|
|
Scott- What a great site! It was a nostalic trip down memory lane. I was an avid listener of 'LS during the 60's. Loved Ron Riley; hated Clark Weber. Of course, it had to be during the Beatles era.(I did meet Clark years later at a reading of "A Cup of Christmas Tea". What a sweet man.) My friends and I would take the Archer bus and walk over to Michigan and Wacker to the Stone Container Building and see the DJ's live during their radio time slots. -Jeanne Godowski
|
||
|
I just finished reading every page and listening to every link on your great WLS web site. I was a kid growing up in the '60s and '70s and my back yard adjoined the huge field just west of Tinley Park where the WLS transmitting tower was (and is) located. All of the kids use to climb the fence and "play war" while daring each other to go closer to the tower. We never got up the nerve to actually walk ALL the way up to it! What a kick as a kid to listen to guys like Lujack and Landecker on the radio while staring out my bedroom window at that huge hulking tower. My brother and I grew up watching lightning strike it during thunderstorms and were "shocked and awed" as the guide wires sparkled and flashed with its power. The station was so strong that we use to pick up "The Rock of Chicago" through our heating ducts on a regular basis. My neighbor got it through her mix master and the entire neighborhood got it through their telephone at one time or another.
It was a great era and a great station.
Thanks for the memories!
-Ron Woods
Ron, Thanks so much for the memories! I am VERY glad that you and your friends did not get the nerve to get near the tower, because we probably would not be getting your email today! You probably would have been fried, just like the bugs in a bug zapper! A 50,000 watt AM tower radiates it's whole length and can be very dangerous. Glad you passed on your great story! -Scott
| |||
|
|
This
will sound like a funny question, but do you know where that picture of
the WLS Magic Bus was taken? -Jeff
Axelrod Hey Jeff, Unfortunately that is the only copy that I have of that picture, but you never know - it could be you! Just like you, I spent many a summer following around the Magic Bus and hanging out on the 5th floor as well. I have been in the radio biz since 1988! -Scott
| ||
|
Hello, My name is Prairie Farmer. And no I am not kidding. I was researching the internet for the "Prairie Farmer magazine" and came across your web-site for the "Prairie Farmer Days" and was amazed. I never knew that my name had circled around so many things. I thought I would write a letter to tell you that well my name is Prairie Farmer, and people are quite shocked to know that there actually is one. Surprising enough, I'm not far from Chicago. I'm about 3 hours south. I visit some family in Crystal Lake every year. Thank you for your time! Sincerely, -Prairie Farmer
| |||
|
Scott, I read with interest your information on WLS-FM. WENR-FM also has an interesting history. From the mid 1940s until 1955, when WENR-AM merged with WLS-AM, and WLS-AM went fulltime, WENR-FM simulcast WENR-AM. After that, to keep the license, WENR-FM simulcast the sound of sister station WBKB-TV for a few years. Then it aired five hours a day of ABC Radio programming. Finally, WENR broadcast five hours a day of classical music, jazz, Broadway music and background music. The station was computerized and operated out of a broom closet at WBKB at 190 N. State St. Becoming WLS-FM, the station moved to 360 N. Michigan Ave., the home of WLS-AM. Some of the DJ's there did double duty, working the station breaks at WBKB and doing air time on WLS-FM. One such person was Don Ferris, who had worked at Channel 11 and did a jazz show at WXFM. Ferris returned to channel 11 and recently retired from there. I am presently writing a book on the history of Chicago radio: 1922 to the present time and hope to get it published by the end of the year. -Kenneth R. Masson
| |||
|
Love your site. For some reason I made an aircheck from midnight to 7:00 pm on the last day of music. I still don't know why I did this to this day, but I'm grateful I did. -Mark Stanek
| |||
|
Scott, One of my listeners directed me to your website and I was absolutely blown away. I spent several hours going through the audio, the articles and all the memories. It's nice to see WLS portrayed in the way you did. It was a MAJOR part of my childhood and one of the reasons I decided to become an announcer. Lujack, Landecker, Sirott, Edwards, Davis and King were mainstays in my voratious broadcasting appetite when I was a teen growing up in NW Indiana. Once again a great site and keep up the great work. -Rik Anthony
| |||
|
Scott, Nice web site. Thank you! I'm a "retired" broadcaster. Worked at several stations here in Minneapolis in my radio days. Radio is still a fascinating medium, especially technically. Best To You in a tough biz! -Jim Stokes
| |||
|
Hi Scott, I happened to stumble into your website. Really great reading and easy to navigate. I enjoyed getting the history of 94.7, and seeing the names and faces of all the stations. Kind of wish I grew up with Chicago radio, the more I read about it. You've done a great service to the legends and to anyone who loves radio, past or present. I'll be back again for the Dahl page and WMAQ and more. Thanks again! -Adrienne
| |||
|
| |||
|
|
