Automated FM Radio: Anybody remember the "Stereo Rock" format?

I don't know if it was called that, but the only fm rock station in upstate NY was owned by one of the top 40 AM stations, and their music would loop, so that Meat Loaf was always followed by Boston, or whatever. My clock radio, which I did most of my listening on was AM only, so I didn't listen to it that often. When I did hear it, I kind of missed the djs, even though I could appreciate it's superior fidelity.

 

TM Productions Stereo Rock was one of the better early tape automated AOR formats you could get then. Drake-Chenault was the only thing really comparable to it. Both of these companies made really good sounding automation tapes. Wish I had a reel of Stereo Rock. And at least one tape of each TM automated format.

 

Yeah, I remember TM had both jingles packages and automated radio formats in the 1970s. I'm positive I have one of their jingle demos around here somewhere. Drake-Chenault was really, really good. I don't remember who had the "Hit Parade" format -- it might have been D-C -- but that's the one the FM rock station in Tampa used from the late 1960s until about 1973, when FM rock took off on its own with AOR and other live formats.

A lot of these syndication formats died once corporations like Clear Channel began consolidating all the local stations. Instead of dealing with one station in each market, instead, the syndicators had to deal with one corporation that owned stations in 200 cities (or more). If the corporation didn't like the syndicated show, it was done. This has really killed Premiere and all the other music-syndication companies. Now, all they can really sell are talk shows, particularly political shows like Rush Limbaugh and stuff like that. The days when American Top 40 were on in 1500 stations around the world are over with.

 

Hit Parade was a Drake-Chenault format. And was later on called Contempo 300. Satellite formats or CD based formats replaced the tape formats in the late 1980's. The reason why rock formats on tape based systems and Top 40 took longer to be viable was the early tape based automation systems could not yet segue and pre-roll tight enough for those formats. Easy Listening formats had looser formatics.

 

Automated radio started long before this

http://archive.pdxradio.com/radio/history/messages/995/3783.html

On September 23, 1959 the FCC granted a construction permit to build an FM station on 95.5 mc. in Portland OR to (I.G.M.) International Good Music, Inc. (Lafayette "Rogan Jones", President; David Mintz, Executive Vice-President). IGM, founded in 1958, was a builder of broadcast automation systems, headquartered in Bellingham WA, where the company operated KVOS AM-TV. In early October 1959 calls KGMG were assigned, standing for "Good Music", the format term for classical music.
...

On September 25, 1960 KGMG began regular operation at 7:00AM with it's IGM automation system. Mr. Bowman: "We will broadcast the great classics, lighter works, folk music, jazz & music from Broadway." KGMG broadcast 7AM to 1AM daily. Only selected commercials would be played. No singing jingles allowed. Newspaper Ad: "FM listeners can share the enjoyment of the worlds' greatest music. Heritage Music, programmed by a staff of musical experts. Selected from one of the largest music libraries in the world. 18 hours a day are now programmed for you. Music carefully balanced to the time and mood of the day." Slogan: Your Heritage station.

By this time "Heritage Music" programming was also heard on other IGM owned FM stations: KGMI 92.9 Bellingham, KGMJ 95.7 Seattle, KFMU 97.1 Los Angeles & KFMW 99.9 San Bernardino. In November 1960 KQFM moved it's transmitter & antenna across Council Crest Dr. to the KGMG facitity. In early 1961 KGMG power was reduced to 68KW. In October 1961 KPDQ-FM & Electromatic, Inc. also began leasing antenna space at the KGMG Tower site. By March 1962 KGMG was broadcasting the recorded "Heritage Concert" series. Slogan: Heritage Music FM.

On March 17, 1962 KGMG became the 2nd Portland station to broadcast in multiplex stereo. In July 1962 KGMG began leasing antenna space to Pacific Motor Trucking Co. for a 25 watt VHF transmitter. By October 1962 James L. Hamstreet was General Manager. He was based in Bellingham. Marc Bowman continued as Station Manager. By November 1963 William J. Trader was Station Manager. On April 20, 1964 KGMG switched to an automated MOR format from IGM. By mid 1964 KGMG was broadcasting 9AM to 11PM daily. By October 1964 John S. Mackwood was Station Manager & Chief Engineer with Virgina C. Kupfer as Program Director.

