Prior call letters for 97.9/Chicago were WVON-FM, and then WSDM. The acronym stood for either "WiSDoM" or "Smack Dab in the Middle", "the middle" meaning the exact middle of the FM radio dial. The other call letters (WVON) stood for "Voice of the Negro," in reference to its original African-American audience. Owned by the Chess company in the 1960s and early 1970s, the radio station positioned itself as "jazzed up rock" and the "station with the girls" — a reference to the all-female air talent. Its original program director was Linda Ellerbee. Among the disc jockeys were Connie Szerszen, Cindy Morgan, Danae Alexander, and Yvonne Daniels.The call letters changed to WLUP in March 1977. The station called itself "The Loop" which is what the main business district in Chicago is nicknamed. WLUP programmed a low-key AOR format. Core artists at the time included Crosby, Stills & Nash, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and The Eagles.Senator Cecil Heftel (from Hawaii) purchased the radio station in early 1979, kept the call letters and "Loop" identifier. Lee Abrahms was hired as consultant. The rock format was kept in place, but emphasis was put on harder rock. No longer did the station program England Dan & John Ford Coley or Hall & Oates. That music was replaced by heavy material from Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC and The Rolling Stones. Steve Dahl, who had been unemployed since WDAI (94.7) went to a disco format in December 1978, was hired for mornings in March 1979. Overnight disc jockey Matthew "Mondo" Meier was teamed with Dahl to do news. He started using his real first name "Garry."
Tuesday morning in the dark, I called you up from Tinley Park. Said we were going away, even though my husband's gay, I want to know the weather in Intercourse, PA. You said it was wet today. Oh Wally, I just love your cheap K-Mart toupee. Wear some porous clothes, be sure to blow your nose, and go to Ace Hardware to get a garden hose...Oh Wally!
Top Albums of '79: Dire Straits - Dire Straits, Parallel Lines - Blondie, Breakfast In America - Supertramp, Briefcase Full Of Blues - Blues Brothers, Van Halen II - Van Halen, Cheap Trick At Budokan - Cheap Trick, Minute By Minute - Doobie Brothers, Desolation Angels - Bad Company, Discovery - Electric Light Orchestra, Candy-O - Cars, Back To The Egg - Paul McCartney & Wings, Get The Knack - Knack, The Kids Are Alright - The Who, In Through The Out Door - Led Zeppelin, Head Games - Foreigner, The Long Run - Eagles, Dream Police - Cheap Trick, Cornerstone - Styx, Tusk - Fleetwood Mac, Damn The Torpedoes - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Wall - Pink Floyd
The Warriors, Rocky II, The Amityville Horror, Apocalypse Now, Alien, Escape From Alcatraz, Being There , Phantasm, The Great Santini, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Meatballs, Rock ‘N’ Roll Highschool, Moonraker, Cheech & Chong’s Up In Smoke, Mad Max, North Dallas Forty, The Onion Field, Tess, Breaking Away
TOPS IN '79: 1. 60 Minutes 2. Three's Company 3. M*A*S*H 4. Alice 5. Dallas 6. Flo 7.The Jeffersons 8. The Dukes of Hazzard 9. That's Incredible 10. One Day At A Time 11. Archie Bunker's Place 12. Eight Is Enough 13. Taxi 14. House Calls 15. (Tie) Real People 15. (Tie) Happy Days 16. Little House On The Prairie 17. (Tie) CHiPs 18. (Tie) Charlie's Angels 18. Trapper John, M.D.
Atlas Shrugged
Steve Dahl, Garry Meier, Mitch Michaels, Sky Daniels, Dr. Demento, Le Petomane.