May 2nd, 1960.
To some, radio history was made that day, while others would
argue that's the day that radio took a turn for the
worst. After 36 years of broadcasting farm information,
various "polite" entertainment, country music and
the National Barn Dance, the sounds of "Alley Oop"
by The Hollywood Argyles crackled out of radios tuned to AM
890 that spring morning. WLS was transformed from the old,
creaky Prairie Farmer outlet into a hip, urban-minded
contemporary-hit station. Sam Holman and Ralph Beaudin were
brought in by ABC to transform the Prairie Farmer into a
rocker. The first day on the air, WLS scored a major news
scoop. That day, the WGN traffic helicopter
crashed, killing reporter Len
Baldy. Harvey Wittenberg, a news writer and
reporter at WLS remembers that they had it on-the-air right
away. The story went on to become the station's
"News Tip Of The Week." They actually had the
story on-the-air before WGN Radio!
Bob Hale on the
death of Len Baldy.
(L-R)
Chuck Bill and Tom Fouts aka "Captain Stubby" of the
WLS Farm Special show,
WLS president Ralph Beaudin, program director
and on-air personality Sam Holman,
newsman Harvey Wittenberg, ABC's Don McNeill of The
Breakfast Club.
Gene Taylor on
"The New WLS" - June 1960.
Sam Holman, WLS'
first program director of the "rock era" brought a
new package of jingles to WLS, sung by the Anita Kerr singers
("...wonderful double-youuu elllll esssssss, in
Chicago!") and a band of young disc jockeys ready to take
the Windy City by storm. Bob Hale, Gene Taylor, Mort Crowley,
Jim Dunbar and a hotshot named Dick Biondi, whose screaming
and singing "On Top Of A Pizza" made him an instant
success in Chicago. Prior to these five being hired, it was
rumored in the Chicago Tribune's "Tower Ticker"
column that Howard Miller and John Doremus were being
considered, but that they were under contracts elsewhere. A
Prairie Farmer holdover, Ed
Grennan stayed on as a disk jockey after the format
switch, as well as newsmen Jerry Golden, Harvey Wittenberg and
Jerry Mitchell. In the coming years, WLS would introduce the
Midwest to such musical acts as The Beach Boys, The Rolling
Stones, Dave Clark Five as well as local acts it helped make
famous such as The Buckinghams and The Cryan Shames. But in
the near term, a lot of hard work was ahead.
Newscaster Jerry
Golden on the "new guys" at WLS.
Chicago's
Swinging Seven from 1962.
Dex Card counts down the
Silver Dollar Survey.
Despite a heady
start, WLS had a tough go of it at first. Long time
listeners complained because the Prairie Farmer programming
was gone. A lack of station promotion in the beginning
prompted the jocks to quip that "two-way radios in
Chicago taxis had more listeners!" The other
problem was that the station was still housed in the Prairie
Farmer Building at 1230 W. Washington Boulevard. Quite a
long way from the downtown ad agencies that WLS salespeople
needed to visit. In addition, the Prairie Farmer was
still being published in the building. It had been
noted that when big heavy palettes of paper were dropped onto
the basement floor, the vibration shook the building so, that
records being played on-the-air actually skipped! After early
rumors of the station moving in with its TV sister station
WBKB-TV into the State-Lake Building (which would eventually
happen many years later), WLS moved to their famous digs on
the 5th floor at 360 North Michigan Avenue in August of 1960.
The Prairie Farmer Magazine was eventually shifted to ABC's
"Diversified Publishing Group" in New York (with
smaller Prairie Farmer offices in Decatur and Indianapolis)
and the old building at 1230 was sold off.
Home
is where the radio is: (L) The Prairie Farmer Building at 1230
West Washington Boulevard.
(R) The London Guarantee Building, later Stone
Container Building at 360 North Michigan Avenue.
