WJOI 97fm 1987

[Ben Zonia]

The old I.F. image situation. WHLS Port Huron did it to CBEF when it was on 540 where in my area (no loss for me because it was French). In Guelph, Ontario their local signal on 1460 AM must do the same thing to WGR from Buffalo. I found that portable Sony radios could ignore it because they also used an I.F. that was like what car radios used.

CFOS moved from 1470 to 560 in 1958, it's IF Image frequency.

WMIC 1560 lived to 660 in 1987, close to the image frequency.

[Ben Zonia]

The old I.F. image situation. WHLS Port Huron did it to CBEF when it was on 540 where in my area (no loss for me because it was French). In Guelph, Ontario their local signal on 1460 AM must do the same thing to WGR from Buffalo. I found that portable Sony radios could ignore it because they also used an I.F. that was like what car radios used.

Many Sony radios have an extra Tuned Radio Frequency stage, that favors the actual frequency. If you can still get a ferrite loopstick and 365 pf variable capacitor, a wire antenna and ground, you can inductively couple the external loopstick to the ferrite rod in the radio, and tune it to the actual frequency. A tunable home built or manufactured loop antenna will also do it, like a Select-A-Tenna.

[ChrisWL1980]

I don't know how anyone could stand listening to that boring, sleepy stuff.

The death of the B/EZ format might be the best thing to have ever happened to FM radio.

With all due respect, I don't know how anyone can stand having their eardrums blasted by heavy metal. But we're all different.

Just think that back in the 60’s Detroit had three Beautiful Music stations in a row on the FM Dial. WLDM-FM 95.5, WJR-FM 96.3 and WWJ-FM 97.1 and we can’t forget WOMC-104.3 which was WEXL-FM originally. 101 Strings doing the latest instrumental version of Beatles songs or Bert Kaempfert or even Herb Alpert. The early days of FM Radio.

There was also 560 WQTE on AM (c. 1961 to 1974), and Windsor had 88.7 CKWW-FM in the pre-CJOM days. 106.7 W4 was also originally a Beautiful Music station under Gordon McLendon's ownership prior to the switch to Solid Gold around 1970.
Before "California Radio," WJR-FM carried a syndicated CBS corporate format called "The Young Sound," which was aired by many CBS O&O stations around the country including WCBS-FM in NYC. From airchecks I've heard, The Young Sound was similar to what WKNR-FM later did with Stereo Island (a blend of instrumentals and some very soft rock).

The mid-'70s were when Detroit was REALLY a B/EZ smorgasbord... 95.5, 96.3, 97.1 and 104.3 plus AM 560 and WNIC (the former WKNR-AM/FM) having joined the fray in 1972. Not to mention the out-of-market stations one could hear in the suburbs: WGMZ, WJIM-FM, WLQR, WGER, WXEZ, etc.

I had a teacher in 1968-69 who listened to reel to reel tapes of WQTE 560 before and in between classes, given to her by another teacher. Most radios in the area could not get WQTE, because of local WKMF 1470 having an IF image on 560. Car Radios were the exception, having a 262 kHz IF. WGMZ had dropped Beautiful Music for Adult Contemporary at the time, when they were sold to Metrocom, and Bob Layne/Bob Liggett was the Program Director. A couple of years later, WGMZ was sold to Beck Ross Communications, who returned it to an automated reel to reel syndicated Beautiful Music format. The other teacher must have had access to a location or receiver that could receive WQTE. At the time, it seemed like a lot of effort to listen to Beautiful Music. But most people didn't have more than one FM radio in their homes, and usually not in their cars, so it was another option when they wanted to relax at work. If they had an outside antenna at home, they could have heard all of those FMs mentioned except WLQR and WXEZ. But few people had outside antennas then. WBCM-FM 96.1 was also Beautiful Music before it became WHNN. When WBCM-FM was 41 kW, you could get both WJR-FM 96.3 and WBCM-FM 96.1, because they were about the same strength. Receivers tuned strong local signals pretty wide then, especially with the AFC on. Nobody mentioned WHFI 94.7.

