WCZX
Encyclopedia
WCZX is an hot adult contemporary radio station licensed to Hyde Park, New York
and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley
of New York state. The station is owned by Cumulus Media
and broadcasts on 97.7 MHz at 6 kW ERP
from the Illinois Mountain master tower in Marlborough, New York
with studios on Pendell Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie
.
(then a Top 40 station that was #1 in the Poughkeepsie market). For the first several years of its existence, it simulcasted WHVW's Top 40 programming during that station's operating hours and aired automated easy listening
music during the nighttime hours when WHVW was not on the air.
This format would remain until 1976 when WHVs-FM evolved to Soft Adult Contemporary, a format which two years later would be replaced by an automated Top 40 format as WJJB, "Jib 98."
When the owners of WHVW and WJJB went bankrupt in 1982, WJJB was sold to the Sillerman-Morrow Group, a Middletown
-based partnership headed by investor Robert F.X. Sillerman
and New York City radio legend Bruce Morrow
("Cousin Brucie"). The Morrow half of the group would take over programming of the station and relaunched it as 98 Fame, a CHR/oldies hybrid. A mild ratings success (part out of Morrow, widely known in the market, doing a regular weekend show), the format would last until 1987 when the Sillerman/Morrow partnership was dissolved.
Under new ownership led by Harry Gregor, the former General Manager for the Sillerman Morrow Group, the 98 Fame format was tweaked to a Classic Hits
approach under the new calls WCZX and the name being modified to "'CZX Classics Hits" with former WKIP News Director Ron Lyon programming the station the station successfully evolved to oldies as "97-7 'CZX". In 1989, as the Hudson Valley Market recoiled under the IBM 'downsizing'(39000 employees from the Hudson Valley were 'early retired' or transferred), revenues fell dramatically, and the loan called in by Barclays Business Credit. After months of negotiations, Gregor filed for bankruptcy, and the station was sold to locally based Beehive Entertainment which picked up many personalities formerly of WEOK
which had previously been the oldies station in the market.
. With this change came a modified name "(Oldies 97.7)" and a move into the recently upgraded WPDH/WEOK studios (reuniting much of the staff) and ended the last vestiges of automated programming at the station. Crystal would purchase WCZX outright in 1995 and in February 1996 would purchase 97.3 WZAD
in Wurtsboro
(which had been a locally-run oldies station) and combine its operations with WCZX with some of its personalities being retained. The simulcast would rebrand itself as "Oldies 97-7/Oldies 97-3". The expanded station also would reach the Port Jervis
/Middletown area plus reaching Sussex County, New Jersey
, and Pike County, Pennsylvania
.
The air personalities during this period included "Mitchell In The Morning" with Marty Mitchell (who would later become Program Director and afternoon host at WYNY in NYC and on air at the legendary WCBS FM). After Mitchell left, Bob Miller was promoted from weekends to mornings with Program Director and morning sidekick Brian Jones (now News Director for Pamal Broadcasting
and is a regular news anchor on WHUD
, midday host Beth Christy (previously of WRWD
, now Program Director at WKXP
), PM drive host Randy Turner (preceded by "Cadillac" Kelley), night host Nick Robbins, and Marty Allen on overnights. Weekend talent included Bob Reynolds, Samantha Campbell (who would later move on to WXKP and sister station WRRV
using the air name of Brandi Hunter), Scotty Newman, Ken Elder (host of "The All Request Saturday Night Oldies Party") and Rick McCafferey (host of the "Solid Gold Jukebox" on Friday nights, formerly of WEOK
and WKIP, a show focused on pre-1964 music).
1999 saw some subtle changes at the station, with the moniker being simplified to Oldies 97, Jones becoming news director for the cluster, and Freddie Coleman (now of ESPN Radio
) taking over as program director. The playlist was tweaked to an end date of 1979 with some 1980s music by relevant artists. This approach would last through the sale of Crystal Radio to Aurora Communications in 2000.
