“Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories. And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it.” – Stevie Wonder
And let me follow up by saying these memories can be both good and bad.
The music world, and the industry that supports it, radio, has changed a lot since the internet came along to upend their business model.
I am mostly digital now (OK, I still have a few hundred LPs) and I carry all that music on my phone. It goes where I go. And as a music lover it’s what I’ve always dreamed of. Open up an app, put it on shuffle, and I can hear anything from an old 78 to something new. But one day recently, a song popped up that brought back bad memories. This:
That’s right, the song is “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” by Rick Derringer. It’s not a bad song, and Rick Derringer is a talent. Derringer produced and played on “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Grammy Award-winning song “Eat It,” after all, and being a Weird Al fan, he’s therefore all right in my book.
It’s a sour song to me, however, because I’ve heard it already maybe a thousand times. Why? I grew up in Toledo in the 70s and 80s and listened to WIOT, FM104, because there wasn’t anything else.
“Radar Love” by Golden Earring. “Can’t Get Enough” by Bad Company. “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith. “All Right Now” by Free. “Carry On Wayward Son” by Kansas. “All Right Now” by Free. Anything by The Who, or the Rolling Stones, or AC/DC. The list of songs I’ve heard “a thousand times” is a long one.
I grew up on two, maybe three stations – WJR (which my parents always had on), CKLW (which in its heyday, was my choice) and a little bit of WOHO, with the likes of Buddy Carr and Ken R. Deutsch. I had always heard, but was (and still am) unable to verify to my satisfaction, that CKLW in the late 60s-early 70s was the top-rated station in Toledo.
As I got older however, WIOT was ubiquitous among my age group. And indeed, a little research revealed the blog of Peter Cavanaugh, a former VP at Reams Broadcasting who has extensively documented his radio career. He wrote that WIOT was pulling in a total audience share of 19.7% in the fall of 1979, which I believe can be interpreted as nearly one of every five radio listeners in Toledo was hearing WIOT. It is a very interesting site.
And I am not surprised. Indeed, it was on everywhere: at homes, at the park, in cars, in stores.
And I listened, too. And that was my mistake.
Why? WIOT did what worked. They played music that people wanted to hear. Ad infinitum. Over and over and over again. To death. After all, it wasn’t a complete day unless you heard Eric Clapton’s Layla three or four times.
(This would be a good spot for a picture of the white-on-black WIOT t-shirts that were also ubiquitous, but thank heavens I couldn’t find one.)
And it was a big success for its owner, Reams Broadcasting. The company was started by Frazier Reams, a two-term congressman and lawyer and who prosecuted mobster Yonnie Licavoli in the 1930s. The company, eventually taken over by his son, Frazier Reams Jr., owned WCWA-AM (formerly WTOL-AM) and, as an aside, started up WTOL-TV from scratch. Its first night was Dec. 5, 1958. Blade amusement editor Ray Oviatt said a few days later the station transmitted a clear picture, “the staff members, both performers and crews, appear to be able people who know what they are doing,” and of particular importance was that Toledo would now have its own affiliate for the CBS Television Network. Plus it ended nearly ten years of Toledo being a one-station town, WSPD-TV having gone on the air in 1948.
Reams also started WCWA-FM when FM radio came along after World War II. I couldn’t really tell you with any authority what WCWA-FM, 104.7 on your dial, was doing prior to Christmas Day, 1972. According to The Blade’s radio listings from 1962, they had shows like “Ocean to Ocean” and “Mood After Dark,” which I can only assume to be music, so that’s vague at best. But on December 23, 1972, in the back of the Peach Section, Norman Dresser ran a little snippet detailing the pending birth of WIOT-FM.
One thing’s for sure: I don’t remember a lot of “folk music” on WIOT. But what did it leave us? A lot of the Rolling Stones, Rush, The Who, Led Zeppelin. But what else was there? Were we going to listen to disco on WMHE? Were we going to zone out on the comatose-inducing easy listening dreck on WLQR? No, we weren’t. We were pretty much stuck with WIOT, unless one wanted to tune in WRIF in Detroit, whose signal was sketchy even on the clearest of days.