In the early days of the rock
era, the station was saddled with a great deal of news and
required ABC network programming like Don
McNeill's Breakfast Club, the early morning WLS
Farm Special featuring Chuck Bill and Captain Stubby, Mid-Day,
a half-hour news block at noon and the one-hour news block News-Scope
at 6:30pm! [see the WLS
Schedule] Plus Martha Crane would continue to give social
updates and housewife tips as she had done since the late
1930's. Not the kind of stuff that fits in with the
latest offerings from Elvis and The Everly Brothers.
Stiff competition from WGN and WIND kept WLS from making it to
#1 (they stalled at #3 for some time), yet Beaudin and Holman
had the vision of making the station a success. As the
years went by, WLS' popularity snowballed and was not handily
surpassed for some 26 years after the format switch!
The
"Wild I-tralian" Dick Biondi
Clark
Weber in studio with Gene Taylor
Traffic
reporter and "safety adviser" Officer Vic Petrolis.
Click here to hear the album story as told by Gene Taylor, Sam
Holman & Dick Biondi (in 1985).
He was the most
popular personality in the Midwest at night, pulling in huge
audiences. Ranting and raving every night, talking with
listeners and passing along their messages (there were no
phoners in the early 60's), singing off-key in between songs,
including his "On Top Of A Pizza," Dick Biondi owned
every person under the age of 30.
The Pizza Song
was recorded in 1961.
Hear the story
and The Pizza Song.
Hear Dick Biondi play "Please Please Me" on WLS,
late February 1963.
Biondi was the
first known American disc jockey to play a Beatles record in
the United States. Prior to appearing on Capitol Records, The
Beatles were released on small independent labels, such
as Tollie, Swan and Chicago's own VeeJay Records. When
"Please Please Me" was released in February, WLS
added it to the playlist. Sources say that the label
president, Ewart Abner had a good relationship with the
station and hoped it would create the excitement that The
Beatles were enjoying in England. "Please Please Me"
debuted on the March 8, 1963 WLS Silver Dollar Survey at #40
(with their names misspelled on the 45 and subsequently the
survey). Even with Biondi's airplay and enthusiasm for the
song, the single didn't budge and fell off the chart two weeks
later. It turns out, Biondi was just a bit ahead of his time.
Dick Biondi
only stayed with WLS for 3 short years. The old story of
Biondi being fired because he told an off-color joke was
simply not true. He was in a ratings battle with Dick Kemp,
evening personality at rival WYNR (1390). Dick was very concerned about the high
amount of commercials and news he had to run every hour and he
let his displeasure be known to the General Sales Manager. He
let his temper get the best of him and as a result, a literal fistfight ensued in the hallway of the
station! After it was over, Dick was told to go home
and cool off. He took this as being fired.
Eventually a mutual agreement was reached. Biondi left
WLS and went on to work at KRLA in Los Angeles, then later
back to Chicago to WCFL.
Art Roberts on WLS
in 1968
Art Roberts
went on to fill Biondi's shift and did phenomenal ratings in
the nighttime hours. Coupled with Ron Riley from 6:30 -
9:00pm, the pair provided a one-two punch for most of the mid
1960's. Art moved up to middays and later morning drive,
before moving on in 1970.
Biondi on what made the WLS jocks unique.
Dick
Biondi with his adoring audience.
Bob
Hale
Dick
Biondi with "Gayla Girl" Carol Anne Robel in 1962
and the WLS Personality Album Magazine from 1967.
By 1965, WLS
was leading the ratings for young adults in Chicago. In fact,
WLS was number one in midday, afternoon and evening time
periods. General manager Gene Taylor remarked "This
dominance in the market for so long has given our listeners
faith in WLS. They know we are playing the hottest records -
not nescessarily the newest records - but well-established
records." "Mother Weber's Oldest Son" Clark
Weber commented that "It is a fantastic devotion to our
fans. We're very concious of what they want." Competition
was engaged when WCFL (1000) dropped its labor programming to
take on "Channel 89." It was the beginning of
a long and bitter radio war that would last eleven years, with
several personalities working on both sides of the river at
one time or another. As the decade progressed, many WLS
personalities went on to become household names. Weber held
down morning drive before becoming program director.