Chuck Benfer, a former Crystal/Aurora executive promoted to General Manager by Cumulus to operate the Hudson Valley and Danbury clusters, saw the oldies format as being beyond its time and began to move the station to an adult contemporary format. In the spring of 2002, Oldies 97 phased out most pre-1964 music outside of special programming and began adding late 70's-early 80's material. The pre 1964 material was completely gone by the summer of 2002 and the station began to call themselves "Oldies 97 - The Hudson valley's Best Music Mix". By then the station now played music spanning from 1964 to 1989. To kick off Labor Day weekend that year, Oldies 97 relaunched as Mix 97. Initially, the music stayed the same playing only music from the 1964-89 timeframe. The next month, WAXB
in the Danbury area would follow suit and would drop oldies. In the winter of 2003, Mix 97 added big hits from the 1990s and shifted focus of the station to the 70's and 80's. Cumulus had acquired the LMA
of Concord Media's WBPM
from Clear Channel Communications
at the same time. That station had been satellite oldies as "Cool 94.3". The Oldies format was kept initially (focusing on the 1964-69 time period mixed in with 1955-64 oldies as well as 1970-72 oldies) and Nick Robbins, Rick McCaffery's Solid Gold Jukebox, and several other Mix 97 personalities moved to "Kool 94.3". This station though would be shut down that Fall and would switch to Country. The Kool Staff exited, but Beth Christie would transfer from "Mix 97" to "94.3 Kix".
During the Fall of 2003, Mix 97 added recurrent songs as well as a few current hits. The 60's music was almost completely gone, but the station now focused on the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. In January 2004, the station began to play more current product and evolved into a Mainstream AC leaning toward 80's and 90's music. In March of that year, Mix 97 added John Tesh
's syndicated nightly program to go against the popular Delilah After Dark
program heard on rivals WRNQ
and WHUD
. Musically, the station is a cross of the two being more upbeat than WRNQ and tighter formatted than WHUD.
The mid-2000s saw other changes with Randy Turner being released in early 2006 only to take a position as Production Director at Pamal Broadcasting in Beacon. In March 2006, WZAD's simulcast with WCZX would be discontinued as they began to simulcast WKXP; with this move came a modification of the on air name to Mix 97.7. Joe Limardi, a Cumulus veteran whose regional work included WDBY
in the Danbury area, supplanted Turner as program director in April 2006. Steve Frankenberry replaced Randy as afternoon host. Eventually, Frankenberry took over the program director position as well.
In October 2008, news director and morning show co-host Brian Jones was laid off in a cost-cutting move after 19 years with WCZX; he was picked up one month later by Pamal Broadcasting
and currently serves as news director for WHUD
, WBPM
, WGHQ
, WLNA
and WBNR
.
On February 25, 2010, Suzy Garcia and Bob Miller both were laid off dur to a change in direction at Mix 97. The AC format has been modified into more of a Hot AC format playing music from Today along with big hits from the 1980's and 1990's. Mark Bolger was hired for mornings. Middays are now from satellite programming and feature Rick Dees. Frankenberry remained in afternoons. John Tesh was also dropped in favor of automated music evenings and overnights for now.
Mark Bolger - 5-9AM
Rick Dees - 10AM-3PM
PD - Steve Frankenberry - 3-7PM
The Best Music Mix - 7PM-5AM
Weekends-
The Best Music Mix.
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....
and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
of New York state. The station is owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
and broadcasts on 97.7 MHz at 6 kW ERP
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
from the Illinois Mountain master tower in Marlborough, New York
Marlborough, New York
Marlborough is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 8,263 at the 2000 census. The town was named after the Duke of Marlborough....
with studios on Pendell Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie (town), New York
Poughkeepsie is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 42,777 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from the native term, "Uppu-qui-ipis-in," which means "reed-covered hut by the water."...
.
History (to 1991)
The 97.7 frequency first signed on in 1969 as WHVs-FM, sister station to WHVWWHVW
WHVW is a radio station licensed to Hyde Park, New York that is noted for its eclectic format based on old-fashioned blues, jazz, country and Americana music. In a time of corporate ownership of broadcast outlets, it is also one of only three Hudson Valley radio stations that are independently...
(then a Top 40 station that was #1 in the Poughkeepsie market). For the first several years of its existence, it simulcasted WHVW's Top 40 programming during that station's operating hours and aired automated easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music during the nighttime hours when WHVW was not on the air.
