1959 - Jingle Sampler - PAMS, CRC & Futursonic

First, a special Good Guy salute to frequent WPGC Tribute Site contributor, the late, Lee Whitney, who upon receiving a reel to reel deck for his birthday in 1959, began recording audio directly off the radio from his home in Arlington. Much of it was from WPGC.

At only 16,500 watts (WPGC-FM wouldn't go 50,000 watts until 1969), he rigged up an antenna to a tree in his back yard, easily pulling in the station, albeit in Mono (the FM wouldn't go Stereo until 1972).

As such, the fidelity on these is remarkably good despite their age but for the limitations of the tape deck it was recorded on, and are the earliest known extant WPGC audio.

They are also among the earliest jingles produced by PAMS, CRC & Futursonic, recognized leaders during the infancy of station identification. Highly reflective of the 'I Like Ike' period, most cuts are noticeably longer in length than those that would follow in ensuing years and offer a glimpse of WPGC in its formative, 'Coloradio' days. Prepare to be amazed and dazzled by a bygone era below!

Hear other WPGC Jingles by PAMS

1960 - Stan Major - WPGC Imaging Sampler

Stan Major arrived at WPGC from sister station, KBMI in Las Vegas in 1958. As Program Director and Morning Man, he also was responsible for the imaging heard on the station. Captured as before by the late, Lee Whitney, bombastic was the style of the day!
This montage of audio imaging he created was typical of the time. Hear the 'Right Stuff' sound of the Mercury 7 era below.

 

08/06/62 - Locked In the WPGC Studio Stunt

'Barefoot' Larry Justice, arrived at WPGC after a discharge from the Army in February, 1962, staying exactly one year before moving on to WIBG in Philadelphia. In that brief time, he made his mark on listeners in the Nation's Capital by staging a stunt on 08/06/62 in which he locked himself in the studio and repeatedly played the same novelty record over and over.

The radio soap opera was inspired by a real life event in which he had been offered a higher salary at KLIF in Dallas but wanted to come back East after military service in the Midwest. General Manager, Bob Howard had reneged on his promise of a salary increase prompting Larry to take matters into his own hands.

The on-air drama continued for nearly two hours to an audience unaccustomed to stunting like this. Station management could have easily taken control at the transmitter site and put an end to the nonsense. Ever the showman however, Bob Howard milked the event for all the publicity it was worth and is heard negotiating with Larry on the air.

Foreknowledge of the event by Program Director, Dean Griffith (#1 - Dean Anthony) is a certainty as confirmed many years later by Larry who gradually makes concessions to allow the news and commercials to air, the fiasco comes to a close when an exasperated Bob Howard finally concedes and grants Larry his raise in writing, at which time Larry vacates the studio.

Real or planned, the stunt gained national attention for the station and caused no long term ill will for Larry who would eventually resurface for a long stretch doing mornings at WPGC's sister station, WMEX in Boston. All these years later, you be the judge!

1964 - Beatles - Harv Moore - Interview Of Fab Four

Beatlemania hit the Nation's Capital hard early in 1964. Earlier than any other market for that matter as the Invasion was on even before the year began. WPGC jumped on the Beatles bandwagon, 'Capitolizing' on every new song release with an urgency of paramount importance leading to WPGC and other stations being invited to MC their first concert at the DC Coliseum.

WPGC Morning Man, 'Harv Moore, the Boy Next Door' teamed up with the equally legendary Bobby Poe in producing a novelty cut-in record in the style made famous by Dickie Goodman. Titled, 'Interview of the Fab Four', the tune was pulled just two weeks after release owing to Brian Epstein getting a Cease & Desist Order that put a rapid end to its airplay on WPGC. But the promotional mileage it gained in that time when no other station in town had it was well worth the effort!

1960's - General Manager, Bob Howard Montage

If ever there was a showman in the truest sense of P.T. Barnum, WPGC General Manager, Bob Howard would be the first choice. Though Sales was his background, Show Biz was in his blood. Thus explaining the litany of an-air characters he portrayed over the years on WPGC ranging from the anonymous play by play announcer on countless contesting elements to the mysterious 'Mr. X', to the absurdly delightful, 'Captain Good Guy' and too many other off the wall personas to list here.

He will however forever be remembered above all else as the bombastic voice of WPGC's, 'Mr. Sound Off' on hundreds of listener gripes about seemingly everything and anything. Hear a montage of all these personalities and more with his famous admonition, 'Your Response Is Welcome!'.

