When did WJJD stop playing Top 40 in the 1960s?

[frankfrank]

A friend has published a book of radio station surveys (charts) from all over the USA (and a Canadian or two). Actually, two books - one covers 1955 to 1959, the other covers 1960 through 1965. His descriptions for some of the Chicago charts mention that WJJD abandoned Top 40 quickly after WLS went full-time Top 40 (albeit with some significant dayparts). This is borne out with the Wikipedia entry for WJJD, which says that they adopted a pop/MOR format before they went country in 1965.

My memory disputes that! I know I remember listening to them after sunset in years like 1963 and 1964, playing Top 40 music yet. WJJD had an exotic arrangement, such that they didn't sign off until sunset in Salt Lake City. I'm vaguely sure that I remember a show in afternoon drive called "The Bumper-to-Bumper Club" or something similar. Have I lost my marbles? I can find nothing (besides Wikipedia) that says WJJD played Top 40 (or whatever else) between 1961 and when they went country.

He's asking if I can find any corrections that his book needs, should he print a second edition.

I think Wikipedia is wrong (IMAGINE THAT! lol), but any discussion of WJJD history is shockingly scarce out there.

I would specify his books on here, but I don't know if the website would consider that to be spam - but it's definitely a great collection of little music "time capsules".
.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I think Wikipedia is wrong (IMAGINE THAT! lol), but any discussion of WJJD history is shockingly scarce out there.

Check the format listings in Broadcasting Yearbook (remember, it is data that is "old" when published):

BROADCASTING YEARBOOK - Station and industry directory 1935-2010

"Broadcasting Yearbook" was a directory of radio and television stations and related information first published in 1935 by the editors of "Broadcasting Magazine". It includes listings of all stations, suppliers, FCC rules, group ownership, stations sales and other industry statistics. The last...

www.worldradiohistory.com

And the Radio Annual:

RADIO ANNUAL: directories from 1938 to 1964 and other annuals

The Radio Annual from Radio Daily was published from 1938 to 1964 and contains listings for radio stations, TV stations, artists and suppliers as well as industry leader articles and radio regulations

www.worldradiohistory.com

And in the SRDS "Spot Radio" in the few issues I have:

SRDS - Spot Radio Rates & Data media buyer guide

Since 1919 when SRDS was founded as Standard Rate & Data Service, they've collected and delivered the data media buyers need to connect with media sellers. SRDS started by covering newspapers, magazines and billboards. Over the decades, radio, TV were added.

www.worldradiohistory.com

And you can do a search for articles about a possible format search in Broadcasting Magazine at BROADCASTING MAGAZINE - Business magazine from 1931 to 2002 where you can select "search" and limit it to decades or even specific sets of years.

Here is one article from October 18 1965:

WJJD, after 45 days as a country
station, held a Shower of Stars show in
Chicago's McCormick Place. The sta-
tion was the only medium used to pro-
mote the show and 11,000 seats were
sold. Last month, WJJD held its sec-
ond show at McCormick Place and Mr.
Dubinetz says it "grossed the largest
gate for any unit C&W show ever held
in North America."

So it looks like somewhere around that time in 1965 it flipped to country.

And here, digging a bit more, we find it switched in February 1965:

Quick Appeal Stone Representatives
Inc., New York, noted it "experienced
much less advertiser antagonism than
expected" for WJJD Chicago which
went from a middle-of-the-road to a
country-western format only last Febru-
ary. (Broadcasting October 18, 1965)

There you go! And no Wiki misinformation.

 

[KeithE4]

WJJD was still playing the Top 40 in December 1964: WJJD 1160 Chicago Survey 1964-12-14
By the middle of 1965, they were country: WJJD 1160 Chicago Survey 1965-07-19

 

[DavidEduardo]

WJJD was still playing the Top 40 in December 1964: WJJD 1160 Chicago Survey 1964-12-14
By the middle of 1965, they were country: WJJD 1160 Chicago Survey 1965-07-19

It flipped in February of 1966 1965 per articles in broadcasting... see my prior post with exact dates and links.

