Re: The Concert Network (WXCN-FM)

[barry@meol.mass.edu]

On a "Rhode Island Radio Trivia" show, a couple years back on WWBB 101.5,
there was a mention of the history of that frequency - indeed, it was
WLKW-FM, and the letters simply WERE from the AM. I even have an old Betamax
tape advertising WLKW-FM - I'll dig it out sometime. Same one with the WROR
commercial with the secretary talking about the music - funny thing is that
the sign advertising the business the secretary works at read "Law Ofiiced
of F. Lee Bailey"! Maybe worth money? Nah!
                                                K. Barry

At 12:26 PM 4/15/97 +0000, Dan Strassberg wrote:
>At 12:52 AM 4/15/97 +0000, you wrote:
>
>>
>>     WXCN is now WWBB ("B-101") in Providence.  It used to be the famous
>>WLKW ("L" means 50 and "KW" means kilowatts.....50 kilowatts... or 50,000
>>watts).  Before that, it was WCRX.  Before that, it was WXCN.
>>
>In fact, I believe it was WLKW-FM. The first station to have the WLKW calls,
>was, I believe, the AM 990 in Providence, which, as far as I know, is
>currently WALE. The AM 990 was indeed a 50-kW (daytime-only) station (and
>considering its lousy coverage, had every reason to find creative ways--like
>the call letters--to let people know about the power; nobody could possibly
>have guessed the power from the coverage :-) Although the FM was a full
>Class B (50 kW equivalent at 500 ft HAAT), it did not get its calls from its
>power; it got them from the co-owned and co-located AM that it simulcast
>during the daytime.
>
>I think the first station to be named for its power was the original WXKW
>(850) in Albany. WXKW operated for six years in the late 40s and early 50s
>with 10-kW U DA-1 from a six-tower in-line array in Selkirk, south of
>Albany. The station operated the whole time on program-test authority, never
>being able to obtain a license because of alleged interference to the
>dominant station on 850--KOA in Denver. But that's a story for another time
>and another (long) post.
>
>-------------------------------
>Dan Strassberg (Note: Address is CASE SENSITIVE!)
>ALL _LOWER_ CASE!!!--> dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net
>(617) 558-4205; Fax (617) 928-4205
>
>
>

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