12/24/66 - Marv Brooks - Christmas Eve Show

Christmas Eve is like no other night of the year. At the time, Marv Brooks was the morning News Guy with Harv Moore and doubled as the station's Production Director. His weekend airshift happened to coincide with Santa's journey that year.

With not enough Rock & Roll Christmas records to build a show around, Marv downshifts and conveys the warmth of the season with a surprisingly MOR playlist that somehow seems to fit the bill quite nicely.

Along with periodic reports of the Big Guy's progress courtesy of NORAD, he keeps listeners informed of the latest developments of a major snow storm that hit the Nation's Capital just in time for a very White Christmas! Special thanks to long time WPGC Tribute Site contributor, Joe Evelius who acquired the raw tape from the guy who originally recorded this audio from his home in Cockeysville, MD 40 miles away, the late Jim Schiller.

Scoped - 2:03:06 / UNscoped - 4:45:06

Martin Luther King & Robert F. Kennedy

April 5th - 7th, 1968 - MLK Aftermath Coverage

1968 was like a break in the time continuum. Thee most tumultuous year of thee tumultuous decade of the 20th century. The Nation was shocked at the tragic passing of Dr. Martin Luther King. Widespread unrest arose in virtually every major city in America, but nowhere was the devastation as prominent as in the Nation's Capital with numerous deaths attributed to the uprising.

WPGC immediately shifted gears with a far more subdued presentation than was customary. Regular programming features were abandoned to provide continuing coverage in the aftermath of his death. Low key tuneage was the order of the day with the hype normally associated with Top 40 jettisoned in favor of the mournful atmosphere in keeping with the day. Hear a montage of Jack Alix, Harv Moore, Marv Brooks and Bob Raleigh (#5 - Bill Miller) in the days that followed. Thanks once more to Joe Evelius and the late, Jim Schiller for this audio.

June 9th, 1968 - RFK Aftermath Coverage

Then, the unthinkable happened. Another high profile assassination a mere two months later with the loss of Robert F. Kennedy, a personal friend of WPGC Program Director and Afternoon Man, 'Cousin' Warren Duffy. Having worked with Ethel on Special Olympics, he had grown close to the Kennedys to such an extent he was invited to spend Thanksgiving with the family at Hyannis Port.

Once again, WPGC went into a somber mood with nary an uptempo tune to be found anywhere. Listen as Bob Raleigh (#5 - Bill Miller) tries to make it through his Sunday morning airshift the day of the funeral, made especially difficult when playing Duffy's personal and poignant tribute pieces to RFK. A day and indeed, a time and place never to be forgotten.

 

07/20/69 - Bob Raleigh, Sr. - Apollo 11 Moon Landing

America's shining moment in the sun (or should it be the moon?) occured with the triumphant flight of Apollo 11. The landing happened on a Sunday, and as was the custom at WPGC, Bob Raleigh (#5 - Bill Miller) was on the air that morning. The level of anticipation was unmatched that day and festive in nature.

Throughout his show, Bob peppers in reports of preparations for the landing and Moon Walk later in the evening. With the Woodstock generation only a month away, this then was the crowning achievement of humankind on a day unlike any other in the 'Summer of '69'. As before, Joe Evelius donated this audio from tapes made by the late, Jim Schiller.

Scoped - 42:44 / UNscoped - 1:49:38

04/01/70 - Bob Raleigh Jr. & Davy Jones - Janitor Bit

April Fools Day meant the usual on-air hijinx. But never was that taken to such an extreme than on this day in 1970 when Bob Raleigh (#6 - Dewitt Robert Raleigh) and Davy Jones teamed up to pull off a stunt to remember. When the Jones boy allegedly fails to show up for his shift, 'Junior' presses the station janitor into duty, a befuddled old geezer who makes every mistake in the book in trying to do his show.

The bit was completely spontaneous and unrehearsed, yet comes off as seven minutes of comedic brilliance designed to put the screws to General Manager, Bob Howard who wouldn't give Davy the night off. Suffice to say, station janitor, 'Roscoe P. Mutterbag' never made another appearance on WPGC - and for good reason!

07/05/70 - Casey Kasem - 1st American Top 40 Show

WPGC had a unique role in the advent of American Top 40 which went on to become the most successful syndicated show in radio history. Early in 1970, Watermark's Tom Rounds traveled to Boston to meet with WPGC and sister station, WMEX's owner, Max Richmond who agreed to clear the show on his two properties, thus becoming the first two stations in the country to do so.

