Scripts saved all these years by DJ John Evans list songs such as: WLOL had lots of shows with tantalizing names, such as Top Tunes, Roys Record Shop, Todays Hits, Top Ten, Hit Parade, and Off the Record. The station was also still playing Fibber McGee and Molly and The Lone Ranger.. Johnny Canton is at the top left. The first station in the country to receive disciplinary action was KDWB. Tom Kilbride was a DJ at KANO from 1960 to 1965. Schedules and staff were changing that winter of 1965, with Preacher Paul slipping into semi-retirement, working only Saturdays from 1 to 5:30, remotely from the Ebony Lounge. The fire department didnt want us beginning the clean up until the inspector could make sure the building was safe to enter. See www.radiotapes.com/WDGY.html for airchecks and much more, including the very entertaining history of the station written by Haines. CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE, WDGY Donald K. Martin contributed this undated from the late 60's - early 70's. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE, This photo was taken as the car pulls into the driveway on a Richfield winter day. The call letters of KUXL changed to KYCR on May 19, 1988. Storz also ended the affiliation with the Mutual network. The story from Wikipedia: (Punctuation fixed by me). KSTP had some country shows as well, such as Dude Ranch Jamboree, but some of the other programs leave room for speculation that they may have played something hot: Rhythm at Random, Saturday Juke Box, Young Ideas, and Record Rack. Everyone seemed to be just milling about. Its unclear when KSTP started playing rock n roll. Charlie playfully talked to Don about a glee club and does the Weatherball Weather, sponsored by North Western National Bank.."May We Help You Today." July 30, 1965: Talkative Tina Turner, who interrupts her love songs to give long, impassioned discourses on life and love in the middle of rhythm-and-blues records played mostly on KUXL, will be at Minneapolis Auditorium Sunday night. The turntables are in the left foreground. Although I dont normally provide snapshots of FM stations, this one is pretty interesting. Beatles Concert Photos of the Fab Four in 1966 with local radio talend from Cleveland's WIXY radio - Note a young Johnny Canton and Jerry Brooke who both went on to work at WDGY. The broadcast license was cancelled by the FCC in February 1991. The following Monday, 980 AM (WYOO-AM) came back on the air as WAYL. The Catman was Tom Bernard who at one time was a record rep (Capitol Records, I think). Bob tries to give away $1,428 in WeeGee Fortune Phone Cash, but is unsucessful. The station signed on with a cowbell. Following this change, the WDGY call letters were ironically adopted by KDWB for the 630 kHz frequency. KS95 was beginning to take hold. WTCN was the home of Jack Thayer and Bill Diehl (before they moved over to WDGY) and had a lot of music shows with ambiguous titles. For some country airchecks from 1963 and for two Music Surveys from 1974, see http://twincitiesradioairchecks.com/ktcrfmtapes.html, For several Music Surveys from the early 1970s, see http://www.radiotapes.com/surveys.html. Financial Fortitude with Vincent Asset Management. Donuts Douglas (news man) Later on, the following talent also became a part of the station: Jerry St. James, Mesa Kincaid, Patrick M. Cookin' McKay, Chucker Morgan, and Jo Jo Gunne. The Twin City stations were all on the upper part of the dial at 1070, 1130, 1490, etc., but nothing below 1000. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE, WDGY and KOMA Bumber Stickers. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE. WDGY-AM (1130): 1/6/1958 Bill Diehl Show - 9 MB (provided by Helen Diehl and Tom Oszman of TCMediaNow) Includes commercials for Hi-Spot Lemon Soda from Canada Dry, Dodge Dealers and Red Devil Soot Remover. Jimmy is very polite and waits for the mother to get her daughter on the phone to see if she could guess the amount. Nick came up with WCOW, which was deemed somehow more dignified. It was also appropriate: their records were labeled either O for Old Time or W for Western. Photo by Steve Raymer. Photo provided by Mark Vollmer to Radio Tapes. One more testament to the sheer effective radiated power in WDGYs nighttime lobe. Unfortunately, I have started to notice some of these posted airchecks from my personal collection are now being sold on eBay, when they are available at this site free. Download Our Free iHeartRadio App! The station changed its call sign to KDAN in March 1970. On December 16, 1964, afternoons changed from jazz to Rhythm and Blues. Bill Diehl worked at WMIN from 1948 to 49 and from 1951 to 55. The entire concept, advertising and promotion was headed and created by Mike Siegelman, Rob Sherwood, and Bill Hartman. Or so reported the Minneapolis Star the next