wcop 400 million dollar sound

[Dan.Strassberg]

Many, many small manufacturing companies--few of which still exist,
started radio stations in the '20s WBBM, for instance, stood for
<something that began with B--can't remember> Battery Manufacturing.
Donna is sure to jump in with AmRad (American Radio?) which built
electronic products of the day, including radio receivers. AmRad
started her all-time-favorite station, WGI Medford Hillside, which
eventually became WCOP and since then has had more calls than any
other Boston-area station. At the moment, it is WTTT. WGI is where
Donna's all-time-favorite radio engineer, Eunice Randall, was Chief
Engineer (and also did some air work). And we can't leave out RCA,
which owned NBC, which in turn owned the legal-maximum complement of
radio stations, WEAF (and until 1943, WJZ), WRC, WMAQ, KOA, KPO, and
WJAS. In Rochester, Stromberg-Carlson owned WHAM. That's just a
smattering. I think several Chicago AMs besides WBBM were named after
the manufacturing companies that started them. Indeed, I think WSBC
also stood for a company that manufactured batteries--might have been
Standard Battery Company, although I'm not sure that the S stood for
Standard.

-----
Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net)
eFax 1-707-215-6367

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Doug Drown" <revdoug1@verizon.net>
To: "bernard boehm" <bernie0217@rcn.com>;
<boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2007 5:06 PM
Subject: Re: wcop 400 million dollar sound


> History trivia time:  Your mentioning Plough's ownership of WCOP
> (which I
> remember: "A Radio Service of Plough, Incorporated") has made me
> wonder what
> other major manufacturing companies used to own broadcasting
> stations but
> have gotten out of the business.  GE exited in the '80s but went
> back in;
> Westinghouse evolved into CBS; Avco/Crosley owned WLW.  Does anyone
> know of
> any others?  I know Plough was a pharmaceutical company, but I'm
> using the
> term "manufacturing" broadly.
>
> -Doug
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "bernard boehm" <bernie0217@rcn.com>
> To: <boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
> Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2007 1:25 PM
> Subject: wcop 400 million dollar sound
>
>
> attorney ross's comments about the 1962 format change for wcop
> brought back
> a flood of memories.
> The so called "400 million dollar sound" was thought up at the
> Plough radio
> home office in Memphis. It was supposedly based on the theory that
> retail
> music sales were going into albums..therefore a radio station should
> be
> playing those album cuts..
> However after a prolonged diet of "flying down to rio" by kai
> winding,
> someone must have finally realized no one was listening to their
> music.
> The highlight of the fiasco came when the execs. from Memphis came
> to boston
> to instruct the staff on how to run the format and to give then a
> taste of
> the 400 million dollar sound..
> After the first bland number was played from the podium at the old
> Bradford
> hotel, my old friend ..now the late Dick Brown yelled "wha
> tussi"...(the
> title of the current Orlons hit record)..the silence was deafening..
>
>
> thanks for the memories,
>
> Bernard Lawrence Boehm  aka  Bill Lawrence   wbz, weei, wfea, worl,
> wcop,
> wtbs
>