Casey Kasem and American Top 40 debuted on WPGC the Sunday morning of 07/05/70 from 9a - 12noon. Alas, no recording of that first broadcast on WPGC has ever surfaced. However, the next best thing does exist. An authentic re-creation of the first show complete with wall-to-wall reverb, custom Casey elements for WPGC plus Jingles, Promos, Sweepers, era appropriate Commercials, and of course, Sound Offs offer a glimpse of how the initial program had sounded that day. Now, on with the Countdown!

12/27/71 - Big Wilson - The Rock & Roll Generation

In 1969, Drake-Chenault made major noise in the industry with the introduction of the highly acclaimed, 'The History of Rock & Roll'. Many stations around the country attempted to clone the show, including WPGC. But unlike most others, it was primarily done live, but for periodic pre-recorded segments for each year done by WPGC Program Director, 'Big Wilson' who came to the station late in 1969.

Known as 'The Rock & Roll Generation', it told the story of Rocks' earliest formative days through the present in chronological order, running the week between Christmas and New Year in the years 1969 through 1971. Each year, tuneage from the preceeding 12 months was added to the show, culminating with the Top 100 countdown for that year on New Years Day. Two spin-off specials followed in early 1972 with, 'The Motown Generation' and, 'The Beatles Generation'. None of the shows aired again after 'Big' left the station later that year. Hear a representative sample featuring the year 1964 below.

August, 1972 - The Missing 'W' Contest

Of all the countless contests ?PGC ran over the years, none were as popular as 'The Missing W'. So much so that it ran on three different occasions. The first of these was in 1966 when 'The Riddler' stole the 'W', sending sleuths from all over DC in search for the vanished constanent until it was spotted on the 'Welcome to Virginia' sign on the Wilson Bridge over the Beltway.

Not to be outdone, the crime was perpetrated again in 1972 when, 'Dr. Strangeletter' apprehended the 'W' and held it captive for a solid month till a Capital Hill secretary 'found' it on a sign in Georgetown and picked up the tidy sum of $5,000 for her effort.

Then in 1983, history repeated itself with yet another incarnation of the promotion, complete with rhyming clues that would lead listeners to untold fortune and fame. Unfortunately, no one can remember where it was found, including those who worked at the station at the time! Hurry! Hear a montage of 'The Missing W' contesting elements from 1972 before it's stolen again!

1973 - Harv Moore & 'The Redhead'

Harv Moore arrived at WPGC in 1963, initially doing nights till sign-off on the FM. Within a few months however, he moved to Morning Drive as 'The Morning Mayor', a position he held until leaving the station in 1975. By 1971, the cast of characters on his show had expanded to the point that it was renamed, 'Harv Moore & Company'.

Along with stalwarts such as wise-cracking 'Orville', the kind-hearted but dim-witted, 'Kay Sera', the senile, 'Gramps', 'Tonto' his faithful grunting companion and 'The Colonel' always in search of cashing in on the Next Big Thing, Harv was joined by 'The Redhead'.

Originally portrayed by Harv's wife, Vicki, the best remembered of the three 'Redheads' was Joannie Fierstein who doubled as one of the WPGC Money Girls and who moonlighted as Harv's secretary. Her charming ignorance of professional sports teams' names was a natural to have her do the sports report that often included references to teams such as the 'Dodge Chargers' much to the chagrin of fans.

Among the popular recuring bits they did was one involving her reading school lunch menus, especially whenever 'Ze French Bread' was being served. Hear some of their shenanigans below.

01/01/74 - Dan Steele - Top 100 of 1973

'Your man, Dan' Steele came to WPGC in 1973 for nights after he sent an audition tape to Program Director, Harv Moore. Not trusting demo tapes, he had Ken Mezger drive up to Harrisburg to record Dan without his knowledge. The result was the 'Man of Steele' arriving in Washington.

Every year, WPGC would compile a list of the Top 100 songs of the year and proceed to count them down in order on New Years Day. A typical countdown would run a total of four times or so over a 24 hour period, giving everyone a chance to hear at least a portion of the show after a late night out the evening before.

1973 would be the last year that the AM still dominated. Within a year, WPGC-FM would eclipse the ratings of WPGC-AM for the first time and was a harbinger of things to come later in the decade when WPGC became the most listened to station in the Nation's Capital! Hear a portion of the countdown below.

Scoped - 16:36 / UNscoped - 2:26:19

11/75 - Columbus & Jim Elliott - Morning Handoff

Filling the shoes of long-time Morning Man, Harv Moore was no easy task when he left with 'Mr. Sound Off' in 1975. But WPGC's, 'Columbus' was no ordinary jock whose sentorian pipes could rattle the transmitter from 50 yards away! He admirably took over the morning show early in the year and continued holding down the fort until November when he accepted a position as the Production Director at WLS.

