Of all the legendary AM Top 40s of the ‘60s and ‘70s, WLS Chicago is probably the one with the biggest footprint today. WLS had geography on its side; centrally located so that aspiring broadcasters across the country could hear it on the way home from their own shifts. Recency helps, too. On FM, WLS survived as a CHR until the early ‘90s. As a Classic Hits station, WLS-FM is approaching its twentieth anniversary next year.
Last year, a careful reconstruction of airchecks from WLS and ‘60s/’70s rival WCFL gave many an extra appreciation of the station’s legacy. I’m occasionally asked if the radio from that era holds up to our memories of it. For Ross on Radio readers, at least, there was no question.
With the well-remembered WLS jingle returning to the station this week via a new package from TM Studios, here are three other tributes to the station that readers may be interested in. Given the passion for WLS, this is hardly a definitive list, just recent efforts that came to my attention.
The WLS History Page has an extensive history of WLS jingles beginning with its launch as a Top 40 station nearly 65 years ago. The page is maintained by former Alpha Media Chicago PD Scott Childers, who also uses TM jingles on his own broad playlist online station, 92.1 The X, which can segue from Swing out Sister to Wilco or the Bee Gees to Mandy Moore.
The Big 89 is an online station programmed by veteran voice-over talent Chris Rollins. The station intersperses music from WLS’s CHR years with era-appropriate jingles, as well as classic commercials and station promos.
Meanwhile, Ted Smucker, Bill Shannon, and the team behind last year’s WLS/WCFL reconstruction returned shortly thereafter with a feature on morning legend Larry Lujack. On March 23 and March 30 at Noon ET, they’ll turn their attention to WLS afternoon/night host John Landecker, with reconstructed shows from throughout his career at WLS, WIBG Philadelphia, CFTR Toronto, and others on Rewound Radio’s DJ Hall of Fame series.
Another example of radio stations driving thru the rear-view mirror. Looking backwards for answers rather than reinvent.
Have you heard jingles for Spotify, Apple, Amazon or Apple? Of course not, they don’t use them. They know the future is in brand loyalty.
Meanwhile, radio continues to swallow its own tail.
Beau
I think a Classic Hits station is allowed to draw on its history and in the case of WLS, the jingle is part of the affinity for the brand. K-Earth 101 does great in L.A., without its classic shotgun jingle and without the references to KHJ, which only Quentin Tarantino would remember. WLS has been underperforming other Classic Hits stations, so making a bold break from the past hasn’t been the magic bullet.
Beyond that, it didn’t work so well for Top 40 to take on the trappings of FM Album Rock radio in 1979. When Top 40 did come back in 1982-84, it did so by readding jingles and sounding like Top 40 again, but on FM. Radio can best compete with Spotify/Apple/Amazon by addressing spotload, UX, and the experience on new platforms. But we’ve tried to copy their sparseness over the past few years and that’s not working for us either.