I was under the impression WHFI was more a standard contemporary MOR station as opposed to mostly instrumentals. Or maybe that was just circa 1969 when the likes of Lee Alan, Marc Avery and Don Zee (all former Top 40 jocks) worked there? I know they went Oldies in 1972, first with Draper-Blore's Olde Golde format and a year later becoming Honey Radio WHNE with Drake-Chenault Classic Gold. I'm assuming the success of the oldies format was what drove WJR-FM out of Solid Gold and back to B/EZ. The WHFI calls and B/EZ format then went to 94.1 in Jackson, to remain until that station went AC as WIBM-FM "I94" about 1980.
I thought it might have been possible to receive WLQR in Flint in the days when 101.5 was still a pretty open channel across the whole area. WRVF's signal is still pretty listenable in parts of southern Livingston County.
I was just reading an excellent article about the early days of Beautiful Music radio in the '50s and '60s, which profiled both WLDM and WOMC to some extent. Apparently 103.5 WMUZ programmed Beautiful Music in the years before it was sold to the Crawford family and went religious. 97.9 WJLB (pre-WMZK) also programmed it in the late '50s. Still, WLDM and WOMC were really the only two that emerged with any kind of ratings success by the late '60s.
Here's the article for those interested... not all that "brief" despite the title but an interesting read for anyone interested in the history of FM radio or beautiful music in particular. https://www.percyfaith.info/Percy-Faith ... 0Radio.pdf

[ChrisWL1980]

Once in a blue moon I used to listen to WKEZ 96.1 from Holland.

I could tolerate it in small doses; stationality was nowhere nearly as bland as WJOI. WKEZ used to play quite a few instrumental remakes of mainstream hit songs as part of its music mix.

Some airchecks I heard of the old 93.1 WLTI were also unbearable. What a massive difference from the much more upbeat & appealing 95.7 WLHT in Grand Rapids. I suppose WLHT was more of an analogue to WKQI or WNIC.

I unfortunately do not remember WOOD-FM prior to its 1990-ish rebranding to EZ 105.7.

WOOD-FM was one of the first FM stations to reach #1 in the general ratings in its market. I never got the chance to listen to the station while it was still B/EZ, though.
Instrumental remakes of Top 40 hits were a trademark of Beautiful Music stations starting in the '70s. In the early years of the format ('40s-'60s) the instrumentals were more likely to be popular standards, original pieces or even semi-classical pieces. I think the instrumental covers were supposed to be a ploy to bring in younger listeners, and that might have bought the format some time.

There's a station in the Sheboygan/Manitowoc area (98.9 WEMP) that plays a music mix very similar to what Beautiful Music stations sounded like in the late '80s/early '90s, including some of the same instrumental versions I remember hearing on WJOI. Listening to that station (which streams on OnlineRadioBox) is a trip. They're currently all Christmas, but their version of all-Christmas is much like what I used to hear on B/EZ stations like WJOI when they promoted their "24 Hours of Christmas" on Christmas Eve/Day (and that was a big deal in the '80s). Not a Mariah Carey or Taylor Swift tune in sight.

[Deleted User 16093]

This one is good-

[Musicrewired]

Another station to check out online is WHLC-FM, from Highlands NC, via TuneIn. They’re a nice mix of lighter original older A/C music with instrumentals of recognizable songs. I haven’t checked them out lately to see what the holiday music mix might be, but I’m betting the ubiquitous Mariah Carey holiday song won’t be on there.

[Trophyhead]

WGER was what my Dad had on, in the houses he would build around Saginaw in my youth to young adulthood. At night, they would play John Doremus, who I thought was a music host instead of just being a resource of minutia. He would close segments with "now put that in your Pipe and smoke it." (a phrase that took on humorous significance in my teens)

The signal made it all the way to Cadillac, when I worked there, my parents would visit and it was coming in, on the fringe. A year or so after, they went CHR on Dad. He had to find his Perry Como and other such artistry elsewhere, on 106.3 as I recall, ending its stint as a rock/modern rock station.

