From Troy C: The first FM rock station – was it New York or San Francisco?
Mr. Pop History – It was New York. On July 30, 1966, WOR-FM at 98.7 debuted. The FCC decreed that by January 1, 1967, FM stations in major markets must have separate programming; that is, those co-owned with AM stations. Before this, most FM stations were similcasting, to a large extent, their AM stations; AM was where the audience was. The FCC thought this was a waist of spectrum.
WOR-FM got a jump-start and decided rock would be their direction. There was one problem. AFTRA prevented the hired DJ’s from working at WOR-FM until a scale for FM DJ’s could be worked out! So for a few months, what a listener heard was incredible. No DJ’s. Just music, jingles and commercials (as few as there were). Then on October 8, 1966 – The WOR–FM DJ lineup debuted and it changed radio forever.
WOR-FM was very different. First – it was FM, which had a total different feel then AM. The music sounded clearer and some of the rock music on WOR-FM was actually in stereo. The music didn’t seem as loud or “pumped.” The DJ’s were low-keyed, unlike New York competitors WMCA and WABC. The presentation was loose. The DJ’s didn’t have to talk-up a vocal, or begin talking just after a song ended. Also, it was strange hearing a jingle singing “98.7.” Radio listeners were always use to AM dial positions like “57,” “77,” “93,” “98,” “1510′ etc.
WOR-FM took a progressive approach to top-40. Several of its DJ’s: Murray the K and Scott Muni, worked at major New York AM top-40 stations and hearing their new low-key presentations on WOR-FM was different. WOR-FM soon caught-on with the college crowd. If you were cool, you listened to 98.7. It wasn’t long until WOR-FM began showing in the ratings regularly – another FM
first.
Soon, stations in Boston and San Franciso debuted with a WOR-FM-type format. By 1968, FM rock stations were everywhere. Some played top-40, but others like KMPX in San Francisco played rock album cuts.
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