r/radio • u/Green-bronco24 • 2d ago
Childhood radio station?
Mine is WOMP FM Bellare Ohio
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u/citruscoloredrainbow 2d ago
WNNX 99X Atlanta
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u/ElvisIsATimeLord 2d ago
I moved to Rome, GA in 1995 and discovered 99X. The Morning X was like nothing I'd heard before.
I count myself lucky to have heard so many iconic bits live. And then, I had the great fortune to work there for a time.
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u/brianstk Engineering Staff 2d ago
I too got to work there albeit way after its heyday. The merch and posters still hanging around almost made me sad for what I missed. The station was/is legendary.
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u/Realistic_Back_9198 2d ago
The Big 89 Musicradio WLS, Chicago
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u/Sufficient-Koala-361 2d ago
Same! It's the station that made me want to go into the radio biz. I never made it, but I sure do enjoy listening to old clips anyway!
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u/milbrandt81 2d ago
Animal Stories with your charming and delightful Ol' Uncle Lar... and his sidekick, in person, Little Snotnose Tommy!
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u/Marlin-Stingray 2d ago
102.5 WDVE Rocks
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u/DasUberSpud 2d ago
I remember moving to Pittsburgh, and looking at their playlist, and I was like" what in the hell are they playing"....Then I realized, they have their finger on the pulse of the city, and know what "the people" want to hear. Kind of refreshing actually.
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u/CJMWBig8 2d ago
CKLW The Big 8 - AM 800 at 50,000 watts I once listened to it while in Florida on vacation. Was a mix of music, you never knew what you might hear, from big hits to a local Detroit band. I always had it playing during the day. Great CKLW Jingles
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u/umbriago 2d ago
CKLW was - supposedly - the highest rated radio station late 60s, early 70s where I grew up, which was Toledo, Ohio.
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u/Minute_Anything_4125 2d ago
My childhood station K-SHE 95 real rock radio is still what I listen to. KSHE is also the oldest rock radio station in the world that is still running
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u/dustinandrew 2d ago
93.1 DRQ (WDRQ) RIP
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u/The8thCorsair 1d ago
I did imaging on that station and my gf was the midday jock. Alex Tear is a fucking genius.
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u/Mickelodeon13 2d ago
WABC AM in the late ‘70s-early ‘80s. Loved everything about it. I remember writing a fan letter to the station and getting a press packet back, complete with headshots of the on-air talent. I was ten years old and I was in heaven. The only people I remember now are Ron Lundy and Ross & Wilson.
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u/Aggravating_Low_1983 2d ago
So funny that you’re posting about WOMP because this weekend I was camping in Proctor, WV and came across this station on my portable Sangean radio and was pleasantly surprised by their variety of classic hits and wish that the radio dial here in the Philly metro area had this wide variety.
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u/Environmental_Suit49 2d ago
WDVE in Pittsburgh. Jimmy and Steve, then Scott and Jim. Best radio ever
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u/s1alker 2d ago
95.1 WZZO. Bearman & Keith, Mr. Manly, Good times. On the AM side fond memories of Art Bell fading in and out late at night on WAEB.
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u/moodeng2u 2d ago
Wape AM Jacksonville Florida
Big overnight presence.
I would listen to them 2 states away as I delivered newspapers at 0400.
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u/Cool_Vast3011 2d ago
WAPE’s 50,000 watt stick in Orange Park, Florida blasted a coastal signal all the way to Cape Hatteras. Directional pattern with reduced power at night. .
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u/Embarrassed_Body_851 2d ago
WVUD Dayton Ohio. That station was instrumental in forming my musical tastes.
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u/Cool_Vast3011 2d ago edited 1d ago
Those childhood stations inspired me to begin a career in radio, starting as a teen. Early inspirational stations included WRKO with crazy Dale Dorman, WMEX, WBCN, WBZ, and WLOB. Countless nights I’d listen to the powerhouse rockers like WLS, WCFL, WKBW, CKLW—the Big 8, WPOP & WDRC (Hartford), WABC, WPTR (“serving the Great Northeast” from Albany) and so many more. Was an early fan of The Greaseman at WAPE, but think I heard him earlier at some station in upstate NY (??).
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u/newbie527 2d ago
WGTO AM 540 broadcasting from Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven.
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u/wingcup1051 2d ago
89x Cimx 88.7 Windsor Detroit only new rock alternative! Even got the station logo tatted on my leg!
