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Worst blunders in South Carolina radio history.

R

RobynWatts

Guest
What do you were some of the worst mistakes that had happened in South Carolina radio? It can be anything from a format change that led the station from decent to dismal ratings, technical or engineering problems that could be corrected, but was never done, or an issue where an air personality was hired but had failed to make a splash in a market.

I have to say that one of worst ones from the format change category was when WANS/Anderson-Greenville-Spartanburg flipped from Top 40 to AC as WWMM (Magic 107.3) in February, 1991 due to the station being sold to new owners. The ratings were still very decent (I think that they were #4 or #5 12+ in their last book as a Top 40), but the new owners were convinced that CHR radio was dying anyway and had to change the format when it wasn't necessary. The station went from being Top 5 to near the bottom within a years time. The frequency was jinxed for a few years until 107.3Jamz signed on in 1994.

Another one has to have been when WIGL 106 in Columbia signed on in early 80's. They had a chance to take down WCOS, but was plagued with several problems during their existance.

Any others that should be added to the list?

Robyn <P ID="signature">______________
"If no one out there understands, you start your own revolution and cut out the middleman."
Billy Bragg-"Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards"</P>
 
I think another one was changing WSCQ in Columbia from a standards format to jamming oldies without warning in 1999 was another huge mistake and we have not seen that kind of format return. It was nice to listen to and the older population had a station that they could easily relate to.> What do you were some of the worst mistakes that had
> happened in South Carolina radio? It can be anything from a
> format change that led the station from decent to dismal
> ratings, technical or engineering problems that could be
> corrected, but was never done, or an issue where an air
> personality was hired but had failed to make a splash in a
> market.
>
> I have to say that one of worst ones from the format change
> category was when WANS/Anderson-Greenville-Spartanburg
> flipped from Top 40 to AC as WWMM (Magic 107.3) in February,
> 1991 due to the station being sold to new owners. The
> ratings were still very decent (I think that they were #4 or
> #5 12+ in their last book as a Top 40), but the new owners
> were convinced that CHR radio was dying anyway and had to
> change the format when it wasn't necessary. The station went
> from being Top 5 to near the bottom within a years time. The
> frequency was jinxed for a few years until 107.3Jamz signed
> on in 1994.
>
> Another one has to have been when WIGL 106 in Columbia
> signed on in early 80's. They had a chance to take down
> WCOS, but was plagued with several problems during their
> existance.
>
> Any others that should be added to the list?
>
> Robyn
>
 
How about GO 102? WWGO 102.3 St. Andrews/Columbia? Awful, awful variety format.

WNOK firing the Windham Brothers? I think Bill McElveen sets the record for the number of times he has fired and rehired Woody Windham.

WARQ changing to "Channel 93.5" To the average listener, what's a channel in radio anyways?

Star 93.5 WAAS. Awful call letters. At first a decent warm oldies-based AC, but which never achieved what Format 41 Soft AC WCEZ Lite 93.5 did, with Dave Rogers on in the morning.

WVOC firing John Wrisley.

Gene "Decay" McKay and Bill "Denture" Benton selling WSCQ. Sure they made some bucks, but if they had held on for 5 more years...

"America's Show with Andy Thomas"

Clear Channel letting WNOK slide.

The Big DM going Top 40 for a brief period of time in the 1980's.

WYYS Yes 97 changing to WHKZ Kicks 96.

WZLD changing to Yes 97.

C103.
 
Beach Boogie & Blues!


> How about GO 102? WWGO 102.3 St. Andrews/Columbia? Awful,
> awful variety format.
>
> WNOK firing the Windham Brothers? I think Bill McElveen sets
> the record for the number of times he has fired and rehired
> Woody Windham.
>
> WARQ changing to "Channel 93.5" To the average listener,
> what's a channel in radio anyways?
>
> Star 93.5 WAAS. Awful call letters. At first a decent warm
> oldies-based AC, but which never achieved what Format 41
> Soft AC WCEZ Lite 93.5 did, with Dave Rogers on in the
> morning.
>
> WVOC firing John Wrisley.
>
> Gene "Decay" McKay and Bill "Denture" Benton selling WSCQ.
> Sure they made some bucks, but if they had held on for 5
> more years...
>
> "America's Show with Andy Thomas"
>
> Clear Channel letting WNOK slide.
>
> The Big DM going Top 40 for a brief period of time in the
> 1980's.
>
> WYYS Yes 97 changing to WHKZ Kicks 96.
>
> WZLD changing to Yes 97.
>
> C103.
>
 
