Beautiful Music Stations in Detroit

[JGP1954]

We got our first AM/FM radio in about 1971. I found it curbside a few doors down, its owner having thrown it out. It was a Lloyd's.

We took it to Metry Sound on Harper Avenue, where the repairman replaced two tubes to bring it back to life. Just months later, Metry Sound closed shop.

At that time, WJR-FM was trying out a format called "California".

The were several BFL stations on the dials, most notably WLDM, WJR-FM and WWJ-FM three in a row, with WNIC and WOMC also being BFL, as was WQTE 560 AM.

Yes, I remember WNIC and the others as beautiful music stations. There wasn't a doctor's office anywhere around that didn't have a beautiful music station piped into the waiting room. Elevators were prime listening areas for the BM stations, too!

[CK-722]

Back before the FCC adopted the non duplication format rules in the late 1960s, there were two or three predominant FM formats-Beautiful Music and Top 40 or MOR Simulcasts. After that, there was Underground/Progressive/Free Form/Album Rock and Beautiful Music.

I remember when WJR-FM 96.3 had the "California" format. I heard it up in Harrisville when I was on vacation circa 1972, along with now Cumulus coowned WWCK-FM, which was Top 40 Days, and AOR evenings. There were others, but these two made the biggest impression on me. Most of the others were Beautiful Music, probably WBCM-FM (now Cumulus), WGER (now Cumulus), WGMZ, and others. Oh, I do remember CKDS 95.3 wafting in and out from Canada.

[ChrisWL1980]

"California Radio" was the local moniker for the Drake-Chenault "Solid Gold" format on 'JR-FM. There's a funny bit in the Art Vuolo "History of Detroit Radio" documentary aired on WDRQ in 1971 where a "man on the street" who moved to Detroit from California expresses his frustration at WJR-FM calling itself "California Radio" as he felt it bore absolutely no resemblance to ACTUAL California radio.

Speaking of WQTE, in 1978 WQTE-FM 95.3 Adrian was "Beautiful Cutie." At one point Gerity owned WABJ and WQTE along with 102.5 WGER. WQTE went to its current Country format sometime in the early '80s.

[WOHO]

The "Voice of Monroe" WVMO, 98.3 has some nice adult EZ music in the 70's until the Tower 98 format landed there in the early 80's.

[JGP1954]

The "Voice of Monroe" WVMO, 98.3 has some nice adult EZ music in the 70's until the Tower 98 format landed there in the early 80's.

Ha Ha! My memories of V-Mo was format by train wreck. They played whatever was next in the record bin. Although, I didn't listen very often, and sometimes might have a talented air personality.

[WOHO]

Did Paul W. Smith work at VMO before WSPD Toledo?

[ChrisWL1980]

I have an aircheck somewhere of the evening Top 40 show on WVMO from circa 1967. I want to say the jock was none other than Radio's Best Friend, Art Vuolo, but I'm not sure.

I believe WVMO was block programmed between MOR, Country and Top 40 in the late '60s and early '70s. I've seen a 1968 schedule for their then-sister station WLEN and it appears they were Country during morning drive, MOR (they called it "Easy Listening" which was the name of the Billboard AC chart at that time, not necessarily synonymous with "Beautiful Music") late mornings/early afternoons and Top 40 during the after school hours.

[JGP1954]

Did Paul W. Smith work at VMO before WSPD Toledo?

I remember Paul W. at WCWA, weekends. Horrible music mix, I thought it was formatted by what's next in the 45 carousel.

[TomSanders]

[
They are only listenable on SDRs -- but Radio Enciclopedia on 530 from Cuba sounds like a 60s US easy listening station, with a Latin flavor and Spanish talk, and many instrumental versions of American top 40 hits.

Jewel 92.1 still plays easy listening music, per their website from 7 to 11 PM. On their schedule, it's "The Lounge." I've heard it a few times during tropo openings and enjoyed it.

https://jewel92.com/the-lounge/

[TomSanders]

102.5 was WNEM-FM in the early 60s. Wikipedia sez the CLS changed to WGER in 1969 when Gerity Broadcasting sold WNEM-TV.