Temporarily, midday man, Jim Elliott moved to mornings for a few months until the arrival of Tim Kelly, ironically arriving from another Chicagoland blowtorch where he had done mornings at WCFL. Tim and everyone else on the air staff but for Jim who crossed the picket line would leave after the 'Great Strike That Struck Out' in May of 1977.

By 1978, Program Director, Dan Mason had paired him up with Scott Woodside. The pair had a natural chemistry and 'Elliott & Woodside' would go on to great success along with 'Congressman Cottonpicker'. In this portion of an aircheck featured on WPGC's 26th Anniversary show in 1980, the two play back a tape of the day in 1975 that 'Columbus' handed over the reins of the Morning Show to Jim, neither of them realizing at the time that Jim would eventually wind up as the permanent morning host. Jim & Scott's comments while the tape is playing is worth the price of admission alone!

April, 1976 - Jim Collins - JAM Jingle Demo

Jim Collins first joined WPGC in 1969 while stationed at Walter Reed Army Hospital, using the air name, 'Mark West'. After a stint in West Germany, he rejoined the station for late nights in 1972. It didn't take long before Program Director, Harv Moore moved him into Afternoon Drive.

When Harv took off for Buffalo in 1975, Jim became the new Program Director and took the station to new heights with major additions to the station such as Tim Kelly in Mornings and Big Ron O'Brien at night. He also ordered the first jingle package from a then new company, JAM. It was a compilation of 'Priority One', originally created for WDAI in Memphis and 'Logoset', created that year for WABC.

For a while, JAM used an actual WPGC aircheck of Jim using the new jingles as an illustration for stations of how they sounded in context on a blowtorch like the Enormous 95.5 and the Equally Awesome 1580. Jim would go on to management positions with Polydor Records and 66 WNBC. He passed away in the early '90's. Fittingly, the WPGC Tribute Site is dedicated in his memory. Hear him in action below.

Hear more WPGC JAM jingles

Fall, 1976 - Big Ron O'Brien

WPGC was the direct beneficiary of the shocking change in format at WCFL in Chicago on 03/15/76 when it dropped Top 40 and went Beautiful Music. Suddenly, major league air talent from that station was available. WPGC Program Director, Jim Collins wasted no time in bringing in Tim Kelly who had done mornings there to do so at WPGC as well as a radio legend in his own time, Big Ron O'Brien who joined the station for nights.

Ron ruled over the night sky air waves in DC with a 10 share during his time in Washington, his humor and charm shining through time and time again. It was clear that he loved being on the radio. And no better friend did colleagues have than Big Ron who often invited radio buds to sit in on his show before hanging out with them for beer & pizza afterwards. From the Fall of 1976 about 6 months after arriving at WPGC, hear his on-air mastery, direct from the 'Bladensburg Space Needle' as he crowned it.

05/77 - Don Bishop - Great Strike (That Struck Out!)

In one of the darkest chapters of the history of WPGC, the entire Air Staff, News Guys & Money Girls walked off the job when The Great Strike (That Struck Out) hit on 05/02/77. WPGC had become unionized in the late '60's, despite General Manager, Bob Howard's best efforts to prevent it from happening. When the contract came up for renewal in 1977, Marriott ownership launched a power play to get rid of the union for good, making talent an offer signficantly better than what the union had hoped for.

The only catch was their insistance that jocks record breaks for use on the AM while the FM remained a live operation. The American Federation of Radio & Television Artists (AFTRA) resorted to exerting undue pressure on advertising agencies, threatening legal action should they not withhold placing advertising with union talent on them on WPGC.

That tactic backfired when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) agreed to hear the case and ruled against the union for engaging in a 'Secondary Boycott', a clear violation of the Taft-Hartley Act. The Marriotts ordered the firing of all the strikers but for one who had crossed the picket line (and the Shop Steward, no less!) and replaced them with talent from other First Media stations around the Country.

Among them was Don Bishop, Program Director of First Media's station in Provo, Utah, KAYK. With the help of others new onboard such as Dave Foxx, who produced the piece, he narrated an in-house, cut-in record detailing the plight of the strikers on The Great Strike (That Struck Out). Suffice to say, it was never played over the air. Hear what listeners at the time never did below along with interview segments on the Strike with Don and Dan Mason.