For me it would be WSCQ dropping standards infavor of JO...
Q 107 in favor of country...
Yes 97 in favor of Kicks...
although not a SC station it did put a good signal into the upstate of SC and that was taking 99.9 Kiss FM country...
95SX going AC in the early 90's...
WANS bonehead move to drop CHR in favor of AC... CC




> I think another one was changing WSCQ in Columbia from a
> standards format to jamming oldies without warning in 1999
> was another huge mistake and we have not seen that kind of
> format return. It was nice to listen to and the older
> population had a station that they could easily relate to.>
> What do you were some of the worst mistakes that had
> > happened in South Carolina radio? It can be anything from
> a
> > format change that led the station from decent to dismal
> > ratings, technical or engineering problems that could be
> > corrected, but was never done, or an issue where an air
> > personality was hired but had failed to make a splash in a
>
> > market.
> >
> > I have to say that one of worst ones from the format
> change
> > category was when WANS/Anderson-Greenville-Spartanburg
> > flipped from Top 40 to AC as WWMM (Magic 107.3) in
> February,
> > 1991 due to the station being sold to new owners. The
> > ratings were still very decent (I think that they were #4
> or
> > #5 12+ in their last book as a Top 40), but the new owners
>
> > were convinced that CHR radio was dying anyway and had to
> > change the format when it wasn't necessary. The station
> went
> > from being Top 5 to near the bottom within a years time.
> The
> > frequency was jinxed for a few years until 107.3Jamz
> signed
> > on in 1994.
> >
> > Another one has to have been when WIGL 106 in Columbia
> > signed on in early 80's. They had a chance to take down
> > WCOS, but was plagued with several problems during their
> > existance.
> >
> > Any others that should be added to the list?
> >
> > Robyn
> >
>
 
> Beach Boogie & Blues!

Oh yeah, I forgot about "The Breeze!"

How about the disaster before The Breeze -- 98.5 The Ticket -- all local sports talk and the Fabulous Sports Babe?

>
> > How about GO 102? WWGO 102.3 St. Andrews/Columbia? Awful,
> > awful variety format.
> >
> > WNOK firing the Windham Brothers? I think Bill McElveen
> sets
> > the record for the number of times he has fired and
> rehired
> > Woody Windham.
> >
> > WARQ changing to "Channel 93.5" To the average listener,
> > what's a channel in radio anyways?
> >
> > Star 93.5 WAAS. Awful call letters. At first a decent warm
>
> > oldies-based AC, but which never achieved what Format 41
> > Soft AC WCEZ Lite 93.5 did, with Dave Rogers on in the
> > morning.
> >
> > WVOC firing John Wrisley.
> >
> > Gene "Decay" McKay and Bill "Denture" Benton selling WSCQ.
>
> > Sure they made some bucks, but if they had held on for 5
> > more years...
> >
> > "America's Show with Andy Thomas"
> >
> > Clear Channel letting WNOK slide.
> >
> > The Big DM going Top 40 for a brief period of time in the
> > 1980's.
> >
> > WYYS Yes 97 changing to WHKZ Kicks 96.
> >
> > WZLD changing to Yes 97.
> >
> > C103.
> >
>
 
Hi Dudefan. Allow me to add a few comments:

> How about GO 102? WWGO 102.3 St. Andrews/Columbia? Awful,
> awful variety format.

I do have to agree. Didn't they originally sign-on as an all oldies format? To me, they were trying to mix oldies with some currents like what WCBS-FM in New York was doing.
>
> WNOK firing the Windham Brothers? I think Bill McElveen sets
> the record for the number of times he has fired and rehired
> Woody Windham.

Given the huge controversy with Woody at the time (the pot possession), I'd understand. I remember Woody was the one that was fired, but his brother Leo, stayed for several more years at WNOK.
>
> WARQ changing to "Channel 93.5" To the average listener,
> what's a channel in radio anyways?

Agreed. Bringing back the "Rock 93-5" handle hasn't exactly set the world on fire.
>
> Star 93.5 WAAS. Awful call letters. At first a decent warm
> oldies-based AC, but which never achieved what Format 41
> Soft AC WCEZ Lite 93.5 did, with Dave Rogers on in the
> morning.

Plus it didn't help matters that there was already 2 AC's in the market (WTCB & WSCQ).
>
> WVOC firing John Wrisley.

