WCFL (AM)
Encyclopedia
WCFL was the callsign of a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was owned by the Chicago Federation of Labor
, hence its call letters. The station is now known as WMVP. Its transmitter is located in Downers Grove
and is still in use by WMVP
. The station billed itself as "The Voice of Labor" from its inception until its sale to Mutual in 1978.
began discussions regarding owning and operating its own radio station. By 1925, the AFL decided not to enter the broadcasting business but to purchase time for organized labor's message on commercially operated radio. The dream stayed alive with the Chicago Federation of Labor, who believed having an owned and operated radio station would be an effective way to spread its message. In 1924, the Federation gave its approval to work toward establishing a radio station. The original plan for WCFL called for it to be a non-commercial station, operating on the support of its listeners; in a sense it was one of the first large-scale efforts at public radio
. Spearheading the drive to make WCFL a reality was the Federation's Secretary, Edward Nockels (1869–1937); without his efforts, there would have been no radio station at all.
WCFL officially began on December 4, 1925; the Federation's hopes were temporarily dashed when the US Department of Commerce (there was no Federal Communications Commission
until 1934 and no Federal Radio Commission
which preceded it until 1927) refused to grant WCFL a wavelength on January 13, 1926. Just five days after what could have become an end to the station, the Federation announced it would go ahead with building it anyway.
The first WCFL transmitter stood on Chicago's Navy Pier
(then called Municipal Pier); the Federation was able to lease the pier's North Tower for 10 years at $1 per year and its willingness to make WCFL available for city broadcasts. Initially the Illinois Manufacturers' Association attempted to keep WCFL off the air by protesting the use of public property for the station's transmitter and broadcasting site. The station purchased the land in Downers Grove where the current transmitter operates in 1928 and broke ground there in 1932. The Federation originally purchased 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land in the western suburb; 20 of them were allotted for the WCFL transmitter, while the other 80 were subdivided as lots for 258 homes and 72 businesses in "WCFL Park". Nockels believed having a union-based community spring up around the WCFL transmitter would be beneficial to both those purchasing lots and building homes and to the station itself. The labor union entered the real estate business shortly before the Depression hit. After selling no lots in the early part of the 1930s, the Federation put WCFL Park on hold, reviving it again in 1939 with the building of a model home on one of the lots, all of which would eventually be divested.
AM 1000 began operation as WCFL in test broadcasts on June 19, 1926; the Commerce Department granted it call letters on July 10, 1926. It was officially on the air the next day at 610 KC with 1,000 watts of power, one of the last non-profit radio stations to take to the airwaves. The first broadcast consisted of two hours of music. In November 1926, with an eye toward being self-sustaining, the Federation added a shortwave station to the Navy Pier transmitter site, planning to use WCFL Radio Telegraph to help offset broadcasting costs. The station initially used studios at Navy Pier, but during the winter of 1926–1927 found that the weather often made them inaccessible. By March 1927, WCFL was broadcasting from 623 South Wabash in Chicago (today the home of Columbia College, Chicago,) producing a quarterly radio magazine, and operating on 620 KC—the frequency being shared with the Lane Tech High School
radio station. In 1928, WCFL applied to the Federal Radio Commission
for an increase in its transmitter power and hours of operation. Several other radio stations were now also operating on the 620 KC frequency along with WCFL and the Lane Tech station. The commission disagreed with the reasoning that such increases were necessary to serve union members. Further, it cut the operating power of WCFL to only 1,500 watts. General Order 40 brought WCFL to the 970 KC frequency, shared with KJR
in Seattle, still at 1,500 watts and now allowed to operate in daylight only. The Federal Radio Commission had labeled the station as a "propaganda" type, not truly worthy of a license; it would take some years of expensive discussions to attain clear-channel, 50,000-watt status.
While the original idea of a self-supporting WCFL was based on each Federation member's donation of $1 a year for all station operating expenses, by 1926, 30% of the membership had donated. The donations continued to spiral downward as time passed, especially after 1928, when WCFL's operating power was cut and it was limited to "dawn to dusk" broadcasting—from sunrise to sunset. The dawn-to-dusk operation limitations were lifted in 1929, but there was still no clear channel yet for WCFL. 1929 found the station notifying the Federation that unless members made their dollar donations, WCFL would need to implement some type of commercial broadcasting to stay afloat. This was the reason why the transmitter land had been purchased in 1928, but no construction was able to be done on the Downers Grove transmitter site until 1932. By 1930, commercials had become a reality on WCFL; the station did not show a profit until 1940.
By 1945, WCFL had moved to the 1,000 KC position on the dial (from previously being at 770 and 970 KC) and was a 50,000-watt clear-channel station; records of a year earlier show that previously the station had only progressed to having 10,000 watts.