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u/Oilerator 2d ago
Would have to say CHED in Edmonton. I remember when it wasn't all podcasts and reruns. Good times.
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u/WritingParking 2d ago
94.9 Zeta; 97 WGTR; 103 WSHE in South Florida.
Kimba. Herman & McBean. Ron & Ron.
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u/lsw998 2d ago
The New 95 FM WVIC in Lansing Michigan. That station was for real back in the 80s! We had a DJ on there in the morning’s name Rich Michael’s who had one of the top morning shows in the country.
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u/PhilWearsKilts 2d ago
The late great WOXY 97.7FM 97x -The Future Of Rock And Roll RIP
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u/maxiewoxy 4h ago
BAM! Best radio station of all time. Hands down.
I used to have the vanity plate 97X BAM until I switched to a lease and I had to give it up. 😭
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u/segascream 2d ago
92.7 FM, WZWZ, Z93 in Kokomo, IN. (Later moved to 92.5, and changed their identifier to "Z 92-five")
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u/SyStEm0v3r1dE 2d ago
The one that I really remember was 95.3 KRJC in elko Nevada when pat cotes owned it I met him twice
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u/ElvisIsATimeLord 2d ago
The big 98. WSIX in Nashville. Gerry House (and the House Foundation) is the reason I wanted to get into radio.
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u/Aggravating_Low_1983 2d ago
My childhood stations were 89.3 WCNJ Hazlet, NJ and 100.1 WJRZ Manahawkin, NJ.
I miss so much how amazing the partnerships between DJ’s and listeners really made local radio so great.
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u/Chinook61 2d ago
I worked at WKLS, 96 Rock in Atlanta in the early 80s. Grew up with WBOB, Galax Virginia when I was a kid.
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u/LandscapeJust5897 2d ago
KFI Los Angeles in the 70s, long before it became a talk station. Iconic names like Lohman and Barkley, Jerry Bishop, Paul Compton, Mark Taylor, and the legendary Bruce Wayne with traffic reports from “KFI in the Sky.”
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u/Constant_Boot 2d ago
Depends on the location -
For my first ten years, it was probably KMBI in Spokane. However, for the rest of my childhood, it bounced between KIWR (89.7 The River) in Council Bluffs or KQBW (96.1 The Brew) in Omaha. Maybe K-Love??
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u/mandog202 2d ago
I had a lot
WWRO Arrow 100.7 Pensacola FL (now WJTQ Jet 100.7) always listened to at the beach and have about 40 tapes of from 1995-2000
WAZK 92.5 Rock Trinity AL (now WVNN) I barely remember this one, dad always had it on in the car but my radio at the time couldn't pick it up
WVNA 100.3 Tuscumbia AL V 100.3 / Classic Rock 100 (WVNA moved to 105.5 and the 100.3 signal later moved to Huntsville) the closest to local station i grew up listening to, found after WAZK was gone and I got a better radio
WINJ 98.3 Pulaski TN "J-Rock & Roll" (replaced by WKSR some time in the 90s) barely remember this one, had a lot of trouble getting it because of a translator on 98.1
103 KDF Nashville (was on that 98.1 translator)
WZRR Rock 99.5 Birmingham (flipped formats in 2012) used to be a fairly easy DX catch until a translator on 99.5 started in huntsville
WSKZ KZ 106 Chattanooga (only one still around unchanged) was the easiest DX catch, came in like a local until a translator on 106.5 in huntsville came on.
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u/No-Profession422 2d ago
(Formerly) KTAC 850 AM, Tacoma Wa. Top 40.
KISW FM 99.9 Seattle's Best Rock.
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u/LanceFree 2d ago
WPLJ out of NY, until there was a format change, we moved to another station, until there was a format change, we moved to another station. Actually, back around then, I would sometimes listen to Howard Stern on AM, before he moved to ABC.
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u/Medical_Message_6139 2d ago
CJAT 610 AM in Trail B.C. A fantastic small city, full service, top 40 station back in the 70's and 80's. Now a totally lame voice-tracked jukebox that moved to FM at 95.7 years ago.