This format would remain until 1976 when WHVs-FM evolved to Soft Adult Contemporary, a format which two years later would be replaced by an automated Top 40 format as WJJB, "Jib 98."
When the owners of WHVW and WJJB went bankrupt in 1982, WJJB was sold to the Sillerman-Morrow Group, a Middletown
Middletown, Orange County, New York
Middletown is a city in Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. Middletown is situated between Port Jervis and Newburgh, New York. The city's population was 25,388 at the 2000 census...
-based partnership headed by investor Robert F.X. Sillerman
CKX, Inc.
CKX, Inc. is a company founded on February 7, 2005 that owns and develops entertainment content and intellectual property.-Background:The "C" and "K" stand for "Content is King", representing the focus of the company's business strategy to acquire established content, and then to improve, enhance...
and New York City radio legend Bruce Morrow
Bruce Morrow
Bruce Morrow is an American radio personality known to many listeners as Cousin Brucie.-Radio work:...
("Cousin Brucie"). The Morrow half of the group would take over programming of the station and relaunched it as 98 Fame, a CHR/oldies hybrid. A mild ratings success (part out of Morrow, widely known in the market, doing a regular weekend show), the format would last until 1987 when the Sillerman/Morrow partnership was dissolved.
Under new ownership led by Harry Gregor, the former General Manager for the Sillerman Morrow Group, the 98 Fame format was tweaked to a Classic Hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
approach under the new calls WCZX and the name being modified to "'CZX Classics Hits" with former WKIP News Director Ron Lyon programming the station the station successfully evolved to oldies as "97-7 'CZX". In 1989, as the Hudson Valley Market recoiled under the IBM 'downsizing'(39000 employees from the Hudson Valley were 'early retired' or transferred), revenues fell dramatically, and the loan called in by Barclays Business Credit. After months of negotiations, Gregor filed for bankruptcy, and the station was sold to locally based Beehive Entertainment which picked up many personalities formerly of WEOK
WEOK
WEOK is a radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley. The station is owned by Cumulus Media broadcasts on 1390 kHz at 5 kilowatts daytime and 106 watts nighttime from a two-tower directional antenna array adjacent to the Cumulus cluster complex on Pendell...
which had previously been the oldies station in the market.
Oldies 97.7 (97.3)/Oldies 97
In 1993, the Crystal Radio Group (owners of WPDH and WEOK) began controlling WCZX via a local marketing agreementLocal marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
. With this change came a modified name "(Oldies 97.7)" and a move into the recently upgraded WPDH/WEOK studios (reuniting much of the staff) and ended the last vestiges of automated programming at the station. Crystal would purchase WCZX outright in 1995 and in February 1996 would purchase 97.3 WZAD
WZAD
WZAD is country music radio station licenced to Wurtsboro, New York that serves the Catskill Mountains region, Orange County, New York, and Pike County, Pennsylvania...
in Wurtsboro
Wurtsboro, New York
Wurtsboro is a village located on U.S. Route 209 in the town of Mamakating in Sullivan County, New York, United States, near its junction with New York State Route 17...
(which had been a locally-run oldies station) and combine its operations with WCZX with some of its personalities being retained. The simulcast would rebrand itself as "Oldies 97-7/Oldies 97-3". The expanded station also would reach the Port Jervis
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city on the Delaware River in western Orange County, New York, with a population of 8,860 at the 2000 census. The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis, and the towns of Montague, New Jersey and Matamoras, Pennsylvania face the...
/Middletown area plus reaching Sussex County, New Jersey
Sussex County, New Jersey
The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...
, and Pike County, Pennsylvania
Pike County, Pennsylvania
-National protected areas:* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area * Middle Delaware National Scenic River * Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River -Demographics:...
.
The air personalities during this period included "Mitchell In The Morning" with Marty Mitchell (who would later become Program Director and afternoon host at WYNY in NYC and on air at the legendary WCBS FM). After Mitchell left, Bob Miller was promoted from weekends to mornings with Program Director and morning sidekick Brian Jones (now News Director for Pamal Broadcasting
Pamal Broadcasting
Pamal Broadcasting, Ltd. is a family-owned radio ownership with stations in medium-to-small markets in the Northeast and Florida. Based in the Albany suburb of Latham, New York, Pamal Broadcasting was founded in 1986 as Albany Broadcasting when business man James J. Morrell entered broadcast...
and is a regular news anchor on WHUD
WHUD
WHUD is an Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Peekskill, New York. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and broadcasts on 100.7 MHz at 50 kW ERP from a tower site in Philipstown, New York.-History:...