So instead, I eventually tuned out after high school (1981), but WIOT was tough to shed (again, it was on everywhere).
Like a lot of people, I don’t find myself listening to the radio much at all anymore. I know this article may read like a headline from The Onion – “Local man finally discovers radio is repetitive” – but in my defense…well, I don’t have one. But in WIOT’s defense, they brought a lot of great shows to the Sports Arena, many of which I attended. They were a unifying force for all the disaffected youth. So I’m not trying to knock them. Radio is a tough business. They did what worked.
Other than the aforementioned blog, there’s very little solid information on WIOT’s history. Its Wikipedia page reads like it was written by an overenthusiastic intern. I do know that for the longest time, Reams Broadcasting had its studios in the old News-Bee building at 604 Jackson St. downtown, until One Government Center, now the Michael V. DiSalle Government Center, came along in the early 1980s. Reams was sold to Jacor in 1999, and is now part of the iHeartMedia conglomorate.
And I turn WIOT on today via the magic of the internet and what do I get? “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” by ZZ Top. Yeah, not much changes.
Was WCWA called Seaway Radio? I have a vague memory. In junior high (1969-70), I remember WOHO was popular with Mojo Man. My friend had “Mojo” written all over her notebooks. Was he on WOHO?
WIOT seemed to take over from CKLW. And yes, the nonstop “Walk This Way” music didn’t thrill me. I started listening to a soul music station or WGTE. I learned a lot about classical music from Herb Zornow’s program.
Yes. Its call letters were WTOL as well until the late 50s, early 60s when the St. Lawrence Seaway came along. Thus, Seaway Radio.
I did very similar things. When the pop and rock become too repetitive, I would go to classical also, for a break. I think that era of radio conditioned me, because even now I listen to a local Chicagoland over the air jazz station, though through their app because I still like to hear real time DJs. Jazz DJs aren’t as loud and crazy as the corporate rock DJs and that works for me.
I recall WIOT also. I even tuned in on my FM converter in my handed down 65 Chrysler Newport. How cool was that? No more AM for me except a few returns to CKLW now and then. Now another station I listened to, at home a year earlier, was WGLN-FM. My first experience with underground music, now called progressive rock. That station was ultracool, playing music I never heard in my 15 years on the planet. Songs like “White Bird” by “It’s a Beautiful Day” and such. Good stuff coming from a Berkey, Ohio cornfield. I felt like what I thought a hippie was like. (a bit wrong on that but I liked the music. Thanks for the site.
WIOT was the very embodiment of the Album Oriented Rock radio trend back in the late 70s and through the late 80s … really until Grunge swallowed the rock scene whole in 1991(ish). Sure, it was repetitive, but no moreso than nationally recognized stations like WMMS out of Cleveland and the aforementioned WRIF. What WIOT did really well was to let its DJs show their personalities through song choice and the usual light banter back when DJs were still local, had some degree of control over what songs they played, and before the horrible Morning Drive and Shock Jock trends made (to my ear) modern radio all but unlistenable.
I still remember during the big city strike in the late 70s, WIOT’s DJs wrote topical lyrics to Greg Kihn’s “Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em Like That Anymore)” about the strike, and the new garbage rules after pickup was cut to every-other week: “They don’t come every week anymore / Won’t pick up cans if there’s more than four….”
Now I’m standing in a park full of broken glass (da da da da da dahhh) Fell down and got some glass in my (Uh UH uh uh da da da da da dahhh)… Yes, good times. (more or less) Uncle Joey ( Joe Thomas) premièring 3 lock box at 5:00 am on a Sunday, then quitting months later by means of a backskipping record, and some business about wanting mto play the 104Players dj softball team, but wanting to borrow their shirts so as to make the 104Players into the 104Skins. I now live in Columbus, where FM104’s spiritual brother lives, QFM96.
Thanks for the memories…
Ben
Great memories all. Not many seem to remember WGLN FM 105.5 these days. They had a free form progressive period. Also a Country Western era – remember the Jones boys? Plus a very early run at golden oldies at one point. After being bought up by WOHO good ole WGLN became WXEZ.