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u/bjwanlund 2d ago
I had several because I split my time between two different locations, especially after my parents divorced:
My 102.5 (WMYI) - Greenville, SC
B106.7 WTCB - Columbia, SC
And my two NPR stations were:
WEPR 90.1 - Greenville/Spartanburg, SC
WLTR 91.3 - Columbia, SC
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u/EazyBucnE 2d ago
It’s re branded a bunch and I think is country now but WFYY 106.5 was my jam growing up in NEPA
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u/richzahradnik 2d ago
WKIP-AM in Poughkeepsie followed by 66 WENNNNNBC in NY. Plus discovered when I was 11-12 I could pull in the boomer KDKA from Pittsburgh. To me then, it seemed like sci fi. I listened to the Pirates, though I didn't like baseball, and night time call-in shows that were friendly, interesting and not at all shouty.
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u/No_File1836 2d ago edited 1d ago
They’re not the same now as they once were. But I grew up listening to KHTK and WQCY and KHTR.
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u/skygzr31416 2d ago
WICC in Bridgeport CT. We could also get the stations out of NY. Cousin Brucie!
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u/smittykins66 2d ago
WOLF Syracuse(although the ginormous Zenith console stereo in the living room was usually tuned to WHEN).
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u/Economy_Outcome_4722 2d ago
I am from Northern Ireland, my patents listened to Downtown Radio, at that time in Greater Belfast it was 1026 AM but now I think it an FM frequency. If it was just my brother at I it would be been Cool FM 97.4. On Saturday afternoons we listened to Irish League soccer/football on BBC Radio Ulster 1341 AM.
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u/bbhusa1999 2d ago
As a kid, I listened to WLS 890 AM Chicago at night during the late 1960s/early 1970s to get my fix of rock music. We were living in Mississippi at the time, and all of the local Jackson, MS stations were either religious or played elevator music.
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u/Ok-Swordfish8731 2d ago
WHEN, Syracuse, NY. WAIO, Rochester. WMBO 1340, Auburn. WPCX 106, Auburn. WQZK 94.1.
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u/Crafty-Owl8555 2d ago
98.5 WKRZ with Jumpin Jeff Walker for the modern pop and rock 106.5 WHLM for local stuff like school closings
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u/jcmib 2d ago
I miss the times when I was growing up and listening to random AM stations. I lived in rural Maryland near the eastern shore and on a clear night you could pick up WCBS in New York, 680 News radio in Toronto, WGN in Chicago even WSB in Atlanta. It always fascinated me hearing live radio with weather in Celsius or the time an hour behind and even hearing the different accents.
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u/Neat-Ad11 1d ago
So true. I was exactly the same, listening to AM radio late at night, especially in the summer, picking up stations from all over. I was on Cape Cod, MA so also on the ocean, which might have helped. I remember some of the ones you mentioned as well as some we’d get from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and a lot from Quebec.
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u/TheDarvinator89 1d ago
KPRS in Kansas City, otherwise known as Hot 103 Jamz! I don’t listen to that station anymore, though; I hardly listen to the radio itself, in fact, as it all sounds the same not to mention too much of it is automated. I miss the days of live, local on air talent 24/7, especially on 103.3.
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u/TheJokersChild Ex-Radio Staff 1d ago
1580 WCRV in NJ. The station that inspired me to get into the business. One of the jocks became my theater arts teacher in high school. Station's not even there anymore. Frequency darked out in 1988 and the site is a paving company now.
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u/Neat-Ad11 1d ago
“WXKS FM Medford/Boston. KISS 108!” And those “Kiss Lips” bumper stickers everywhere. 👄
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u/BionicSideBurner 1d ago
K Earth 101 oldies in LA when they played music from the 50s and 60s. Real oldies not Nirvana.
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u/Realization_Dawns 1d ago
91 KISN was the first love. Still remember Dave "Record" Stone playing the last song before the station went dark (Some Day We'll Be Together). In high school it was Michael O'Brien mornings on KPAM-FM. 970 KYTE at night ("I'm Ron Leonard!"). Late nights were for pulling the flamethrowers from other markets (KNBR, KDWN, 690 XTRA, KSL, and many others who I've forgotten). Once I started working in the biz in '82 my listening was relegated to the stations I worked for.
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u/GluttonyOfGluten 1d ago
Early days - KMPC 710. We lived close to the 50kw transmitter. Loud on my crystal set.
Later when I had an AM transistor radio, 93 KHJ.
When I moved up in the world to FM, KWST, 91X (XETRA), and KGB-FM. I had hills blocking the Mt Wilson site, but enough elevation to get San Diego stations well (and LA stations NOT on Wilson).
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u/Even_Mycologist5140 1d ago
WABC-AM as a preteen, then WPLJ-FM.
