I was a faithful WLS, radio listener, when I lived back home in northwest Indiana. Unfortunately, now, I live in Saint Paul Minnesota with my husband. I would like to thank you for this trip back in time for me, when radio was radio. Thank you for all the memories.
On a clear winter night here in north Texas we could pick up WLS on the AM radio in the GTO, brings back lots of memories, crusin and listening to great rock radio.
Any kid jock in the Midwest in the 60's and 70's wanted to get his own airtime on the Big 89, me included. Never got that good, but I did get 33 years in the business. Radio used to be this damn good, but it isn't anymore.
RJ McAllister yrs later here’s a question if you care to answer? Where did you do your work in the Midwest ,, lived here my whole life and listened to much over the airways back then?
wesley johnson I think that after Uncle Lar passed in December of 2013, WLS-AM and FM died too! Today's 94.7 WLS-FM is not what the Big 89 was. It sounds too corporate, thank you Cumulus. I predict in another 5-10 years, WLS-FM 94.7 will be gone and a new format on Chicago's 94.7. Seasons Change, People Change, thenThey Die. Oh well (sad, can I cry now?)
+Scott Bailey WLS-FM needs to bring back the oldies!! I stopped listening to them and switched to 104.3. Didn't WLS-FM used to the format of the month club? I heard that they fired Fred Winston. Is Landecker still there?
Keep on the Rewind. When I lived in Terre Haute, Indiana, the side walks folded up at 10 pm. WLS kept us in music. I LOVE these rewinds. They keep the cob webs blown out of my antique radios. My 1927 Radiola yearns for this once a year extravaganza.
When they rolled up the side walk in Terre Haute, Indiana, and the local stations went silent, 89 WLS was ROCKIn. I grew up with WLS, and found it a travesty to find they went to talk radio. Thrilled to see they recognize their roots. Kepp the rock on AM 890 WLS.
I also grew up with WLS and was thrilled when the sun would set so I could finally pick up their signal here in my small western Virginia town, boy do I miss those fun days when America truly was great!
Like so many of you, I grew up listening to WLS, and then went to work as a radio DJ for a number of years. Love this tribute! Question...Do ANY of you remember listening to a popular WLS DJ named Art Roberts? I worked with him at a different station, and you couldn’t find a NICER guy in the business. You also might remember another WLS jock named Ron Riley. Between Art, Ron & Larry Lujack, well, it didn’t get any better!
There was just something pure, incredible magic when Uncle Lar & Lil' Tommy were together! I remember one morning me & 50 other kids begging our bus driver to slowwww dowwwwn on the way to school so we could listen to "Animal Stories"...and he DID IT!
Ours did that, too. Many times we were a little late, especially in the winter, because of just that. Used to tape Animal Stories at home during the summer, most of the time from the FM side. Even though we lived in southwest lower Michigan, our antenna was high (55') and we lived on one of the highest points between Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Grand Rapids. We could pull in the FM most days unless the weather was bad.
Laments of the summer of 74, when I religiously was a daily viewer , in what was back then the WLS viewing room. If I wasnt at a Cubs game, I was watching Sirott on his legendary afternoon shift. It was then where I developed huge aspirations to become a DJ. In the fall of 82, I attended Columbia College in downtown Chicago. Next year, going on to DJ in Peoria,Ilinois. Unfortunately, never made it to the big time, due to a drug and alcahol addiction. Nevertheless, can honestly say Bob Sirott truly inspired me to work as a DJ. As a jew boy from the Northside of Chicago, I always identified with Sirott. A true chicago rock DJ legend!
I miss this sound on radio it so damm dead radio now I do remeber this station as I can hear it from toronto at night. I need some of this type of sound.
I wish someone could do one of these for the golden days of KLIF in Dallas. We spent many a night listening to WLS after the local stations went off the air at sundown or midnight. Good times.
I only learned about these guys because Don Geronimo (in DC) used to talk about the respect he had for his "elders" Winston, Landecker, and Lujack. I knew I needed to find out what all the fuss was about.
Larry Lujack was my ex-wife's Uncle. I spent much time with him and Jude at their house in Santa Fe. I never knew how famous he was because to us he was just "Larry" in his ripped up jeans. He sure never acted like a big shot which shows his true character and they treated me great.
