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The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by John from Wisconsin User icon on August 23, 2026, 10:13 am

https://mediaconfidential.blogspot.com/2026/08/radio-history-aug-23.html

Scroll down for article....

"In 1989...The music faded away on the Big 89 WLS in Chicago.
In June , WLS 890 AM had announced they were going all talk by the end of the summer. Many expected that to happen on September 1.
By 1988, WLS was airing adult contemporary music, liberally laced with oldies and standards, with talk programming at night. Air personalities were becoming more talk intensive anyway and midday talk was added as well.
Then with no warning, on August 23, 1989 at 7 pm, WLS stopped playing music altogether. Phil Duncan was the last DJ to play music on WLS, and as Phil finished up his show. The last song was "Just You 'n' Me" by Chicago.

There's more in the article.
In Milwaukee, was so nice to have The Rock of Chicago-WLS, WOKY, Super CFL, 1340 W-RIT and 96FM/1290 WZUU!
It was so nice!

Imagine Black Dog, Led Zeppelin, Stay With Me, Faces, Easy Livin', Uriah Heep or Schools Out, Alice Cooper on AM radio...it happened!

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by WYTZZ95FM User icon on August 23, 2026, 10:51 am, in reply to "The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

Phil looked at the music log by chance and realized there was no more music scheduled. It was almost missed. No announcements, at all. What a sad event. WLS-AM was a totally different beast at that time, eons away of what they once were. Z95 was carrying on the Top40 mantle, but a few years later, ABC/Cap Cities would give up on ALL of their Top40 stations. That is where the WLS lineage actually totally died, a few years later.

He literally had half a second to pick a song and utter a few words. He did a great job..... finding out in a few seconds, that the end of an era was in front of you, having a few seconds to compose how to sum up 29 years, in a few seconds, on air. 29 years later, we are discussing it. Powerful.

Z

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by Jeremy Andrews User icon on August 23, 2026, 11:28 am, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

What actually happened and the audio is right here

WLS History

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by Jeremy Andrews User icon on August 23, 2026, 11:35 am, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

And I should point out, the ratings in the early talk era were so bad they were hours away from flipping to Country if I remember reading correctly.

They eventually made an attempt at Country on 94.7 for about a year. Kicks Country used the same jingle package WLS was using in 1989.

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by WYTZZ95FM User icon on August 23, 2026, 12:35 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

ZRock syndicated heavy metal which I believe ABC owned at the time, country and Spanish were the other ones floated.

Z

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by Jeremy Andrews User icon on August 23, 2026, 12:41 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

Couldn't imagine Z Rock or Spanish on 890. Country (Also on Satellite I believe) maybe but it never would have had a chance with US 99.

Their attempt with 94.7 was awkward. They brought in a PD from New Orleans. Brought in Nancy Turner (WMAQ) and did I think launched with the same 10,000 songs and 10,000 dollars contest that the CHR stations launched with. They used the same JAM KIIS package that WLS used during the 80s. Lot of money giveaways, I think it ended up being too much.

Brian Kelly worked for WLS in the 80s. When he put together KISS FM in Milwaukee, he also brought in Joe Caruso for mornings (Who was at WKXK), they also launched with the 10,000 Songs, 10,000 Dollars and used the Jam KIIS package WLS used in the first few years.

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by WYTZZ95FM User icon on August 23, 2026, 1:48 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

Jeremy,

Brian Kelly worked for Z95 in the late 80s middays and was their their MD, also the MD at WLS-AM, after being on middays @ Z95 Milwaukee. He also landed on WWBZ the Blaze doing PM drive, before heading up, to you guys making his mark there for years. He was never on Kicks itself.

“Extra Large Mike Kelly” (no relations) was overnights on Kicks Country, I recall he was their Production guy too. He did time on Z95 and possibly WLS-FM before that, as he was an ABC employee for years.