[matt1]

The late Frank Chanksfield & His Orchestra "Nobody Does It Better" which I heard back then on "Beautiful 102" WGER (Saginaw, MI) in 1979 & 1980!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcBz4hL3JLQ YEP, my late mom & my late dad loved that FM station back then!!

[matt1]

Former WGMZ Beautiful Music station (107.9 FM) switches to "CARS 108" WCRZ in Flint, MI back on June 15, 1984. Here is what happened (audio only): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEm-xKZze8k

[ChrisWL1980]

Former WGMZ Beautiful Music station (107.9 FM) switches to "CARS 108" WCRZ in Flint, MI back on June 15, 1984. Here is what happened (audio only): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEm-xKZze8k

Great find, Matt! I never heard audio of that flip before. As I recall they tried to revive the WGMZ identity on AM 1570 and later on FM 101.7 (which eventually became today's Banana 101.5).

The incumbent AC competition in Flint was WTRX-AM 1330 where IIRC Johnny Burke worked at the time. I remember quite well a few years later when WTRX changed its calls to WDLZ and adopted the Z-Rock format, only to lose their shirts and go dark after a few months on the air.

[ChrisWL1980]

And in Toledo, it was "Stereo 101, WLQR, Toledo, boom-boom-da-boom-boom" and I believe WXEZ-FM 105.5 was programmed by Bonneville, similar to 97.1 in Detroit. I liked WCZY, Cozy from Detroit as well. I still think that there's a market to throw beautiful music on underused AM stations, and Turkeytop has it right, no better music than from "Percy Faith, Henry Mancini, James Last, Bert Kaempfert, Ray Conniff -..." wish it was on the air; closest on-air station I've found is KLUX 89.5 Corpus Christi

Per a Broadcasting magazine ad from 1976, WXEZ was a Schulke affiliate, at least at that time.

Speaking of northwest Ohio, I believe WFRO-FM 99.1 Fremont and WLEC-FM 102.7 Sandusky both had easy formats at one time (102.7 became WCPZ "Leisure Rock 103" in 1980). Farther east, Cleveland- and Akron-area listeners had several B/EZ options in the '70s and early '80s including WDBN 94.9 "The Quiet Island" (at its peak a 118kw super-powered FM), WDOK 102.1 "Stereo Cleveland" (until 1987), WAEZ 97.5 (until 1984 or '85), WBEA 107.3, and the last B/EZ holdout in the market, WQAL 104.1 (switched around 1991 or so). WDBN and WDOK were even listed in Art Vuolo's Detroit/Ann Arbor area radio guides in the early '70s. Going farther back, WJW 850 AM was B/EZ as early as the late '50s.

[CK-722]

Former WGMZ Beautiful Music station (107.9 FM) switches to "CARS 108" WCRZ in Flint, MI back on June 15, 1984. Here is what happened (audio only): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEm-xKZze8k

Great find, Matt! I never heard audio of that flip before. As I recall they tried to revive the WGMZ identity on AM 1570 and later on FM 101.7 (which eventually became today's Banana 101.5).

The incumbent AC competition in Flint was WTRX-AM 1330 where IIRC Johnny Burke worked at the time. I remember quite well a few years later when WTRX changed its calls to WDLZ and adopted the Z-Rock format, only to lose their shirts and go dark after a few months on the air.

That may have been my tape originally. I duplicated it for Colonel Flagg, and I know he made recordings of it. I talked to Chuck Hill that night.

A lot of the people from WWCK-FM went over to WDLZ after WWCK-FM went to CHR. Many of their pictures are here and in galleries three and five. All the galleries are worth looking through for fun. CE Don McComb and GM "Sleepyhead Ted" Johnson of WDLZ, both now deceased, were longstanding Flint Area radio people, and also worked in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Detroit, Lapeer, and Saginaw. Many of the DJs later worked in Detroit. Not pictured are Anne Carlini, who worked at WWCK-FM and or WLQB, and Jim Johnson, who worked at WWCK-FM, mainly before Jeff Holbrook's years there.

https://www.jeffholbrook.com/radio-gallery-04.html