REEL TOP 40 RADIO REPOSITORY
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R.J. Heim writes:
I'm currently the Weekend Meteorologist / 3 Day per Week Reporter for NBC10 (WJAR-TV - Providence, Rhode Island). I've been here since 1993 (my longest continuous broadcast experience), where I've won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Weathercaster in New England twice. There have been television stints in Harrisburg, PA (WHP-TV / 1990 - 1993), Miami (then WCIX-TV /1985 - 1990 as a part time Weekend Weather Anchor). There was a lot of radio overlap during the Miami experience during the 1980's to make ends meet including WAIA (97A1A - Adult Contemporary, it became WGTR in a format change (97GTR - Rock), WLYF (Life - at FM 101 point 5! - Easy Listening), a summer stint at WKLG-Rock Harbor (Easy 102 - Key Largo), then WXDJ (95-7 The Breeze - Miami - Contemporary Jazz), my last Miami station. I had had enough. Prior to that, 2 years of television for Palmer Cablevision in Naples, Florida (NewsWatch 9) as a Weatherman and Feature Reporter. There I had my first experience at world-wide exposure, after sending a feature story on the Swamp Buggy Races to CNN (it was used as the "kicker" story on Headline News for 2 days in a row - every other half hour!) Before Florida, my first TV job was in 1982 at WTVE-Reading (TV51 NewsBeat). That newscast went belly-up after 6 months, but for being paid 2 hours a day minimum wage, and the rest of my income supplemented by the CETA program for migrant workers (ironic!), I at least had tape! Every job before that was radio starting at WYCR-FM (98YCR - York-Hanover Pennsylvania) while still in High School in 1976. During college at Temple University in Philadelphia, I worked for WTTM-Trenton, WSSJ-Camden, and WQIQ Chester/Aston. After college, finally my first full-time radio gig at WLAN-FM in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, doing overnights. Then, I was hired away by WFEC/Harrisburg to work a new format called "Hot Hits!". Having grown up listening to stations like WFIL and WABC, this was a chance to do some high energy Top 40 radio. I couldn't pass it up, even though I was still under contract at WLAN. That's why my air name was changed to Robert Walker while I was at WFEC.
So, when people say "...it must be great being in broadcasting..." I smile back on the
experiences, and wouldn't trade them for the world. Although I crave the stability of
television, and thoroughly enjoy working for the number one station in Southern New
England, there's still a place in my heart for radio. Enjoy the collection! The Repository thanks R.J. Heim for sharing! |
TOP STEAM 20.7 Kbps (8Khz)
George Michael, WABC New York, November 1978 (04:23)
. . . some day I'm gonna be rich and own one of those big cars, man . . . [Description by contributor R.J. Heim] George Michael was in rare form on this Friday night in New York City — with a winter storm on the way. George was always "up", but this night, he was on fire. This was one of one the last times WABC was the "most listened-to station in the nation" before Disco 92 (WKTU-FM) toppled the mighty Musicradio! I dx'ed this show from my room at Sigma Pi Fraternity while attending Temple University in Philadelphia. WABC was running the popular "I Love New York" promotion. Listen closely to what happens when George tries to award a man's wristwatch to Josette of Brooklyn. George Michael died from complications of chronic lymphocytic leukemia on December 24, 2009. He was 70. |
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TOP STREAM 64 Kbps (10Khz)
Dick Sloan, Bumper Morgan, WXLO New York, April 13, 1979 (07:02)
. . . and those jeans are a little tight in the back end, too . . . [Description by contributor R.J. Heim] 99XLO was in transition at this point, toned down from the higher-energy, highly-processed 99X days. Disco Fever was at its height, Disco 92 WKTU had just toppled WABC. In a positioning statement, 99XLO ran a "No Disco Weekend". Listen closely, though, for the Peaches & Herb spot for Diet Coke. |
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TOP STEAM 32.0Kbps (16Khz)
Robert Walker (R.J. Heim) WFEC Harrisburg, 1982 (07:46)
. . . Hot Shot Robert Walker . . . [Description by contributor R.J. Heim] In 1982, the Mike Joseph Hot Hits format was sweeping the country, all on FM stations, mostly CBS O&O's. In Harrisburg Pennsylvania, WFEC (1400 Khz) had been a successful Top-40 station through the 1970's, before a format change to urban. They decided to try true Top 40 one last time. I was hired to do the 1 - 5 p.m. shift Monday through Friday. Here's a sample from March of 1982. A dream come true with big jingles, big reverb, and high energy, for a guy who grew up listening to Ron Lundy & Harry Harrison on WABC, and George Michael & Jim O'Brien on WFIL. I remember listening to the final shows of WABC as a music station while driving to work at WFEC. |
