First FM-only Top 40 station in the US?

[Oldbones]

October 12th, 1966 at midnight, WRKO-FM 98.5 in Boston premiered "R-KO" (pronounced ARKO), an automated Top-40/oldies hybrid created by Mel Phillips. ..........
Eventually, WNAC became WRKO/680 on the AM side. WRKO-FM continued the ARKO-matic format from 6:00 PM until 6:00 AM and simulcasted WRKO-AM during the daylight hours of 6:00 AM through 6:00 PM.

When did the Arko schtik go away? I discovered WRKO-FM some time in 1968 and it was just a jukebox, no Arko.

Some stations later tweaked their Drake/Chenault contracts to modify their playlists to switch to "Solid Gold Rock and Roll" (75/25 ratio with oldies having the upper hand on the music)

I seem to recall them being more current-intensive than that, not quite 50/50, but maybe 60/40 gold/current. Interesting mix of music.

While we're on the subject of Boston FM T-40s, WKOX-FM (later WVBF) was doing T-40 on FM in the late 60s with live jocks, not automated. Not sure when they started, but I discovered them in mid-1969.

 

[Time Traveler]

The remaining hours of the ARKOmatic format disappeared during the autumn of 1968 as I recall as WRKO-FM became WROR with the automated "Hit Parade 68" which became "Hit Parade 69" in January, 1969! WKOX-FM became a live and very well programmed Top 40 FM station, also in January, 1969 as I recall. I really enjoyed them during their existence until the flip to WVBF, in July, 1971. WVBF was also an outstanding station during its first couple of years too...

 

[Time Traveler]

Albany, NY also had a good FM Top 40 station fairly early on. It was WFLY which dumped Classical for a Top 40/Oldies hybrid with live DJs in 1970. The station was very good, but was short lived as WFLY was sold in late 1971, and flipped to easy listening. WFLY did return to Top 40 in 1979, under different ownership and has remained a Top 40 outlet since that time...

 

[MsMusicRadio]

Q105 in Tampa started up as CHR in 73 or 74 owned by Edens (along with Q94 in Richmond)

 

[GlennO]

I dont remember,but my brain just turn a year older today.here in Connecticut I would like to mention in the 70's WDRC FM Hartford was playing Top 40 along with the AT40 with Casey Kasem.,WKCI,WKSS were playing beautiful music WIOF was country,WWYZ was easy listening tunes.Please correct me on this.

WDRC-FM traces its Top 40 roots back to 1960, when "Big D" AM & FM started simulcasting rock n' roll. In the mid sixties when the FCC moved to boost programming originating on FM, WDRC-FM remained Top 40 but devoted some hours to shows/personalities separate from the AM. Eventually by the seventies everything was separate, except the overnights featuring Barry Grant and "Grant's Tomb."

 

[Frank Ferreri]

WCCK in Erie went live pure top 40 in 1970. Hard for young people to imagine that there were almost no FM car radios and most home units were those big HI-FI type receivers.

 

[radiorob2.0]

Q105 in Tampa started up as CHR in 73 or 74 owned by Edens (along with Q94 in Richmond)

Both stations were co-owned at the time but I believe the company was Southern Broadcasting.

 

[Frank Ferreri]

Q105 in Tampa started up as CHR in 73 or 74 owned by Edens (along with Q94 in Richmond)

Both stations were co-owned at the time but I believe the company was Southern Broadcasting.

One of the real great guys in the business, Bill Garcia was their first PD.

 

[pqgeorge]

October 12th, 1966 at midnight, WRKO-FM 98.5 in Boston premiered "R-KO" (pronounced ARKO), an automated Top-40/oldies hybrid created by Mel Phillips. ..........
Eventually, WNAC became WRKO/680 on the AM side. WRKO-FM continued the ARKO-matic format from 6:00 PM until 6:00 AM and simulcasted WRKO-AM during the daylight hours of 6:00 AM through 6:00 PM.

When did the Arko schtik go away? I discovered WRKO-FM some time in 1968 and it was just a jukebox, no Arko.

Some stations later tweaked their Drake/Chenault contracts to modify their playlists to switch to "Solid Gold Rock and Roll" (75/25 ratio with oldies having the upper hand on the music)

I seem to recall them being more current-intensive than that, not quite 50/50, but maybe 60/40 gold/current. Interesting mix of music.

While we're on the subject of Boston FM T-40s, WKOX-FM (later WVBF) was doing T-40 on FM in the late 60s with live jocks, not automated. Not sure when they started, but I discovered them in mid-1969.

The R-KO ("Arko") schtick pretty much faded away in the spring of '68. It was pretty much an automated jukebox programmed by Dale Tucker. The music was the same Top-40/oldies hybrid with a few jingles including some of the WRKO-AM jingles with a few commercials mixed in. Dale left WRKO-FM at the end of the summer of '68. The station was in the process of transitioning to Stereo. The pilot tone was on the air, but the music and programming were still in mono. The WROR call-letters were issued in October and in November, WROR switched to the new Hitparade '68 Drake/Chenault format a more modern version of a Top-40/oldies hybrid in full Stereo. It really sounded great and I loved the "Hitparade" jingles.

 

[MsMusicRadio]

Q105 in Tampa started up as CHR in 73 or 74 owned by Edens (along with Q94 in Richmond)

Both stations were co-owned at the time but I believe the company was Southern Broadcasting.

One of the real great guys in the business, Bill Garcia was their first PD.

That name brings back lots of memories listening to Q94 from start-up till 2001

 

[jonbruce]

As Klutch00 posted it was KLFM 105.5 Long Beach, Ca. I was a jock there during the last top 40 year in 1965. Also, KSFV San Fernando 106.3 gave it a shot in 1965. That station went dark and the freq. was deleted, later to be allocated to the northern los angeles county city of Lancaster where it remains today.