In 1927, WCFL broadcast the Gene Tunney
-Jack Dempsey
championship boxing match at Soldier Field
, challenging the National Broadcasting Company
's exclusive claim to the event. This led to an arrangement whereby WCFL became one of three affiliates in Chicago of the Blue Network of NBC; WCFL broadcast non-sponsored, or sustaining, NBC programs not carried by WENR or WLS
, as well as selected major sporting events and any broadcast speeches by union leaders aired by the network. WCFL became a member of the Mutual Broadcasting System
in December 1949. When the Federal Communications Commission
forced NBC to sell the Blue Network, WCFL's affiliation continued with the network through its new identity as the American Broadcasting Company
, ending with the merger of WENR and WLS in 1959. Prior to this, the station offered selected programming from the network. WCFL was also to become an affiliate of the Amalgamated Broadcasting System
in 1933, but that network collapsed after only a month of operations, prior to its planned westward expansion from New York. The usual broadcast day included dance and classical music, comedy, as well as radio programs in 11 different languages designed to reach out to Chicago's immigrant population.
WCFL was also involved in early experimental television broadcasts, and operated a shortwave repeater station, W9XAA, in the 1930s. This was the first television station in Chicago. On June 19, 1928, Ulises Armand Sanabria
, a local television pioneer, made the first Chicago television broadcast using the WCFL Navy Pier transmitter to send the video portion of the signal and Chicago radio station WIBO for the audio portion. Those with receivers were able to see a head and shoulders view of Edward Nockels, the Federation secretary and driving force behind WCFL. It's also possible the broadcast was simulcast by the WCFL shortwave station, W9XAA. Accounts of later broadcasts at WMAQ-AM specify their shortwave station was used for this purpose. As the Federation tried to revive their "WCFL Park" real estate project near the Downers Grove transmitter, the decision was made to abandon W9XAA in 1937, preferring to concentrate on gaining more transmitter power for WCFL. New Federal Communications Commission rules insisted that shortwave stations have a minimum of 5,000 watts of power; the cost to WCFL to upgrade to this level would have been around $10,000.
In 1948, the Federation was granted a license for an FM
radio station, WCFL-FM on 104.3 MHz. Its transmitter was atop the American Furniture Mart, where WCFL's studios and offices had been located since 1931. WCFL-FM went on the air March 12, 1949, and simulcast its sister AM station's programming for six hours a day–from 3 PM to 9 PM. This time the Federation was impatient for its new radio station to become profitable, having gone from 1926–1940 before WCFL was "in the black". On January 10, 1950, WCFL-FM went off the air permanently; the Federation believed its dollars were better spent for its AM radio station. One of the factors which made WCFL unprofitable in the mid-1970s was the growth of FM Radio; those listening to music were largely doing it on FM stations. Today the frequency is occupied by WJMK, and the call letters belong to a station in Morris, Illinois
that is now owned by the Illinois Bible Institute.
During the 1940s, the Federation's thoughts turned once again to television, and in 1953 it applied for channel 11 WTTW
in Chicago but lost the bid to the city's educational groups. An early 1960s try netted the Federation a license for Chicago UHF channel 38. In June 1968, plans were made for building a transmitter and antenna atop Chicago's John Hancock Center
, as well as other construction needs to get WCFL-TV on the air. By late 1970, the Federation had begun to look at other uses for the station's license which didn't involve the organization. Christian Communications purchased WCFL-TV in August 1975, with the FCC approving the license transfer in early 1976. At the time of the sale, WCFL-TV had yet to be on the air; it became WCPX-TV.
The station carried general entertainment over the decades but by the late 1950s WCFL evolved into a popular music
station, which had banned all Elvis Presley
records from its playlist in late November 1957. The pre-Top 40 talent lineup included Dan Sorkin in the morning, Mike Rapchak (1920–2006) following him and Sid McCoy's all-night jazz program. It was Sorkin who introduced a young Chicago comedian, Bob Newhart
, to Warner Bros.
in 1959. Bob Elson
did both White Sox games and interviewed celebrities at the Pump Room
; his sports cohort, Milo Hamilton
, also wore two hats, talking football and playing music. Rapchak, who quit on the air in 1965 due to WCFL's new format, returned there in 1978, once again playing big band
and jazz music.
Between 1963 and 1965, there was only one Top 40 station in Chicago; this was unusual as most major cities had two or even three stations featuring pop music
. Consequently, WLS had become somewhat complacent as it had no real competitors. This all changed in 1965, when WCFL became a Top 40 music station, competing with WLS. The station also moved from the American Furniture Mart
where it had been since 1931, to the then new Marina City
, where it remained for the next 20 years. While the station itself was on the 16th floor of the Commercial Building (today the Sax Chicago hotel), WCFL also had a "VIP Room" on the fifth floor where the "WCFL VIPs" (DJ's) hosted various events such as record parties and autograph sessions for listeners who were members of the WCFL VIP Club. One of the station's first promotions was the "Bold" campaign-describing itself as a bold, new way of presenting today's music and its listeners (who wore "I'm Bold!" buttons) as bold enough to want a change.