All Toledo ratings charts I have seen for the 1968 – 1974 era seem to place CKLW in a top three position overall. Number one one time, number three another time and so on. WSPD and WOHO would usually be the other two stations in the top 3. CKLW usually had a vast lead with the teenage demo. Almost always number one by miles and miles with the younger age group. CKLW also did well in Cleveland Ohio and Erie PA.
Here is a question where hours of research have failed me. Early January 1964 Bob Martz, John Garry, Lee Fowler and a couple of others left WTOD for WOHO. For those who do not know Bob Martz was the creative genius that made WTOD so successful despite being a day time only operation. Anyhow back to WOHO is the fact Bob Martz would leave WOHO for the operations manager job at WIBM Jackson MI. WIBM was owned by Booth Broadcasting. Booth also owned WTOD at this time. During Nov 1965 Bob Martz became General Manager of WTOD AM & FM. Soon all the people who followed Bob to WOHO would once again cross the river to rejoin Bob at WTOD. Does anyone know why Bob Martz and several others jumped ship from WTOD to work for the competition WOHO? Why the return to WTOD? I am also unable to find the date Bob left WOHO for WIBM.
I suppose one who possibly would know is “Ragtime” Rick Grafing, local ragtime piano musician and local radio show host. He has a show, along with his son John, on WCWA-AM 1230 on Saturday mornings from 6 A. M. to Noon (John’s show is in the 8 to 9 A. M. slot). He is very knowledgeable about local radio, having arrived in Toledo circa 1962. He is on various social media, or perhaps you could call during one of his radio shows.
I worked at WIOT in the Glory Days. Worked with Neil Lasher Bob Crowley Mohammed Sonsher and others. Played my share of Wild Cherry, Cheap Trick, some jazz Santana and with the help of my friend Harold Swan as my transport. Did the Hasty Pudding picnic, interviewed Ritchie Blackmore emceed Heart out at the Toledo sports arena and had a ball with my time in the Glass City .Subbed a bit days..Michael G Nastos
Wow, what a pleasant surprise to read this, from one of my favorite jazz and such musical radio hosts (WEMU, WCBN). I learned much from you. I consider myself one who had the good chance to be born in an area of such good and various music (NW Ohio, SE Michigan and SW Windsor, ON). I grew listening to local pop stations, and the CKLW one and got into rock around 1977. That was on WIOT.
Listening to Mohammed on WIOT was a treat every time, and I appreciated hearing full albums late on some nights. I don’t recall hearing your shows, yet perhaps I simply didn’t notice you then. Around 1980, I discovered jazz on WAMP-FM, out of Scott High School In Toledo and sort of dug it. It was not until seeing Dexter Gordon in “Round Midnight” in 1993 or so, that the jazz “switch” really turned on. I have enjoyed it to this day.
Here’s what I remember about WTOL/WCWA from an old guy ( 76). When I first caught on to WTOL 1230 it was running a format called ” Demand Radio one twenty three” No DJ’s and a lot of up tempo pop music. No rock and roll as it was called then. At that time, probably early 60’s the fm was still called WTOL-FM and played easy listening mostly instrumental music which my dad loved. I visited the station once and saw the am was programed from an RCA board in the middle studio while a big reel to reel automation machine did the FM from one studio on the end with n old Western Electric board which I’m guessing was used at the original studio which I believe had been in the Bell building. . The other end held the production studio with another RCA board and a little cubical nearby was the news studio. . At some point WTOL dropped the calls and changed am and fm calls to WCWA with on air personalities on the am but nothing different on the fm. In 1972 the fm changed to what we called AOR , album oriented rock produced from the former production studio. Prior to that time Toledo did not have a fulltime AOR station instead WAWR 93.5 in Bowling Green offered AOR at night and of course WABX and WRIF in Detroit also programed AOR . WFIN FM in Findlay did a night AOR show as well but none of these stations had a strong signal in Toledo.