Spanish radio in 1989 was not a big thing. WOJO was the only real player at the time, WIND-AM was next. Launching it on 890 would have been earth shattering. Country on AM in 1989 was plausible, as WMAQ and WJJD were on AM. Classic country was discussed too. ZRock, AM Stereo was being pushed at the time, but, they needed to clear it in market #3 as 106.7 had just dropped it for New Age. As strange as all of those sound in 2026, they were contenders in 1989.

Z

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by Jeremy Andrews User icon on August 23, 2026, 5:25 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

They were going to go with ABC Country Coast to Coast (Satellite). There was an internal memo supposedly. They managed to convince them not to change the format at the last minute, within hours of the supposed change.

WMAQ gave up Country (Except for Fred Sanders) because of US99 in the early 80s, although it as not unusual to hear a Country station on AM well into the 90s

WKXK's launch package specifically mentioned US99 as a "Friendly competition" instead of a rival which was pretty awkward.

As for Brian, he brought a few things they did in Chicago to Milwaukee, like I was saying the jingle packages and one of WKXK's jocks was their first morning show. I figure he had been job hunting since WKXK had flipped to Classic Rock not long before. He got hired in Milwaukee in 1996. The infamous Macarena parody (Packarena) that WMYX' morning show recorded was actually recorded at WTMX, because they had digital equipment at the time. They didn't flip to CHR until 1998 when Sinclair bought the cluster. His MD was brought in from WXLC.

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by WYTZZ95FM User icon on August 23, 2026, 7:49 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

WMAQ was 1986. Their foray into News/News Talk ended the Country run.

WJJD in 1982 (they were a daytimer protecting KSL until the mid 80s when at one point they were 10KW but dropped it to 5KW by the end of the 80s. The night time signal was terrible across most of the Chicago area).

WJEZ-FM in 1984 when it flipped to Magic. WJEZ I remember was Z104 (Sorry Z95, you were not the first Z in town) during the disco years. A very odd mix of some AC and a lot of country music. After the end of the decade they were pretty much a full country station. Before their Z104 days they were WJJD-FM (I recall that too) and were there because WJJD-AM had to sign off the air. Their move to Magic, was a magical decision and decimated 103.5 WFYR as the on and off oldies station.

WAIT 850AM in 1988. The calls were on 820AM before that until WLOO-FM was sold and WCZY AM & FM was born, later WPNT-AM & FM.

ABC Country Coast to Coast (Satellite) - I recall that. I do not remember where or when? But was that to replace music radio WLS or the failing Talk format a few years after it launched? The talk format was not a hit off the bat. It was on death row and if they flipped we would not be having this conversation!

Jeremy the difference is, I lived through this, when you did not. Not sure if that is a good thing, considering I am older than dirt and you are not. 😂 I remember a lot of this, have not thought about it for eons and I am surprised I even remember any of it. But it is a reality I heard a lot of this and it is not a repeat of something off the internet.

Z

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by Jeremy Andrews User icon on August 23, 2026, 8:10 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

They were going to flip 890 to ABC Country Coast To Coast (Away from Talk) in the early days of the Talk format. It was all set to go, but local management convinced corporate to change it's mind.

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by John from Wisconsin User icon on August 23, 2026, 12:19 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

Will always wonder why WLS never moved to 94.7. KDWB did, KIIS in LA was 1150/102.7, WSPT moved from 1010 to "Stereo 98" 97.9. Know I've spoken of this in the past. I know WLS was AM 89-FM 95 etc, but why? Money? Ownership?

At the time, it was AM holding onto upper demographics and their FM's skewed younger.
KFYR AM, KYYY FM Y93 vs K-Fire

As a geek, I missed the "Super CFL" TM shotgun.
Music Radio was a copy of WABC NYC.(Never liked it.)
There was KHJ thinking vs WABC thinking.
Stations EVERYWHERE imitated WLS WABC KHJ etc.

In my case, have lived through some great times. Miss old fashioned radio wars. . . even WBBM vs WMAQ!
Programming, counter programming, Spy vs Spy stuff....