How is JW doing? Anyone know? Last I've heard, his health was declining big time.
>
> Gene "Decay" McKay and Bill "Denture" Benton selling WSCQ.
> Sure they made some bucks, but if they had held on for 5
> more years...

Well, I wouldn't say that they were making a lot of money, just enough to keep the station (and themselves) afloat. They did have some serious financial difficulties for some time prior to the sell-out to Benchmark so it was understandable not to mention that at the time they had felt it was the right time to sell. More on my thoughts on WSCQ in another post below.

>
> "America's Show with Andy Thomas"

Won't comment on that one.
>
> Clear Channel letting WNOK slide.

Well that was a given since there hasn't been a direct format competitor since Yes 97 went country (and that was 13 years ago!!!).
>
> The Big DM going Top 40 for a brief period of time in the
> 1980's.

I don't remember that! Was that in the mid to late 80's when they had a strong dance lean?
>
> WYYS Yes 97 changing to WHKZ Kicks 96.

After going from Dance to Mainstream to Rock 40 within a single year as well as having a high turnover in mornings and programming, that was a given.
>
> WZLD changing to Yes 97.

They did themselves in by going AC in 1986. I don't think they had a choice but to blow up Z-96 and start over.
>
> C103.

I think that they were on-target when they signed on as a Dance-leaning CHR. Now if you want to talk about disasters, let's talk about Power 103. Bleh!!! :>P

Robyn
<P ID="signature">______________
"If no one out there understands, you start your own revolution and cut out the middleman."
Billy Bragg-"Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards"</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by RobynWatts on 06/21/05 03:19 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> I think another one was changing WSCQ in Columbia from a
> standards format to jamming oldies without warning in 1999
> was another huge mistake and we have not seen that kind of
> format return. It was nice to listen to and the older
> population had a station that they could easily relate to.

Actually, they did have some warning about the format change to Jammin' Oldies. Unlike what had recently happened at WCBS-FM/New York, Gene McKay, Bill Benton & Doug Enlow were allowed to say goodbye to their listeners over a 2 week period before the format change on July 2th, 1999. IMHO, what really did them in was when the station was automated outside of morning drive and the ratings fell in a short period of time. Also, you have to take in account that, despite good ratings, the station was difficult to sell, which made the decision easier for AM-FM to dump the format.

I should note that when Gene & Bill (as well as Dave Wright and WSCQ's GM Dennis Waldrop) agreed to sell the station, a clause was written in the agreement saying that they could not be terminated and that they could leave on their own terms. Benchmark had broken that agreement first by firing Dennis Waldrop shortly after the sale and AM-FM finishing the job with Gene and Bill (Dave Wright had retired shortly after the sale.

Robyn <P ID="signature">______________
"If no one out there understands, you start your own revolution and cut out the middleman."
Billy Bragg-"Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards"</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by RobynWatts on 06/22/05 03:58 AM.</FONT></P>
 
> For me it would be WSCQ dropping standards infavor of JO...
> Q 107 in favor of country...

I second that. WKQB St. George/Charleston was AWESOME. Micheal D in the Morning, Hoser, Dominiqua [sp?]. It was a real shame to have that station go. What a time in Charleston radio to have two legendary CHR's in town: 95SX and Q107.



> Yes 97 in favor of Kicks...
> although not a SC station it did put a good signal into the
> upstate of SC and that was taking 99.9 Kiss FM country...
> 95SX going AC in the early 90's...
> WANS bonehead move to drop CHR in favor of AC... CC
 
> Hi Dudefan. Allow me to add a few comments:
>
> > How about GO 102? WWGO 102.3 St. Andrews/Columbia? Awful,
> > awful variety format.


Holy Cow Long time no post... Good to see ya back on here Robyn... My mom loved GO 102... I don't know why but she did... Chuck Morgan who worked at Go wound up over at PUB and boy he was interesting to work with... Back in the summer of 86 I can remember go playing top 40 before they switched to Foxx 102...



> > WARQ changing to "Channel 93.5" To the average listener,
> > what's a channel in radio anyways?
>
> Agreed. Bringing back the "Rock 93-5" handle hasn't exactly
> set the world on fire.
Remember if it aint broke don't fix it well somebody tried to fix it and to this day it still ain't right...


> >
> > Clear Channel letting WNOK slide.
>
> Well that was a given since there hasn't been a direct
> format competitor since Yes 97 went country (and that was 13
> years ago!!!).