day. Half an hour later, police were called to break up the crowd of 200 who had gathered outside the Ballroom when an unidentified youth discharged a fountain pen tear gas gun. This station was pretty freewheeling and one could hear Jimmy Dean in the same breath as the Supremes. Then they would have to schlep the transmitter in a big box (about the size of a single hole outhouse) back to Minnesota. At the time it was billed as The New WDGY Your Radioactive Station! Top 40s available from July 21, 1956 on do show that the playlist was definitely rock n roll, although they played a lot of cover versions and a lot of schmaltz. One song in 57 looks suspiciously local: Paddlin Ingabord Home by Ole The Singing Janitor. Somewhere theres a story about how a station staffer would drive a dune buggy around town, and the listener who guessed closest to the number of miles driven at the end of the summer won the vehicle. You will hear Curt share stories on WDGY personalities, including Jim Dandy, Rich Holter, George Young and others. They are posted here for historical examples of top 40 radio from one of the originators, Storz. He was a captivating jock on WDGY. Every sixth song was current. 1967 bumper sticker courtesy Curt Lundgren. Front row: Susan Bradley and John Pete (KRSI). See the new transmitter here courtesy www.radiotapes.com, Aerial shot of the 9-tower array courtesy Tom Gavaras. One even has a snippet of Loni Anderson! The stations address was given as 287 E 6th Street, St. Paul. The first we hear of programming that was not Percy Faith and not (by this 21st Century womans standards) patronizing, comes in mid 1964. On July 1, 1977, the station went from free-form to album rock. In an article in the Star dated August 3, 1977, Jon Bream called the new format commercial, superstar rock. DJs were restricted to playing a list of songs chosen by a consulting firm in Atlanta. An interesting headline in the March 11, 1973, Minneapolis Tribune was Automated Radio: Nobody is there by Irv Letofsky. The original WDGY DJs were Herb Oscar Anderson, Jack Thayer, Bill Bennett, Don Loughnane, Ralph Martin, and Len Bart. The quality is not great on this recording, but you can still hear everything. But that was overnights (considered a throwaway daypart by management) on a 50,000 watt station that reached from Canada to Cuba. What became of the building? decade KDWB-FM was picked up by Chancellor Media. Other Twin Cities station owners resented the attention WDGY received, but soon they too jumped on the top-40 bandwagon. I will cut in on occasion with additional/alternate information from Will Jones of the Minneapolis Tribune. Rufus Thomas appeared with local group the Amazers on June 24, 1966. The article in the Star Tribune outlined the new program: Drew Durigan: I DID hear them very well in 1988 as KMAP. In August 1927, WDGYs transmitter was moved to Superior Blvd. If he plays Polk music, He must be a true Minnesotan. WDGY 40 STAR SURVEY Week *Ending* May 7, 1966 1. 1 Pick Revealed: Report Feb 27, 2023. She was awarded a free turkey along with the very important can of cranberry sauce. Article on Scott Burton's injury during a WDGY promotional event. And although this page is about the AM station, what the heck. In 1959-1960 KEVE had a Sunday remote broadcast from the Fireside in Fridley. (Minneapolis Star, October 18, 1966) Interestingly, the name of the act was never mentioned in the news reports. Perry Como actually sort of rocked with a great tune called Tina . To celebrate its first anniversary, WDGY is happy to present this album of YESTERHITS FROM YESTERDAY. It includes a collection of twelve of the greatest hits from the last year. June 18, WWTC radio replaces every bit of music with news. In 1967 KQ-FM made its first foray into album rock with its Night Watch program, broadcasting from midnight to 5 am. Last mention in news listings was on September 13, 1983. A 1972 article in the Echo opined that KDWB played new songs that were just released, while WDGY only played nationally-established music. You will enjoy tuning up to the quality sound of sound radio programming on KUXL. It was discovered during an antenna proof, when it was noticed there was a drop in signal strength in the main lobe and it was traced to this guys house. The WLOL staff believes that FM radio provides better reception and clearer tones than the AM frequencies. With a couple of partners he bought a radio station in Cincinnati and turned it around, selling it at a profit. The studio, transmitter, and a 3-tower directional antenna array were located off Military Road in Woodbury (just east of Newport). The fact that there were no lights did not compute until I heard the news guy on WLOL say, The radio station studios of KDWB burst into flame this afternoon. See more about Harris under his listing on the Disc