WIXY 1260

Pixies, Six-packs, and Supermen

Richard Berg, Mike Olszewski, Carlo Wolff

• Publisher: The Kent State University Press / Black Squirrel Books
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781612776644
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Radio

The story of one of Cleveland's most popular and influential radio stations

Before FM radio and the commanding album rock stations of the 1970s, there was WIXY 1260, a tiny Northeast Ohio AM radio station that became an entertainment powerhouse. Three visionaries assembled a legendary staff of on-air personalities and, with savvy programming and groundbreaking promotions, created WIXY 1260—a station that would become synonymous with 1960s pop culture. A Midwest juggernaut, WIXY aired everything from surf and Motown to country and the British Invasion. Crossing cultural and generational lines in one of the hottest radio markets in the country, it regularly took in more than fifty percent of the Greater Cleveland audience.

Bob Weiss, Norman Wain, and Joe Zingale knew the kind of radio Cleveland wanted to hear. They also knew how to market that sound to make it a lifestyle. They bought a small station with a weak signal and renamed it WIXY, and it wasn't long before their competition fell by the wayside. Mike Olszewski and Richard Berg spin a lively tale of popular culture that will appeal to everyone from baby boomers to media scholars and cultural historians.

"Through extensive interviews with insiders, the authors chronicle WIXY's relatively brief yet exciting run and how the station came to dominate the airwaves in the '60s and '70s with a winning combination of tastemaking playlists, unforgettable on-air personalities, and outlandish promotions. It's a fun story, recounted with ample humor." —John Soeder, Music Critic, The Cleveland Plain Dealer

INDEX

advertising department, research by, 42

album cuts, 14, 26, 123

album-oriented rock albums, 84

album-oriented stations, Top 40, vs., 86

albums, vs. singles, 123

Alice Cooper concert, 92

Allen, Mark. See Bassett, Bob (Mark Allen)

AM radio, specific stations: FM vs., 45, 86, 124. See also radio stations

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), 12–13, 17–18

American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC), 56

Anderson, Ernie, 87

Appreciation Days, 37–39, 55–56, 67, 73–74, 93, 99, 99–100, 112

Armstrong, Jack, 18–19, 23, 40; in 1966 air staff, 22–23; tenure of, 30, 34; as triple play originator, 23–24; at WIXY reunions, 132

Armstrong, Tom, 55

Atlantic Weatherman, Joe Finan as, 45

Babbs, Thurman H., 20

Bailey, Bill, 124, 126, 127

Baker, Ginger, 49

Baron, Chuck (“Bobo”), 113, 115

Barrett, Bill, 11, 22; Joe Finan’s letter to, 12–13; on similarity of stations’ playlists, 90, 98

basement tapes, WMJI’s, 132

Basic Raps (Craig-Green), 78

basketball team, WIXY Supermen, 50

Bass, Billy, 45, 70, 74, 80, 83, 107; FM sensibility of, 73, 85–86; popularity of, 88–89; at WIXY reunions, 132; on WNCR, 90–91

Bassett, Bob (Mark Allen), 8, 106, 131; promotions and, 107–8, 111, 121; on Thanksgiving Parade, 108

Baxter, Jeff, 127–28

Beatles, 66, 78; concert in Municipal Stadium, 19–21; efforts to bring to Cleveland, 4–5, 16

Belkin Productions, 32, 73, 86, 100, 112

Bennett, Gunnar, 115

Big Beat show, 8

“Big Chief,” Wain as, 2

billboards: WIXY’s, 68, 68, 83; WMGCAM’s, 128

Billboard, Top 40 from playlists of, 32–33

Billy Tilton’s Announcer Training Center, 72

Bishop, Jerry G., 18, 34

Black, Bill, 107, 113

Block, Martin, 1

Boardman, Tom, 56

Bob Friend Battle Sound (WHK), 1...