I wish that Double O had atleast tried CHR... They could have done to NOK what they have done to COS with the legends format on 94.3
> >
> > The Big DM going Top 40 for a brief period of time in the
> > 1980's.
>
> I don't remember that! Was that in the mid to late 80's when
> they had a strong dance lean?


I remember from about 84 til around late 86 or early 87 DM being very dance friendly... I never remember them being all out CHR, but they were an early version of what Kiss 102 in Charlotte did with big success in the late eighties and early 90's...
> >
> > WYYS Yes 97 changing to WHKZ Kicks 96.
>
> After going from Dance to Mainstream to Rock 40 within a
> single year as well as having a high turnover in mornings
> and programming, that was a given.


Yes went through a lot of changes in the fall of 90 till they went belly up in July of 91... I know you guys will think i'm crazy, but I remember Yes started stunting into Kicks right about the time I started working at PUB... Right about the time they started stunting with all Elvis tunes was about the time there was a big AM Track derailment right near WPUB... Talk about weird...
BTW Robynj I am going to tickle your flashback brain with one of the biggest goofs and blunders we all have not mentioned at that was WCKN dropping Rock in favor of one of the worst top 40 formats I have ever heard... It was the same top ten songs every hour with a countdown atleast every two hours... WFBC dropping AC in favor of what they called oldies now that was really bad... I know there are others, but my brain is toast today with all this northern IL heat... Take care and we will catch ya later... CC
 
> > For me it would be WSCQ dropping standards infavor of
> JO...
> > Q 107 in favor of country...
>
> I second that. WKQB St. George/Charleston was AWESOME.
> Micheal D in the Morning, Hoser, Dominiqua [sp?]. It was a
> real shame to have that station go. What a time in
> Charleston radio to have two legendary CHR's in town: 95SX
> and Q107.
>
>
>
> > Yes 97 in favor of Kicks...
> > although not a SC station it did put a good signal into
> the
> > upstate of SC and that was taking 99.9 Kiss FM country...

I also thought that taking 99.9 Kiss fm country was a risky move at the time. But, once the shock wears off I understand that it was a smart move for listeners up in the Asheville, NC market. They only had a AM country outlet that was regularly #2 in the arbs despite a signal that barely reached out of Asheville proper. With the move, country had a blowtorch signal that covered a larger area and had a much broader audience base than they ever could have had with CHR. Besides, the CHR format, as done by Kiss-FM, was tired and worn out.
>
> > 95SX going AC in the early 90's...
> > WANS bonehead move to drop CHR in favor of AC... CC
>
 
Hi C.C.!!!Re: Worst blunders in South Carolina radio history.

> Holy Cow Long time no post... Good to see ya back on here
> Robyn... My mom loved GO 102... I don't know why but she
> did... Chuck Morgan who worked at Go wound up over at PUB
> and boy he was interesting to work with... Back in the
> summer of 86 I can remember go playing top 40 before they
> switched to Foxx 102...
>

Heyyyy Crazee Carroll, good to talk to ya too!!! Now that you mention it, I vaguely remember Go-102 playing a bunch of pop songs shortly before flipping to The Fox in 1987. It was too little-too late for them, but they had rebound nicely after becoming Fox 102.

One footnote (and I don't know to the day why I remember this): Just before the format change, Go-102 was doing a live remote broadcast one weekday afternoon from a now-default business on Boston Ave. in Springdale. Anyone that is familiar with the area knows that Airport High and Fulmer Middle School is located on that street and the traffic is always a mess because it is 2-laned and had no turning lanes. Go-102 was out there when both schools let out and used it to their advantage by giving out stuff, which made things worse for everyone stuck in traffic. It took about 45 minutes to get to the intersection with Airport Blvd, but I did manage to get a Go-102 bumper sticker. Incidently, someone had stuck a Go-102 sticker on the back of a traffic sign where it had remained for many years and was still up there when I graduated Airport in 1991, years after Go-102 ceased to exist.


> I remember from about 84 till around late 86 or early 87 DM
> being very dance friendly... I never remember them being all
> out CHR, but they were an early version of what Kiss 102 in
> Charlotte did with big success in the late eighties and
> early 90's...

Come to think of it, I vaguely remember The Big DM playing artists that weren't normally found on a Urban station like Hall & Oates, Culture Club, Madonna, and others during that time (usually the 12 inch extended version). I do remember in the late 80 and into the early 90's, the station was playing several Dance cuts in addition to their standard Urban playlist. This lasted until about 1991 or 92 when they moved away from Dance records all-together.