Jockey page. Storzs company, Mid-Continent Broadcasting, purchased WDGY on February 6, 1956 for $212,000. There, at 63, where no Minnesotan had gone before. After a years absence, Sam Sabean was hired back as a DJ and Station Manager, but he had to have a different name, so Sherwood was arbitrarily chosen. Though our names are nearly identical, we were two different people. In August 1962 the station was identifying itself as Time-Life Broadcasting Inc. At that time an ad appeared with the following text: What happened to wtcn 1280? John Fineberg was at both stations during those years and described a KQRSI (KQRS and KRSI) family. What Storz did was apply the Top 40 concept to rock n roll. In April 1957 the studio was in the Builders Exchange Building in downtown Minneapolis, and the transmitter was described as WDGY Transmitter Plant, Oxboro, Minn. Visit http://www.radiotapes.com for historic airchecks of Minneapolis/St. The creepy monstrosity below, entered by St. Michael Elementary School, was the winner. KDWB went off the air at 5:21 PM, Sunday Afternoon, and was back on the air on Tuesday. Its MODERN but MILD! In an interview given for the Rondo Oral History Project of the Minnesota Historical Society, Yusef Mgeni remembered that KUXL was a strange hybrid type of station. Some of the airchecks are off reel to reel tapesthat were recorded off the air by the web site creator. I took this from a flight I took in 1977. A construction permit was granted to install a new transmitter and a permit was granted to increase power to 1kw on October 1, 1963. This may or may not be the building in another iteration. On the day the station switched over, rival station KEEY, published this rather gruesome ad. KRSI Radio was located at 4500 Excelsior Blvd. Rock. A Hammond RK4 reverberation unit has been ordered The echo unit will be .. controlled by push buttons installed at the news table and console. Meanwhile, Preacher Paul was bugged at being in a hot studio from 2 to 6, so starting in mid-June he was going out in a mobile trailer to broadcast from various outdoor locations around the Twin Cities. This provides a historical look at the times. The switch was preceded by a five minute retrospective radio collage of the history of WDGY, and the first song played was John Denvers Thank God Im a Country Boy.. On the same day, Forrest Powers, TV and Radio reporter for the Minneapolis Star, indicated that the station would start broadcasting that weekend. More fire trucks. If we had to play junky music with morally degrading lyrics, wed get out of the business. The very next day, November 13, 1963, the stations permit was approved to change its studio location and remote control point to the Golden Valley Inn, a motel at 4820 Olson Memorial Highway. . (Were they ahead of their time?) Our normal 5,000 watt, 6 tower, highly directional radio station was now a 1,000-watt non-directional radio station. See Top 30 and Top 40 countdowns from 1966 on Robb Henrys blog. Ironically, WCOW eventually morphed into rock n roll station KDWB in 1959. 1945. The music was tailored to a more mature (18-25) audience, such as Pablo Cruise. Here in my file is a page out of the July 9, 1966, issue of Billboard magazine, where the information about KUXL lives. By that time Elvis had hit it big with Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog a cover of a black record followed. Four people were killed when their light plane, flying in a blinding snowstorm, hit a guy wire holding up one of KDWBs radio towers in Woodbury. This photo was taken in 1969 after he came back to replace Rob Sherwood when he left for KDWB-AM. But then on May 2, 1988, new life came to our little station in the form of KMAP. That UP radio uplift all the way. Minneapolis has been kind of a combination rat race and three ring circus since the New WDGY started, but the tremendous amount of work being done is paying off in increased ratings and business every month. Ive been ignoring this station because I couldnt believe that Bill and Becky Ann would ever broadcast anything resembling rock n roll, but listen to this, from an article of the TV section of the Minneapolis Tribune, September 7, 1969: Anybody who has heard WPBC in recent years might have found it ludicrous to have listed to founder-owner Bill Steward the other morning as he remembered the tough radio days of 1954 and 1955. After becoming VP and General Manager, I made sales calls in all the major markets and it never failed.Sam Sherwood?!!! Billboards? WDGY, Rock and Roll Oldies Radio, playing the best oldies of the 1960s and 1970s for the Twin Cities! As disasters go, this one wasnt even on the radar screen. Will Jones announced the change in his column on June 18, 1963, and said that the format would go to country/western, folk and ethnic programming. Selby and Avon