I love this kind of thing, when a station plays stuff from decades gone by. Hysterical, even though I didn't live in Chicago. What they did to "You Light up my Life," is classic. That song sure generated a lot of negativity, for such a good song that was number 1 for about 100 weeks.
I heard WLS on DX "skip" while growing up in DC, and it made me want to be in their league. I studied WLS' incredible talents and made an air persona for myself that took me to Market #1 for years. Later, I shared mornings at WPGC-FM/DC with WLS great Bill Bailey, who became a dear friend as well as a fantastic air partner. It was a shock to suddenly lose Bill in June 2013. I still have airchecks of us - Bill was not only funny, he was also cerebral for those who paid attention. Miss you!
That's quite a story! If that Bill Bailey was the same one that worked on WIXY in Cleveland, I met him years ago. What years were you at PGC? I was stationed at Ft. Meade in 1973 and listened to WPGC all the time!
@@videoholicreturns Late 80s was when I was PGC's AM/FM OM and Bill's morning partner. I grew up listening to WPGC 1580 - a daytimer - and years later I'm looking after the place. In November 1988 I turned the music off the AM for the last time, and turned it into the first all-business station in the U.S. Mike Bloomberg launched WBBR/New York ten months after I turned on Business Radio 1580. I was flattered that he paid attention to my format and clocks.
Hey Thanks! I heard this fiasco live that day. It was actually quite impromptu apparently, but so fun! Catherine Johns was such a good sport and made me laugh more than anyone. John L was a hoot, Larry almost constantly sounded bored and condescending yet entertaining. I'm ranting and trying to recall too much, someone slap me...
I was so lucky to have worked there from 1986 to 1991. I remember riding the elevator for the first time with Larry Lujack. A lot of great names still worked there. I also remember the downtown Burger King and that John Landecker told me he would not go in there because the BK lady yelled at him for cutting through to get to the lobby which everyone did back then. It was a sad day when they switched to talk radio. But, that was a boost for my career. They needed board ops for the Illini games and they found out I knew how and Ric Lippincott hired me on the spot to work part time. Did you know Les Grobstein used to be a cab driver? I found that out when he gave me a ride back to the station after a station party and we were discussing the best views driving in to the city. Everyone was great there and, again, so lucky I was able to work at the station I grew up listening to.
Wow, I have some KLIF on tape when I was in Texas in the Air Force in the early 70s! Great station, as I remember! And a friend of mine, Bob Schuman, worked there.
In 1960, some thought WLS had flipped format was a disaster and would fall flat on it's face! Oh how WRONG they were! It changed for the better. I listen some to WLS-FM 94.7 today, but it doesn't have that "ole feeling" that 89 WLS had. Uncle Lar is gone, really sad!
Yeah the FM doesn't have that ole feeling as much. Could use just a slight reverb like the Big 89. I have heard some FMs do that. We had a Top 40 in the 80's in Asheville with cool reverb. Then it went Country in the 90's. Really sucked.
@Chicagoboy61 --- Me too! Think we could sue somebody for making us think we'd get rich in radio? LMAO! The WLS guys were my biggest inspiration, pushed onward by little tv show called WKRP.
Everytime I see American aircheck its the same microphone used in all clips, is that the Electro-Voice RE20? It's all over the place! An American thing?
@Scott Frobel Did the American RJ's copy all music to cart format? To me it looks like that on the 80's air checks. There's no vinyl but always carts. Makes sense by the way cause cart respond so much faster than vinyl and you remove the chances of vinyl "fireplace" noise if you record a brand new vinyl to cart. Although I'm in Europe I used to listen to syndicated shows on FM and got to know guys like Shadoe Stevens, Casey Kasem and Rick Dees on KIIS FM L.A. It was so tight and compressed, loved it!
@Scott Frobel Thanks for the intel on that. Never knew the record companies actually supplied cart recordings. I guess you guys in the US had a greater cart format ecosystem with the automobile standards and everything. Here it was either MC players in the cars or later on CD's in the late 80`s. Never any cart format. That was exclusively for radio production but we never had pre-recorded carts. Carts in radio was used as a recording device and copy media. Btw, I actually remember Wolfman, I received some tapes of that.
I liked the voice of announcers in those days and embarrassed to say that Jeff Davis, my favorite jock of WLS was a fake. Looked like a 13 year old girl.
