WYYY was a 1970s-era Rock station licensed to Kalamazoo, Michigan. Looking at an old playlist, it's interesting to see what was played at WYYY--Roberta Flack, Seals & Crofts and Lobo might be considered too light even for today's Soft Rock stations let alone "Kalamazoo's Solid Rocker!!!"
14 comments:
Wyyy not.
I worked at WYYY right out of high school, from 79 to 81 during the time it was changed back to WKLZ. Then in 85 I started at WQSN, which took over the 1470AM frequency in Kalamazoo. It is now dark. - Tim Brown www.timbrownvox.com
My first job after my 2-year Army hitch was at WYYY. Owner Bud Popke hired me to bew a sales rep. Worked there from 1971, to 1975, when I moved to WOOD Radio 1300 in Grand Rapids. Four years at WYYY were the best education possible. Except for a brief hiatus in the healthcare business, I spent over 38 years in radio advertising sales and management.
Hello! I wonder if you knew my dad, who worked at WYYY: Ron Newhouse, the Big Dutchman?
Had a very good friend that worked there as an announcer (now a prominent figure in New Orleans radio) in the mid to late 1970's, told me a number of funny stories about the station, Bud and Bud's son.
When the sitcom "WKRP" came to TV I thought most people would never believe how true in style it was. I recall one incident at WYYY when the owner, Bud, was nurturing a small plant that had grown from seed in his office. One day he discovered that it was a marijuana plant...
I myseelf worked at super 1470AM WYYY 1979-1981
I was on the air at WYYY for just a few months as (Jay Arthur)...but then got an offer to do mornings at WGRD...an offer I couldn't refuse....Larry Knight was the program director....he heard me on the air at WVIC in Lansing...good station but checks bounced...Does anyone know where Larry is now? Joe Giannunzio real name...
As a student at Western Michigan University in 1972 and Dee Jay at campus radio station WIDR, I recall visiting the Big Y. A guy named Roger Hamlin did the 20/20 news. One of the Jocks last names was West. Dee Jays at their competitor WKMI were Jim Higgs in the morning, Dave Thompson at drive time and Gary Outlaw overnight. My program director at WIDR Rick Merpi was a weekend jock at WKMI using the name Dick Murray.
In the 1980's I hosted programs at WEHB-FM community radio in Grand Rapids.
Where was the station located in Kalamazoo? Factory street comes to mind. But I can't imagine where it would have been.
It was at 2315 Schippers Lane, which was off East Michigan, north of King Highway. It was in low-lying swamp land (good ground conductivity for the AM antenna). But whenever it would rain, the toilets would back up. I drove by there a few years ago, and it's just a huge field. Building and tower are long gone. I was Program Director there for 5-minutes in the late 70's. Bud Popke was a decent guy to work for. He wanted to run a good radio station, but the daytime/500-watt signal and limited budget couldn't compete with WKMI.
I too worked at WYYY , some on-air, but mostly technical in nature.
I noted an earlier post about radio station WEHB Grand Rapids, I helped put that station on the air back in the late 70's.
I listened to WYYY often during my HS years in the ‘70s.
Two unusual things I recall about the station: 1) They operated under an FCC license that required them to go off the air at sunset and back on at sunrise. 2) They were the first rock/pop station in the Kalamazoo area to hire a female DJ (or at least the first one I ever heard). She had an Irish name. I think it was Ciel (pronounced “seal”) Bohannon. Does anybody remember her?
As a 15-year-old girl who hoped to work in radio some day, I was blown away hearing a female DJ. I usually tuned in specifically when she was on the air.
I did eventually do radio news in college — at WIDR-FM — but ended up being a newspaper journalist.
I remember that WKMI lineup of DJs very well, especially Thompson with his TNT voting – top nine tonight – where one could call in and vote for their favorite top 40 song. He would tally the votes for a few hours and count them down to the number one — playing each song until he finished his shift with the number one just before the top of the hour.
I must’ve called him every weeknight during the summer of 1976, voting for Chicago’s “If You Leave Me Now.”
In my recollection, though, Thompson was only on in the evening. It was Jeff Mark who did the afternoon drive time. Remember when they did a staged kidnapping of him? I really believed it at the time and was worried for the guy, only to find out later it was a staged hoax crafted to drive ratings. It was my first major disappointment in the real world and taste real life — that adults could and did lie to teenagers for very grown-up purposes. 😠😡🤬
That was the beginning of the end of my love for WKMI.
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