General Manager Ken Draper ran the station from 1965–1968 and brought many of the original staffers with him from the big Cleveland rock station (KYW/WKYC)
he had run before. These included not only DJ's but also chief engineer Mike King (later, Jim Loupas), and members of the crack newsroom team, which included the unstoppable Jeff Kamen. WCFL gained fame when Kamen marched into the midst of the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention
melee and was beaten by Chicago police, with the picture ending up on newspapers' front pages. Prior to Draper's establishment of an eight person news department, news was gathered by taking the copy from the station's news wires and reading it on the air.
In their Top 40 years, some famous disc jockeys on WCFL included Jim Runyon
(1931–1973), Joel Sebastian (1986), Dick Williamson, (who was already with WCFL at the time of the format change), Jim Stagg (1935–2007), Ron Britain, ("America's First Psychedelic Disk Johnny"), who did a second stint at the station in 1978, the legendary Dick Biondi
, (still on the air in Chicago-2010) whose Mutual Radio
syndicated Dick Biondi's Young America show was heard here 3 years before his actual arrival, Barney Pip (1994), Ron Riley, Sid McCoy and Yvonne Daniels (1991) with late night jazz during the earliest days of the change to Top 40. Later, WIND's former long-time morning man
Howard Miller (1994), who was a decided departure from the youthful staff, came to helm 'CFL's 6-9AM spot in 1968. He was replaced before long by Clark Weber
, long-time WLS-AM morning man.
The DJ secretary during this era was a young lady named Connie Szerszen
, who went on to forge her own career on the air in Chicago radio, appearing on WIND
and other stations. WCFL General Manager Ken Draper also hired Carole Simpson
as one of radio's first female newscasters; Carole went on to a big career with ABC-TV. Also on staff at that time was continuity director Barbara Sternig, who left for LA once the Beatles broke up, became Rona Barrett's writer, and later Senior Reporter in Hollywood for the National Enquirer. Draper is also credited with the introduction of the Sound 10/WCFL survey, which became a competitor to the WLS "Silver Dollar Survey" that station issued weekly beginning in 1960. From 1966–1970, the station produced six "branded" record albums. Later in the SuperCFL-era Larry Lujack
and Art Roberts (2002) came to WCFL.
WCFL's coverage of The Beatles
1965
and 1966 US tours was provided by Jim Stagg, who traveled with the group. The station began a weekly British Countdown program with British DJ Paul Michael, in 1965.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, WCFL also featured a popular Sunday night program of "underground" album-oriented
music called Ron Britain's Subterranean Circus. Due to madcap DJ Britain's sure ear for the innovative and his highly inventive sketches, plus WCFL's powerful AM nighttime signal, these programs gained huge listenership not just in the Chicago area, but in other parts of the country as well. Britain's "Sub Circus" made WCFL one of the few AM stations to feature this kind of music, which was a major staple of "underground" FM stations. The station also supported local bands with its Sunday evening "Chicago Countdown", hosted by Ron Britain, featuring the recordings of Chicago area music groups.
The comedy feature Chickenman, a satire based on the Batman TV series, originated on Jim Runyon's morning drive-time show in the fall of 1966. It was created by WCFL staffer Dick Orkin
, who was also brought from Cleveland to Chicago by Ken Draper. All the voices were done by Orkin, Runyon, and Jane Roberts
, who also did WCFL's morning traffic reports as "Trooper 36-24-36" (She became Mrs. Jim Runyon.). The Chickenman program was subsequently syndicated to radio stations worldwide.
In August 1968, sales manager Lew Witz replaced Draper as WCFL General Manager. Witz continued to make changes to the station during his tenure. It was Witz who lured Larry Lujack away from WLS in 1972, and the "less talk-more music" philosophy continued. On August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon
became the first US president to resign his office. The event occurred at 8 PM Chicago time, but there was no acknowledgement of his resignation on WCFL's airwaves until 11:30 PM; Witz defended his decision by saying there was ample local and national coverage of the story so there was no need to interrupt the music on WCFL. Gary Deeb, media critic for the Chicago Tribune
, blasted Witz in print, saying it was this decision and many others like it that turned WCFL from, "a bright, civic-minded 50,000 watt rock powerhouse into a sonic slum." By the time the station prepared to enter its "Beautiful Music" phase in early 1976, Witz had totally done away with WCFL's news department
.
, leaving WLS once again as Chicago's only AM Top 40 station. Station management released all disc jockeys who did not have "no cut" clauses in their contracts with the official explanation of the format change as "being more in keeping with the labor movement". Larry Lujack
, still under contract with the station, stayed on at WCFL playing easy listening music until moving back to WLS in September 1976. This format won few listeners from FM beautiful music stations such as WLOO
, and by 1978 had been replaced by a gold-based adult contemporary format.
WCFL and the Chicago Federation of Labor enjoyed the support of Mayor Richard J. Daley
throughout his 1955–1976 administration. He proclaimed January 11, 1966 "WCFL Day in Chicago" to mark the 40th anniversary of the station. In 1976, when it became evident it was time for the Federation to sell the radio station, Federation President William A. Lee turned to his long-time friend, Mayor Daley, for advice.