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TOP STEAM 32.0Kbps (16Khz)
Billy Burke, WCAU-FM Philadelphia 1982 (04:59)
. . . a dime if you tell me that you love me, you wanna hear my plans for a quarter? . . . [Description by contributor R.J. Heim] Philadelphia was 100 miles away from Harrisburg, and had put Hot Hits! on the air in 1981. It was the inspiration for WFEC. My boss had given me this aircheck so I would know what was expected of me on a similar shift. By the time of this aircheck in 1982, WCAU-FM had changed their original jingle package to one from JAM. |
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TOP STREAM 64 Kbps (10Khz)
R.J. Heim and Rev. Bob WLAN-FM Lancaster, PA. November 1983 (04:18) . . . Reverend Bob, why are people afraid of 30, and why do they find it difficult once they get there? . . . [Description by contributor R.J. Heim] I have no idea what creative well I had to tap into to find "The Reverend Bob" character. All I know is that it was exhausting. Listeners of WLAN-FM 97 would call in on the station's 800 number with questions for Reverend Bob. I would go through that list, jot down some notes, go into the recording studio, and ad lib the whole thing on tape for broadcast the next day. I knew I wanted a career in television news, not one as a comedian. Then, the Lancaster Intelligencer newspaper interviewed me for a feature story. It wound up taking up the whole front page of the "Lifebeat" section, with a fish-eyed lens picture of me, recording a segment, my fist clenched jutting in the air. Then the Associated Press picked up the story. It ran in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and dozens of other newspapers around the country. The Reverend Bob was starting to take on a life of his own. Talk Radio stations around the country were calling, asking for interviews with the guy who was shaking up Amish country with an irreverent Reverend. The whole thing was getting out of hand. Fortunately, I got my next television gig, in Naples, Florida, and "The Reverend Bob" has not been heard from since! |
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TOP STEAM 32.0Kbps (16Khz)
WINZ WCJX WHYI Miami/Ft. Lauderdale 1986 (13:11)
. . . It took you fourteen years to win? . . . [Description by contributor R.J. Heim] These were the crazy days of South Florida in the 1980's! And radio reflected the life, with three stations going head-to-head with Top 40! Great choices on the car buttons! Never a dull moment! This composite includes: Earl the Pearl on WINZ-FM/I-95, Bo Walker on WCJX/96X, and Harley Davidson and Robert W. on WHYI/Y100. |
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TOP STEAM 32.0Kbps (16Khz)
Sonny Fox, WHYI/Y100 Miami, 1986 (06:39)
. . . The Most-Listened-To Radio Station in Florida . . . [Description by contributor R.J. Heim] While I was never able to break into Top 40 during my Miami experience, there was some great radio going on at that time. Sonny Fox was the morning man at Y100. Great jingles, production, lots of fun, Athlete's Foot on A.J. Foyt — and school lunch menus en espanol with Juanita 100.
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TOP STEAM 32.0Kbps (16Khz)
Kym Landers WHYI/Y100 Talent Search, 1986 (21:06)
. . . Take your road wherever you find it, for that is where the road is, and what is smooth today, is rough tomorrow, and impossible the day after . . . [By R.J. Heim] I've known Kym Landers (Mitch Zatto) since WSSJ-Camden (1980). He recommended me for the gig at WFEC. He did the night shift there as "The Wild Child". After WFEC, Kym did Hot Hits! at Baltimore's WMAR-FM. When that went belly-up, he was the 5th and final "Mystery Jock" when Y100 held live auditions to fill the night-time opening in 1986. Here's his on-air audition. He came-in second place.
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To this day, I still tell anyone who asks that I loved radio more than television, but in radio you can get fired too easy, and unless you're a super-talent, there's no money to be made. Radio is a two-way intimate medium, where you're on the air for hours at a time, interacting with the audience. Television is initially a one-way process, with a delayed reaction (you get the feedback later - like when you're unshaven in the grocery store), where you work 8 to 9 hours a day for a compressed couple of minutes of air-time.
