WOGL
Encyclopedia
WOGL is an FM
radio station
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, USA.
The station plays mostly post 1964 pop leaning Oldies
positioned Classic Hits
music, including Motown, soul
and rock and roll
spanning roughly 1964–1985. An occasional pre-1964 song is played. WOGL is owned by CBS Radio
. Its transmitter is located in the Roxborough
section of Philadelphia.
The station has previously been known as Oldies 98 and Oldies 98.1.
At the end of 1975 the oldies format was replaced by a disco
-oriented format that was eventually called "Fascinatin' Rhythm". As the 1970s came to a close, the music became more diversified with the addition of jazz
, pop
and R&B
. The station experimented briefly with a format called "Mellow Rhythm" at this time, hosted primarily by Dr. Perri Johnson (now a music therapist
in Los Angeles
).
Program consultant Mike Joseph was brought in to WCAU-FM in April 1981 to develop a new format to replace the struggling "Mellow Rhythm". Joseph recommended that the station go Top 40. In September 1981, the new format at WCAU-FM debuted: an all-current-hits, high-energy, jingle-intensive Top 40 sound dubbed "Hot Hits
" (a format first used by Joseph at WTIC-FM
Hartford, Connecticut
in 1977), using the on-air name "98 Now". WCAU-FM's ratings showed an immediate improvement, and subsequently, FM stations in major markets such as Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco picked up the "Hot Hits" format.
WCAU-FM found a great deal of success with this programming for much of the mid-1980s, although the original "Fusion" jingles were dropped in the summer of 1982 and replaced with a package from JAM to increase appeal to older listeners. Some notable jocks on the station in this period included Paul Barsky
, Terry Young and Christy Springfield. CBS soon developed a variation on "Hot Hits" called "Hitradio" and switched all their FM stations except WCBS-FM
New York - including WCAU-FM - to it.
In 1987, WCAU-FM found itself with stiff competition in the CHR
format from WEGX
, "Eagle 106". CBS decided that their station could be more profitable appealing to an older, more desirable demographic of 25-54 year olds. So on November 9, 1987, WCAU-FM flipped to an oldies format as WOGL (which stood for "Old Gold"). On the same day, WIOQ
shifted to oldies as well. For the next year the stations competed for Philadelphia's FM oldies audience, until WIOQ dropped the format early in 1989.
WOGL became the city's dominant oldies station, gathering a group of legendary Philly jocks including Hy Lit
, Don Cannon, Harvey Holiday, Jim Nettleton, Christy Springfield, Frank Canale, Angela Mason, Ron O'Brien, Bob Pantano, Bob Charger, and many more. Scott Walker who programmed Hot Hits WCAU-FM remained Program Director
until 2001.
They were known as "Oldies 98.1". By 1992 WOGL leaned toward soul oldies. They still played Elvis
, The Beatles
, and The Rolling Stones
, but focused on soul and Philadelphia only hits. They were about 2/3 R&B and 1/3 rock. The rock songs played were the big hits and anything typically heard on oldies stations was heard on Oldies 98. But WOGL Oldies 98 got very deep with R&B music. They played about 15% '50s, 15% early '60s, 55% '60s, and 13% '70s, and 2% '80s. So they focused on the '60s as well.
WOGL Oldies 98.1 had lots of specialty shows such as "Hot Lunch Special" request show, The Weeknight Hall Of Fame, Top 20 Oldies Countdown, Elvis & Friends, Beatles Brunch, and Street Corner Sounds Doo Wop
s. In 2001 all the specialty shows were purged. The playlist was moved away from soul and Philly Only hits (though a few remained). The music was about 70% '60s, 10% '50s, 15% '70s, and 5% '80s. Scott Walker would leave as well.
By 2002, some of the specialty shows were brought back. Street Corner Sounds was a modified version. While it was strictly doo wop in its previous incarnation, the current version is broader playing all types of pre 1964 oldies. More '70s music was added and even some '80s was added. In 2003 the name "Oldies 98" was downplayed and the station became known as "Motown Soul Rock & Roll 98.1 WOGL". At that point the station cut to one '50s per shift and one pre 64 oldie per hour. They also were playing a couple '80s songs per hour. The rest of the music was roughly 50% mid and late '60s and 50% '70s music. In 2004 the playlist was tightened to about half '60s and half '70s. They also began saying "Greatest Hits of The '60s and '70s". It is the home of Ross Britain and The Breakfast Club and Cadillac-Jack. In late 2007 and early 2008 more 80s music was added to rotation and effective July 6, 2008 WOGL's slogan was changed to "The Greatest Hits of the 60s, 70s and 80's", which is also used on sister station WCBS-FM
since it returned to an Oldies/Classic Hits format in July 2007.