After deciding its profit margin was too small for the Chicago Federation of Labor to maintain, WCFL was sold April 3, 1978 to the Mutual Broadcasting System
, which was then a subsidiary of the Amway Corporation
. The history of the first and longest-lived labor radio station was over; after nearly 52 years, the "Voice of Labor" had been stilled. The station began to identify itself as "Mutual/CFL." A magazine-type news/talk format was adopted, with sports talk in the evening hours and Larry King
overnight, but ratings remained low. In 1982 WCFL changed to an MOR format playing standards and non rock hits of the '50s and '60s mixed in with some softer rock and roll oldies and soft '70s and '80s AC cuts and even a few currents. By the end of 1983, ratings were still low so WCFL evolved into an Adult Contemporary format.
about 10 hours a day and teaching programs the rest of the time. WCFL basically sold blocks of time to various Christian
organizations. The format was profitable but received very low ratings. At that time, they promoted the call letters as standing for "Winning Chicago For the Lord". In early 1985, the station moved from Marina City into a two-story brick building built on its Downers Grove transmitter site. Statewide specialized in religious formats but opted to merge with a secular company called Heftel Broadcasting
. WCFL became WLUP-AM (present-day WMVP
) just after the stroke of midnight, April 29, 1987. Although no longer in use, the former call letters WCFL, rendered massively in stainless steel, still remain on the exterior wall of the transmitting office, just off 39th Street in Downers Grove.
Chicago Federation of Labor
The Chicago Federation of Labor is an umbrella organization for unions in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is a subordinate body of the AFL-CIO, and as of 2011 has about 320 affiliated member unions representing half a million union members in Cook County....
, hence its call letters. The station is now known as WMVP. Its transmitter is located in Downers Grove
Downers Grove, Illinois
Downers Grove is a village in Downers Grove and Lisle Townships, DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 48,724 at the 2000 census, with an official estimated population of 49,250 in 2008.-History:...
and is still in use by WMVP
WMVP
WMVP is the callsign of a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is owned by ABC. Its transmitter is located in Downers Grove. The station broadcasts live sports talk, both locally and nationally. Daily programming consists of talk shows that are both national and local...
. The station billed itself as "The Voice of Labor" from its inception until its sale to Mutual in 1978.
Early years
In 1922, the American Federation of LaborAmerican Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
began discussions regarding owning and operating its own radio station. By 1925, the AFL decided not to enter the broadcasting business but to purchase time for organized labor's message on commercially operated radio. The dream stayed alive with the Chicago Federation of Labor, who believed having an owned and operated radio station would be an effective way to spread its message. In 1924, the Federation gave its approval to work toward establishing a radio station. The original plan for WCFL called for it to be a non-commercial station, operating on the support of its listeners; in a sense it was one of the first large-scale efforts at public radio
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
. Spearheading the drive to make WCFL a reality was the Federation's Secretary, Edward Nockels (1869–1937); without his efforts, there would have been no radio station at all.
WCFL officially began on December 4, 1925; the Federation's hopes were temporarily dashed when the US Department of Commerce (there was no Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
until 1934 and no Federal Radio Commission
Federal Radio Commission
The Federal Radio Commission was a government body that regulated radio use in the United States from its creation in 1926 until its replacement by the Federal Communications Commission in 1934...
which preceded it until 1927) refused to grant WCFL a wavelength on January 13, 1926. Just five days after what could have become an end to the station, the Federation announced it would go ahead with building it anyway.
The first WCFL transmitter stood on Chicago's Navy Pier
Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. The pier was built in 1916 at a cost of $4.5 million, equivalent to $ today. It was a part of the Plan of Chicago developed by architect and...
(then called Municipal Pier); the Federation was able to lease the pier's North Tower for 10 years at $1 per year and its willingness to make WCFL available for city broadcasts. Initially the Illinois Manufacturers' Association attempted to keep WCFL off the air by protesting the use of public property for the station's transmitter and broadcasting site. The station purchased the land in Downers Grove where the current transmitter operates in 1928 and broke ground there in 1932. The Federation originally purchased 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land in the western suburb; 20 of them were allotted for the WCFL transmitter, while the other 80 were subdivided as lots for 258 homes and 72 businesses in "WCFL Park". Nockels believed having a union-based community spring up around the WCFL transmitter would be beneficial to both those purchasing lots and building homes and to the station itself. The labor union entered the real estate business shortly before the Depression hit. After selling no lots in the early part of the 1930s, the Federation put WCFL Park on hold, reviving it again in 1939 with the building of a model home on one of the lots, all of which would eventually be divested.
Lane Technical College Prep High School
Albert G. Lane Technical College Preparatory High School , is a public, four-year, magnet high school located on the north side of Chicago...
radio station. In 1928, WCFL applied to the Federal Radio Commission
Federal Radio Commission
The Federal Radio Commission was a government body that regulated radio use in the United States from its creation in 1926 until its replacement by the Federal Communications Commission in 1934...
for an increase in its transmitter power and hours of operation. Several other radio stations were now also operating on the 620 KC frequency along with WCFL and the Lane Tech station. The commission disagreed with the reasoning that such increases were necessary to serve union members. Further, it cut the operating power of WCFL to only 1,500 watts. General Order 40 brought WCFL to the 970 KC frequency, shared with KJR
KJR
KJR may refer to:* Knee joint replacement* KJR , a radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States* KJR-FM, a radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States*Kiski Junction Railroad in Pennsylvania, U.S....
in Seattle, still at 1,500 watts and now allowed to operate in daylight only. The Federal Radio Commission had labeled the station as a "propaganda" type, not truly worthy of a license; it would take some years of expensive discussions to attain clear-channel, 50,000-watt status.