[ZenithCKLW]

Since Smooth Jazz was mentioned, some veteran staff from the old WJZZ Detroit have started a streaming station called WJZD. I haven't listened very much as Smooth Jazz isn't quite my bag, but I found it interesting. https://www.wjzdradiodetroit.com/

[Deleted User 16144]

Another good radio site for Jazz is justjazz.radio. It’s commercial free. Also on the You Radio App, which is an incredible app, over 1500 radio stations all commercial free. There are stations that are artists stations on the Exclusive Radio Channel and a year by year channel called Tick Tock Radio and 20 other channels that include sub channels. Great app.

[billmich88888]

spring 1984, WJOI topped WJR and was the #1 station in the market...

I hated that format , on principle.
Why would someone want to advertise on a station that is "background" - makes no sense

[Deleted User 16144]

spring 1984, WJOI topped WJR and was the #1 station in the market...

I hated that format , on principle.
Why would someone want to advertise on a station that is "background" - makes no sense

Back in that era there was a subscription music service called Muzak that offices and other businesses would have piped into their establishments. In Detroit WMZK 97.9 was the Muzak station via a sideband from the station also known as SCA radio at 67 or 92 kHz. These may still exist today but the demand is no longer there.

[BKRPDM]

spring 1984, WJOI topped WJR and was the #1 station in the market...

I hated that format , on principle.
Why would someone want to advertise on a station that is "background" - makes no sense

Back in that era there was a subscription music service called Muzak that offices and other businesses would have piped into their establishments. In Detroit WMZK 97.9 was the Muzak station via a sideband from the station also known as SCA radio at 67 or 92 kHz. These may still exist today but the demand is no longer there.

Muzak is still alive and well - now it’s called Mood. They offer about a hundred different channels and also customized programs for commercial businesses.

[Deleted User 16144]

spring 1984, WJOI topped WJR and was the #1 station in the market...

I hated that format , on principle.
Why would someone want to advertise on a station that is "background" - makes no sense

Back in that era there was a subscription music service called Muzak that offices and other businesses would have piped into their establishments. In Detroit WMZK 97.9 was the Muzak station via a sideband from the station also known as SCA radio at 67 or 92 kHz. These may still exist today but the demand is no longer there.

Muzak is still alive and well - now it’s called Mood. They offer about a hundred different channels and also customized programs for commercial businesses.

Are the sidebands still being used? Like in the case of 97.9 here in Detroit.

[SolarMax]

Back in that era there was a subscription music service called Muzak that offices and other businesses would have piped into their establishments. In Detroit WMZK 97.9 was the Muzak station via a sideband from the station also known as SCA radio at 67 or 92 kHz. These may still exist today but the demand is no longer there.

An engineer friend used to do MUZAK installs and customer maintenance, but at the time (early 60s) WLDM/Lincoln Broadcasting carried the programming and serviced the doctors' office mood music clientele.

Many don't know that 99.5 WABX carried ADT (yes that ADT) background music service on an SCA subcarrier, as well as via telco pairs to nearby downtown office buildings.
An ADT employee would periodically come up to a locked closet at 3307 David Stott, where a rack of 1/4" decks with 10" NAB-hub reels crawling along at 1 7/8 i.p.s. or slower played endlessly, each auto-trip-starting the next one, others would rewind and rescue themselves, and on and on and on. He'd change out the tapes, which wore out or got stretched after a few months, or might have "new" renditions on them.

[Trophyhead]

It was my understanding that John Fetzer's 92.9 in Cadillac, WKJF had a sideband that pumped Muzak at many outlets in NW lower Michigan. It was a 100kW signal and did the trick down past Big Rapids, Clare and on up through the Leelanau, with a tower near Tustin that got out over much of upstate lower Michigan, so to speak.