No Subject

Subject: Re: WCOZ.

I think the beautiful-music format on the old WCOZ preeded the WCOZ call-
 letters.

I'm not 100% certain on this, but I think the old WHDH-FM 94.5 almost
 completly simulcast WHDH-AM until around 1966 with the rare exception
 of sports conflicts in the 1963-66(?) period (at the time, 'HDH had the
 Sox, Bruins and celtics, and if two of the three teams were playing,
 one was on AM, the other opn FM). This practice continued even after
 the AM/FM simulcast ruling that forced 94.5 to broadcast separate
 programming.

I believe that WHDH-FM programmed a stereo automated top-40 format from
 late 1966 or early 1967 (when the FCC simulcast rules took effect)
 until sometime in 1969. Then, (Fall, 1969?) it switched to beautiful-
 music. The WCOZ call letters came around 1972 in an attempt to create
 a separate identidy from the AM (You may recall that in the early
 1970's that many FM stations with the same call letters as AM sister
 stations changed their FM call letters to create separate FM identities,
 even though most of the FM programming had been separate from the AM's
 for several years).

Of course, either as WHDH-FM or WCOZ-FM, the beautiful-music format was a
 loser and was chucked in August, 1975 for the AOR format which was
 successful for a few years.

Reportadelt, Clark Smidt was fired from the old WBZ-FM for a disagreement
 with high-level (perhaps at Group W headquarters?) management in June,
 1975. Ken Shelton resigned at the same time. Smidt looked around town
 for a "loser" radio station to turn around, and he picked WCOZ because
 it was supposedely the lowest-rated Boston radio station at the time.
 After a meeting with then WHDH/WCOZ station manager David Croniger,
 Smidt got the O.K. to change the format of the FM to album-rock. After
 joining WCOZ, Shelton was the first person he hired, followed by 
 Morris, Karlin, Palmeter, Goodwin, Parenteau, etc. in the fall of 1975.

WHDH-FM/WCOZ also simulcast the AM's sports coverage when there was only one
 team in action until the end of the 1972 baseball season. I think the
 WCCOZ call letters came in that fall.

Joseph Gallant

<notquite@hotmail.com>

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