While the original idea of a self-supporting WCFL was based on each Federation member's donation of $1 a year for all station operating expenses, by 1926, 30% of the membership had donated. The donations continued to spiral downward as time passed, especially after 1928, when WCFL's operating power was cut and it was limited to "dawn to dusk" broadcasting—from sunrise to sunset. The dawn-to-dusk operation limitations were lifted in 1929, but there was still no clear channel yet for WCFL. 1929 found the station notifying the Federation that unless members made their dollar donations, WCFL would need to implement some type of commercial broadcasting to stay afloat. This was the reason why the transmitter land had been purchased in 1928, but no construction was able to be done on the Downers Grove transmitter site until 1932. By 1930, commercials had become a reality on WCFL; the station did not show a profit until 1940.
By 1945, WCFL had moved to the 1,000 KC position on the dial (from previously being at 770 and 970 KC) and was a 50,000-watt clear-channel station; records of a year earlier show that previously the station had only progressed to having 10,000 watts.
In 1927, WCFL broadcast the Gene Tunney
Gene Tunney
James Joseph "Gene" Tunney was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1926-1928 who defeated Jack Dempsey twice, first in 1926 and then in 1927. Tunney's successful title defense against Dempsey is one of the most famous bouts in boxing history and is known as The Long Count Fight...
-Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
championship boxing match at Soldier Field
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, challenging the National Broadcasting Company
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's exclusive claim to the event. This led to an arrangement whereby WCFL became one of three affiliates in Chicago of the Blue Network of NBC; WCFL broadcast non-sponsored, or sustaining, NBC programs not carried by WENR or WLS
WLS (AM)
WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....
, as well as selected major sporting events and any broadcast speeches by union leaders aired by the network. WCFL became a member of the Mutual Broadcasting System
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
in December 1949. When the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
forced NBC to sell the Blue Network, WCFL's affiliation continued with the network through its new identity as the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, ending with the merger of WENR and WLS in 1959. Prior to this, the station offered selected programming from the network. WCFL was also to become an affiliate of the Amalgamated Broadcasting System
Amalgamated Broadcasting System
The Amalgamated Broadcasting System was a radio network established on September 25, 1933 by two men: American comedian and radio star Ed Wynn, the "Fire Chief" of the original Fire Chief Program program on NBC and CBS; and Hungarian-born violinist Ota Gygi.Wynn had been concerned with two things:...
in 1933, but that network collapsed after only a month of operations, prior to its planned westward expansion from New York. The usual broadcast day included dance and classical music, comedy, as well as radio programs in 11 different languages designed to reach out to Chicago's immigrant population.
Television, WCFL-FM, and evolution to Top 40
Ulises Armand Sanabria
Ulises Armand Sanabria was born in southern Chicago of Puerto Rican and French-American parents.-Career:...
, a local television pioneer, made the first Chicago television broadcast using the WCFL Navy Pier transmitter to send the video portion of the signal and Chicago radio station WIBO for the audio portion. Those with receivers were able to see a head and shoulders view of Edward Nockels, the Federation secretary and driving force behind WCFL. It's also possible the broadcast was simulcast by the WCFL shortwave station, W9XAA. Accounts of later broadcasts at WMAQ-AM specify their shortwave station was used for this purpose. As the Federation tried to revive their "WCFL Park" real estate project near the Downers Grove transmitter, the decision was made to abandon W9XAA in 1937, preferring to concentrate on gaining more transmitter power for WCFL. New Federal Communications Commission rules insisted that shortwave stations have a minimum of 5,000 watts of power; the cost to WCFL to upgrade to this level would have been around $10,000.
In 1948, the Federation was granted a license for an FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio station, WCFL-FM on 104.3 MHz. Its transmitter was atop the American Furniture Mart, where WCFL's studios and offices had been located since 1931. WCFL-FM went on the air March 12, 1949, and simulcast its sister AM station's programming for six hours a day–from 3 PM to 9 PM. This time the Federation was impatient for its new radio station to become profitable, having gone from 1926–1940 before WCFL was "in the black". On January 10, 1950, WCFL-FM went off the air permanently; the Federation believed its dollars were better spent for its AM radio station. One of the factors which made WCFL unprofitable in the mid-1970s was the growth of FM Radio; those listening to music were largely doing it on FM stations. Today the frequency is occupied by WJMK, and the call letters belong to a station in Morris, Illinois
WBGL
WBGL is a Christian radio station licensed to Champaign, Illinois and owned by the Illinois Bible Institute, the educational branch of the Illinois District Council of the Assemblies of God.-Relay stations:...
that is now owned by the Illinois Bible Institute.