 

[KeithE4]

It flipped in February of 1966 per articles in broadcasting... see my prior post with exact dates and links.

Hmmm... Then there's this, from September 6, 1965. Not the best picture, but the country format is clear.

 

[DavidEduardo]

It flipped in February of 1966 1965 per articles in broadcasting... see my prior post with exact dates and links.

Correction. Should read February of 1966. My typo.

 

[frankfrank]

Quick Appeal Stone Representatives
Inc., New York, noted it "experienced
much less advertiser antagonism than
expected" for WJJD Chicago which
went from a middle-of-the-road to a
country-western format only last Febru-
ary. (Broadcasting October 18, 1965)

There you go! And no Wiki misinformation.

WJJD was still playing the Top 40 in December 1964: WJJD 1160 Chicago Survey 1964-12-14
By the middle of 1965, they were country: WJJD 1160 Chicago Survey 1965-07-19

Two conflicting answers. Still trying to figure this one out. I'll now recall a time when somebody could have given me three hours, a blank notebook, and some pencils, and asked me to just write down every AM radio station "from memory" in South Carolina or Oregon or elsewhere, and I would have remembered at least 95% of the stations (including frequency and day (and night, if applicable) power. This was around 1970 or 1971 when my mind peaked that encyclopedic knowledge. I was also entirely familiar with the "Hits of Greater Chicago" charts and thought, even at the time when it was only from several years earlier, that they were "WJJD surveys" without call letters. Not sure how I'd misremember that (for a station I would listen to for an hour or so on some days around sunset), yet know about hyper-obscure stations like KLCB-1230 in Libby MT or KBAL-1410 in San Saba TX.

The only scenario I can think of right now, which would agree with David's post, is if they were doing a MOR format with Top 40 type announcers. Is that even possible? Radio stations weren't in the habit of doing that. It's entirely true that in my youth I appreciated stuff like The Beatles and Dean Martin and Buck Owens and Motown hits nearly equally, so with "fun" announcers (playing MOR music - or perhaps "chicken rock" as a common industry name then for what we know as adult contemporary) I still would have been entirely satisfied.

It was "chicken rock" because it referred to stations that were too "chicken" to make the full dive into Top 40 music.

On the other hand, the ARSA radio surveys website (which Keith's link goes to) considers the "Hits of Greater Chicago" charts to be WJJD surveys, correlating with my 1970-ish memories after I became familiar with those charts. The mystery continues, because ARSA definitely strives for utmost accuracy.

Or, is it possible that BOTH are true? That, between 1960 and 1965, part of that time was Top 40 and part of that time span was MOR or adult contemporary? This was also in the days before WCFL was Top 40. Chicago was already a massive radio market. It seems highly unlikely that WJJD would abandon Top 40 just because a grand total of ONE station (WLS) fully committed in late 1960. Of course there was R&B [WGES] available at night in Chicago in 1959-1960, but NO TOP 40?? WVON didn't exist yet. WJJD was a "modified daytime-only" station that had the exotic arrangement of signing off at Salt Lake City sunset (to protect co-channel KSL), so does that mean no Top 40 radio later-at-night in all of the Chicago area for a year or two before WLS went?

Also according to a good source, the last printed survey with WJJD's call letters was March 7, 1960. That's more than half a year before WLS went all-in. I can't imagine WJJD going MOR in March 1960 and leaving Chicago with NO top 40 outlet whatsoever, outside or R&B. I should mention that, in its earlier Top 40 years, WLS was rather dayparted: middays and the "East of Midnight" overnight show were basically adult contemporary or "chicken rock".

David's post is a reliable and final authority, as it quotes something that was reasonably current at the time, but if they were MOR the entire time 1960-1965 that presents a nearly incomprehensible dearth of Top 40 (I mean, JUST WLS) in such a mega-market. Is it even possible they went MOR in 1960, then quickly resumed Top 40, then went back to MOR briefly some time in 1964? But MOR from March to October 1960 would have left Chicago with nothing...