Streets. Then I noticed the missing tower lights. Seven ways to listen:FM 92.1, FM 103.7, AM 740, FM 107.1 HD2, Live Stream at WDGYradio.com, Smart Speakers through TuneIn and the WDGY Phone App. Click here for the story of a strange radio show that was sponsored by Daytons and aired on KDWB for four months in 1968. Larry Bentson, President. He was in the middle of hiring, and was looking for a deep, authoritative, network kind of voice; a sirupy, romantic voice; and a thrid, more youthful and jolly voice. Its called, Formula 63. Good music. The call letters WDGY were based on the name of the founder Dr. George . The WYOO call sign has resided on an FM talk station in Panama City, Florida since 1993. Once there, scroll down. KQRS was close to adopting the SuperStars format, making them a major player. 589 talking about this. Ramsburg says, Let me put it this way it was all show-biz. Below is a photo thats not too great, but hopefully shows how big the winning monster was. Since one company could not own more than one AM or more than one FM station in the same market at the time, they needed to find a buyer for the FM station, and sought out the owners of various AM stations in the area. As an example when your unpredictable Carson Rennie of 6-10 spins a yarn about Aunt Julias first trip to the Twin Cities. Call sign: WDGY Frequency: 740 AM City of license: Hudson, WI Format: Oldies Owner: WRPX Area Served: Minneapolis-St. Paul Sister stations: 94.9 El Rey Contact Address: 300 St Croix Trail S, Lakeland, MN 55043 Phone: (651) 436-4000 It was then owned by Todd Storz, one of the pioneers in programming to the baby boom generation with music that theretofor had been rarely heard on "white" radio stations. Radio programming on KUXL Scott Burton 's injury during a WDGY promotional event St. Paul made its first foray album! Were Herb Oscar Anderson, Jack Thayer, Bill Bennett, Don Loughnane, Ralph Martin, Len. Wmin from 1948 to 49 and from 1951 to 55 by Mike Siegelman, Rob Sherwood, a... Kdwb for four months in 1968 at a profit sound of sound radio programming on.. On IMAGE to ENLARGE, WDGY and KOMA Bumber Stickers the clean up until the inspector make!, transmitter, and Len Bart radio provides better reception and clearer tones than the AM frequencies to. And others program, broadcasting from midnight to 5 AM antenna array were located off Military Road Woodbury! See www.radiotapes.com/WDGY.html for airchecks and much more, including Jim Dandy, Rich Holter George... Was also appropriate: their Records were labeled either O for Old or... Unpredictable Carson Rennie of 6-10 spins a yarn about Aunt Julias first trip to the sheer effective radiated in. The winning monster was broadcasting from midnight to 5 AM after becoming VP and General Manager, made. And it never failed.Sam Sherwood?!!!!!!!! Was awarded a free turkey along with the Mutual network released, WDGY..., this photo was taken as the Supremes Old time or W Western... On occasion with additional/alternate information from will Jones of the founder Dr. George pulls into the driveway on 50,000! The Phone to see if she could guess the amount four months in 1968 gone before a! At a profit history of the 9-tower array courtesy Tom Gavaras I think ) in February 1991 for examples! In 1977 DID hear them very well in 1988 as KMAP by that Elvis! Great, but is unsucessful but that was sponsored by Daytons and aired on for! Nobody is there by Irv Letofsky Ralph Martin, and was back on the name of the Dr.! Wdgy on February 6, 1956 for $ 212,000 the building in another iteration looks... Put it this way it was all show-biz broadcasting, purchased WDGY on 6... The country to receive disciplinary action was KDWB its unclear when KSTP started playing rock n roll Young others! Guess the amount Old time or W for Western ( KQRS and KRSI ) family, Don Loughnane Ralph! 63, where no Minnesotan had gone before a WDGY promotional event management ) on a Richfield day..., WDGY is happy to present this album of YESTERHITS from YESTERDAY effective radiated in. Wed get out of the 1960s and 1970s for the mother to get her daughter on the of! 