May, 1978 - Ramblin' Raft Race Montage

The American Rafting Association held the first Ramblin' Raft Race in Atlanta in 1969. By 1973, the race made its way to Washington but was sponsored by WRC. Five years later, WPGC brought it back in a big way as thousands descended upon West Potomac Park to witness 'The Greatest Adventure Since the Ark'. Crowds were so large that the Park Police had to bring in reinforcements to adequately handle the crowds.

Rafts in all kinds of shapes and sizes paddled down the Potomac with many of the participants partaking in sponsor, Budweiser's product along the way. Getting to the finish line was merely a formality for many of them. For five consecutive years, WPGC presented the race which grew larger and larger to the point it became almost impossible to keep things from getting out of hand. Public safety concerns as well as rising costs to put on the Race ultimately led to its demise in the mid '80s, several years after WPGC withdrew from the event.

Nevertheless, the Ramblin' Raft Race turned out to be one of the two largest annual events WPGC was involved with each year (the other being the Toys For Tots concerts each Christmas season at the Capital Centre). Listeners as well as station clients all enjoyed the madness while it lasted. Listen to a montage of elements from the Race including the original Ramblin' Raft Race song in 1978 that mentions the First Family at the time as well as the updated version for Joe Theismann's arrival at WPGC in 1982.

Elliott & Woodside - Thanksgiving Parade, 1978

Following The Great Strike (That Struck Out), Jim Elliott moved from middays to the Morning Show permanently and was originally paired up with News Guy, Don O'Dea who arrived from the same First Media station in Provo, UT, KAYK that Don Bishop did. Within a year, O'Dea returned to Provo. WPGC Program Director, Dan Mason brought in Scott Woodside whose work he was well familiar with while they both worked at separate stations in Atlanta.

There was no denying Elliott & Woodside (though they would not be billed that way until 1980) had a natural chemistry. Scott's improvisational skills lent themselves well to whatever nuttiness the Morning Show called for. No better was that illustrated on Thanksgiving of 1978 with an imaginary parade on the radio through Washington, complete with marching bands, celebrity floats, and anything else they could think of!

This theater of the mind production featured topical references to key figures of the era, not the least of which was the improbable singing of a song to Jim by none other than Billy Carter during the parade, and a mysterious phone call from a figure only identified as, 'Richard' (actually Afternoon Man, Scott Carpenter) direct from San Clemente.

By far the funniest bit of the day however was the confused parade bystander who thought that Harv Moore & the Redhead were still doing mornings at WPGC, despite their departure 3 1/2 years earlier. The cornnicopia of produced bits were done by midday man, Dave Foxx who has a run-in with the law himself while reporting from the sidelines. Rounding out the festivities were Jim's Thanksgiving Day Quiz and Things to be Thankful For comedy bits. Relive the magic of the moment from 11/22/78 below. Special thanks to WPGC Tribute Site contributor, Steve Willett for this tape!

April, 1979 - Scott Shannon - First Show

Scott Shannon had been a nighttime legend at some of the South's greatest stations including WQXI in Atlanta where he had been Program Director before moving to the Record & Film Industries at Casablanca and Ariola Records. Within days of his arrival on 03/19/79, ABC blew up its AOR formatted WRQX and entered a head to head battle as Q107 with WPGC. The war that ensued was one for the ages, with each station determined to outdo the other for ratings supremacy.

It was General Manager, Bill Prettyman who brought in Scott as WPGC's new Program Director when Dan Mason departed for a GM gig of his own at KTSA / KTFM in San Antonio. Scott's first show in April of 1979 coincided with Rod Stewart's recent marriage to Alana Hamilton, Mod Rod being a personal friend of his while living in LA. Shannon's frequent on-air appearances usually happened when someone called in sick. But he also did a weekend shift of his own which morphed into the Sunday Night Oldies Show by 1980. Playing worn out copies of 45s from the record library, more than once a tune skipped on the air!

Though it took a while to right the ship, when he left WPGC in 1981, the station had an 11.2 share and was well on its way to regaining the Top 40 crown. His legacy thereafter is the stuff that legends are made of in New York at Z100, Pirate Radio in LA, WPLJ and later, WCBS-FM in the Big Apple. Although now retired, he is still the Heaviest!

Fall, 1979 - Dee Jay's Delight / Santa's Delight

In the Fall of 1979, a new group known as 'Sugarhill Gang' claimed their 15 minutes of fame with the first Rap record to successfully cross over to the Pop charts with, 'Rapper's Delight'. Heavily sampling Chic's, 'Good Times', Dave Foxx created a mix of the two tunes that no on else in the market had.