Top40 goes through its ups & downs but a few have stayed true to that format. Right now, HotAC and CHR seem undistinguishable, to me.
KTSA AM, KTFM FM
WKRC AM, WKRQ FM Q102
WABB AM, WABB FM
WBIZ AM, WBIZ FM STILL Z100!
KEYN AM, KEYN FM FM would go Classic Hits
KKLS AM, KKLS FM "Double K LS" (used WLS jingle theme!)
KKXL AM, KKXL FM "XL 93" STILL Top40
WAKX AM, WAKX FM
WLXR AM, WLXR FM Went from 1490 to HIT 105! (104.9)
WMEE AM, WMEE FM "the Magic Mee" now HotAC

Might be beating a dead horse, I know, but what could/might have been....

Lots of good stuff (right side of page.)
https://radio.drewdurigan.com/classic-american-top-40-shows/casey-kasem-at40-station-lists/
including some Chicago stuff.

John

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by WYTZZ95FM User icon on August 23, 2026, 12:41 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

Hello John.

The research at the time indicated the younger generation did not vibe with the WLS call signs, as it was identified as being too old. Z95 was more in line with B96 and they wanted to miminc Z100 in NYC. But the WYTZ call sign was too hard to recite in the arbitron ratings books. They were going to change call signs a few years after they moved from WLS-am but they realized they had too much invested. Ultimately they believed they could carve out separate successful identities between the AM & FM signals and call signs. As we know, both failed, until WLS-FM resurfaced years later.

Z

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by John from Wisconsin User icon on August 23, 2026, 12:49 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

Z,
Thank you as always for a clear answer and your time. I know the past is the past and everybody doesn't think as I do. (Thank God!)
Too, no skin in the game, so what I can learn/read/decipher is always interesting to me.
Too, yes, that's what the folks listened to: KHJ WLS WABC etc.

John

PS Now if someone could tell me why Ford got rid of their #1 seller, the Ford Escape.....
I give up, but I'll be back tomorrow, hi!

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by WYTZZ95FM User icon on August 23, 2026, 12:34 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

Yes pretty much what I posted lol….. Scott Childers (wlshistory) also posted on FB. The comments are a good read.

”The station was set to change formats on Labor Day weekend, but on August 23, 1989, the last song during the rock era was Chicago's "Just You 'N Me." Phil Duncan, the last jock on WLS remembers, "No one really knew it was the last day until I looked at the log for the next day and realized there were no more music shows. We all knew it was coming soon, but did not know exactly when it was going to be all talk and no more music on WLS. We went into Sally Jessy Raphael at 7:00 pm and then never exited from talk again."

Z

Link: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0PN9ZD1HDXrXjiRnse85g

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by ChiTownGal User icon on August 23, 2026, 7:03 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

Eddie Schwartz of WGN referred to the new WLS programming as "Hot talk," a format that was just gaining currency in the Rush era. Instead of actual conversations (which the WGN announcers prided themselves on), the "talk jockeys" picked a topic, did a 5-minute rant in favor or opposition, and virtually dared the listeners to engage them in any sort of honest debate. Instead, the "dittoheads" took over.

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by detectivetom User icon on August 23, 2026, 7:42 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

Wow. Does not see that long ago.

Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)

Posted by WYTZZ95FM User icon on August 23, 2026, 8:00 pm, in reply to "Re: The day the music died: WLS 8/23/89.... 89 (go figure!)"

ChiTownGal, they coined the "Hot talk" handle for WLS-FM when WYTZ went away. It was supposed to appeal to the younger generation of listeners that might listen to Sports or older male Demos of Top40. It failed miserably. I think Murphy from Q101 was their AM drive jock? It was gone pretty fast, with OJ trials run wall to wall after abandoning it.

Speaking of Top40 demos, the upper end was WKXK's target audience. A "Hot" country station formatted like a CHR on clock, presentation, imaging, etc. We know how well that ended. Love Nancy Turner, but man oh man, to leave US99 for this and the thing burned up nearly immediately. It changed her career trajectory. But she did great w/ Moody radio before retiring recently.

Z

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