Midday disk jockey Bernie Allen also was a professional
singer. Ron "Ringo" Riley, who interviewed The
Beatles when they came to town also appeared on the Batman
Show and often "feuded" with Clark Weber. Afternoon Silver
Dollar Survey Show host Dex Card was known as
"the crew cut fellow in the first row."
Dex
Card overseeing the fun at one of the many record hops the WLS
jocks appeared at.
Art Roberts,
who also interviewed the Fab Four, racked up with an
incredible 62% audience share at night and released an album
entitled "Hip
Fables." He also featured a radio serial
entitled "The
Wild Adventures of Peter Fugitive" featuring WLS
Production Director Ray Van Steen. Like Clark Weber, Don
Phillips, who hosted the East of Midnight show was also
a licensed pilot. He would often fly to several record
hops in the course of an evening. In 1967 Gene Taylor,
now WLS' station manager, brought over a young go-getter,
recently in from Boston who was doing the all-night show at
Super CFL...Larry Lujack.
The Beatles and
Batman
Larry Lujack's
first day at WLS in 1967.
Art
Roberts at a WLS "record hop."
Ron
Riley
Larry
Lujack
(L-R)
Clark Weber, Dex Card,
Bernie Allen, Art Roberts,
Don Phillips, Ron Riley
Ray Van Steen as Peter Fugitive.
(Click here
to learn more about
the Peter Fugitive radio serial)
Ron
Riley, Don Phillips and
Art Roberts with the Fab Four.
The Monkees invade WLS in 1966.
Gene
Taylor went from jock
to PD to General Manager.
Young
Larry Lujack in 1967.
Ron
Riley's Batman Club (left: pin, center: card, right: Ron as
Batman!)
.
As the 60's
came to an end, the sound of WLS began to shift to an even
more frenetic pace. The music changed from the happy 3 minute
ditties to a harder, more psychedelic sound. The sounds of
Donovan, Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Doors began to
dominate the WLS Survey. Records broke the 4 and 5 minute mark
and WLS did what it could to sound contemporary. As a result,
some of the personalities changed. Most of the original
"Swinging Seven" had gone on to other places and a
younger generation began to take hold.
Chuck
Buell
Kris Erik Stevens
Chuck Buell and
Kris Erik Stevens on WLS in 1969
WLS and Chicago
welcomed new jocks Chuck Buell, Jerry Kay and Kris Erik
Stevens under the direction of new PD John Rook, who arrived
in 1967 and radically changed the on-air sound of WLS. WLS
had been in a ratings war with rival WCFL since they signed on
in 1965 and the Big 89 had "Super 'CFL" right on
their tail. Rook tightened up the playlist and the on-air
presentation of the station. Things began to head upward
again. "I always insisted WLS was not a teeny bopper top
forty station. Not only was the on-air disc jockey talent, the
news men, but the jingles also had to sound BIG...after all
WLS was "The Big 89." WLS was named "Radio
Station Of The Year" by Bill Gavin of "The Gavin
Report," a radio industry magazine in 1968. According to
Rook, "During this period of time, no Chicago radio
station out-rated WLS. The station was number one in all Pulse
and Arbitron books with a total audience of 4.2 million
listeners each week". WIP Radio Philadelphia Operations
Manager Tom Bigby commented, "When WGN had a 12 share,
WLS had an 18."
As the seventies loomed ahead, how would "The Bright
Sound of Chicago"
continue to balance personality and music?
The
WLS airstaff in 1969: Art Roberts, Larry Lujack, Jerry Kay.
(seated) Kris Erik Stevens, Bill Bailey, Chuck Buell.
