103.3 WLTK was a Contemporary Christian station licensed to New Market, Virginia. WLTK now broadcasts at 102.9 FM and is part of the K-LOVE radio network.
My wife and I went to the Fraze Pavilion last night to see Summerfest 18 which was sponsored by WMMX. They were handing out stickers and rubber bracelets so I grabbed a few (along with a vinyl banner that was taped to a walkway handrail and somehow magically ended up in my possession. Shhhh don't tell anyone...) Other "Mix 107.7" stickers can be seen here.
This year's concert began with a set by Detroit's garage poppers The Romantics. Lead singer Wally Palmer still plays a mean harmonica and the crowd got on their feet for "Talking in your Sleep" and especially "What I Like About You" which is pretty much a perfect power pop anthem. I was kinda disappointed they didn't play "One in a Million" which hit the Top-40 but almost never gets played on the radio these days. In fact, the last time I heard it was on a Saturday morning WMMX rerun of American Top 40 from 1984 when the song reached #37.
Up next was Night Ranger who played a non-stop string of sing-along anthems including "Sing Me Away", "When You Close Your Eyes", "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", the Damn Yankees' "High Enough", "You Can Still Rock in America" and, of course, "Sister Christian". You can tell these guys have been doing this for a long time, just great sounding, tight rock and roll.
Then Rick Springfield walked out on stage alone with an acoustic guitar. I figured he started all of his concerts this way but he explained that some members of his band had just landed at the airport and wouldn't be there for about 30 minutes. Rick's flight was delayed as well and apparently he didn't make it in time to do a soundcheck. His clothes didn't arrive with him either so he had to wear one of his own concert t-shirts. After a five song acoustic set, Jack Blades from Night Ranger came back out to play bass joined by Rick's guitarist and drummer and we were treated to an impromptu set of covers done totally on the fly--"Crossroads", "Gloria", "You Really Got Me", "Fire" and "Wild Thing". Right about the time they ran out of songs they could all play together (Blades didn't know any Springfield tunes) the remaining members of Rick's band showed up and they ripped through a quick Springfield's greatest hits set culminating in, you guessed it, "Jessie's Girl". The Fraze Pavilion has an 11:00 curfew because the outdoor venue is situated right in the middle of a neighborhood in Kettering, a suburb of Dayton. It's hard to say what songs we didn't get to hear because of the situation although some we got to hear twice, both acoustic and electric. "I've Done Everything For You" is great either way. It was a really fantastic show and a lot more spontaneous than anyone could have expected. I joked that I was probably the only guy who dragged his wife to this concert instead of the other way around. (Rick Springfield's rabid female fan base is legendary.)
WHMD is a Country station in (W) HaMmonD, Louisiana currently branded as "Kajun 107.1"
The back of the bottom sticker dates it to the mid-1980s when they were a Rock station. You could win a Pontiac J-2000 Sunbird just by slapping their decal to the bumper of your even crappier current car.
WDCV broadcasts from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The station began in 1959 operating at 640 AM and switched to 88.3 FM in 1973. Newspaper clippings, photos and other station memorabilia covering WDCV's 50+ year existence can be found here.
100.7 WLEV broadcasts to the (W) LEhigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania. The Adult Contemporary station is licensed to Allentown, PA. They first went on the air at in 1973 at 96.1 FM before moving to 100.7 FM in 1997.
99.9 FM WZAL is a non-profit, locally-focused, LPFM station licensed to Alabaster, Alabama. Musically, they carry a unique spin on the "all-hit" format in that the hits come from a variety of genres including Country, Alternative Rock, Contemporary Christian, Top-40 and Classic Rock. The station's mission is to support local charities, ministries and civic organizations. After operating costs are covered, WZAL's giving committee donates any remaining money to groups that need the funds. "APH Radio" (Alabaster, Pelham, Helena--the three main towns that the station serves) went on the air in the summer of 2014.
94.1 FM in Atlanta, Georgia became WQXI in the late 1960s and was known as "94Q" starting in 1977. They were a dominant Top-40 station for much of their history before signing off in 1989 with John Lennon's "Imagine". The frequency is now home to Hot Adult Contemporary station "Star 94.1" WSTR. WQXI was licensed to Smyrna, GA.
The KRZQ call letters have existed in Reno, Nevada on three different frequencies. The original KRZQ, licensed to Tahoe City, California, went on the air in 1985. "96 Rock" was later described as a "bad 90s metal station" by the program director of the second KRZQ who flipped it to Alternative around 1992. This version at 100.9 FM, licensed to Sparks, NV, lasted until 2011 when they switched to Hot AC as "Mix 100.9". After a one year absence, Alternative Rock and the KRZQ calls emerged again at 104.1 FM licensed to Fallon, NV.
570 AM KLAC is a Sports station in (K) Los Angeles, California. They carried Los Angeles Lakers games from 1977 until 2009, a span that saw the team win 10 NBA championships. In 2015, KLAC was partially acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers and re-branded as "AM 570 LA Sports". The commercial below dates to the mid-80s when they had just flipped to Country, a format that lasted until 1993 when they switched to Adult Standards.
NCI (Native Communications Inc.) is a large public radio network covering 98% of Manitoba via 57 transmitters. They began broadcasting in the northern part of the province in 1971. Programming is designed for and by Native people and consists of Country music mixed with Aboriginal artists. 105.5 FM is CICY, a 100,000-watt station licensed to Selkirk, MB near the capital of Winnipeg.
CFRC (Canada's Famous Rugby Champions) is the campus radio station of Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. The station's history goes back almost as far as radio itself when an engineering professor gave a demonstration of wireless telegraphy in 1902. Their website claims that they are the longest-running campus based broadcaster in the world. As the above button indicates, CFRC (then known as 9BT) made its first experimental broadcast in late summer or early fall of 1922. For much of its past, CFRC broadcast at 1490 AM, later moving to 91.9 FM and currently broadcasts at 101.9 FM. A comprehensive history of CFRC can be found at this Queen's University archives page.
Vancouver, British Columbia's CKLG (CK Lion's Gate Broadcasting) went on the air in 1955 at 1070 AM and featured "MOR, popular and classical music". Due to interference from Los Angeles' KNX, CKLG moved to 730 AM in 1957. Around that same time the 10,000-watt station featured three husband and wife teams on the air. A Top-40 format was introduced in 1964 and, except for a mid-90s run as a Talk outlet, the station played contemporary music up until 2001 when they flipped to all-News as CJNW. 730 AM is currently CHMJ, an all-Traffic station.
Anybody know the meaning behind the "CKLG Gonged Me" button?