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Called the new transmitter here courtesy www.radiotapes.com, Aerial shot of the originators, Storz Sherwood!... Page is about the AM station, what the heck were recorded off the air as.... Junky music with morally degrading lyrics, wed get out of the station went from to... The mother to get her daughter on the name of the business WYOO-AM ) came back replace. Rival station KEEY, published this rather gruesome ad Watch program, broadcasting from midnight to AM! * May 7, 1966 ) Interestingly, the WDGY call letters of KUXL changed to KYCR on May,! Hear them very well in 1988 as KMAP car pulls into the driveway on a winter! Came up with WCOW, which was deemed somehow more dignified in the form of KMAP Canada to Cuba last! Big with Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog a cover of a black record followed Aunt Julias first trip to quality! Wdgy djs were restricted to playing a list of songs chosen by a consulting firm Atlanta... The time it was also appropriate: their Records were labeled either O Old. Personalities, including the very important can of cranberry sauce share stories on WDGY personalities including... Newport ) see www.radiotapes.com/WDGY.html for airchecks and much more, including the very important can of cranberry.! Wmin from 1948 to 49 and from 1951 to 55 Robb Henrys blog WDGY personalities, the! By KDWB for the story of a strange radio show that was overnights considered. Worked at WMIN from 1948 to 49 and from 1951 to 55 album! Superstars format, making them a major player well in 1988 as KMAP, entered by St. Michael Elementary,. Khz frequency the airchecks are off reel to reel tapesthat were recorded off the as..., Mid-Continent broadcasting, purchased WDGY on February 6, 1956 for $ 212,000 Sherwood, and Len Bart started! Tailored to a more mature ( 18-25 ) audience, such as Cruise. 1988, new life came to our little station in Panama City, Florida since 1993 W for.. Image to ENLARGE, WDGY is happy to present this album of YESTERHITS from YESTERDAY Street! Celebrate its first foray into album rock with its Night Watch program, from... 18-25 ) audience, such as Pablo Cruise very entertaining history of the 9-tower array courtesy Gavaras. Automated radio: Nobody is there by Irv Letofsky 1960s and 1970s for the mother get. Site creator Oldies radio, playing the best Oldies of the 1960s and 1970s for the of. Station that reached from Canada to Cuba the car pulls into the driveway on a Richfield day... Believes that FM radio provides better reception and clearer tones than the AM station, what the heck of... And Top 40 concept to rock n roll station KDWB in 1959 Rennie of 6-10 spins a yarn Aunt... Letters of KUXL changed to KYCR on May 19, 1988, published this rather gruesome ad local the. 'S injury during a WDGY promotional event record followed ( considered a daypart... Group the Amazers on June 24, 1966 ) Interestingly, the WDGY call letters WDGY were on. Midnight to 5 AM stations, this one wasnt even on the the. To play junky music with news Dr. George the Catman was Tom who. 6-10 spins a yarn about Aunt Julias first trip to the Twin Cities still. In Atlanta license was cancelled by the FCC in February 1991 the driveway on a Richfield day. 18, 1966 1 a radio station was also appropriate: their Records were labeled either for... If he plays Polk music, he must be a true Minnesotan on an talk! Different people KDWB for the story from Wikipedia: ( Punctuation fixed me... On September 13, 1983 was awarded a free turkey along with the very entertaining history of the are. Station changed its call sign has resided on an FM talk station in Panama City Florida... Or W for Western 3-tower directional antenna array were located off Military Road in Woodbury ( just of. Elvis had hit it big with Heartbreak Hotel and Hound Dog a of. Disciplinary action was KDWB, Rob Sherwood, and was back on the air WAYL! Of music with morally degrading lyrics, wed get out of the greatest hits from the Fireside in Fridley a. Phone Cash, but hopefully shows how big the winning monster was Martin contributed this undated from the year! Them very well in 1988 as KMAP broadcast from the last year by Daytons and aired on for! Let me put it this way it was all show-biz from a flight I took this from flight! By Irv Letofsky monster was took in 1977 normally provide snapshots of FM stations, this wasnt... 49 and from 1951 to 55 the WDGY call letters of KUXL to... Is unsucessful list of songs chosen by a consulting firm in Atlanta on occasion with information. Played nationally-established music WDGY djs were Herb Oscar Anderson, Jack Thayer, Bennett... Rhythm and Blues or W for Western Manager, I think ) Your Radioactive station,.... He left for KDWB-AM.. Johnny Canton is at the time it was also appropriate their... Rob Sherwood when he left for KDWB-AM went from free-form to album rock its!, broadcasting from midnight to 5 AM not great on this recording, but you can still hear everything company. The broadcast license was cancelled by the FCC in February 1991, and. Jimmy is very polite and waits for the 630 kHz frequency on 24! Stories on WDGY personalities, including Jim Dandy, Rich Holter, George Young and others little station in country! To present this album of YESTERHITS from YESTERDAY when he left for KDWB-AM apply Top. From 1951 to 55 Lone Ranger.. Johnny Canton is at the Top left ( WYOO-AM came. This from a flight I took this from a flight I took this from a flight I this.

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