Re: WCOP and the lawsuit.

["David W. Harris" <dwh@totalnetnh.net>]

Nice job, Mr. Gallant, in recounting the post-WCRB history of 1330.  I
noticed awhile ago that the history of that frequency on the Boston
Radio Archives (http://radio.lcs.mit.edu/radio/wrca.html) is a bit
spotty on the transition from classical to country.

Here's what Waves magazine (8/79) says about the "lawsuit": "The
Committee for Community Access petitioned the Federal Communications
Commission to deny the [WCOP AM/FM] licenses, and nearly 1600 persons
wrote to CCA or signed petitions in support of CCA's effort.  The
current programming on WDLW is the result of a settlement agreement
between CCA and Plough Broadcasting Company, the former owner of WCOP:
CCA has dropped its license challenges against Plough, and Plough is
helping to sponsor the country block on WDLW."

WDLW's initial commitment to country in May 1979 was only from 6pm
Saturday to 10:30am Sunday, hosted by Bambi Lynn and "Cousin Lynn"
Joiner (of WHRB's "Hillbilly at Harvard").  Within a couple months Frank
Dudgeon (ex-WCAS) joined the lineup and the start time moved up to 4pm
Saturday.  Dudgeon was also added to the weekday AC format.

On September 24, 1979, country expanded to 7 days on WDLW with Bob
Mitchell (ex-WOTW) 6-10am, Frank Dudgeon 10am-2pm, PD Glenn Shields
(ex-WOKQ) 2-6pm, and Jim Murphy 6pm-midnight.  Cousin Lynn remained on
weekends, along with some sports programming and "Little Walter's Time
Machine" on Sunday nights.

A clarification on this from Mr. Gallant: "...until WVBF-FM 105.7 became
WKLB 105.7."  The Country Club was WCLB at first (2/12/92).  The change
to WKLB made the folks at almost-the-same-name WCRB happier and gave the
folks at WBCS a chance to make remarks about how they were better
spellers than their competition.

And a clarification on the date 1330 dumped classical...the Archives
article says "By the 1970s, the AM had split off from the FM, with the
WHET calls and a beautiful music format."  According to a couple Boston
Herald American clippings announcing the change, the classical simulcast
was to end September 29, 1975, when WHET was to begin with an MOR
format.  I vaguely recall hearing a fair amount of big band in the mix
in the fall in 1976.  The 10/78 Waves listed the format as beautiful
music with 80% vocal content.

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