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WRIF 50 year b-day?

Discussion pertaining to Detroit, Ann Arbor, Port Huron, and SW Ontario
km1125
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WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by km1125 » Fri Feb 12, 2021 11:52 pm

Is Sunday? I saw a clip on one of the local news shows.

Whoever was looking for those old Dick da Bruiser songs should make a request... They might did them out and replay them for old times' sake. JJ and Bayer (Baier?) were in studio today.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:15 am

Yup, it's Sunday.

WRIF has been playing special features throughout the week. Numerous artists have called into the station to wish it a happy 50th and to recount memories of the station and of playing concerts in Metro Detroit.

Former personalities have also made appearances or offered recorded segments, including but not limited to Karen Savelly (sp?), Steve Kostan, and Doug Podell.

Last night between 7p and 8p, the station aired an hour's worth of Drew & Mike "best of" clips. Suffice it to say - there was a lot of flatulence! :)



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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by Mega Hertz » Sat Feb 13, 2021 11:22 am

Well, 50 years of being locally programmed WRIF. They had been doing a syndicated underground format before, but when the ship was tightened with local personalities and the famous call letters, that's when it all began.

50 years. That's amazing. To have out-lived a slew of other stations, sales, transfers, competition...and a lot of artists they've played over the years. That deserves kudos. Plus the playlist is really damn good these days.

Happy 50th WRIF!


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radioandtventhusiast
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by radioandtventhusiast » Sat Feb 13, 2021 11:46 am

MWmetalhead wrote:
Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:15 am
Yup, it's Sunday.

WRIF has been playing special features throughout the week. Numerous artists have called into the station to wish it a happy 50th and to recount memories of the station and of playing concerts in Metro Detroit.

Former personalities have also made appearances or offered recorded segments, including but not limited to Karen Savelly (sp?), Steve Kostan, and Doug Podell.

Last night between 7p and 8p, the station aired an hour's worth of Drew & Mike "best of" clips. Suffice it to say - there was a lot of flatulence! :)
That's weird hearing the old Greater Media/Beasly personalities again since Karen, Steve, and Doug no longer work there.



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windsor
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by windsor » Sat Feb 13, 2021 2:24 pm

Yes congrats to the Riff, they went from WXYZ FM to WRIF Feb14 1971 I think Arthur Penhallow a hold over from WXYZ was the first jock on air for WRIF FM.The last of the original FM rockers of the day to be still rocking the dial in Detroit.


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km1125
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by km1125 » Sun Feb 14, 2021 3:18 pm

Do we have any other card-carrying members on here??

Image



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MWmetalhead
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Feb 14, 2021 4:40 pm

I'd love to see the conditions on the reverse side of the card. :)



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Robert Faygo
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by Robert Faygo » Sun Feb 14, 2021 4:59 pm

Image

Nowadays, DREAD would be considered an extremely politically incorrect organization of homophobes.

Back then, it was just clever radio station marketing.

Interestingly enough back when Saturday Night Fever was all the rage, The Bee Gees were heard on WRIF.


Wellllll... la de frickin da

matt1
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by matt1 » Sun Feb 14, 2021 9:22 pm

You mean the "early" Bee Gees from the "early' 70's??



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Robert Faygo
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by Robert Faygo » Sun Feb 14, 2021 9:44 pm

matt1 wrote:
Sun Feb 14, 2021 9:22 pm
You mean the "early" Bee Gees from the "early' 70's??
Not sure about early the early 70s. What I distinctly remember was disco spins during the Saturday Night Fever craze before they "banned" those records under attack from W4 and WABX. The non-rock tunes were gone roughly around the time WRIF lured JJ and the Morning Crew over from W4 - who then hired one Howard Stern not too long afterwards before the flip to country.


Wellllll... la de frickin da

BKRPDM
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by BKRPDM » Sun Feb 14, 2021 10:11 pm

In 1976 or so, WRIF was even playing a bit of Stevie Wonder, and Earth, Wind & Fire from their albums at the time. The playlists reported on Radio and Records showed this. Interesting....



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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by Mega Hertz » Sun Feb 14, 2021 10:48 pm

Yep. AOR covered much ground in those days. Then in the 80s it stood for Apartheid Only Radio. CSX used to slip in some Stevie or stuff like that. I find the history of it rather fascinating. When I tell my girlfriend that, yes, WRIF used to play Fleetwood Mac and stuff like that, she doesn't believe it. I can still remember Riff from before Nirvana. You'd even hear BEATLES tunes!

Plus the Drew and Mike stuff this evening was great, too. I think them, MMR in Philly and KLOS (also an ABC O&O in 1971) are now the longest running rock stations around today. That's no small feat.


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matt1
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by matt1 » Mon Feb 15, 2021 11:57 pm

Same for 96 WHNN "WIN" (Saginaw, MI) when it was a Top 40 hit station from 1975 till April of 1978 (switched to hard rock station)!!



matt1
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by matt1 » Mon Feb 15, 2021 11:58 pm

One of the DJ's back then on 96 WIN was Loose N'Jay!!



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MWmetalhead
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Re: WRIF 50 year b-day?

Post by MWmetalhead » Tue Feb 16, 2021 6:52 am

I think them, MMR in Philly and KLOS (also an ABC O&O in 1971) are now the longest running rock stations around today. That's no small feat.
KISW Seattle was launched on exactly the same day (February 14, 1971) as WRIF.

Thanks, Robert Faygo, for showing the back side of the card! I don't see anything at all "homophobic" about it; just cheesy humor.
CSX used to slip in some Stevie or stuff like that.
I've heard Stevie Wonder and James Taylor on WCSX within the past couple years.



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