which DC would end up having three of those at one point between WASH, WCLY and 94.7 WLTT.

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WPGC didn't flip to WCLY until January 1985, and flipped back to WPGC in May 1987

http://www.americanradiohistory.com...RR-1985-01-25-OCR-Page-0047.pdf#search="wcly"