Program Director, Scott Shannon knew a good thing when he heard it and quickly commissioned him to assemble the WPGC Air Personalities rappin' to the beat faster than you could say, 'Up jump the boogie to the bang-bang boogie'. The result was, 'Dee-Jay's Delight', featuring in order, Jim Elliott, Scott Woodside, Congressman Cottonpicker, Dave Foxx, Scott Carpenter, Scott Shannon (substituting for vacationing Waylon Richards), Tony Jenkins and Dana Stephens.

Audience reaction to the tune was nearly as phenomenal as that of the original song, so much so that in a few short weeks later when the holidays rolled around, the bit was updated, this time narrated / rapped by Shannon and the other jocks as, 'Santa's Delight'. Hear a medley of all three songs segued together in sequence below.

1970's - Dave Foxx - Production Montage

Dave Foxx came to WPGC in the aftermath of The Great Strike (That Struck Out) in May of 1977 from First Media's station in Provo, KAYK. He was often cited as the perfect midday man, a shift he spent most of his time doing until the departure of Elliott & Woodside when he was thrust into the Morning Show with Joe Theismann.

Beyond his air work, Dave spent almost as much time in the Production studio as he did the Control Room, spending hours creating a never ending supply of station promos, song edits and whatever needs Programming required of him as the local primary Promo voice of the station.

A master with the razor blade and then the digital equivalent, his work would ultimately lead him to high profile gigs not the least of which was Z100 in New York where he rejoined Steve Kingston and Scott Shannon. Today, he runs his own voice-over firm in Austin, TX. Hear a montage of just a few of the countless creations he made at WPGC.

Hear other Dave Foxx song remixes as heard on WPGC over the years.

03/17/80 - Don Geronimo - First Show

The war with Q107 was well underway by early 1980. ABC had spent an unfathomable quarter million dollars on TV spots in the Fall of 1979 featuring Chuck Blore's 'Remarkable' campaign with a model lip-syncing to an aircheck of the station designed to buy itself an audience. While curiosity cume did sample them, for the most part, WPGC weathered the storm. With a heritage Morning Show in place with Elliott & Woodside, Shannon's most strategic move was bringing in Don Geronimo to combat attrition by fickle Teens at night with no real allegiance to the station who flocked to Q's Uncle Johnny.

Don's impact upon arrival in March of that year was immediate and memorable. It was not uncommon for Shannon to call in from another studio posing as a listener as a set up for comedic bits. Likewise, Dave Foxx often did the same in an effort to prime the pump, encouraging Geronimo's 'Not Ready For Prime Time Players' to call en masse. And that they did, with one oddball caller after another wanting to be part of the show.

A native Washingtonian having once worked at WINX in Rockville, he arrived from WDRQ in Detroit and stayed for only about 18 months before departing for KIIS-FM in LA. But during that time, WPGC slowly regained the Top 40 crown due in large part to his resuscitating nights and his work as Music Director of the station. His legacy at WPGC would play a large role in his returning to Washington several years later for mornings at WAVA and WJFK as well as National syndication.

Scoped - 3:00 / UNscoped - 20:49

02/26/82 - Joe Theismann - Football Strike

Redskin's quarterback, Joe Theismann began phoning in reports before and after games on Friday and Monday mornings in the Fall of 1981. By year's end, two events of major significance happened; the NFL Strike hit with Joe suddenly having time on his hands.

At or about the same time, the long time Morning team of Elliott & Woodside departed WPGC for Q107 with an astronomical salary so high that Harden & Weaver at WMAL demanded their contract be renegotiated!

In a masterful stroke of publicity, Program Director, Steve Kingston brought in Joe Theismann on a daily basis for Mornings, joining Dave Foxx who had been moved hastily from middays and Loo Katz handling the News.

Joe's presence bolstered the station's loss of its prized Morning Show to the extent it let WPGC hang on in the war with Q107 until later that year when inept station ownership changed the format to Adult Contemporary, leading to a mind-blowing loss of 50% of the station's cume in one book!

Joe displayed the gift of gab with an unexpected sense of humor that attracted both regular and new listeners alike. When the Strike was over, he returned to his day job and just for the heck of it, won Superbowl XVII before returning to the station after the Pro Bowl. His ensuing broadcast career thereafter was due in large part to his seminal performances at WPGC! Hear him in action early in 1982 below. Special thanks to WPGC Tribute Site contributor, Steve Willet for this tape!

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