, midday host Beth Christy (previously of WRWD
WRWD-FM
WRWD-FM are the call letters of a country music radio station licensed to Highland, New York and primarily serving the mid-Hudson Valley of New York. The station broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP from a tower near Illinois Mountain in Marlborough, New York shared with sister station WBWZ...
, now Program Director at WKXP
WKXP
WKXP is a country music station licensed to Kingston, New York and serving the Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP from a tower in Kingston....
), PM drive host Randy Turner (preceded by "Cadillac" Kelley), night host Nick Robbins, and Marty Allen on overnights. Weekend talent included Bob Reynolds, Samantha Campbell (who would later move on to WXKP and sister station WRRV
WRRV
WRRV is a modern rock radio station licensed to Middletown, New York and serving the mid Hudson Valley and Catskills of New York state plus nearby areas in New Jersey and Pennsylvania...
using the air name of Brandi Hunter), Scotty Newman, Ken Elder (host of "The All Request Saturday Night Oldies Party") and Rick McCafferey (host of the "Solid Gold Jukebox" on Friday nights, formerly of WEOK
WEOK
WEOK is a radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley. The station is owned by Cumulus Media broadcasts on 1390 kHz at 5 kilowatts daytime and 106 watts nighttime from a two-tower directional antenna array adjacent to the Cumulus cluster complex on Pendell...
and WKIP, a show focused on pre-1964 music).
1999 saw some subtle changes at the station, with the moniker being simplified to Oldies 97, Jones becoming news director for the cluster, and Freddie Coleman (now of ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
) taking over as program director. The playlist was tweaked to an end date of 1979 with some 1980s music by relevant artists. This approach would last through the sale of Crystal Radio to Aurora Communications in 2000.
Mix 97(.7)
When Aurora Communications was purchased by Cumulus Media in fall of 2001, the effect of the potential of new ownership was felt prior to actual takeover when Aurora refused to fill the vacant overnight air position at Oldies 97. Though minor, this change would be foreshadowing for future changes.Chuck Benfer, a former Crystal/Aurora executive promoted to General Manager by Cumulus to operate the Hudson Valley and Danbury clusters, saw the oldies format as being beyond its time and began to move the station to an adult contemporary format. In the spring of 2002, Oldies 97 phased out most pre-1964 music outside of special programming and began adding late 70's-early 80's material. The pre 1964 material was completely gone by the summer of 2002 and the station began to call themselves "Oldies 97 - The Hudson valley's Best Music Mix". By then the station now played music spanning from 1964 to 1989. To kick off Labor Day weekend that year, Oldies 97 relaunched as Mix 97. Initially, the music stayed the same playing only music from the 1964-89 timeframe. The next month, WAXB
WDBY
WDBY is a country music radio station licensed to Patterson, New York. It is the only FM station licensed to Putnam County, New York. The station primarily serves the Greater Danbury listening area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts from a tower located in Patterson, NY near the...
in the Danbury area would follow suit and would drop oldies. In the winter of 2003, Mix 97 added big hits from the 1990s and shifted focus of the station to the 70's and 80's. Cumulus had acquired the LMA
Live Music Archive
The Live Music Archive , part of the Internet Archive, is a collection of over 60,000 concert recordings in lossless audio formats. The website is known for its extensive collection of Grateful Dead recordings.-History:...
of Concord Media's WBPM
WKXP
WKXP is a country music station licensed to Kingston, New York and serving the Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP from a tower in Kingston....
from Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
at the same time. That station had been satellite oldies as "Cool 94.3". The Oldies format was kept initially (focusing on the 1964-69 time period mixed in with 1955-64 oldies as well as 1970-72 oldies) and Nick Robbins, Rick McCaffery's Solid Gold Jukebox, and several other Mix 97 personalities moved to "Kool 94.3". This station though would be shut down that Fall and would switch to Country. The Kool Staff exited, but Beth Christie would transfer from "Mix 97" to "94.3 Kix".