During the 1940s, the Federation's thoughts turned once again to television, and in 1953 it applied for channel 11 WTTW
WTTW
WTTW channel 11 is one of three Public Broadcasting Service member public television stations serving the Chicago, Illinois market; the others are WYCC and WYIN. WTTW began broadcasting on September 6, 1955 and it is owned and operated by Window to the World Communications, Inc., a not-for-profit...
in Chicago but lost the bid to the city's educational groups. An early 1960s try netted the Federation a license for Chicago UHF channel 38. In June 1968, plans were made for building a transmitter and antenna atop Chicago's John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
, as well as other construction needs to get WCFL-TV on the air. By late 1970, the Federation had begun to look at other uses for the station's license which didn't involve the organization. Christian Communications purchased WCFL-TV in August 1975, with the FCC approving the license transfer in early 1976. At the time of the sale, WCFL-TV had yet to be on the air; it became WCPX-TV.
The station carried general entertainment over the decades but by the late 1950s WCFL evolved into a popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
station, which had banned all Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
records from its playlist in late November 1957. The pre-Top 40 talent lineup included Dan Sorkin in the morning, Mike Rapchak (1920–2006) following him and Sid McCoy's all-night jazz program. It was Sorkin who introduced a young Chicago comedian, Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
, to Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
in 1959. Bob Elson
Bob Elson
Robert A. Elson was a pioneering American sportscaster.-Early life and career:Born in Chicago, Elson got into broadcasting by accident. While vacationing in St. Louis in 1928, Elson was touring KWK when a receptionist saw him among 40 men in line for an audition and thought he was going for one...
did both White Sox games and interviewed celebrities at the Pump Room
The Pump Room, Chicago
The Pump Room, established October 1, 1938, by Ernie Byfield, is a restaurant located in the Public Chicago Hotel in Chicago's Gold Coast area....
; his sports cohort, Milo Hamilton
Milo Hamilton
Leland Milo Hamilton is an American sportscaster, best known for calling play-by-play for seven different Major League Baseball teams since 1953...
, also wore two hats, talking football and playing music. Rapchak, who quit on the air in 1965 due to WCFL's new format, returned there in 1978, once again playing big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
and jazz music.
Top 40 at the "Voice of Labor"
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Consequently, WLS had become somewhat complacent as it had no real competitors. This all changed in 1965, when WCFL became a Top 40 music station, competing with WLS. The station also moved from the American Furniture Mart
680 N Lake Shore Drive
680 N Lake Shore Drive is a 29 story building located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Originally named the American Furniture Mart, it was designed by Henry Raeder and construction was completed in 1926...
where it had been since 1931, to the then new Marina City
Marina City
Marina City is a mixed-use residential/commercial building complex occupying an entire city block on State Street in Chicago, Illinois. It lies on the north bank of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, directly across from the Loop district...
, where it remained for the next 20 years. While the station itself was on the 16th floor of the Commercial Building (today the Sax Chicago hotel), WCFL also had a "VIP Room" on the fifth floor where the "WCFL VIPs" (DJ's) hosted various events such as record parties and autograph sessions for listeners who were members of the WCFL VIP Club. One of the station's first promotions was the "Bold" campaign-describing itself as a bold, new way of presenting today's music and its listeners (who wore "I'm Bold!" buttons) as bold enough to want a change.
General Manager Ken Draper ran the station from 1965–1968 and brought many of the original staffers with him from the big Cleveland rock station (KYW/WKYC)
WTAM
WTAM — branded Newsradio WTAM 1100 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Owned by Clear Channel Communications, the station broadcasts primarily a news/talk format...
he had run before. These included not only DJ's but also chief engineer Mike King (later, Jim Loupas), and members of the crack newsroom team, which included the unstoppable Jeff Kamen. WCFL gained fame when Kamen marched into the midst of the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29, 1968. Because Democratic President Lyndon Johnson had announced he would not seek a second term, the purpose of the convention was to...
melee and was beaten by Chicago police, with the picture ending up on newspapers' front pages. Prior to Draper's establishment of an eight person news department, news was gathered by taking the copy from the station's news wires and reading it on the air.
In their Top 40 years, some famous disc jockeys on WCFL included Jim Runyon
Jim Runyon
Jim Runyon was an American radio announcer, disc jockey, and sometime actor from the late 1950s to 1973.-Career:He was the narrator of the Chickenman series which began on his program at WCFL in Chicago in 1966; Runyon also played several parts in the show.James Runyon served in the United States...
(1931–1973), Joel Sebastian (1986), Dick Williamson, (who was already with WCFL at the time of the format change), Jim Stagg (1935–2007), Ron Britain, ("America's First Psychedelic Disk Johnny"), who did a second stint at the station in 1978, the legendary Dick Biondi
Dick Biondi
Dick Biondi is an American Top 40 and Oldies disc jockey. Calling himself "The Wild I-tralian", he was one of the original "screamers," known for his screaming delivery as well as his wild antics on the air and off. In a 1988 interview, Biondi related he had been fired 23 times; both fits of...
