Tuesday, September 30, 2014

KSLQ (St. Louis): Top 40, 1972-1982

A good place to soak in the early '70s vibe of St. Louis station KSLQ (the "Super Q"), an FM Top 40 station that ran its records at a slightly faster RPM rate than the competition, is at the website of Jonnie King, a longtime station jock. Listen to some of his airchecks while you're there. King spent all of 1973 to 1982 at the Top 40 station, except for one year (1975) at KADI (also St. Louis).

Owned by Bartell Broadcasting, KSLQ lasted from 1972 to 1982. Disc jockey JoJo Kincaid, in a 2005 issue of the St. Louis Journalism Review, remembers that the station's General Manager would keep mannequins of a father and mother alongside a teenage boy and girl outside of the control booth door to remind the DJs of their target audience. Much to the GM's chagrin, the mannequins would mysteriously contort themselves into a number of shocking poses. Here are the song snippets that appear on one of King's 1974 airchecks:

"If" (Bread), "Sunshine on My Shoulders" (John Denver), "Pillow Talk" (Sylvia), "Hooked on a Feeling" (Blue Swede), "Vehicle" (Ides of March), "The Entertainer" (Marvin Hamlisch), "The Show Must Go On" (Three Dog Night), "Signed Sealed Delivered" (Stevie "Wonderburger"), "Seasons in the Sun" (Terry Jacks), "Mercy Mercy Me" (Marvin Gaye), "Heart of Gold" (Neil Young), "Come and Get Your Love" (Redbone), "Still in Love with You" (Al Green), "My Girl" (Temptations). Also included: A reference to the "current boom in nostalgia."

7 comments:

  1. Many thanks for adding these Airchecks of mine !

    Yes ! That's when radio WAS fun !!

    Our stations were run by those who were in radio, loved radio. Most-all Managers, PD's, Sales Reps/Managers, had actually BEEN IN RADIO, and knew how to correctly service & bond with the communities they were licensed to, and, knew the value of the personalities they had on their Air Staff.

    This was, of course, BEFORE the "bean counters" took over, which was the "death knell" for those who really were pros, knew what they were doing, knew how to actually communicate with their audience, and, had helped build those stations in the first place.

    Again, thanks for including me, Kim. As you may know, in 2007, for my 40th Anniversary in Broadcasting, I took everything of mine and put it on the Net at www.jonnieking.net ...the response from BOTH old & new listeners has been overwhelming, and a very humbling experience for me. As I have always said: "You never do this alone. Without those listeners, there would be no need for me."

    With sincere thanks,

    Jonnie King

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  2. The pleasure's all mine, Jonnie! What a goldmine www.jonnieking.net is - it's where I discovered this clip... Cheers to you and thanks keeping the spirit of classic radio alive.

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  3. How do I get on Jonnieking.com asks for username and password very interested in St. Louis music scene back in 60s and 70s, appreciate any help thanks

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  4. Just picked up a couple random 7" reel-to-reel reels at a STL yard-sale this past weekend - haven't checked them both, but one of them has a bit of "The Red Baron" on the SuperQ. Will find a way to share when I get the chance.

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