During the Fall of 2003, Mix 97 added recurrent songs as well as a few current hits. The 60's music was almost completely gone, but the station now focused on the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. In January 2004, the station began to play more current product and evolved into a Mainstream AC leaning toward 80's and 90's music. In March of that year, Mix 97 added John Tesh
John Tesh
John Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. His 10-year-old 'Intelligence for Your Life Radio Show' reaches 14.2 Million listeners/week, and is syndicated by Teshmedia on 400 stations in US, Canada, and the UK...
's syndicated nightly program to go against the popular Delilah After Dark
Delilah Rene
Delilah Rene Luke , almost always known mononymously as Delilah, is an American radio personality, author, and songwriter, best known as the host of a nationally syndicated nightly U.S...
program heard on rivals WRNQ
WRNQ
WRNQ is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP from the Illinois Mountain master tower in Highland, New York to which it moved...
and WHUD
WHUD
WHUD is an Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Peekskill, New York. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and broadcasts on 100.7 MHz at 50 kW ERP from a tower site in Philipstown, New York.-History:...
. Musically, the station is a cross of the two being more upbeat than WRNQ and tighter formatted than WHUD.
The mid-2000s saw other changes with Randy Turner being released in early 2006 only to take a position as Production Director at Pamal Broadcasting in Beacon. In March 2006, WZAD's simulcast with WCZX would be discontinued as they began to simulcast WKXP; with this move came a modification of the on air name to Mix 97.7. Joe Limardi, a Cumulus veteran whose regional work included WDBY
WDBY
WDBY is a country music radio station licensed to Patterson, New York. It is the only FM station licensed to Putnam County, New York. The station primarily serves the Greater Danbury listening area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts from a tower located in Patterson, NY near the...
in the Danbury area, supplanted Turner as program director in April 2006. Steve Frankenberry replaced Randy as afternoon host. Eventually, Frankenberry took over the program director position as well.
In October 2008, news director and morning show co-host Brian Jones was laid off in a cost-cutting move after 19 years with WCZX; he was picked up one month later by Pamal Broadcasting
Pamal Broadcasting
Pamal Broadcasting, Ltd. is a family-owned radio ownership with stations in medium-to-small markets in the Northeast and Florida. Based in the Albany suburb of Latham, New York, Pamal Broadcasting was founded in 1986 as Albany Broadcasting when business man James J. Morrell entered broadcast...
and currently serves as news director for WHUD
WHUD
WHUD is an Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Peekskill, New York. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and broadcasts on 100.7 MHz at 50 kW ERP from a tower site in Philipstown, New York.-History:...
, WBPM
WBPM
WBPM is a Classic Hits music formatted radio station licensed to Saugerties, New York, serving the Mid-Hudson Valley and Catskills...
, WGHQ
WGHQ
WGHQ is a United States radio station licensed to Kingston, New York and serving the Hudson Valley as well as a part of the Capital District market...
, WLNA
WLNA
WLNA is the callsign of an AM radio station licensed to Peekskill, New York and serving the Hudson Valley. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and broadcasts on 1420 kHz at 5 kilowatts daytime and 1 kilowatt nighttime, both directional, from a five-tower array located just north of Peekskill...
and WBNR
WBNR
WBNR is the callsign of an AM radio station licensed to Beacon, New York and serving the Hudson Valley. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and broadcasts on 1260 kHz at 1,000 watts daytime and 480 watts nighttime, both directional, from a four-tower array at 475 South Avenue in the of...
.
On February 25, 2010, Suzy Garcia and Bob Miller both were laid off dur to a change in direction at Mix 97. The AC format has been modified into more of a Hot AC format playing music from Today along with big hits from the 1980's and 1990's. Mark Bolger was hired for mornings. Middays are now from satellite programming and feature Rick Dees. Frankenberry remained in afternoons. John Tesh was also dropped in favor of automated music evenings and overnights for now.
Air Personalities
Monday thru FridayMark Bolger - 5-9AM
Rick Dees - 10AM-3PM
PD - Steve Frankenberry - 3-7PM
The Best Music Mix - 7PM-5AM
Weekends-
The Best Music Mix.