> > > WYYS Yes 97 changing to WHKZ Kicks 96.
> >
> > After going from Dance to Mainstream to Rock 40 within a
> > single year as well as having a high turnover in mornings
> > and programming, that was a given.
>
>
> Yes went through a lot of changes in the fall of 90 till
> they went belly up in July of 91... I know you guys will
> think i'm crazy, but I remember Yes started stunting into
> Kicks right about the time I started working at PUB... Right
> about the time they started stunting with all Elvis tunes
> was about the time there was a big AM Track derailment right
> near WPUB... Talk about weird...

I remember that time period as well. I was up for several nights hopeing to tape the actual format change. Frank Baker was the last jock on Yes 97, before they went to the Elvis stunt. They were playing a ton of 80's hits that I've haven't heard in years and had actually sounded good, which was sad in a way, since I had remember hearing some of those songs on Z-96 years before. One mistake that I remember after they went to the Country format was that had play a few promos that still mentioned Yes 97! Can you say whoops!

I do remember the Amtrak derailment as well. Those images of the derailment still haunts me when I think about them. It looked like a giant had just ripped the sides off those passenger cars.


> BTW Robynj I am going to tickle your flashback brain with
> one of the biggest goofs and blunders we all have not
> mentioned at that was WCKN dropping Rock in favor of one of
> the worst top 40 formats I have ever heard... It was the
> same top ten songs every hour with a countdown atleast every
> two hours... WFBC dropping AC in favor of what they called
> oldies now that was really bad... I know there are others,
> but my brain is toast today with all this northern IL
> heat... Take care and we will catch ya later... CC

I've just remember another one from the G-Ville/S-burg market. Remember 93-Q Country from 1995 to mid-1996, which was an ill fated attempt of Benchmark's WESC to shave enough audience away from WSSL so that WESC could be #1 12+? It didn't work as planned since WSSL stayed on top during that time and 93-Q Country had wound up with a 0.2 at one point.

Will write more tommorrow,
Robyn
<P ID="signature">______________
"If no one out there understands, you start your own revolution and cut out the middleman."
Billy Bragg-"Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards"</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by RobynWatts on 06/22/05 03:49 PM.</FONT></P>
 
> I also thought that taking 99.9 Kiss fm country was a risky
> move at the time. But, once the shock wears off I
> understand that it was a smart move for listeners up in the
> Asheville, NC market. They only had a AM country outlet
> that was regularly #2 in the arbs despite a signal that
> barely reached out of Asheville proper. With the move,
> country had a blowtorch signal that covered a larger area
> and had a much broader audience base than they ever could
> have had with CHR. Besides, the CHR format, as done by
> Kiss-FM, was tired and worn out.

Yes, but our friends at CC took a station combo that had a 35+ share of the market and eroded those numbers down into the low-mid 20s. Why would you scuttle 50% of your audience just because country was a "hot" format at the time?

WWNC has never recovered from the move. It's a mere shadow of its former self. News-talk is a viable format for an AM station, but you don't give up 40+ years of heritage and expect things to remain close to the same. Yes I know, an AM can't ever beat a FM signal head-to-head. But, it happened in Asheville for 25+ years, as Scotty Rhodarmer and WWNC regularly kicked everyone else's butt. I know...I worked at Kiss in the mid-80s.

And Kiss...well, they may be #1 in the metro, but they have *no* major numbers to speak of in their ADI. Their unique "southern rock" CHR format worked well for this region, and would still be pulling monster numbers if it was in place (and was being promoted properly, something Kiss didn't do well when they were CHR). Plus, they are now licensed to Old Fort, NC, which is a joke.

Maybe we need to do a NC all-time greatest blunders list on the Charlotte board.

wncmacs
 
> > Q 107 in favor of country...
>
> I second that. WKQB St. George/Charleston was AWESOME.
> Micheal D in the Morning, Hoser, Dominiqua [sp?]. It was a
> real shame to have that station go.

I know, but I don't think the company that owned Q-107 had a choice but to sell-out to someone else. They ran into some serious financial difficulties after Hugo and many of the staffers were dismissed due to money problems. It was so bad that just before the sell to the group that would put "Bubba 107.5" on the air, they were simulcasting with Sunny 100 just to keep the station from going dark.