, (still on the air in Chicago-2010) whose Mutual Radio
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
syndicated Dick Biondi's Young America show was heard here 3 years before his actual arrival, Barney Pip (1994), Ron Riley, Sid McCoy and Yvonne Daniels (1991) with late night jazz during the earliest days of the change to Top 40. Later, WIND's former long-time morning man
Dayparting
In Broadcast programming, dayparting is the practice of dividing the day into several parts, during each of which a different type of radio programming or television programming apropos for that time is aired...
Howard Miller (1994), who was a decided departure from the youthful staff, came to helm 'CFL's 6-9AM spot in 1968. He was replaced before long by Clark Weber
Clark Weber
Clark Weber has been an American radio personality in Chicago, Illinois. He runs his own radio advertising consultancy, Clark Weber Associates. In July 2008 he published a book, Clark Weber's Rock and Roll Radio: The Fun Years, 1955-1975...
, long-time WLS-AM morning man.
The DJ secretary during this era was a young lady named Connie Szerszen
Connie Szerszen
Connie Szerszen is an American female radio personality, currently heard on www.ChicagoRadioOnLine.com, hosting the Classic Hits Channel with legendary DJ Fred Winston. Szerszen is a native Chicagoan of Polish ancestry. While she was Talent Coordinator at WCFL, Szerszen was discovered by air...
, who went on to forge her own career on the air in Chicago radio, appearing on WIND
WIND (AM)
WIND "AM 560" is a radio station based in Chicago, Illinois, broadcasting its talk radio format on 560 kHz.Its current owner is Salem Media, a company specializing primarily in Christian radio...
and other stations. WCFL General Manager Ken Draper also hired Carole Simpson
Carole Simpson
Carole Simpson is a broadcast journalist, news anchor, and author- Biography :Simpson, a graduate of the University of Michigan, began her career on radio at WCFL in Chicago, Illinois. She moved to television at Chicago's WMAQ and onto NBC News in 1974, becoming the first African-American woman...
as one of radio's first female newscasters; Carole went on to a big career with ABC-TV. Also on staff at that time was continuity director Barbara Sternig, who left for LA once the Beatles broke up, became Rona Barrett's writer, and later Senior Reporter in Hollywood for the National Enquirer. Draper is also credited with the introduction of the Sound 10/WCFL survey, which became a competitor to the WLS "Silver Dollar Survey" that station issued weekly beginning in 1960. From 1966–1970, the station produced six "branded" record albums. Later in the SuperCFL-era Larry Lujack
Larry Lujack
Larry Lujack , a Top 40 Music radio disc jockey, was known for his world-weary sarcastic style, "Klunk Letter of the Day" and darkly humorous "Animal Stories" along with "sidekick Little Tommy", and "Cheap Trashy Show Biz Report." He was also referred to as Superjock, Lawrence of Chicago, Uncle...
and Art Roberts (2002) came to WCFL.
WCFL's coverage of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
1965
and 1966 US tours was provided by Jim Stagg, who traveled with the group. The station began a weekly British Countdown program with British DJ Paul Michael, in 1965.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, WCFL also featured a popular Sunday night program of "underground" album-oriented
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
music called Ron Britain's Subterranean Circus. Due to madcap DJ Britain's sure ear for the innovative and his highly inventive sketches, plus WCFL's powerful AM nighttime signal, these programs gained huge listenership not just in the Chicago area, but in other parts of the country as well. Britain's "Sub Circus" made WCFL one of the few AM stations to feature this kind of music, which was a major staple of "underground" FM stations. The station also supported local bands with its Sunday evening "Chicago Countdown", hosted by Ron Britain, featuring the recordings of Chicago area music groups.
The comedy feature Chickenman, a satire based on the Batman TV series, originated on Jim Runyon's morning drive-time show in the fall of 1966. It was created by WCFL staffer Dick Orkin
Dick Orkin
Dick Orkin is an award-winning voice actor and commercial radio producer who created the series Chickenman and The Secret Adventures of the Tooth Fairy...
, who was also brought from Cleveland to Chicago by Ken Draper. All the voices were done by Orkin, Runyon, and Jane Roberts
Jim Runyon
Jim Runyon was an American radio announcer, disc jockey, and sometime actor from the late 1950s to 1973.-Career:He was the narrator of the Chickenman series which began on his program at WCFL in Chicago in 1966; Runyon also played several parts in the show.James Runyon served in the United States...
, who also did WCFL's morning traffic reports as "Trooper 36-24-36" (She became Mrs. Jim Runyon.). The Chickenman program was subsequently syndicated to radio stations worldwide.