"Inquiring minds want to know."

 

[KeithE4]

It looks like WIND was phasing in Top 40, slowly replacing its MOR format, in 1956-57. Through 10/5/57, individual DJs selected five songs and had them published in the Chicago Tribune under their own name. Beginning on 10/12/57, WIND started printing its own survey, showing the Top 21, and all the DJs (including baseball broadcaster Milo Hamilton, who did not return to WGN with the Cubs). It's hard to read, but it looks like they did MOR part of the day and rock & roll at night.

WIND 560 Chicago

An historical archive of surveys and nostalgia from radio station WIND 560 AM, Chicago.

www.las-solanas.com

 

[Huff]

David - don't forget about your Billboard archive!
Format changes in major markets were generally well documented in Billboard (though R&R quickly supplanted it in radio coverage upon its arrival in 1973)

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE: American music magazine 1894 to Today

Billboard: American music magazine beginning in1894 and now covering music, artists, concerts and the music business.

www.worldradiohistory.com

 

[DavidEduardo]

David - don't forget about your Billboard archive!
Format changes in major markets were generally well documented in Billboard (though R&R quickly supplanted it in radio coverage upon its arrival in 1973)

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE: American music magazine 1894 to Today

Billboard: American music magazine beginning in1894 and now covering music, artists, concerts and the music business.

www.worldradiohistory.com

View attachment 7041

Ah, I forgot that one. I have so much "stuff" I even forget that I've got it!

 

[frankfrank]

Thanks Huff! The article makes me wonder, now, if WJJD was already MOR even in like 1963-4 (and, if so, why I remember them as a validly-entertaining station to listen to occasionally from 250 miles away). Did WLS own the market that completely?

Elsewhere: even with the massive CKLW "monster" steamrolling Detroit in the late 1960s with the Drake format, the market still had elsewhere to tune for Top 40. In the 1963-64 era before block-programmed CKLW became huge, there were still alternatives to tune to. That was with a grand total of SIX AM's licensed to Detroit!

Of course WKMH with evening rock and roll, becoming WKNR full-time Top 40 on Halloween 1963, was licensed to Dearborn, a suburb, but they were a Detroit station for all intents and purposes. They were incredibly directional with six towers, and had some real signal issues. WJBK (Top 40, 1963-64) was even more directional, with twelve towers!

One would think that Chicago had to have at least an equivalent choice but, apparently, NO. Real life isn't always logical.

I still don't quite wrap my head around how I found WJJD fun to listen to occasionally. Is it possible they did Top 40 *ONLY* for PM drive? Block programming was still common then. After all, I'm pretty sure (but would like verification, because it's not in my memory) that full-service WGN was considered as MOR when they had music, but they had at least one ROCK AND ROLL show, in the Fifties, and even WBBM(!) reported a rock and toll Top 5 to the Chicago Tribune.

 

[Huff]

Pre-Arbitron (1965) ratings for Chicago are incredibly difficult to find. Here are two samples from before and after WJJD's flip.

March 1963, Hooper (only top 4 stations available)
1. WLS 18.3
2. WIND 18.0
3. WGN 14.7
4. WYNR 10..7

May 1965, Arbitron (Top 5)
1. WGN 17.6
2. WIND 17.5
3. WLS 14.9
4. WBBM 6.2
5. WCFL 5.9
(WJJD had a 3.2)

 

[DavidEduardo]

Pre-Arbitron (1965) ratings for Chicago are incredibly difficult to find. Here are two samples from before and after WJJD's flip.

March 1963, Hooper (only top 4 stations available)
1. WLS 18.3
2. WIND 18.0
3. WGN 14.7
4. WYNR 10..7

May 1965, Arbitron (Top 5)
1. WGN 17.6
2. WIND 17.5
3. WLS 14.9
4. WBBM 6.2
5. WCFL 5.9
(WJJD had a 3.2)

How interesting that the Hooper showed McLendon's WYNR so well. It was a bad signal high on the dial, but the Hooper survey area was smaller than Arbitron's.