Nevertheless, I think that Q-107 has earned a place in the Charleston radio history books. Who could forget the homemade parody songs that they did, one of which was "Dad" which was their send-up of Michael Jackson's "Bad" that they would play on Father's Day? Or the crazy stunts that they did like the time when Michael Dee was dunked in a vat of chocolate as a stunt to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network?

Robyn
<P ID="signature">______________
"If no one out there understands, you start your own revolution and cut out the middleman."
Billy Bragg-"Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards"</P><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by RobynWatts on 06/22/05 04:22 PM.</FONT></P>
 
This has nothing to do with format changes, but I remember back
in the mid-80s WANS morning guy (I think his name was) JJ Michaels
was let go for playing food sizzling noises for 10 or 20 seconds
on the morning someone was to be executed in the SC electric chair.
Am I off on that one?

Also, I used to be a big fan of "Michael D" and "Hoser" on Q107 and
then eventually 95SX (or "95 Sex" as Michael D used to say). I heard
that Micahel D is now a vet somewhere in Charleston.. is that true?
And where is Hoser nowadays?


Kitster





> What do you were some of the worst mistakes that had
> happened in South Carolina radio? It can be anything from a
> format change that led the station from decent to dismal
> ratings, technical or engineering problems that could be
> corrected, but was never done, or an issue where an air
> personality was hired but had failed to make a splash in a
> market.
>
> I have to say that one of worst ones from the format change
> category was when WANS/Anderson-Greenville-Spartanburg
> flipped from Top 40 to AC as WWMM (Magic 107.3) in February,
> 1991 due to the station being sold to new owners. The
> ratings were still very decent (I think that they were #4 or
> #5 12+ in their last book as a Top 40), but the new owners
> were convinced that CHR radio was dying anyway and had to
> change the format when it wasn't necessary. The station went
> from being Top 5 to near the bottom within a years time. The
> frequency was jinxed for a few years until 107.3Jamz signed
> on in 1994.
>
> Another one has to have been when WIGL 106 in Columbia
> signed on in early 80's. They had a chance to take down
> WCOS, but was plagued with several problems during their
> existance.
>
> Any others that should be added to the list?
>
> Robyn
>
 
>
> I know, but I don't think the company that owned Q-107 had a
> choice but to sell-out to someone else. They ran into some
> serious financial difficulties after Hugo and many of the
> staffers were dismissed due to money problems. It was so bad
> that just before the sell to the group that would put "Bubba
> 107.5" on the air, they were simulcasting with Sunny 100
> just to keep the station from going dark.
>
> Nevertheless, I think that Q-107 has earned a place in the
> Charleston radio history books. Who could forget the
> homemade parody songs that they did, one of which was "Dad"
> which was their send-up of Michael Jackson's "Bad" that they
> would play on Father's Day? Or the crazy stunts that they
> did like the time when Michael Dee was dunked in a vat of
> chocolate as a stunt to raise money for the Children's
> Miracle Network?


I was always able to pull in Q107 in Columbia. I always preferred them to WNOK. Q107 sounded major market and WNOK just never has, for whatever reason. I even preferred Power 103 and Yes 97 to WNOK.
 
Re: Q107 Charleston

> > For me it would be WSCQ dropping standards infavor of
> JO...
> > Q 107 in favor of country...
>
> I second that. WKQB St. George/Charleston was AWESOME.
> Micheal D in the Morning, Hoser, Dominiqua [sp?]. It was a
> real shame to have that station go. What a time in
> Charleston radio to have two legendary CHR's in town: 95SX
> and Q107.

What a terrific surprise to see Q107 remembered here. Sadly, it was financial stumbles (from circumstances better left be, though nothing illicit) that resulted in Q107’s ultimately going dark, the calls being sold and the frequency “turning country.” Thought y’all might be interested in a “where are they now?” air staff update:

Michael D (Forcier) left Q107 for mornings on 95SX, then Rock 98 Charleston (now 98X) before getting out of the business altogether and hitting the college books. He’s now a veterinarian in Charleston, but makes regular on-air appearances on WEZL’s morning show.

Kato (Michael D’s on-air partner and producer) left Q107 in 1989 to produce Rocky Allen in Buffalo, N.Y., then 18 months later moved to the ABC Radio Networks in New York. He returned to Charleston in July ’03 and now does mornings on Coast 92.5 (WCSQ) with Chris Day and Janet Walsh.