In August 1968, sales manager Lew Witz replaced Draper as WCFL General Manager. Witz continued to make changes to the station during his tenure. It was Witz who lured Larry Lujack away from WLS in 1972, and the "less talk-more music" philosophy continued. On August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
became the first US president to resign his office. The event occurred at 8 PM Chicago time, but there was no acknowledgement of his resignation on WCFL's airwaves until 11:30 PM; Witz defended his decision by saying there was ample local and national coverage of the story so there was no need to interrupt the music on WCFL. Gary Deeb, media critic for the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, blasted Witz in print, saying it was this decision and many others like it that turned WCFL from, "a bright, civic-minded 50,000 watt rock powerhouse into a sonic slum." By the time the station prepared to enter its "Beautiful Music" phase in early 1976, Witz had totally done away with WCFL's news department
Broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast", that is, published by electrical methods, instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. Broadcast methods include radio , television , and, especially recently, the Internet generally...
.
The end of "Super CFL" and the sale to Mutual
On March 15, 1976, after two years of falling ratings, WCFL abruptly dropped its Top 40 format in favor of The World's Most Beautiful MusicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
, leaving WLS once again as Chicago's only AM Top 40 station. Station management released all disc jockeys who did not have "no cut" clauses in their contracts with the official explanation of the format change as "being more in keeping with the labor movement". Larry Lujack
Larry Lujack
Larry Lujack , a Top 40 Music radio disc jockey, was known for his world-weary sarcastic style, "Klunk Letter of the Day" and darkly humorous "Animal Stories" along with "sidekick Little Tommy", and "Cheap Trashy Show Biz Report." He was also referred to as Superjock, Lawrence of Chicago, Uncle...
, still under contract with the station, stayed on at WCFL playing easy listening music until moving back to WLS in September 1976. This format won few listeners from FM beautiful music stations such as WLOO
WILV
WILV is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Hits format. Licensed to Chicago, Illinois, USA, the station serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. The station is also broadcast on HD radio....
, and by 1978 had been replaced by a gold-based adult contemporary format.
WCFL and the Chicago Federation of Labor enjoyed the support of Mayor Richard J. Daley
Richard J. Daley
Richard Joseph Daley served for 21 years as the mayor and undisputed Democratic boss of Chicago and is considered by historians to be the "last of the big city bosses." He played a major role in the history of the Democratic Party, especially with his support of John F...
throughout his 1955–1976 administration. He proclaimed January 11, 1966 "WCFL Day in Chicago" to mark the 40th anniversary of the station. In 1976, when it became evident it was time for the Federation to sell the radio station, Federation President William A. Lee turned to his long-time friend, Mayor Daley, for advice.
After deciding its profit margin was too small for the Chicago Federation of Labor to maintain, WCFL was sold April 3, 1978 to the Mutual Broadcasting System
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
, which was then a subsidiary of the Amway Corporation
Amway
Amway is a direct selling company and manufacturer that uses network marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos...
. The history of the first and longest-lived labor radio station was over; after nearly 52 years, the "Voice of Labor" had been stilled. The station began to identify itself as "Mutual/CFL." A magazine-type news/talk format was adopted, with sports talk in the evening hours and Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
overnight, but ratings remained low. In 1982 WCFL changed to an MOR format playing standards and non rock hits of the '50s and '60s mixed in with some softer rock and roll oldies and soft '70s and '80s AC cuts and even a few currents. By the end of 1983, ratings were still low so WCFL evolved into an Adult Contemporary format.
Religious years and end
In 1983, Mutual sold WCFL to Statewide Broadcasting. Statewide switched WCFL to adult contemporary Christian musicContemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
about 10 hours a day and teaching programs the rest of the time. WCFL basically sold blocks of time to various Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
organizations. The format was profitable but received very low ratings. At that time, they promoted the call letters as standing for "Winning Chicago For the Lord". In early 1985, the station moved from Marina City into a two-story brick building built on its Downers Grove transmitter site. Statewide specialized in religious formats but opted to merge with a secular company called Heftel Broadcasting
Cecil Heftel
Cecil Landau Heftel, popularly known as Cec Heftel was an American politician and businessman from Hawai'i...
. WCFL became WLUP-AM (present-day WMVP
WMVP
WMVP is the callsign of a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is owned by ABC. Its transmitter is located in Downers Grove. The station broadcasts live sports talk, both locally and nationally. Daily programming consists of talk shows that are both national and local...
) just after the stroke of midnight, April 29, 1987. Although no longer in use, the former call letters WCFL, rendered massively in stainless steel, still remain on the exterior wall of the transmitting office, just off 39th Street in Downers Grove.
External links
- Chicago Radio Guide week ending January 16, 1937 A guide listing local programs for Chicago's radio stations.
- Reel Radio-John Celarek Collection-audio files and information on various WCFL disk jockeys
- Reel Radio-John Rook Collection-audio files including WCFL jingles and air checks for many personalities
- audio file:A Look Back at WCFL Part 1-Britain, Stagg and Pip on WJMK-FM 1985 (RealPlayerRealPlayerRealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
) - audio file:A Look Back at WCFL Part 2-Britain, Stagg and Pip on WJMK-FM 1985 (RealPlayerRealPlayerRealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
) - audio file-I Heard it on the AM Radio-WCFL being picked up in Sidi Yahia, Morocco-1967
- WCFL Personality lineups-1965-1976