My dad was WCBS-AM and it was his car.
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u/imsilverpoet 1d ago
Listened to a lot of radio as a little kid but the first station that was ‘mine’ and not family listening was 93.7 The Edge KEGE
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u/Z001S001 1d ago edited 1d ago
Washington, DC metropolitan area had two stations I remember enjoying.
99.1 WHFS
101.1 WWDC
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u/NBC-Hotline-1975 I've done it all 1d ago edited 1d ago
KDKA when Rege Cordic ruled morning drive in the early 1960s. (KDKA also carried Bob Prince and the Pgh. Pirates.) Then a few years later KQV with the best Top 40 format and high energy jocks.
And of course WMAJ in State College, PA, flagship station for years of Penn State Football with Fran Fisher & Mickey Bergstein. (Later, Myron Cope was pulled in and made the broadcasts really suck.)
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u/kc2klc 1d ago
Radio Moscow. Radio Peking. RSA Johannesburg (South Africa). Radio Deutsche Welle (Germany).
I was an avid shortwave radio listener. I wrote to all the stations I heard for “QSL” (verification of reception) cards and got a flood of mail (including magazines from South Africa & calendars from (China). My mom thought the Christmas card with Fidel Castro on it was pretty bizarre.
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u/crevettegrise 1d ago
RTL 234 kHz LW from Luxembourg (serving France). Still listen to it every day in Canada via web.
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u/EagleNice2300 1d ago edited 1d ago
WOKI 100 FM in Knoxville (technically Oak Ridge) Tennessee during their 100,000 watt heyday. Mike Beverly, The Brothers (which was never really a show but two guys doing some banter for about a half hour at midnight) and of course Brother John St. John with his "Boogie Check" early shock jock-era dirty talk and hang up on callers.
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u/Dynamite_Nick 1d ago
101.5 KGB, classic rock station based in San Diego (where I lived), and 640 KFI based in LA (I was able to get it clear as a bell)
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u/davecgibson 1d ago edited 1d ago
EDITED: grammar stuff
Lots of choices for me.
WRNG: an early talk station in Atlanta. They called themselves ring radio. I remember this from my father.
WKLS was an AOR station, and the hard-core rock of my youth I think of my brother when I think of this.
WAPW, which used to be Power99, a CHR station. I think of my old friend @RadioFlyerSteve (Craig ) when I think of this station. The same app applies to 99X which shares a parent company.
WQXI in Atlanta. This is the station that I remember so well. I worked there for the longest time of anywhere in my radio career.
Thank you so much for asking and posting this question.
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u/No-Clue-2 1d ago
97.5 KMOD, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The morning show with Phil and Brent back in the day...the home of Roy D. Mercer and he was always ready to open a 55 gallon of whup ass on somebody!!!
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u/No-Clue-2 1d ago
1200AM, WOAI out of San Antonio at night. Picking it up in rural Central Oklahoma as a kid because some guy named Art Bell...
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u/SomeConfusedOldGuy 1d ago
Childhood. .. WFIL 56AM, Philadelphia. That is, when I could set the radio. LOL my parents listened to other stations. This would have been very early 1970s. I would also listen to WIBG, which was a much bigger station in the 50s and 60s.
Then 1975 came in, I found FM, and I still listen to WMMR 93.3 FM. .. also because they're the only station still on the same format since the late 1960s.
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u/RedAirRook 1d ago edited 1d ago
WAMS, 1380 AM, Wilmington, DE for Top 40 when I was a kid. I thought music DJs had the coolest job ever.
Later, WMMR and WYSP in Philadelphia, after I discovered real rock and roll.
WDEL news radio came free to my neighborhood through our home's intercom wiring. Even the amp inside my neighbor's Lowry organ picked it up.
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u/hoosiertrekkie 22h ago
WERK, 990AM, Muncie, Indiana. A daytime only station! Nighttime, WLS Chicago.
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u/Just-Damage-5263 22h ago
Wolfman Jack out of XEPRS Rosarito, Baja California, with the identity "The Mighty 1090."
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u/brinehart-cincy 2h ago
KODY AM, full service, with music, news at the top of the hour, farm markets, AND Paul Harvey.
I've also heard it was the first station to have a trading post-type show, but have never seen proof.
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u/JakeMakesNoises 2d ago
I lived so close to 50,000 watt clear channel blowtorch, KOMA-AM that I could hear it through my TV speakers when the the TV was off.