Metroplex
had long enjoyed success with CHR in markets like Miami
/ Ft. Lauderdale at Y-100 where they battled fiercely with
96X. But the competitive make-up of the market in DC was
different. The Top 40 powerhouses, WPGC
and Q107 were both in their
prime and a third CHR in the market was not feasible.
The
Urban Cowboy craze swept the nation in 1980 and as a format,
Country was never hotter. At the time the only serious Country
player in town was WMZQ which
had been in the format since 1977 when WMOD gave up the
ghost. Although Washington would never be considered a hard
core Country market, the format was too hot to let one station
revel in format exclusivity. Thus the birth of a worthy
competitor, an AM and FM simulcast originating on the Virginia
side of the Potomac at WVKX-FM (jointly licensed to Woodbridge
/ Alexandria) and WPKX-AM, solely in Alexandria.
To
make matters more confusing, for some reason the two stations
swapped call letters so that now, the FM was WPKX and the
AM was WVKX. Wiser minds prevailed however when deciding
to simply refer to the station on the air as KIX 106.
Having
left two previous stations in succession when they went
Country (WOHN in Herndon, VA and WEEL
in Fairfax, VA), I had misgivings about doing Country. But
the lure of a major market gig was too strong to ignore
and it turned out to be one of the smartest decisions I
ever made. To my delight I discovered the on air mechanics
were virtually identical to Top 40 radio that I was accustomed
to; only the library was different.
And
that library reflected Washington's atypically upscale demographics.
Artists palatable to Country purists like Jimmy Buffett,
Jim Croce and the Allman Brothers that brought in shared
listeners from the Pop world coexisted nicely with Waylon
& Willie, George Jones and Merle Haggard. The result
was a ratings win over WMZQ
and winning Billboard Magazine's 'Country Station of the
Year' when I joined KIX late in 1981.
Having
a background with call out research, I was recruited to
also oversee the newly created department that phoned people
at random to play song hooks down the line to them. This
also led to participation in focus groups the station conducted
while I was there. KIX was a great gig and I had no intention
of leaving anytime soon. But unbeknownst to me, my goal
station, WPGC
would soon come calling.
NEXT
>
<
Back to the Tuner (if not the future!). |