 

Usually, 7 1/2 IPS 2 track Stereo or full track mono was standard format. Most of the time 10 1/2" or 14" reels used. The main 14" playback machines used in radio automation were Scully 270 reproducers, the LJ series in the 1970's. They used Maytag washing machine motors for spooling on the 270 decks. Lock down thy hubs, the rewind speed on those monsters were frightening and if the reel or reels came off of the machine could injure a person or get lodged into a control room wall. The hazards of the job.

Maintained and ran those machines as a young broadcast engineering assistant/baby DJ. Feather the brakes before stopping one lest tape spills and stretches. And those old automation systems kept engineers busy on the maintenance alone. We called ours Mother Effer, she was an old stepper driven Gates rig. Later on around 3 years later, she was replaced by a Harris Stereo 90, we called that one Auntie. Other companies who made tape based automation were Tape-A-Thon, Schafer, SMC, MEI, Broadcast Electronics and others.

 

Great thread. Thanks for the history lesson.

 

We called ours "R2D3", or alternately , "Whee-Dee-Dee", after the alarm noise it made when it required attention (usually when you were in the next studio over, just cracking the mic to read a 3-minute wire copy news roundup)(and yes, occasionally I would leave the studio doors open, so I could listen for mistakes before they became big ones...got caught a couple of times that way).




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The predecessor to the "Jack" format?

 

The jack format is so much worse though. These were a prerecorded show that flowed. Jack is a mountain of prerecord crap that sounds out of place. You also have stuff like that John Tesh show where songs play and then Tesh in a horrible sound booth monotone reads some really silly generic news story.

There is no flow to any of these new automated systems and you can spot them instantly.

 

Indeed, even the lesser tape formats sounded much better than Jack. And the best tapes syndicators supplied blow most any modern satellite audio into the weeds.

 

Trying to listen to any of the Jack-off like formats today is like listening to a train wreck. the programmer(s) have to be saying "Ok. Let's see what series of songs we can string together that will sound the most out of place. Pink Floyd followed by Abba. That's a good one."

 

The first time I read your message I read it as "the tape syndicators supplied blow". That missing comma really changed the meaning.

 

Yeah, I know. BTW, I get very excited when people throw around cool radio terms like "formatics" or "sweep to the quarter hour" or "stop-set." Love that stuff.

Hank Landsberg has a very nice tribute to the old Drake-Chanault studio and their productions on this website:

http://www.drakechenault.org/

Gary Dell'Abbate, Howard Stern's producer, calls the Jack FM format like "listening to an iPod on shuffle... unfortunately, it's somebody else's iPod, and they have terrible taste." Very true. I can't stand that format, myself.

A real radio format, where somebody uses taste, good judgement, and guts to pick songs that naturally flow together and represent a unified style... that kind of thing is very hard to find anymore.

 

If anyone is interested in the TM Productions Stereo Rock format, there are a couple of clips on youtube of radio station WKTI out of Milwaukee, circa 1976.

 

I remember hearing the Stereo Rock format on WKTI as a kid when we stayed overnight in Milwaukee, probably around 1978.

The other two stations that I remember using the format were WFBQ in Indianapolis, which used Stereo Rock until it became an album rock station on Valentine's Day 1978 and WIXX in Green Bay which used it until sometime in the 80's.

 

Here's a webpage with a pretty good rundown of WQHI in Louisville, who used the Stereo Rock format back in the 70's.

http://www.lkyradio.com/WQHI.htm

 

Does anyone know anything about "Broadcast Programming" out of Seattle? I have a bunch of their old "Rock Classics" Category B, tapes, I quite like.

 

Also, Bellingham, WA was headquarters of IGM, Inc. International Good Music. Makers of automation systems and programming on open reel for the systems. Also, another major syndicator, BPI (Broadcast Programming Incorporated) was based in Bellingham, WA.