A reader’s question sent me down a J. Mark Powell-type rabbit hole.
But first: this week’s Quiz Question. When you combine the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart from this century, name the five biggest artists of the last 25 years (2000-2024). Answer at the end of the column.
Rob Pedlow noted how strong WLS showed up in the 1977 Champaign-Urbana radio ratings I shared in my last column. His question: “WLS was that dominate of a rock station outside of Chicago?”
Dating to the early 1960s, two major market AM Top 40 radio stations split the state in terms of listening. “The Big 89” WLS was huge in C-U, Danville, Decatur, Bloomington, Peoria, Quad Cities and Rockford. “The Big 630” KXOK in St. Louis was dominant in Quincy, Springfield and over toward Terre Haute, Ind., and through Carbondale to the confluence of Mississippi and Ohio rivers.
In the ’60s, there were a handful of lower-power AM Top 40 stations spread around. Stations like WITY Danville, WCVS Springfield, WDZ Decatur, WIRL Peoria, KSTT Quad Cities, WROK and WYFE Rockford, WBOW Terre Haute, WGGH Marion and WKYX and WDXR in Paducah, Ky. Each of these stations did well in their respective markets. But over their shoulder was always the “The Big 89” and/or “The Big 630.” It is safe to say based on the radio ratings through ’70s that 80 percent of the car radios in Illinois had a push button for WLS and/or KXOK.
The glory years of major market AM Top 40 radio in the ’60s and ’70s was powerful stuff: Strong personalities all day, all night, all weekend; award-winning 24/7 news departments; a strong commitment to public service; non-stop promotions; the very best jingles; full-time engineers who maintained a perfect audio chain from the studio through to the transmitter; and a distinctive signature sound that was different from every other radio station on the dial.
On May 2, 1960, the new sound of WLS took to the air and in short order quickly displaced local competitors WIND and WJJD in the ratings. Plus, within 175 miles of the WLS transmitter site in Tinley Park, teens and young adults quickly became loyal listeners day and night. At night, listeners in 38 states made WLS the No. 1 alternative to their local stations.
The music was great, but it was the personalities who made listeners extremely loyal to the brand. No two DJs on WLS sounded the same. Dick Biondi, Art Roberts, Ron Riley, Clark Weber and — later — Larry Lujack, Bob Sirott, Tommy Edwards, John “Records” Landecker, Fred Winston and Yvonne Daniels executed the WLS format to perfection as it evolved through the years.
“The Big 89” had good program directors. The best without question was John Gehron, who led WLS to victory once and for all over pesky crosstown competitor WCFL.
He brought Lujack back to morning radio. Wasn’t “Music Radio” one of the best radio positioning statements of the ’70s? Gehron methodically tweaked WLS over the years to ensure the mix of personalities, music, promotions, news and public service would put the station in position to dominate for another decade.
As the ’70s came to a close, AM Top 40 radio began a fast decline and subsequent quick death at the hands of more music FM stations. But WLS continued to dominate thanks to incredible brand loyalty.
In the last Arbitron ratings of the ’70s for Champaign-Urbana, WLS tied with WKIO (K-104) for No. 1, each with a 14.3 share. WLS was still No. 3 with 60,000 different listeners in Bloomington, No. 3 in Peoria with 96,000, No. 4 in Quad Cities with 117,000 and No. 3 in Rockford with 103,000.
I’ve edited down this column more than any other I have written. I still didn’t get everything in. I’ll finish in the next installment plus jump into some other topics you’ve asked about. Thanks for your feedback and questions.
Answer: 5) Eminem, 4) Post Malone, 3) Rihanna, 2) Drake and 1) Taylor Swift.