Currently, the station uses jingles from JAM Creative Productions
, most of which were originally produced in the 1970's and early 80's for top 40 stations like WABC
and WLS
. Previously, WOGL has used the Do It Again jingle package from JAM, as well as jingles from Tony Griffin Productions, TM Studios, Frank Gari
Productions, and Otis Connor.
WOGL broadcasts four digital subchannels using the Ibiquity "HD" U.S. standard. The HD1 channel simulcasts the analog channel; it has been used to air Christmas music
in season since 2009. WOGL-HD3 simulcasts WPHT
, CBS's Philadelphia AM talk station. WOGL-HD4 runs an all-Phillies baseball
talk channel called "Phillies 24/7".
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, USA.
The station plays mostly post 1964 pop leaning Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
positioned 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...
music, including Motown, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
spanning roughly 1964–1985. An occasional pre-1964 song is played. WOGL is owned by CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
. Its transmitter is located in the Roxborough
Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Roxborough is a neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is bordered to the southwest, along the Schuylkill River, by the neighborhood of Manayunk, along the northeast by the Wissahickon Creek section of Fairmount Park, and to...
section of Philadelphia.
The station has previously been known as Oldies 98 and Oldies 98.1.
History
The station began experimentally at 42.1 Mc as W3XIR, followed two years later (1941) by W69PH at 46.9 Mc. When the FCC moved the FM band to its present location, it became WCAU-FM at 102.7 and some time later moved to 95.5 and finally its present 98.1. WCAU-FM simulcast the MOR format on WCAU (AM) 1210 until 1966 when it, along with other CBS FM stations, presented "The Young Sound" format: an instrumental-oriented type of pseudo-rock music. In the fall of 1969 WCAU-FM replaced "The Young Sound" with an automated oldies format. The format featured the voice of Jim Nettleton and others. Live air personalities were eventually added. The station played the hits from 1955 up to and including some current product.At the end of 1975 the oldies format was replaced by a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
-oriented format that was eventually called "Fascinatin' Rhythm". As the 1970s came to a close, the music became more diversified with the addition of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, pop
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...
and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
. The station experimented briefly with a format called "Mellow Rhythm" at this time, hosted primarily by Dr. Perri Johnson (now a music therapist
Music therapy
Music therapy is an allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of an interpersonal process in which a trained music therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
).
Program consultant Mike Joseph was brought in to WCAU-FM in April 1981 to develop a new format to replace the struggling "Mellow Rhythm". Joseph recommended that the station go Top 40. In September 1981, the new format at WCAU-FM debuted: an all-current-hits, high-energy, jingle-intensive Top 40 sound dubbed "Hot Hits
Hot Hits
Hot Hits was a radio format created by consultant Mike Joseph in the 1970s. That concept, which helped spur the birth of what is now known as CHR, also revitalized the Top 40 format and would play a role in bringing the format to the FM band throughout the 1980s.The concept was to play only the...
" (a format first used by Joseph at WTIC-FM
WTIC-FM
WTIC-FM is a radio station primarily serving the Hartford, Connecticut market, though its signal can be picked up throughout most of Connecticut and into Springfield, Massachusetts. It currently broadcasts a Hot Adult Contemporary format. It is located on the dial at 96.5 MHz...
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
in 1977), using the on-air name "98 Now". WCAU-FM's ratings showed an immediate improvement, and subsequently, FM stations in major markets such as Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco picked up the "Hot Hits" format.
WCAU-FM found a great deal of success with this programming for much of the mid-1980s, although the original "Fusion" jingles were dropped in the summer of 1982 and replaced with a package from JAM to increase appeal to older listeners. Some notable jocks on the station in this period included Paul Barsky
Paul Barsky
Paul Barsky was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania talk radio personality. Last featured on WYSP, Barsky has previously been a fixture on other Philadelphia radio stations, including the now defunct Y100....
, Terry Young and Christy Springfield. CBS soon developed a variation on "Hot Hits" called "Hitradio" and switched all their FM stations except WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM is a CBS-owned radio station in New York City. The station's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in Manhattan, and its transmitter is located on the Empire State Building....
New York - including WCAU-FM - to it.
In 1987, WCAU-FM found itself with stiff competition in the CHR
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
format from WEGX
WEGX
WEGX is a Country music station licensed to Dillon, South Carolina and serves the Florence and Myrtle Beach areas. The Qantum outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 92.9 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kW...
, "Eagle 106". CBS decided that their station could be more profitable appealing to an older, more desirable demographic of 25-54 year olds. So on November 9, 1987, WCAU-FM flipped to an oldies format as WOGL (which stood for "Old Gold"). On the same day, WIOQ
WIOQ
WIOQ, known as "Q102", is a CHR/Pop radio station which is broadcast in the Philadelphia area. The station appeals to a generally young demographic. WIOQ is owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its transmitter is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.-WFIL-FM/Popular 102:The...
shifted to oldies as well. For the next year the stations competed for Philadelphia's FM oldies audience, until WIOQ dropped the format early in 1989.