Look at 1965 and the top 5 are either low band 50 kw or the very low band 5 kw WIND which is almost as good as ones like WJJD. Bigger survey area favored the bigger signals.

 

[DavidEduardo]

I still don't quite wrap my head around how I found WJJD fun to listen to occasionally. Is it possible they did Top 40 *ONLY* for PM drive? Block programming was still common then. After all, I'm pretty sure (but would like verification, because it's not in my memory) that full-service WGN was considered as MOR when they had music, but they had at least one ROCK AND ROLL show, in the Fifties, and even WBBM(!) reported a rock and toll Top 5 to the Chicago Tribune.

In the period from about 1959 to 1962 WJJD was my second summer choice from northern Michigan for Top 40. Since it did not sign off until sunset in Salt Lake City, I had it all day and through the evening. When WLS went Top 40, I listened to both.

But in that period of years, WJJD was Top 40 all day long; remember, it was a daytimer but a rather unique one.

 

[briancraig]

Chicago Tribune August 9, 1962

WJJD banned rock n roll, switched to a new good music format and darned if General Manager Boyd Lawler didn't install an I.B.M. electronic brain to plan the daily record, hour by hour.

 

[DavidEduardo]

Chicago Tribune August 9, 1962

WJJD banned rock n roll, switched to a new good music format and darned if General Manager Boyd Lawler didn't install an I.B.M. electronic brain to plan the daily record, hour by hour.

And that was after I had left northern Michigan for the year, and in the following year I was in Mexico and then Ecuador... so I heard WJJD in its Top 40 days until nearly the last.

 

[frankfrank]

Thanks David. This is the first time I've seen anything that gives some cred to things-as-I-remember-them about WJJD. My mind says "But, they HAD TO be playing Top 40!" even with the contrary evidence out there. The 1965 Billboard article appears to PROVE they weren't doing Top 40...but...but...but...

Strange to think, with that encyclopedic knowledge of AM stations I had around 1971 when 1960s WJJD pre-country was still somewhat recent, and (as mentioned above) I could still name even the tiniest AM stations, that I'd have a fake memory of WJJD playing Top 40. WJJD was a station I could tune in at will (albeit too weak in the daytime to LISTEN) on any day of the year.

I had no idea that delving further into this would be so...uh, bizarre.

 

[frankfrank]

Chicago Tribune August 9, 1962

WJJD banned rock n roll, switched to a new good music format and darned if General Manager Boyd Lawler didn't install an I.B.M. electronic brain to plan the daily record, hour by hour.

Looks like a REAL ANSWER, at last! Mystery solved. (I'm amazed that somebody happened to have the article!) So, I guess WJJD made enough impression on me in my youth, that I can vividly remember Top 40 on them though it ended in 1962. YAY, this was just getting real strange...the true answer is that they had Top 40 *AND* MOR periods between 1960 and 1965.

So I'm a little surprised that I remember them quite THAT well - enough to have made me think that I was surely listening to them with Top 40 in at least 1963, if not even 1964. Apparently not, and most likely I just ignored them after summer 1962, but the memory persisted.

My personal development from (say) early 1962 to the beginning of 1965 was a massive gulf of time, though after this many decades that previous gulf has shrunken almost to a singularity, lol.

But, then, I also have vivid memories of Dick Biondi on WLS, and he was gone in spring 1963. For me, radio was a BIG DEAL.

David, I didn't even have a CLUE that you're from Michigan! I'm from Ypsilanti (more specifically Willow Run).

 

[DavidEduardo]

David, I didn't even have a CLUE that you're from Michigan! I'm from Ypsilanti (more specifically Willow Run).

I'm not, sorta'.

I spent every summer from 6 months old to when I was about 17 (and left for Mexico) at Omena, MI, in Leelenau Country just about 20 miles NNW of Traverse City. Did summer jobs at WCCW, the Cherry Capital of the World.