WIXY 1260

Berg Richard, Carlo Wolff, Mike Olszewski

Description

The story of one of Cleveland's most popular and influential radio stationsBefore FM radio and the commanding album rock stations of the 1970s, there was WIXY 1260, a tiny Northeast Ohio AM radio station that became an entertainment powerhouse. Three visionaries assembled a legendary staff of on-air personalities and, with savvy programming and groundbreaking promotions, created WIXY 1260-a station that would become synonymous with 1960s pop culture. A Midwest juggernaut, WIXY aired everything from surf and Motown to country and the British Invasion. Crossing cultural and generational lines in one of the hottest radio markets in the country, it regularly took in more than fifty percent of the Greater Cleveland audience.Bob Weiss, Norman Wain, and Joe Zingale knew the kind of radio Cleveland wanted to hear. They also knew how to market that sound to make it a lifestyle. They bought a small station with a weak signal and renamed it WIXY, and it wasn't long before their competition fell by the wayside. Mike Olszewski and Richard Berg spin a lively tale of popular culture that will appeal to everyone from baby boomers to media scholars and cultural historians."Through extensive interviews with insiders, the authors chronicle WIXY's relatively brief yet exciting run and how the station came to dominate the airwaves in the '60s and '70s with a winning combination of tastemaking playlists, unforgettable on-air personalities, and outlandish promotions. It's a fun story, recounted with ample humor." -John Soeder, Music Critic, The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Sujets

• Radio

Informations

• Publié par: The Kent State University Press
• Date de parution: 19 août 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781612776651
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 39 Mo

Extrait

… Ä฀ … ฀   Mike Olszewski and Richard Berg with Carlo Wolff

Pixies, six-P฀cks, nd suPermen

Mike Olszewski and Richard Berg WIth Carlo Wol

Black Squirrel Books Kent, Ohio

™

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© 20 By The Kent State UnIversIty Press, Kent, OhIo 44242 â ŝ ÉŝÉÉ LIBrary of Congress Catalog Card NumBer 2006807 iSbN 978--60635-099-7 Manufactured In the UnIted States of AmerIca

â ô çôÉŝŝ çââô--ûçâô ââ OlszewskI, MIke, 1953– WiXY 1260 : pIxIes, sIx-packs, and supermen / MIke OlszewskI and RIchard berg ; wIth Carlo Wol. p. cm. includes BIBlIographIcal references and Index. ∞ iSbN 978-1-60635-099-7 (pBk. : alk. paper) 1. WiXY (RadIo statIon : Cleveland, OhIo)—HIstory. 2. RadIo statIons—OhIo— Cleveland—HIstory. 3. Rock musIc—HIstory and crItIcIsm. i. berg, RIchard. ii. Wol, Carlo. iii. TItle. HE8698.O54 2011 791.4409771'32—dc23 2011016807

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This book is dedicated to the

most important people in our lives,

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bIBlIography

Prologue

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66

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83

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965–66

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index

xIII

Acknowledgments

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Ix

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EpIlogue

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contents

Forewordby Chuck Dunaway

Prelude to a Legend

Foreword

in the radIo heavens there are But a few truly great radIo statIons that shIne as stars and reect the Top 40 era of the 960s and early 970s wIth BrIllIance. Some of those great radIo statIons were KLiF In Dallas, KAAY In LIttle Rock, WiL In SaInt LouIs, KiLT In Houston, KHOW In Den- ver, WAbC In New York, WHb In Kansas CIty, KFRC In San FrancIsco, WDRC In Hartford, WAKY In LouIsvIlle, WHbq In MemphIs, CKLW In WIndsor OntarIo, KXOL In Fort Worth, KHJ In Los Angeles, WXYZ In De- troIt, WKbW In bualo, WKY In Oklahoma CIty, KOiL In Omaha, WOKY In MIlwaukee, WTiX In New Orleans, WNOE In baton Rouge, KiMN In Denver, KqV In PIttsBurgh, KCbq In San DIego, KJR In Seattle, WFUN In MIamI, KONO In San AntonIo, and many more. Among them are the call letters of a small-powered radIo statIon that achIeved monumental status . . . WiXY In Cleveland. There wIll never Be another radIo statIon more perfectly executed and promoted as WiXY 260. it was one of a kInd and workIng there for several years was sometImes a matter of hangIng on and lettIng the magIc happen. it’s easy to lose your oBjectIvIty when you’re so closely Involved wIth the suBject aBout whIch you’re wrItIng. MIke and RIchard approached the hIstory of WiXY 260 wIth open and curIous mInds, Backed up wIth thorough research. in 968 i took a DJ posItIon at WKYC, whIch was an NbC owned and operated radIo statIon located across town from WiXY. WKYC trIed to dethrone WiXY as the ratIngs leader In Cleveland, ImplementIng the same format But not as well. WiXY’s “Three In a Row” at the top of every hour, great aIr talent, and excellent promotIons were too tough to Beat. After a year WKYC aBandoned the project and changed formats to easy lIstenIng. That Is the day i changed radIo statIons thanks to Norm WaIn and joIned WiXY 260, the Cleveland ratIngs leader as afternoon DJ and musIc dIrector. i remaIned there for several wonderful years. As i mentIoned earlIer, It

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