WOGL became the city's dominant oldies station, gathering a group of legendary Philly jocks including Hy Lit
Hy Lit
Hyman Aaron "Hy" Lit was an American DJ based in the Philadelphia area from the 1950s until 2005. In his 50 year career, Hy Lit broadcast from WIBG-AM, WDAS/WDAS-FM, WKBS-TV, WIFI, WSNI/WPGR, KPOL, WKXW, among many others. His last station was WOGL, where he broadcast from 1989 until his...
, Don Cannon, Harvey Holiday, Jim Nettleton, Christy Springfield, Frank Canale, Angela Mason, Ron O'Brien, Bob Pantano, Bob Charger, and many more. Scott Walker who programmed Hot Hits WCAU-FM remained Program Director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
until 2001.
They were known as "Oldies 98.1". By 1992 WOGL leaned toward soul oldies. They still played Elvis
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"....
, 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...
, and The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, but focused on soul and Philadelphia only hits. They were about 2/3 R&B and 1/3 rock. The rock songs played were the big hits and anything typically heard on oldies stations was heard on Oldies 98. But WOGL Oldies 98 got very deep with R&B music. They played about 15% '50s, 15% early '60s, 55% '60s, and 13% '70s, and 2% '80s. So they focused on the '60s as well.
WOGL Oldies 98.1 had lots of specialty shows such as "Hot Lunch Special" request show, The Weeknight Hall Of Fame, Top 20 Oldies Countdown, Elvis & Friends, Beatles Brunch, and Street Corner Sounds Doo Wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
s. In 2001 all the specialty shows were purged. The playlist was moved away from soul and Philly Only hits (though a few remained). The music was about 70% '60s, 10% '50s, 15% '70s, and 5% '80s. Scott Walker would leave as well.
By 2002, some of the specialty shows were brought back. Street Corner Sounds was a modified version. While it was strictly doo wop in its previous incarnation, the current version is broader playing all types of pre 1964 oldies. More '70s music was added and even some '80s was added. In 2003 the name "Oldies 98" was downplayed and the station became known as "Motown Soul Rock & Roll 98.1 WOGL". At that point the station cut to one '50s per shift and one pre 64 oldie per hour. They also were playing a couple '80s songs per hour. The rest of the music was roughly 50% mid and late '60s and 50% '70s music. In 2004 the playlist was tightened to about half '60s and half '70s. They also began saying "Greatest Hits of The '60s and '70s". It is the home of Ross Britain and The Breakfast Club and Cadillac-Jack. In late 2007 and early 2008 more 80s music was added to rotation and effective July 6, 2008 WOGL's slogan was changed to "The Greatest Hits of the 60s, 70s and 80's", which is also used on sister station WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM is a CBS-owned radio station in New York City. The station's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in Manhattan, and its transmitter is located on the Empire State Building....
since it returned to an Oldies/Classic Hits format in July 2007.
Currently, the station uses jingles from JAM Creative Productions
JAM Creative Productions
JAM Creative Productions, Inc., is an American company that produces radio jingles, promo music for television, and commercial jingles for advertisers. It has made more radio jingles than any other jingle company and has become part of American pop culture....
, most of which were originally produced in the 1970's and early 80's for top 40 stations like WABC
WABC
WABC may refer to:* WABC , a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States* WABC-TV, a television station licensed to New York, New York, United States* Classic Gold WABC, a defunct British radio station...
and WLS
WLS
WLS may refer to:* White light scanner, a device for measuring physical geometry* WLS , a radio station * WLS-FM, a radio station * WLS-TV, a television station...
. Previously, WOGL has used the Do It Again jingle package from JAM, as well as jingles from Tony Griffin Productions, TM Studios, Frank Gari
Frank Gari
Frank Gari is a popular singer and songwriter from the late 1950s and early 1960s. His best known songs as a performer are "Utopia" , "Lullaby of Love" and "Princess" , all of which hit the U.S. Top 40 in 1961. He co-wrote with Roger McGuinn the song Beach Ball for Bobby Darin...
Productions, and Otis Connor.
WOGL broadcasts four digital subchannels using the Ibiquity "HD" U.S. standard. The HD1 channel simulcasts the analog channel; it has been used to air Christmas music
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
in season since 2009. WOGL-HD3 simulcasts WPHT
WPHT
WPHT is a CBS Radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting on 1210 kHz. A 50,000-watt clear-channel station, it broadcasts in an omnidirectional pattern that allows it to cover most of the eastern half of North America at night. It uses the nickname "Talk Radio 1210 WPHT." The...
, CBS's Philadelphia AM talk station. WOGL-HD4 runs an all-Phillies baseball
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
talk channel called "Phillies 24/7".