Roger Gaither (Former Q107 PD and 10-noon jock) now runs Veeck Advertising in Charleston, as in Mike Veeck, the minor league baseball promotions guy responsible for the famous/infamous Steve Dahl & Gary Meier “disco demolition night” debacle at Comiskey Park in ’79.

Craig Russell (noon-3, production) jumped to 95SX with his wife, Mary (mornings, news, promotions) when Michael D did, or thereabouts. Craig died about three years ago, God rest him, and Mary moved back to the Northeast.

Jeff “The Hoser” Williams (3-7) also jumped to 95SX, then got out of the business. He presently works for a very large corporation in North Carolina and looks as if he hasn’t aged a day, the bastard. ;)

“Doctor” Barry Hill (7-midnight) assumed mornings at Q107 upon Michael D’s defection to 95SX. When Q107 went dark, he moved on to a mornings/PD gig in Alabama, then the same in Connecticut, Indiana and Ohio, before signing on with RCS (the Selector guys) in upstate N.Y., where he’s their Director of Technical Sales and a certified computer genius.

Dominica Harrell left Q107 for a variety of gigs, including Chicago and Atlanta, where she was last known to reside, although she may have moved on by now.

Hope you find the update interesting. As Martin Short would say, “Thanks for remembering!”
 
Re: Q107 Charleston-Thanks, Stick!!!

Hi Stick,

Thanks for the updates on the staff at the Q. While I was writing my post on Q-107 this afternoon, the lyrics to another Q-107 novelty song popped into my head. Forgot the title but it was done by The Hoser and Dr. Barry Hill and it went something like this:

"Say hop, say hop, say hip, say hop
He is the Hoser, he is the Doc.
We're from the Q and were ready to rock!"

Then Hoser did this line in the song.

"I rule afternoons from 3 to 7
Jammin' with me is like jammin in heaven.
Other stations are starting to cry,
They say they be number 1, but that's a bull-face lie".
(insert Hoser's bull-face lie buzzer here)


That's all I remember. Maybe someone remembers that and can help me fill in the rest of the lyrics.

Robyn<P ID="signature">______________
"If no one out there understands, you start your own revolution and cut out the middleman."
Billy Bragg-"Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards"</P>
 
> I also thought that taking 99.9 Kiss fm country was a risky
> move at the time. But, once the shock wears off I
> understand that it was a smart move for listeners up in the
> Asheville, NC market. They only had a AM country outlet
> that was regularly #2 in the arbs despite a signal that
> barely reached out of Asheville proper. With the move,
> country had a blowtorch signal that covered a larger area
> and had a much broader audience base than they ever could
> have had with CHR. Besides, the CHR format, as done by
> Kiss-FM, was tired and worn out.

And until sold to CC, WWNC ( Full Service and country) often beat its FM brethren in the ratings. When they went talk they lost a lot of ratings and it's never fully come back. They relegated the country to 880 and that fell off a cliff, and was canned, but I think that was the intended result anyway.

99.9 also has (as do most FM's) a multipath problem in the Asheville area.

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> Yes, but our friends at CC took a station combo that had a
> 35+ share of the market and eroded those numbers down into
> the low-mid 20s. Why would you scuttle 50% of your audience
> just because country was a "hot" format at the time?
>
> WWNC has never recovered from the move. It's a mere shadow
> of its former self. News-talk is a viable format for an AM
> station, but you don't give up 40+ years of heritage and
> expect things to remain close to the same. Yes I know, an AM
> can't ever beat a FM signal head-to-head. But, it happened
> in Asheville for 25+ years, as Scotty Rhodarmer and WWNC
> regularly kicked everyone else's butt. I know...I worked at
> Kiss in the mid-80s.


It's also strange that the talk on 880, a decidedly inferior signal, had better rating than right after it was shifted to WWNC. I don't know if the ratings on WWNC ever got back up to THAT level.


> And Kiss...well, they may be #1 in the metro, but they have
> *no* major numbers to speak of in their ADI. Their unique
> "southern rock" CHR format worked well for this region, and
> would still be pulling monster numbers if it was in place
> (and was being promoted properly, something Kiss didn't do
> well when they were CHR). Plus, they are now licensed to Old
> Fort, NC, which is a joke.
>
> Maybe we need to do a NC all-time greatest blunders list on
> the Charlotte board.

> wncmacs


Indeed as I mentioned in my post before wncmac's excellent one.

Powell



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